[00:04] Alvyn: It's ready for flight Shadows may come try to tear you apart but you're the.
[00:12] Valerie: Okay, everyone.
[00:13] So I have Alvin here.
[00:16] Alvin of really Human and Alvin Art. Alvin Villanueva.
[00:21] We are here today to wrap up two years of the vibrant visionary collective. But really I'm just here to have a bit of a chat with you and to dig a little bit deeper into your brain and get a little bit more of your story.
[00:38] So thanks for being here, Alvin.
[00:40] Alvyn: Yeah, my pleasure.
[00:42] Valerie: Yay.
[00:42] So why don't we start with telling your from the Ashes story? Whatever version of that you want to tell from whatever starting point you want to start from.
[00:54] Alvyn: Oh, yeah. Okay. So, well, let's start when you were telling me that you were starting a. I don't even know what. What you call your service.
[01:04] Valerie: Share. Oh, Club Phoenix, right?
[01:06] Alvyn: Yeah, starting Club Phoenix. And I offered to help you with your social media and stuff, and then you offered to have me join and then. Yeah, that's what started this whole Kickstarter, this whole two year transformational experience.
[01:22] Yeah,
[01:23] I didn't know that I'd be getting much more out of it than I would be contributing,
[01:29] so that was really cool.
[01:31] Valerie: What were you going through at the time? And actually what I'm curious about is what made you want to contribute the social media stuff in the first place?
[01:40] Alvyn: Oh, I wanted to help you.
[01:42] I want. Because you were doing your own thing and you're doing your entrepreneurial thing. I really respect that about people because that's something I think is that I also want to achieve for myself.
[01:55] So when I see people doing that, I think that's noble and brave because it's bucking what most of what society sees as safe, because most people would rather get that safe, secure, cushy job instead of, like, going off on their own and risking potential pitfalls and possibly losing everything and also possibly facing the judgment of peers,
[02:20] friends and family. So I really respect that about people. So, yeah, I just want to help people succeed when they do something really transformative, like being an entrepreneur.
[02:32] Valerie: I want to rewind the clock back a little bit and give people some context, because I actually remember a conversation that we had.
[02:40] I think this was prior to 2016,
[02:45] I think can correct me if I'm wrong,
[02:48] because I don't remember the exact year your journey began in terms of all of this,
[02:53] but I remember us having conversation about yoga and kind of like you were exploring these different philosophies. And then I left for New Zealand and I. I think. I think we left at that for a While.
[03:05] Do you remember that?
[03:07] Alvyn: Was it at dinner when I asked you about Vipassana? Was that that day?
[03:11] Valerie: I think it was. And then we, I, we might have had another conversation after too.
[03:15] Alvyn: Okay. Anything beyond that's probably 10 years ago, so.
[03:20] Valerie: Right. Well, I mean looking at the calendar, yeah, it would have been 10 years ago.
[03:23] Alvyn: Yeah, these seeds have been germinating for 10 years. So yeah, it's, it's getting foggy. But if you say so then yeah, we had that conversation about yoga.
[03:33] Valerie: And I do remember recently you were talking about how your journey started before Club Phoenix, like a while. Right. Was it 10 years ago that you said or was it more?
[03:41] Alvyn: Yeah, yeah, before Club Phoenix, right around my 35th birthday, around 2018. 2019 was when I was getting really deep into self discovery and seeking and spiritual stuff. Yeah.
[03:57] Valerie: Okay. So I did have my timeline ra. So I think because I was going through Some stuff around 2017, 18, I did Vipassana and I came back and I was starting yoga.
[04:07] I think that was around the time where maybe you had probed me about that.
[04:11] So I want to go back to around that time to see like what was happening for you then? Like what was the experience you were having both like internally and like what was going on in the external world for you?
[04:24] Alvyn: Oh yeah, I think a lot of it was work,
[04:27] like work related. Trying to chase validation through my career and facing just a lot of lack mentality and a lot of struggle and a lot of trying to fit in and trying to find that acceptance from a group.
