The Future of Athletic Excellence with UFC Fighter Maycee Barber

00:00 - Maycee (Guest)

It's like now, what sets you apart from being at the top? You know like you got to the highest level of the sport. As you start to really pay attention, it's like, okay, I've actually noticed these things. Like if you ever fall on your head, you're like, oh, my head, like my head, literally starts to hurt. What devices are someone like him, like who is a biohacker? That's always his main focus is how to optimize your body. Well, listen, every time I have it and I use it, I don't get headaches. And I used to get headaches all the time whenever I had my phone with me.

00:44 - Michaela (Host)

Macy, thank you so much for joining the podcast. Okay, so I have to say I am a new fan of yours. I watched your fight with Caitlin with my dad. My dad was in town and he's from Nashville and he came over and we watched your fight. It was like midnight when it came on, or whatever, and then I was like Dad, let me try to punch you?

01:02 - Maycee (Guest)

Did he let you you?

01:04 - Michaela (Host)

Yeah, he grew up. He like trained with Muhammad Ali. Before he had kids and stuff, he was like wanting to be a professional boxer. But okay, I want to know a little bit about your story, because when I was diving into you. I'm like girl, this, like you have been going for a long time, so like tell us a little bit about your journey and when it started.

01:26 - Maycee (Guest)

So I started in martial arts when I was three. My parents put us in karate. So “us” was me, my sister and my two brothers and my parents also did it. But we started as a whole family and then eventually like to uh, growing up and competing, and then eventually like I was like all right, I want to fight. So that's like the very uh trimmed down version.

01:53 - Michaela (Host)

Do you have like a moment where you're like you saw someone and you're like I want to be like her?

02:01 - Maycee (Guest)

No, not really. It was more so like we just grew up all the time like doing it together and we were super competitive.

02:06

Like I was competitive with my siblings and everything, whether it was coloring or writing, my sister and I are the worst. We were like whose outfit was better, everything. So when it came to martial arts, then we started competing in jiu jitsu and that was like the competitive nature just took over and it became like an obsession of mine and it was something that like growing up in martial arts, it was my entire life. So it only made sense for me to continue on that path and naturally I was like all right, this is what I want to do with my life. And then that was also at the time that, like Rhonda and Misha Tate and all the girls were coming onto the scene and they, like Women's MMA, got started and I was like too young to even, like I wasn't old enough to even fight, so it was kind of just a dream. And then eventually it was like all right, no, this is actually something I can do and that's kind of what I.

02:56 - Michaela (Host)

Yeah, you're like, I'm gonna be the best that I can be at this thing, and that means getting into the UFC, like, and then becoming champion.

03:03 - Maycee (Guest)

I guess I didn't really have an idea of, like what that all entailed, because I was just like, oh, I want to fight, just keep moving forward. Yeah, I was like I want to fight and I actually, when I was doing the grappling competitions it was like, again, still not old enough to fight. And then I decided I wanted to fight and I told my parents were like, yeah, right, like good luck, like you got to be way more serious than that. And so in my mind I was like, okay, I have to prove to my parents that I want to do this. So, like I would go in the gym and I would work out, I would do like all these like things on my own, like extra running and the nutrition and all of that. And I came back to them and I was like, no, I really want to do this. And so when I told my dad that he was like all right, well, if you're going to do this, we're going to get you around coaches. And we still had done like the karate school and the jiu jitsu. But I got with a boxing coach from actually from like a title boxing gym. It was like not an actual boxing coach, it's like the fitness boxing. And so I started with him and I did private lessons that poor guy, I know. I was like actually learning how to punch, but when I watch videos I'm like - dang, I really didn't know what I was doing. So I started to do that.

04:11

And then I started to wrestle with a coach that was also at an MMA gym and I started to train with him. And from there I like started to continue to train and I took my first amateur fight at 18. And then after that I like couldn't get any more fights, like, for whatever reason, the local scene - like it's hard to get fights. And so from there I turned pro. Like I had one amateur fight and then I was like all right, we're gonna go professional. And not only did I go professional, but I remember I signed with LFA, which is like a regional scene that they used to air on Axis TV. I don't know if that's still a thing, but for me, like my pro debut was on TV and I was like that was another big thing and that was my second fight ever. Which was a huge deal for me. And then I just like kept going.

