Have you ever wondered how your deepest struggles could become your key to transformation? This week, we sit down with Robbie D'Angelo, a remarkable individual who overcame his battle with self-esteem, emotional eating, and the perilous search for external validation. Robbie, once a college football player, shares his candid journey, how he lurched from destructive coping mechanisms to a path of self-discovery, and how faith became his beacon in the darkest moments.
Thanks for Listening, and subscribe to hear a new episode each week!
Have you ever wondered how your deepest struggles could become your key to transformation? This week, we sit down with Robbie D'Angelo, a remarkable individual who overcame his battle with self-esteem, emotional eating, and the perilous search for external validation. Robbie, once a college football player, shares his candid journey, how he lurched from destructive coping mechanisms to a path of self-discovery, and how faith became his beacon in the darkest moments.
Thanks for Listening, and subscribe to hear a new episode each week!
The following program is sponsored by Ron Meyers Ministries.
Speaker 2:It's time now to get the hell out of your life. A weekly broadcast with real people sharing real struggles and offering real hope. Today's show will encourage, inspire and empower you to face life's challenges with a bold confidence and renewed hope. Now let's join our host, ron Meyers. The Provoder.
Speaker 3:Hello, my friends, it is so good to be with you. Welcome to my neighborhood, my neighborhood of peace, of joy, of no judgment, no condemnation, just the love of Jesus shared with you, because you need to be reminded how wonderful and awesome you are. I know you hear a lot of things from other people that may not be that positive. Well, this is a show for everyone that feels like, wow, life hasn't really been fair to them and it probably hasn't. But if we understand that we have a purpose, we have a plan and that someone does love us unconditionally, it helps us get through the day to day grind of this world and it also encourages us to have faith and to walk by faith and to be empowered by the destiny that Jesus has for you. Now, this isn't like any other religious program I don't even like that term religious program. This is all about freedom Freedom for you to become the person you were created to be.
Speaker 3:My story today is from a gentleman, robbie D'Angelo Wait until you hear his story A guy that just in one end of his life he was the star of the football team, the man on campus, but on the other side he was a miserable person. He didn't like himself. He would not look in the mirror. He had no self-esteem hey, I've been there, done that, I have the t-shirt. But something happened. He picked himself up and faith came in his life and today he helps other people, just like you and I realize that we are a gift to this world. That's right, you and I are a gift to this world, and if we do not become us, then who will? No one. I will go into that in just a little bit in my monologue, but first let's hear this amazing story from my good friend, robbie D'Angelo.
Speaker 4:The 10,000-foot view of my life growing up. I think one of the biggest things I try to get across people when I talk about my origin story is growing up, I just I focused my entire life on who everybody else wanted me to be and I focused my attention on who do my parents want me to be, who do my friends want me to be, and I never lived my own life and what I was doing without knowing it was. I was always seeking external validation. I needed people to tell me how good I was. I needed people to show me that I was worth it in this world.
Speaker 4:For me, food was absolutely my drug of choice and it's what I use to bury my emotions. And you know, being a young kid, you don't really understand what emotional eating is. But now, looking back, I can say that absolutely. I mean. Even to this day, food addiction is real for me and it all started when I was a little kid, just eating my emotions away. So I think that's one of the big things that I want people to understand.
Speaker 4:Growing up, you know it's tough out there and 70 to 80% of your personality throughout your life is actually formed before you're seven years old, so you know. A lot of times it's unless you do a lot of work thereafter. Who you are for the rest of your life is determined by the time you're seven years old, and for me that was being an extremely shy fat kid. And I have no problem saying I was the fat kid growing up, because it's the truth and it's that label that I put on myself and it's the story that I was telling myself. So the first you know two thirds of my life. That's who I was, and then I just had to do a lot of work to overcome thereafter.
Speaker 3:Tell us a little bit about your football career. Yeah.
Speaker 4:I mean, growing up, my dad was a high school football coach. He coached at Long Beach, harrison, central and Goughport, and my older brother was an absolute star. He was one of the top quarterbacks in the country and just a phenomenal athlete. So growing up, I would hear stories of just football lore about my dad and then watching him coach high school football. And following up, I was 22 months younger than I'm still 23 months younger than my older brother, but I'd watch him excel at everything.