[04:45] Yeah, it was just an uphill battle with the Hollywood animation industry which looking back now in retrospect,
[04:55] was the universe putting me on my more aligned path because yeah,
[05:00] that was a big speed bump which helped me wake up.
[05:06] Valerie: Do you remember a moment during that time where in your gut you knew it was really, really wrong?
[05:14] Alvyn: Yeah, there was one like tipping point. It was during the lockdowns because I was one of the very few that chose not to get vaccinated that automatically blacklisted me from many things like especially Hollywood jobs and also my peers because yeah, no one could fathom at that time why I would do such a thing.
[05:40] Seems crazy to them.
[05:42] And also, yeah, it did keep me from getting hired at a place that I wanted to get hired.
[05:47] And so that's when it clicked for me that, oh man, you know what?
[05:51] This place is not suited for people like me.
[05:55] That was around 2022, I think around 2022.
[06:03] Valerie: Okay, I apologize because I'm going to jump all over the place today.
[06:07] Alvyn: Time is a constant.
[06:10] Valerie: I want to zoom back to when we were dancing in open house.
[06:14] Alvyn: Okay.
[06:15] Valerie: So for, you know, people who aren't familiar, Alvin and I both come from basically like a. Like a street dance background. Would you call it that?
[06:26] Alvyn: Yeah, street dance, urban dance, hip hop, funk. Yeah, yeah. Street dance. Yeah, yeah.
[06:33] Valerie: We both belong to the same community in Los Angeles, specifically. Open house was where we met,
[06:40] and it was a weekly open dance session. Happened like every week, late at night around the same time.
[06:47] It was really good vibes.
[06:50] Sometimes they had, like, live DJ and stuff,
[06:53] and people can just come, you know, pay three bucks and. And then dance for like three hours, you know.
[06:59] But it was one of my big communities at the time, especially when I was coming up in LA and like, really trying to get to know people.
[07:07] And Alvin, what year did you start going? Do you remember?
[07:10] Alvyn: 2015, 2016? Somewhere around there. Yeah.
[07:15] Valerie: Okay.
[07:15] So, like,
[07:17] about a year after I started going,
[07:19] I think.
[07:21] And I remember you starting to pop up then as well.
[07:28] And it's interesting because I Going to these places, you get to meet a lot of different people and I feel a lot of different energies. Right.
[07:37] So when I first,
[07:39] like, started seeing you pop up in your.
[07:43] In that I know you have told us, like, you are trying to, like,
[07:47] kind of figure out your confidence. Is that accurate in terms of the dance?
[07:51] Alvyn: Yeah, I wanted to, like, be fluent because I was just that that community is filled with amazing talent, just these artists, these movement artists.
[08:03] And yeah, I wanted to feel as free as them.
[08:08] Valerie: Yeah.
[08:09] Alvyn: When it comes to moving. Yeah. So that was like my big ambition.
[08:13] Valerie: When you first started going to open house and like, start to explore this,
[08:17] what did you feel inside? Like, did you feel like you were able to eventually come out of the cocoon and, like, what did that take for you?
[08:27] Alvyn: At that time, I was still.
[08:29] Felt like I was a beginner dancer,
[08:32] so I was still getting used to how my body moved.
[08:37] It's. It's kind of rough because you're seeing, like, you see this bar is like super high. And like, you're down here,
[08:42] like, you. And like,
[08:44] mentally,
[08:45] intellectually,
[08:47] you under. When you watch these amazing dancers, like, you know, you understand, like, the mechanics of what's happening. And, like, you understand their musicality. You can understand, like, where they're listening to the music.
[08:56] You can understand how their, like, weight changes and everything.
[09:00] But it gets frustrating when you yourself, your body cannot reproduce the same thing when, like,
[09:06] in your mind you've got figured out. Right.
[09:08] So that gave me a little bit of, well, a Lot of frustration I think when I started.