05:05 - Michaela (Host)

Okay so I want to know a little bit more about, like, what it actually took to get into the UFC, and like what is like the variety of skills that you have to have if that makes sense, and like what was that moment, like, like what was that day that you found out that you were.

05:23 - Maycee (Guest)

you know what I mean, yeah, that's a lot, well for one. I mean MMA, it's all different sports. So mixed martial arts is it's striking, it's grappling, it's boxing, it's wrestling, it's all of those put together into one right um, and for me, like my track to the UFC was way different than a lot of people's path to the UFC. It's not that easy for a lot of people, especially for men, like I feel. Like for women it's different because we're newer to the sport, even today, like we're still evolving and we're not quite where all the men are. So for me, I had my amateur fight and then I fought I believe it was like five times in LFA and then I got a shot on the contender series and I fought four times in LFA and then I got a shot on the contender series, which is, um, Dana White's contender series is a tv show where they bring prospects in, and you fight against other prospects and you prove that you're capable of fighting the UFC.

06:25

So the TV show is all about that. It's called Dana White's Contender Series, okay, and basically there's the UFC. Apex is like their local arena in Vegas where they have the fights and there's no crowd, so the only people that are allowed there - obviously there's Dana, and then the matchmakers Mick and Shawn, and then you get like your two coaches and you get your family sometimes and it's like a super intimate arena.

06:58 - Michaela (Host)

It's crazy, were you way more nervous going into something like that than you are going into like a massive crowd because do you feed off the energy of people?

07:07 - Maycee (Guest)

I love the energy of people. But also, I feel like every step of my career has been something new, like fighting amateur, then fighting pro, fighting on tv, then being signed to the UFC, and like all of it's been new. So it's like it's hard to be. Obviously you are nervous, but also it's like hard to know what to expect, so it's just kind of like taking it as it comes.

07:27 - Michaela (Host)

Yeah, so you just to go in being like, okay, don't think about fighting because that's your strategy, right, I'm not fighting again. And then, like the future comes out and you're like a lion in there, but like you're like, stay focused. So you just are focusing on the fight, you're not worried.

07:45 - Maycee (Guest)

Yeah, not, not really really. I mean, obviously there is this like aspect of okay, I'm stepping into a cage with another person that's trying to hurt and you have to survive, and you have to, yeah, and one of you is gonna make it out the winner, one of you is gonna be the loser, and not only that, but like they could actually hurt you, you know. So it's kind of a weird thing to wrap your head around unless you've done it.

08:05

I think there's a quote from Dana White where he's like two people go in a room, only one makes it out or whatever, and he always kind of decides and that's also kind of how the show is about too, how I got signed to the UFC, is the contenders are the same thing.

08:21

The two prospects go in and then the one that gets to finish is the one that usually goes up and gets signed and gets a contract in the UFC. So obviously, I got my contract in the UFC and I was 19 years old, which is crazy. I was the youngest athlete signed on the UFC roster.

08:42 - Michaela (Host)

Right. Okay, so talk a little bit about, like, what is the Performance Institute experience like, like what kind of support do you get there? Like, do you utilize that a lot?

08:54 - Maycee (Guest)

I do. I actually utilized it a lot more in my early career because when I first signed to the UFC, I was fighting at 115 pounds. So I was fighting at straw weight, and I was actually working with a nutritionist that was very uneducated, um, and put me in a not so great position, health-wise. And so when I first signed to the UFC, they actually brought me into the performance institute and they started doing the test, the metabolic testing, everything and so we were able to like really dive into my body's, like how my body was processing things, and found out that a lot of not so great things. Originally there was Clint, he was working at the performance institute - Duncan, Roman Heather, Bobby, like there's so many people there that it's just like a team that just is solely focusing on how can we make our athletes better, and that's so huge for all of us.

09:54 - Michaela (Host)

So do you get assigned somebody, or is it more like the whole team is there to help everyone?

10:00 - Maycee (Guest)

Yeah, I think the whole team is there to help everyone. Like there's not a single time where, like if I pick up the phone right now, I could call someone and they'd answer, you know, and they'd be there trying to help you. But they're all kind of different, like specialties. So like Heather's performance, she's the PT and all of that, and then there's nutrition and then there's the diagnostic team. So there's all the different sides of the performance institute.