Speaker 4:So, of course, me trying to please everyone, that's who I had to be, and I found an outlet in football. It was an outlet for me. I became obsessed with working out hard and just pouring everything I have into becoming a athlete. I was not blessed with a whole lot of natural ability, so I had to, in my eyes, work harder than everyone else in the room and I did. I mean I became obsessed with working out because, once again, I wasn't doing that for my own validation, I was doing that to show my parents, show my older brother, that hey, I'm good enough too, and you were at.
Speaker 3:USM during the Jeff Bauer era.
Speaker 4:It was. I was there 02 through 06.
Speaker 3:So did you feel like the big man on campus?
Speaker 4:No, absolutely not. I mean, when I was there, yeah, I was getting some recognition, but it's almost like a drug addiction. Recognition is for me because I would get that hit of recognition and validation from an outside source and it would last all of 30 seconds and then, as soon as that praise and recognition was over with, I'm back to being the fat kid again. And I was struggling in college, man, I struggled so much with anxiety from wanting to be good enough and wanting to play, to depression of really just feeling like I never fit in, feeling like an outsider, and I saw football as my way of gaining that validation and that's why I work so hard. I mean, I was watching an extra hour or two of game film every single day.
Speaker 4:So you were wearing a mask. Oh, 100%, I was wearing a mask, I you know. And it's so bad. Like at one point in my life, my friends who knew me well called me the politician because I would put on this fake persona of who I thought everybody else wanted me to be and that's who I live by. But then, behind closed doors in college, I'm binge drinking every weekend. I'm taking Lord tabs every day just to be able to play. Because of all my injuries. I'm doing all these things behind closed doors to do what I thought I had to do to survive, but then out in public, you know, I'm putting on this persona of who I think everybody else wants me to be.
Speaker 3:You go back to your dorm room, you look in the mirror. What do you see?
Speaker 4:Oh, I didn't look in a mirror Like I totally hid from mirrors when I was in college. I hated the way I looked. Wow, I was 305 pounds and even though I was one of the strongest guys on the team and my size was something I needed for football, I just did look in the mirror. I hated the way I looked and it's something I hid from and even like now, when I look back, the only and I hate saying this, but it's so true the only pictures I have of myself in college is when I was drunk. That's the only time that I allow someone to take a picture of me is when I had that liquid courage in me. It was. It was food and drink, absolutely it was. It was any vice I could get my hands on to numb the pain and to forget about this story, this unrelenting story in my head of you're not good enough, you're the fat kid. You'll never be good enough for your failure like that. Anything I could do to get away from that was what I would cling on to.
Speaker 3:You were getting ready to crash and burn.
Speaker 4:Oh, absolutely I was. I mean, it was even though I was seeing success on the football field. By the time I finished playing, I'd already had two degrees, so I was having success in the classroom. But once again, I'm doing everything else Everybody else wants me to do. I'm not doing like.
Speaker 4:Even the major that I picked was because my older brother picked that major, because I thought that's what my parents wanted me to do, and I was just sliding down the slope because I didn't understand what internal validation was. I didn't understand my own strength, what made me who I was. So because I'm depending on this needle, this heroin addiction, of external validation. That, let's be honest, is never enough. You're drinking from an empty. Well, because of that it was. It kept getting worse and worse and even to the point where it was really bad. The year that I finished playing college football and I no longer had that external validation, I was in grad school and when I was in grad school, getting my master's in finance, I was literally drinking probably four or five nights a week. There was a lot of times I'd show up in class with a drink.
Speaker 4:Just to get through that year because I was so lost I didn't know who I was. I didn't, I didn't have a story anymore. What happened?
Speaker 3:that made you say no more of this. It's time to change so for me.