[09:14] So there was like a. So I'm also naturally shy. I was still naturally shy at the, at that point.
[09:21] And I was also afraid of the actual cipher because of. I was just afraid of people watching me, afraid of people judging me because in my head like if, oh, if I'm less of a dancer, I'm not worth as much of this person.
[09:35] So all that kind of stuff. So I gravitated to a certain like group of people that were friendly and felt cozy to me and weren't.
[09:43] So yeah, they were more inviting and open. Like Carlos for example is one of them.
[09:49] Carlos G.
[09:50] Matt, you were also there.
[09:53] Yeah, so there was all this like small like specific group.
[09:58] The other people like amazing dancers. I put them up on a pedestal and looking back that was a mistake created like this imaginary like separation.
[10:10] Yeah, it was,
[10:11] it's a weird paradox because those times were, were great times for me to release and it was like movement therapy and also just a place to be amongst people. But at the same time internally I feel like not enough.
[10:27] I feel like I still have to improve. I still, I feel like I'm still lacking and I feel like I'm like an imposter because I my own self standards were not enough.
[10:40] Like I'm not good enough to be like considered like a house dancer or like one of the names. One of like the well known recognized people in the community which I wanted to be for some reason.
[10:54] I don't know why. It's my desire to be accepted. I guess. So yeah, there was this weird paradox going on inside me which people would never have picked up on.
[11:05] Valerie: Well, I mean now that you describe it,
[11:07] I mean I went through pretty much a very, very parallel experience and I think that it would, I would not be surprised if more people would have expressed something very similar.
[11:21] I think there is,
[11:22] you know, I wonder if it is just the experience of a dancer who does want to get better that we crave the,
[11:32] the acknowledgement of our,
[11:34] you know,
[11:36] the senpai, the, the people who we look up to as,
[11:40] as so called better but also at the same time because you, you do mention like Carlos and such. You know, when I look at them dance, they,
[11:49] they are like, even though they have a cozy welcoming vibe, they are also really, really good.
[11:56] Alvyn: Yeah.
[11:57] Valerie: And there's a difference between being good and not trying and being good trying to be flashy.
[12:05] And at the time I think when I first started,
[12:10] like of course we want to be with the flashy dancers because they're out There. Right. You know, in Hollywood, they're the ones who get the job,
[12:17] will just be very, very honest,
[12:19] like someone. Because I actually have been even in New York City when I was doing like dance competitions or like just dance stuff,
[12:28] being good was not what got you recognized.
[12:32] It was,
[12:32] it was showing that you wanted it enough.
[12:36] Actually,
[12:37] like, it was actually very explicitly expressed to me that way.
[12:41] And actually when I got to LA and I, I came on like,
[12:45] like an exchange program and so I was doing this intensive same thing. We, we had to dance in front of a panel of the judges.
[12:52] And it doesn't matter like if you could be technically very good dancer,
[12:56] but if you're not like flirting with the judges,
[13:00] you're not getting the job.
[13:02] I, I found that to be very like, that was something I learned very, very early on.
[13:07] That was what they were looking for is not the skill, but how much are you willing to appease their ego?
[13:15] Alvyn: Yeah, yeah. Kiss ***.
[13:18] Valerie: Right?
[13:20] So having experienced that in multiple places,
[13:26] you know, I started to also look at people differently, look at dancers and, and like attend open house differently too. Because some people go to open house and they don't.
[13:37] They'll dance, but then they'll chill for a really long time. They'll go around. Right. And there is this sense of being like,
[13:43] this is my space and I don't have to try so hard here. And I think that's what makes them so easy to approach is because they're not so much trying to be the best dancers, they're actually holding the space for other people.
[13:58] Whereas some people show up and they'll. It's all about them all the time,
[14:03] right?
[14:05] Alvyn: Yeah.
[14:06] Valerie: Yeah.
[14:07] So at least I knew for me,
[14:11] as I develop this is like, what's the type of person do I want? What, what is the type of person that I want to be?