10:27 - Michaela (Host)

When you first started, did the performance institute kind of open your mind to like, oh, wellness is different than what I thought it was? What has your wellness journey within the UFC been like?

10:47 - Maycee (Guest)

Yeah, they opened my eyes a little. Well, a lot.

10:48 - Michaela (Host)

You're like wait a minute - I can't say a little bit because it was a lot!

10:54 - Maycee (Guest)

But when I first signed, like I said, I was fighting at 115, and I actually had a hard time making weight because of the health situation that I was in. So when I went to the PI, they were like, okay, we're gonna move you up to 125. We're gonna do this whole like rebuilding of your metabolic system. We're gonna keep you testing, we're gonna keep coming out and having you come out and do all of that, and so yeah. So for me, like, working with them, it's really helped me a ton and just enhancing my performance, enhancing my knowledge of, okay, this is what I need, this is how I need to recover. This is literally everything from how you sleep to how you train.

11:35 - Michaela (Host)

So you tore your ACL at one point. Yeah, I've had my fair share. Were is just like it comes with that. Like yeah, but were they a huge part of your recovery in that?

11:45 - Maycee (Guest)

Right, I've had a lot of it.

11:50 - Michaela (Host)

Yeah, I'd imagine this sport is just like it comes with that.

11:55 - Maycee (Guest)

Yeah, so actually my ACL wasn't even my first injury. My first one was when I fought JJ Aldrich. I shattered my left or my right hand. I fractured it so bad that I ended up having to have pins in my hand, and so that was the first one that they really helped me with like everything like rubber bands and everything working on the scars.

12:11

But when I tore my ACL, same thing like I was out on the PI like months and months doing the rehab and doing all the um, the exercises and having them just like do all the manual work, and also in that like working on the metabolic side, because when you have an injury, it's not just like, okay, we got to focus on that, it's like you have to focus on everything, because if your body's not healthy, you can't heal right, so after the ACL I was out for a year.

12:40 - Michaela (Host)

Then you came back and just like, dominated.

12:46

I was like not quite, not quite. I lost my first, but then yeah, I've been undefeated since yeah.

12:54 - Michaela (Host)

Which is pretty cool. Okay, so walk me through a little bit of what happened after your fight with Kaitlyn, because I saw that one you dominated and then all of a sudden I see you like post that you're in the hospital.

13:00 - Maycee (Guest)

Yeah, so when I fought Kaitlyn that camp I had a few, so before that I fought Amanda. Actually I got the TKO against her and part of that was I kicked her in the head and so I had already had some like little injuries and stuff going on with my feet. But when I kicked her I tore something in my foot and I had a fracture and so I had to have a foot surgery and they basically like reconstructed my entire left foot, okay, and after that I was honest, like a knee scooter, you know. I was like scooting around for ten weeks.

13:58 - Michaela (Host)

I had to been so hard it was the worst.

14:01 - Maycee (Guest)

And I was like there were so many things that I wanted to do and I was like stuck on the scooter and it was terrible, but it's fine.

14:08 - Michaela (Host)

You're only matching one shoe.

14:13 - Maycee (Guest)

At least I had a scooter okay. So I was out for 10 weeks non-weight-bearing and then I had to have a boot. But while I was still on the scooter I got offered the fight with Caitlin. So back up again - Before my surgery, the day before my surgery I was offered the fight with Caitlin and I was like I can't do this fight. Like he offered it for December and I was like I can't fight.

14:33

Then I was like I'm having surgery. He was like - this is Mick, okay, and he goes. He's my matchmaker. And he goes okay. Yeah, my bad, I forgot, you're going into surgery. And I was like, yeah, I'm going in tomorrow. So I went in for surgery and then he was like all right, how's January? And I was like January's a little bit too soon because I was still on the scooter. And then same thing he's like how's February? Yeah, I was like it's really, it's really soon. But I'm like, okay, let's do it.