Speaker 4:I got to a point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So after my last football game we played in the GMAC bowling mobile I came back to Hattiesburg, had double knee surgery, which was surgery number three and four for the year, and my body was wrecked. I Fault, fault, fault and it was a complete everyday struggle to play football and my body was beaten down. I had, at this point For knee surgeries, I have a I still have a chunk of bone missing from my shoulder, degenerative discs in my back, broken ankle I was. You know, I had one of those medical charts in the training room where the head trainers like literally, hey, I'm gonna have to name this training room after you because of how much you're in here. There was nights that I would literally sleep in the training room to get treatment just so I could play in the game, getting shots for the game. So physically I was beaten down. But even more than all those injuries, I was mentally just at my lowest because when you play through pain for all those years, on top of being the fat kid, feeling like you don't fit in, feeling like you're not good enough, it was like this perfect storm that just hurled me into depression and and after getting my third and fourth knee surgeries, I'm laying there in recovery and I'm like, okay, it's the first time in your life where you don't have to be the fat kid anymore. You don't have to do anything anybody tells you to do you. You, you have to change your life. Like you can't keep living like this. And I'm laying there like in depression and just trying to figure out what my next step is. So in my brain at that time I'm like, okay, let's lose the weight. Like you've always blamed your insecurities and your problems on being the fat kid. So let's start there.
Speaker 4:And what I did was, over the course of a calendar year. I didn't know what I was doing because, let's be honest, who's ever taught how to eat healthy growing up? It's just not something we teach, especially here in South Mississippi. But I knew how to work hard, and so I just said, okay, just apply the hard work to a health transformation. And over the course of a calendar year, I lost a hundred and five pounds, and it sounds like a lot of weight. But all I did was I focused on two pounds a week. Hey, just two pounds a week, two pounds a week, and I stayed consistent at that. And when it came like my nutrition, I know what I was doing. I just knew if I worked my butt off and ate less, I would work out.
Speaker 4:Because when I was playing college football my senior year, I was eating between 10 to 12,000 calories a day. That's a lot of calories. It's it's like Michael Phelps level calories and I was drinking a 2,500 calorie protein shake just to start my day. That's about how many calories I eat in an entire day right now, but that was just my breakfast. So I went from that and just started cutting back and working hard. Of course, you know, part of big part of my diet, like we mentioned earlier, was my drinking and you know parting and all that crazy Stuff I was doing back then and but for me it was like okay, like I thought that was my problem. I thought the problem was my physical weight. So that's what I wanted to address first and Over the course of that year I was in grad school, so I was trying to rediscover who I was.
Speaker 4:I was trying to figure out for the first time in my life who am I, and that was that was an interesting journey, to say the least. What did you discover? So that kind of takes me to the what I, what I think is the real transformation part of my story. So when I graduated from Southern Miss for now the third time, because I was just delaying the inevitable of growing up Because I didn't know what I wanted to do I began working and I continued living what I thought was what everybody else wanted me to be. So I took on the story of the American dream of let's go find a wife, let's get a job, let's you know, get a place to live, let's go do all the things that society tells you is happiness and success. So I did that and over the course of the next five years, I built a business, got engaged, had a place to live and I was doing everything I thought I was supposed to be doing. But at the same time, once again, I'm completely empty.
Speaker 3:Well, you're trying to become like everybody else wanted you to become, instead of really digging deep down into your soul and saying what am I here for? Am I hearing?
Speaker 4:that right? That is a hundred percent right, because that question that you just asked is a deeply personal question that Everyone has a different answer to, and the only way to find out the answer to that question is by doing the deep internal work. And Doing the deep internal work is scary, because at that point you're going into the cave and facing the dragon and you're trying to pull that out of you, but it's, it's scary and you've got to walk around without the mask.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, you gotta take that mask off, but at this point, like, I was still being the politician, I was still being whoever, whoever else wanted me to be, and for me, the real transformation in my life, like the biggest thing that I did To change the trajectory of my life, was when I was 28 years old and At this point, within the course of a three-month span, I found out my business partner was stealing money from me and I went completely bankrupt.
Speaker 4:Me and my fiance broke up and, within that same three-month period, my apartment got still, got broken to and everything I only got stolen. So I was 28 years old, dead, broke, heartbroken, without anything, moving back into my parents and what happened was, once again, I tried being who everybody else wanted me to be and I tried living the American definition of success, and I completely failed. I failed to live up to that definition. So it actually put me into the deepest, darkest depression in my life, to the point where, after about six months, I'm literally laying in bed with a bottle of pills, ready to say this is enough, ready to say I am done.