[14:17] And like,
[14:18] how do I know? Show up. Because like every time I tried to be the,
[14:24] the show off, it felt really gross inside.
[14:28] Alvyn: Yeah. Not authentic.
[14:30] Valerie: Yeah.
[14:31] So how,
[14:32] you know, as you went through your, your, the dance journey, maybe parallel to, to that, your,
[14:38] your art and animation journey, like how did you start to come into that realization? Because I think you have that parallel path.
[14:46] Alvyn: Yeah.
[14:48] So how it crossed over. Well, first of all, let me just interject that I've also tried to show off when I watch old footage of myself and I've realized, oh man, I was really trying too hard in those moments.
[15:00] So yeah, so those realizations did cross over into my career in animation.
[15:08] It's hard not to like, it's Hard not to.
[15:12] It's hard to stay away from it actually.
[15:14] It's hard because it's Hollywood. You're in Hollywood, it's. You're in la. Everybody's here, like trying to market themselves,
[15:22] like trying to sell themselves especially. So in animation is no different than having an, an acting gig.
[15:29] So these jobs, these animation jobs last like a year or less and then you have to go around and schmooze again, which again is like not my thing, like networking schmoozing just for the sake of like securing the next employment.
[15:44] Right. That's very fake to me. I'd rather organically make friends just for the sake of say like just dancing. That's why I like going to open house. It was like a outlet for me away from,
[15:56] from work.
[15:58] But yeah,
[15:59] you're surrounded by comparison here because you have to pretty much have a social media as an artist and in animation,
[16:09] not just like in a dance.
[16:11] Surrounded by amazing talent. I was surrounded by amazing talent in animation too.
[16:17] Some of my peers had tons of followers on Instagram, 2030, 40, 50k followers.
[16:23] And that was first of all, that was amazing that I'm peers with these people.
[16:29] But at the same time, again, that paradox that creates a rift in me, it's like,
[16:37] if they're so great,
[16:38] I'm good as these people,
[16:40] why don't I have all these followers too?
[16:44] So that was also always biting at my heels.
[16:49] Add to that,
[16:50] trying to get a job all the time,
[16:53] sending in resumes, hundreds of applications just to get ghosted and maybe like get like one reply back and you find out really the jobs that you get is just from the people that you already know.
[17:06] It's not really from the applications or resumes, it really is like the people you know. So I was fortunate that I got to meet some more honest people that recognize me for my merit and just instead of just like my popularity.
[17:21] Because it's very much a popularity contest also in the studios.
[17:26] Yeah.
[17:27] So yeah, that's, that's the kind of a mindset that,
[17:32] that is ingrained in you working in la.
[17:35] Lots of comparison, lots of scarcity and lots of trying to prove yourself.
[17:42] Yeah. And that slowly,
[17:43] slowly toxifies you and saps away your energy. It's definitely an energy harvesting environment here.
[17:51] Valerie: Yeah.
[17:53] So I have so many, there are so many threads that I want to pull out.
[17:56] But I think the first thing I want to ask you is in your ideal world where people are probably more authentic,
[18:08] how do you see this kind of industry could be better? And the way that People can express themselves, be more aligned, and, like, how kind of effect would that have on the world?
[18:22] Alvyn: Well, the industry, by definition, is meant to take advantage of people.
[18:28] Now that the industry is basically vaporized, there's, like, no work.
[18:33] This solution has naturally arised.
[18:37] People who are still passionate about animation have done their own indie projects.
[18:41] So a lot of indie films are coming up now.
[18:44] There's this Filipino film coming out. This is a Chinese animated film coming out just by regular people just, like, kickstarting their own stuff without the need of a big studio.
[18:54] So that's the answer naturally appears when.
[18:59] When the old paradigm, the old framework falls away.
[19:06] You have what nature intends,
[19:09] human ingenuity.
[19:13] Valerie: How do you see this playing out in the long run?