14:57

So I was still on the scooter and I was like I took the fight and I was like okay, I have one more week on this and then I'll be two more weeks. I like backtracked into my mind. I'm like two more weeks and then I can walk, and then this, and I'm like then I can start training. So I wasn't even able to train when I took that fight, let alone walk. And so then, when I was finally able to train, I got back and I got head kicked. When I first started training, I got head kicked and I got like literally I was like almost like completely knocked out. So I had a concussion and then right after that I got a bad staph infection. So like this is all before my fight with Caitlin. So that entire camp was like one adversity after the next, after the next, and so I had to text Mick and I had to move the fight. We had to move the fight a month later, to March. So I really only trained like four weeks for that fight.

15:51 - Michaela (Host)

So do you guys and this might be an amateur question, but is that like with the UFC you guys have to accept the fight and then what happens as far as, like, your rank and stuff? What happens if, like, you have to move a fight or if you have to cancel a fight?

16:08 - Maycee (Guest)

Um, nothing really happens with your ranking. So like I think the ranking is a lot of it, a lot of times it's all politics, like there's some times where, like, this girl will beat this girl and they don't switch, and I tried to figure it out, but I'm like I need to know this game so I can dominate it.

16:29 - Maycee (Guest)

So that entire camp I was like dealing with some health issues and then I finally got to fight her and right after that fight, like that entire fight week, I was like having some headaches from a little bit of a concussion, but yeah so then I fought, and then I was like fine for like a day.

16:54

And then the next day, after I fought her, I was flew to Colorado and I was there with some friends and family and I like had a sore spot on my leg and it turned into like within like hours it turned into like I had fevers, I had chills, I was not feeling good at all and I was like freaking out. And so I sent a picture to the team at the PI and they were like yeah, we think it's a blood clot. So we thought it was a blood clot at first. So they tried to take me in for an ultrasound and they scheduled the ultrasound for the next day and I was walking out of the urgent care and I was like I can't wait till tomorrow to get the ultrasound. So I was like I got to go to the ER. So I I went to the ER and by that time I was like 104, 105 fever, and so they started running tests and they couldn't figure out what it was and they kind of were like all right, here's some antibiotics and here's some pain medicine, have a good night. And they sent me home at like three in the morning and overnight I was, I was just a mess, like I was chills fever same thing.

17:59

And the people that were taking care of me, they were like coming down to check on me and in the morning I guess they were like had ice packs all over my body and they were like I was 106. I was 105.8 is what their thermometers were reading and they thought they were broken. So they were like get another thermometer, get another thermometer. So they checked me and they told me this story. I don't even remember it, that's how bad it was. And so they told me that it was 105.8, and they called the doctor that I had seen that night before and they were like call an ambulance. So they wanted them to call an ambulance, but it was going to be the same amount of time for the ambulance to come that it was for them to drive me to the hospital. So instead they just put me in the car and drove me to the hospital and I was there for 11 days, so it became my next home. I was in the hospital for, yeah, a long time.

18:52 - Michaela (Host)

So did you get the fight with Rose, like during all of like, how soon did you know? Yeah, like, how did that process go?

19:07 - Maycee (Guest)

So after I got out of the hospital I had been on like several different kinds of IV antibiotics and then they put me on another kind of oral antibiotic that I was on for five weeks and then I was on a second round of the same one because it was still not gone. And from that I like the infection started to clear up like I don't know if you can kind of see like my leg is still dark from that then I was like started back working out and started training and I got offered a fight against Rose and they're like we want you to be in the main event against Rose in Denver. And they were asking me originally they were like when do you want to fight? And I was like July or August or August. I was saying August or September. And they were like well, we have a main event against her in July. And you're like wait, I was like I don't really. I'm like that does not sound like August or September, but that sounds good. So I took the fight and I started training and I, because the fight was going to be in Denver, I actually came out to Denver and um started training out there and then, like I started got into a camp and I started training and as the camp was going on, I was like, instead of going uphill and like feeling better, yeah, which a lot of times is pretty normal for like in a camp to have like the ups and downs.