Speaker 3:Please tell me that you were beginning to have a conversation with God and things were getting ready to change.
Speaker 4:That's actually exactly what happened. So I read a book in my early 20s called the Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews, and, guys, if you haven't read that book, I implore you to read that book. It's life-changing. But when I was laying there with that bottle of pills in my hand and just ready to be done because I felt like a loser, I felt like I'm never going to be good enough. And you know what I tried. I'm just not good enough.
Speaker 4:That was literally the story I kept telling myself every day, and when I was laying there in bed, one of the last chapters in the book is about who you're meant to be and the gifts that God gives you that you have to actually open that box and use. And I'm laying there thinking like you know what? You've been an all-American, you've got your masters in finance, you've done some pretty amazing things in your life and you're not meant to work 70 hours a week in a job you hate, come home, watch Netflix and go to sleep Like that literally was my life. And I just repeated that week after week.
Speaker 4:So what I had to do in that moment was I said, hey, you've got to do something, you've got to get out of this. You're meant for so much more than this You're meant for actually. You're meant for life. You're meant to go out there and do something. So at that point, like I made the conscious decision to go and discover why am I here? Like what's the purpose of my life here on this earth? I really believe, like I'm put on this earth to tell people it's not over, you're not stuck and let's go do something special. My slogan is be the hero you want to be.
Speaker 3:So somebody out there in your wisdom from Robbie D'Angelo how do they get the hell out of their life?
Speaker 4:Change your story, change your life, change the story you're telling yourself about who you are. One of my favorite things I say to myself is I am because I am, and I just I have to remind myself of my own strength and who I was destined to be and how much more that I truly believe we're put on this earth to do.
Speaker 3:And what you're also saying in that the name of God in the Bible is I am.
Speaker 2:You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life with your host, Ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.
Speaker 5:What's your story? We're looking for stories of hope and overcoming life struggles with God's grace. Your story validates God's love, mercy, restoration and forgiveness. We want to help you share your story with the world. Visit our website, thepromoterorg, and click on the share your story link and submit your story. Your testimony of God's amazing grace will change a person's destiny for eternity.
Speaker 2:Getting encouragement is important and it helps us overcome our fears and gives us the courage to face life's challenges. To receive weekly messages of encouragement, all you need to do is text inspire to 888-527-1223. That's 888-527-1223. Your messages are intended to inspire and empower you on your life journey. Remember, life is more enjoyable when you're inspired.
Speaker 3:Why Robbie's story is one that is a reminder that if we're not careful, we can become the person other people want us to become, as opposed to becoming the person we were created to become that bumper music beyond belief. Friends, that is the only place that I've wanted to be. My entire life I have strived to be the best at whatever I do. There's a verse in the Bible that says do whatever you do as if you are doing it for the Lord. In other words, our assignment, our destiny. We're doing it to show off Jesus, because if we are walking in our destiny and each day we are encouraged, inspired and empowered by His Spirit that is alive in us, then, no matter what we do, we are sharing Jesus with the world. Now, it doesn't mean we become preachers. It means we are becoming ourself, us, 100% us with Jesus. That's it, jesus. No additives, no rules, no law, no Moses, no church, no, anything. I'm not saying church is bad, but too many people think they're going to be changed by one day a week. No, it is a day-to-day relationship and we found out with COVID that well, the churches weren't there for us, but Jesus is always there for us, 24-7. I'm excited about my life, and I want to go beyond belief by helping you to understand that I don't care what anybody has told you. I don't know what people have said that maybe has put a damper on your optimism in life, but I'm going to tell you a fact you are special, you are loved unconditionally and Jesus has a relationship ready for you to grow and grow and take you beyond belief. Yes, it's never too late for a new beginning. Yes, you can smile again. Yes, you will laugh again and yes, you can achieve the things that you've been dreaming about. But I want to put something with this. There are dreams in you that you are not aware of, because these dreams are locked up inside of Jesus.