[19:17] Like, in terms of not only just the ability to be creative and create your own projects, but in your opinion,
[19:26] does art and money have to. Like,
[19:30] does your value as an artist have to be determined by how much money you. You create from it,
[19:37] or can it be something different?
[19:39] Alvyn: Oh, no. Totally independent now. Now that I've realized that your value as an artist is not how many followers you have, is not how much income you make from your art.
[19:50] It's not even, like, how much people admire your art. Like, your art of your. The very fact that you're making something that in itself is already the validation.
[20:01] Just, like, how the act of dancing in itself is.
[20:05] Is the reward. Like,
[20:07] you're.
[20:08] I think Alan Watts said that the point of dancing is not to get to the end of the song.
[20:14] It's like, it's the dance itself.
[20:17] So, yeah,
[20:18] just because no one sees it, no one gives you a like on what you make, it doesn't make you less of an artist.
[20:25] Valerie: I want to dig into that a little bit more too, because yesterday I performed on stage for the first time in Japan in, like, 15 years. I don't know how long it's been, but it's been long.
[20:35] I think it is 15.
[20:36] Alvyn: That also brought up a lot of old stuff.
[20:40] Valerie: It did, but in a good way because, like, I was just really doing it for the.
[20:44] The love of it because some. My friend asked me to do it because she couldn't do both days. She's like, okay, Valerie popped up into her mind.
[20:54] And then she's like, why don't you do it for me? Like, in for.
[20:57] Take my place for the first. And I was literally the first person to move on stage, like, to dance in the entire show.
[21:06] And,
[21:07] like, was featured as guest dance. I had no idea. This was just, like, I just said yes.
[21:12] You know, it's completely volunteer, you know, but it's so interesting because I, I mean, I love doing that. First of all, I got to be in a show, right? That's so cool.
[21:22] And then second, I got to like witness all these other dancers from all ages doing dance. Like, literally, like I saw like little 3 year olds just doing their hip hop and like 70 something year olds doing like their locking and stuff and they are doing it for the love of it,
[21:39] you know. And I live in a place now where I think like, people are really lucky to just be able to do that as opposed to like,
[21:48] I've heard multiple times in my time in la, if you did a volunteer show,
[21:54] guaranteed someone, like, even if they volunteered to do it and they said yes, they'd be like,
[22:00] there would be some kind of complaint about not getting paid for it.
[22:04] Right. Which I think ruins the,
[22:07] ruins the spirit of what, what people are trying to do with art.
[22:10] Alvyn: Right.
[22:11] Valerie: If you're constantly thinking about, oh, well, I didn't get paid for it, or like, they're not paying me, why should I, why should I actually care about the show?
[22:18] I've heard that so many times.
[22:20] And it's like you chose to be in a volunteer show and the thing is, like, people are trying,
[22:27] really, really trying, I think, to keep art alive in a place where so much of it is transactional.
[22:36] So,
[22:37] like, I've had to really think about, you know, what is it that makes me a dancer, an artist and like, what do I want to do with it? Because, like, sometimes I'll get paid for it and sometimes I won't.
[22:48] And honestly I'd. I'd rather have the freedom of never getting, getting paid for it again,
[22:54] so.
[22:55] Alvyn: Ooh, that would be very freeing. Yeah,
[23:00] Valerie: Yeah. I want to hear your thoughts on that. And like, what, you know, what your journey has been in, like separating the getting paid and doing the art and like, and now that you're actually an artpreneur, right, how are you actually bridging that together again?
[23:13] Alvyn: Yeah, yeah, I'm a different spot now. I'm a different perspective now. And as you were talking, like I was,
[23:18] the thought came up into my mind, I was like, what if I had all the money already?
[23:23] Like,
[23:24] I would actually just volunteer to do art stuff for free. I would just, like,
[23:28] if I had all my bills paid already,
[23:31] I would have. Yeah, sure, I'll paint you a mural, no problem. Yeah, you don't have to pay me, I got all the money already.