Speaker 3:I know one of the first things that happened to me when I started walking with Jesus over 22 years ago is all of a sudden, I had new ideas and new opportunities and all of a sudden, my life had taken on a whole new meaning, and I never even planned it. It's because I was walking in the trueness of myself. The mask was gone, no imposter anymore and I was not going to listen to others any longer. Friends, we have to quit listening to what the world wants us to listen to and march to the beat of their drum. No, this is your time, this is my time. We have some place to go. We have a place to be people to see, a destiny to pursue, and that happens when you get the hell out of your life by listening to those naysayers in life and telling them you know what.
Speaker 3:I appreciate your input, but you know what you need to get the hell out of your life and leave me alone. Maybe you won't say that, but you know, I've said that to a few people. They take a little back step and say, oh, what happened to you, ron? Well, I'll tell you what happened to me. I met Jesus, I met my destiny and life is good. And now I'm doing everything I can to help people in this community that listen to this show, that subscribe to the podcast, that send messages. We are going to climb beyond belief in this world together and we're going to encourage each other. We're going to empower each other and we're going to inspire each other. Can I get an? A man? I'll be back in just a minute.
Speaker 2:You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life with your host, Ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.
Speaker 1:We would like to express our gratitude to Coffee News for their support of this program. Are you tired of scrolling through the same old news feeds every morning? Then switch things up with Coffee News. Our publication is filled with interesting stories, brain teasers and uplifting quotes that are sure to brighten your day, and now you can access Coffee News anytime, anywhere, by visiting our website. So, whether you're sipping your morning coffee at your favorite cafe or browsing online from your desk, we've got you covered. Get your day off right with Coffee News at ReadCoffeeNewsOnlinecom.
Speaker 7:In every war, there are casualties, unwounded, missing in action and POWs. The spiritual war we, as Christians, are involved in is no different. Our walk with God can be glorious, but it also makes us targets for the enemy's attacks. So what is our duty? When a fellow soldier falls or is trapped behind enemy lines? That's when they need us most. As in most armies, the mission is clear Go in and rescue the troops in danger. But it's been said that Christians are the only army that shoots its wounded. Instead, we must not give up on those missing in action or those wounded either by their own actions or the actions of others. The worst thing we can do is attack them or give up on them, because it's been proven many times that even those who've deserted usually do return to the ranks, and often, though they are scarred, they eventually prove to have more wisdom, valor and honor than before they left. Don't shoot the wounded.
Speaker 1:Ron will be back in a moment to wrap up today's conversation. Did you know what Ron did before he discovered his destiny? He was a promoter of secular entertainment and, by his own admission, he promoted anything he could make a buck at. At the pinnacle of his success, he walked away from it all so he could follow Jesus and discover his God-given destiny. That was over 20 years ago and he has never looked back. Ron put his story in a novel entitled the Promoter and he wants to give you a copy. This book is a message of hope. To request your free copy, visit our website at thepromoterorg. Now back to Ron.
Speaker 3:Well, friends, my time is up and I want you to know. I am glad that you are a part of this neighborhood, a neighborhood of love, of encouragement, inspiration, no judgment, no condemnation, 100% pure Jesus, pure grace and unconditional love and total forgiveness. That's what it's all about. When we give our heart to Jesus, he loves the hell out of our life. To listen to previous episodes of other podcasts, go to my website, thepromoterorg, and consider sharing your story with the world. I also have a free resource on the website. It's called Tetelestai the last words of Jesus. It is finished. Now I have some common asked questions that will be answered from the perspective of grace and you may be real surprised with some of the answers Until next week. This is Ron Myers, reminding you that I love you, jesus loves you, and when you give your heart to Jesus, he loves the hell out of your life and gives you your destiny.
Speaker 2:Today's show was produced by Ron Myers Ministries, a listener-supported ministry. For a copy of today's broadcast, please visit our website, thepromoterorg, and would you prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible donation so that we may continue to share stories of God's amazing grace with the world. And join us next week for another broadcast of Get the Hell Out of your Life. Real people sharing real struggles and offering real hope.