[23:37] Like, I would just do all this stuff for Fun.
[23:39] Which reminds me, like, oh, okay, this is actually like my,
[23:43] my passion because if I didn't have to get paid, this is the stuff I'd be doing anyway.
[23:48] So yeah,
[23:50] problem is I still have to pay bills, so there's a,
[23:53] there's that too.
[23:54] But now since my income is not directly tied to like art production,
[24:04] that's also freeing.
[24:06] So I have money to pay my bills and keep me alive.
[24:12] And it's nice.
[24:13] It also frees the mind for my art now because then I can make art on my terms again. It doesn't have to be based on like my clients clients tastes.
[24:24] And it's also on my terms for time wise too because when I was in the industry I used to be super prolific and I confused that for like passion and obsession.
[24:36] Like I used to paint every single day, draw every single day.
[24:39] But I, that was also kind of like entangled with staying relevant,
[24:46] staying part of a community and group.
[24:49] So that's also,
[24:51] that was also one of the drives to be so productive.
[24:56] But yeah, now I just kind of like draw whenever I want and I don't have to make it a certain way anymore.
[25:08] I have a ton of five years of art school,
[25:12] which by the way, I, I don't think I needed.
[25:15] Looking back, I probably would just be just as skilled without the art school.
[25:20] The art school, in fact, it might even like put you in a box with your style wise, like. Cause you have to train and condition yourself to perfect these techniques that you know, your instructors teach you.
[25:34] And I'm, I'm grateful that I recognize that because now I can just purposely try any art style I want that doesn't have to be super polished.
[25:45] David Cho is one of my inspirations right now.
[25:48] He's a very prolific and popular artist right now, but he literally like draws like a kindergartner.
[25:55] Valerie: You know. My sister went to RISD and then dropped out after a year. And I always have wondered if that was because of that,
[26:03] because she always wanted to do her own thing.
[26:06] So when you can't,
[26:08] it's like what's the point?
[26:09] Right?
[26:10] Sorry. My, my thoughts are, have wandered again in terms like which direction do I want to pull from for this.
[26:16] Alvyn: But.
[26:17] Valerie: Oh yes. So the creative process and this whole art thing and this, this ability to separate the necessity for survival and the creation of the art, I think is very,
[26:28] very important.
[26:30] One of the things that I have realized about myself is that I am like, I am a hardcore artist.
[26:38] I don't know if I could be any other way.
[26:40] And the vibrant Visionary. What it has become is an art project to me,
[26:46] which means that it requires the same amount of detachment as it does for my dancing.
[26:52] Which puts me in a bit of like a predicament. Right. Because then like everything that I do essentially has this requirement of being fully self expressed and not having to worry about the income and the money that it generates.
[27:05] However,
[27:06] one of the realizations I've done through this and actually is one of the core lessons of the Vibrant Visionary is that you need to have your foundation covered before you are able to fully express yourself.
[27:19] Right. You need to have your food, clothing and shelter and safety.
[27:25] And you need your resilience before you. Your nervous system feels safe enough to build on top of that, whatever it is that you want to create.
[27:37] So,
[27:37] you know, as you were going through Club Phoenix, Vibrant Visionary, like, what did it take for you to learn that lesson?
[27:45] Alvyn: It was the constant. So with you guys, I was with you guys like every week. Just we were constantly each other's reflections.
[27:53] So what I learned from listening to you guys, I reflected to myself.
[27:58] And then that was a, that was the form of shadow work for me.
[28:03] And I know I'm not one of those artists with a super grand,
[28:08] super clear clarity vision,
[28:11] like say like a Kanye west or something.
[28:14] Because if you're like a Kanye west level, like visionary, you could be homeless.
[28:19] But you know your, your vision is going to come to fruition, right?
[28:25] No, I don't have that grand vision yet.
[28:28] So. Yeah, so when you don't have that,
[28:31] any kind of scarcity, like trying to stay alive, trying to survive, that's going to take up your priority in your mind.
[28:40] So yeah,
[28:41] definitely helps when you have a group that is,
[28:47] we're all helping each other and get to a stable spot so that we can clear up space in our mind for creation and experience instead of survival.
[29:03] Valerie: Okay, yeah, so I have a couple of questions about that because you, you make a really good point.
[29:11] If we're not Kanye west and we don't have this vision of like I'm going to be this right, then like there's, there's less of the North Star to follow images.
[29:20] And it does make it harder for us because like we're not quite. It's, it's not grasping, but there's no knowing. There's a, there's less knowing of what direction we're going.
[29:29] Right.
[29:30] What in your, in your experience is that something you can cultivate?
[29:37] Do you have like a clearer vision of what you want now than you did before?
[29:41] And what did that take to get there.
[29:43] Alvyn: Well, my vision is definitely different from what it was years ago because before I wanted to be, you know, some kind of art director status in animation industry.
[29:55] Now I just want to do honest things and serve the community.
[29:59] And it doesn't have to be through art now.
[30:02] So now my art is like purely for me basically to express myself.
[30:07] And I'm also happy to share it with other people in terms of services like say commissions or murals or something.
[30:15] Teaching,
[30:16] mentoring, stuff like that, hosting parties, you know.
[30:20] Yeah, it's. My vision is like closer. Like I've like closed this bubble instead of like having some vague grand.
[30:29] It wasn't. It wasn't focused.
[30:32] It was grand,
[30:33] but wasn't very clarity, concrete.
[30:39] So I've just closed all of that and it's much more clear now.
[30:46] Valerie: So you've been in the vibrant visionary collective for two years. And so you have peers, you see them in their own journeys.
[30:54] And I think one of the biggest challenges that I see people face is honest one is figuring out what they want.
[31:01] But I think because they don't know what they want, and you named it so very clearly, is that they struggle with the actual foundational piece of taking care of themselves, right?
[31:12] Of like making sure that their needs are met.
[31:15] What would you say to people or how would you encourage people to work on this foundational piece? Like, and in your mind, like in your words, why is it so important?
[31:26] Alvyn: Yeah,
[31:27] gotta work on your foundation.
[31:29] A lot of the foundation. So I'm. I'm like a health nut, right?
[31:33] Kind of like a body hacker,
[31:36] nutrition kind of dude.
[31:39] And also a alternative medicine, alternative western medicine guy. I would rather do like eastern stuff, Ayurveda, traditional Chinese.
[31:48] So my focus is on, like, is on the body.
[31:50] Because when your body is functioning properly, you have energy and you feel good,
[31:58] you're in a good mood and you have clarity.
[32:01] That in itself is a big help to helping you see what you really want.
[32:06] You spend less time like feeling crappy and also less time being sick.
[32:12] Valerie: When did you start to go down that road of like being more holistically minded and like starting to really prioritize your body?
[32:19] Alvyn: I think I was always like that.
[32:21] I remember the earliest times,
[32:25] like Even back in 2013, I was trying like the Atkins diet.
[32:30] So like I was already doing something similar to what is carnivore now, but it was called Atkins back then.
[32:37] I was like reading books on plants.
[32:41] So I was already like trying like blanching almonds and removing the skins. Cause I knew the skins had like anti nutrients and I would just eat the.
[32:49] The white parts of the almond so I can get all the. The nutrients available.
[32:55] I was doing that back in 2013.
[32:57] And even before that,
[32:59] my mom had cancer, breast cancer.
[33:03] And I already knew. Okay, when was that?
[33:05] 2013, 2018. I went back to school.
[33:10] Maybe like 20 2008.
[33:13] So even as early as 2008,
[33:15] I. I already knew that the western medical system, like chemotherapy,
[33:20] hurts the body while it's trying to fix the problem. And I knew that inherently didn't make any sense to me.
[33:28] And so I got my mom a book about, like, plant cures and stuff. Instead of, like, I tried to coax her out of, like, doing chemo. She still did chemo.
[33:36] By the way,
[33:38] her hair still hasn't come back fully.
[33:40] Um,
[33:41] but, yeah, I've pretty much always been like this.
[33:45] Yeah. I'm the weird body hacking unk.
[33:50] Valerie: Keeping in mind, like, the people who really struggle with this, what do you think it would take for them to be. To have the mindset of taking care of the body?
[33:59] This is actually a question that I think about a lot.
[34:02] Alvyn: Some people have to suffer more to wake up,
[34:09] because some people are like, just com. This was me also. I'm talking about myself. Not body wise, but, like, lifestyle wise.
[34:16] Some people are just comfortable enough just to keep doing what they're doing because they're put in. They. They could put up with that level of suffering.
[34:24] So they may have to just suffer some more. And then they wake up and realize, oh, man,
[34:30] I can't live like this anymore.
[34:32] It's time for a change.
[34:34] Yeah. And some people are.
[34:38] Have some more awareness in them, and they could see that they could observe that in other people,
[34:43] so they apply that to themselves and they can get a little bit of a head start. Then I'd like to think I'm one of those people too.
[34:50] Valerie: Yeah. Thank you. It's a very honest answer. Right. Because that, you know, it does require for some people to just fall flat on their face.
[35:00] Alvyn: Yeah.
[35:01] Valerie: Yeah.
[35:02] So I think we're coming to a close.
[35:05] But I think one of the final things I'd like to ask you is, like, I know we've probably covered this already, but what is one of the most valuable lessons you've learned in the collective doing this the past couple of years?
[35:23] Alvyn: Yeah. Give it a shot.
[35:25] Give it an honest try.
[35:27] Give it an honest try. Give it a shot.
[35:30] Don't be too hard on yourself.
[35:33] Listen to silence as much as you listen to other people.
[35:41] Your intuition is also very wise.
[35:46] And be open to the idea that There is a lot more going on than what you can sense with your five senses, than what, you know,
[35:57] unseen stuff.
[35:59] Trust in.
[36:01] Trust in the universe.
[36:04] Yeah.
[36:05] Trust, surrender, allow.
[36:07] As a big key for me.
[36:10] Valerie: Yeah. And I'd add, don't be afraid of the void.
[36:15] Alvyn: Yeah. And don't. Yeah. Don't be. And don't run away from your uncomfortable feelings, your uncomfortable emotions.
[36:22] Your. Those hold lots of valuable nuggets for you if you can sit with those emotions and figure out what they're trying to tell you.
[36:32] Valerie: Awesome. All right, Alvin, so in closing, where can we find you in the world? No.
[36:38] Alvyn: Oh, yeah, you can find me on Instagram @reallyhuman. Where else can you find me? I have also YouTube channel. Also really human.
[36:45] H U E M A N.
[36:46] Yeah, it's. Yeah. H U e. So hue, like the colors.
[36:50] So because humanity is a spectrum of light. So that's where Hue man comes from.
[36:56] Valerie: Yeah.
[36:56] Alvyn: Reallyhuman.com on Instagram and YouTube.
[36:59] Valerie: Okay, cool. Thank you so much.
[37:02] Alvyn: Yeah. It's been fun chatting.
[37:06] Valerie: Thank you for tuning in to from the Ashes. If what we talked about today resonates,
[37:11] if it feels on point with something you've been ruminating on by yourself,
[37:14] that's exactly why I'm here.
[37:16] From the Ashes exists for people who are tired of pretending life is fine and are ready to explore what it takes to truly embrace the road to who they really are.
[37:25] Every conversation is an honest, unfiltered account of someone's real life and the path they're walking toward. A life they actually align with.
[37:33] If you want to explore this further for yourself,
[37:36] come join me in my vibrant Visionary newsletter. It's a bi weekly letter filled with the Reflections podcast updates, and what I'm contemplating between episodes. You can find the link in the show notes below.
[37:48] Thank you so much and I'll see you next time.