20:24

You know, like when you're training really hard you get fatigued and you get exhausted. But like I never really had that like, oh, I'm really going up and I kind of thought it was the elevation at first, because it's been a few years since I had been to Colorado, but turns out it wasn't. I like had a bunch of lab work done. They were like, oh no, you have mono. So it came back that I have mono. And it came back that I was like had a bunch of stuff from the previous infection like still there. And when I called Heather at the performance institute she was like if you get hit in the body's like and you have mono and your spleen is enlarged, she's like you could literally die. She's like, so there's no way that one you should even be training, let alone they're not going to even clear you for the fight. And so it was when I pulled out of that fight. It was like a collection of the doctors that I was working with in Colorado, the Performance Institute, the entire team out there.

21:17 - Michaela (Host)

And your mom.

21:18 - Maycee (Guest)

Yes, definitely my mom, my mom was like you have to pull out. You have to pull out of the fight.

21:20 - Michaela (Host)

As a mom, I'm like oh, your mom must have been like “oh!”

21:23 - Maycee (Guest)

My mom, for sure, was calling me like several times. She's like you're going to not take this fight right. And I'm like, uh, yeah, go in at like, even if I went into like 30, 40, 50 percent, I'm like I'll just give it my all. Yeah, like in my mind. I'm like, yeah, that makes sense.

21:43

But also I'm like in my the other mind of me I was like I could die right, and you want to have but I also didn't want to like, even like think about that, because I'm like you don't really put that in your mind, like, yeah, and it's tough, because I feel like as a fighter, the fighter mentality is like I don't care what's going on in my life, I don't care how sick I am. Like we don't say that we're gonna fight on like our best day right, like no fighter that I know has ever been like, oh yeah, I'm sore, so I'm not gonna do it. You know, like that just doesn't, that's just not what computes in our brain. So the prideful and like athlete side of me was like this is it was tough, but also like I know that deep down, like the end goal for my life is I want to be a mom and I want to be a wife and I want to have all of this stuff.

22:29

I know - don't cry, because I'll cry, but I'm like those are my, those are my dreams, and I know that even though, like right now, it's like it's a short window that we have as athletes, but also like life is a lot longer than that and I want to make it to see my kids graduate yes, honestly, you know, like I want to make it to have a kid and have them graduate and all of that, I have to be honest with you.

22:54 - Michaela (Host)

I literally was crying. I was listening to like an old podcast that you were doing, where you were talking about your journey and like when it started, yeah, and like then then finding out what you were going through, when you like got the main event and then had to cancel the main event, and I was just like as a mom, like, but also as just like a woman who, like you, goes for things, it was like, oh, I just feel that so deeply that you had to do that it was tough.

23:20 - Maycee (Guest)

But also I'm like you know what, Like there are the athletic side of my career, but also I'm self-managed, so I'm like there's other things I can be doing to continue to progress forward. So, okay, it's both in and out, yeah.

23:33

Like I've been trying to get on the ESPN desk for a long time, and so like that's something I can focus on, and whether it's commentating or appearances, or just like bettering my relationship with the brands that I have, yeah, so there's always ways to continue to progress forward, even if it's not in an athletic sense.

23:53 - Michaela (Host)

What is that scene for you? Because when you think UFC fighter, you think someone who is mostly just training every single day, which I'm sure that was a lot of it. That's definitely one, but then there has to be a business side of it, because you have to get sponsorships. So what does that look like? You said you're self-managed, so you find those for yourself and like are you on like your computer? You know? Like what is that?

24:17 - Maycee (Guest)

I'm on my phone constantly. I mean, I guess it really differs from athlete to athlete. Like some of them that represent themselves, some that don't. A lot of them have management companies, which I did try to go that route, but I've noticed that no one's gonna hustle harder for you than you are gonna hustle. Yeah, you have that personality that just needs to do it. I had this lady tell me one time she's like. She said in a different language, but I was like what does that mean? She's like “in one breath,” and I was like what does that even mean? She's like that's what you are. It means you need things done and you do things effortlessly and you do them in one breath, like you do it, like you just get it. But for me, I'm just like I have to. A lot of times when I try to do things, I'm like I need to get this done and then I just try to do it. Do it do it like right then and there, yeah.

25:14 - Michaela (Host)

So sometimes I got to slow that down, yeah, so as far as like your, your wellness journey, and like what you kind of focus on, you know, I think of your name, like “The Future,” which I love.

25:37 - Maycee (Guest)

Some people ask me to change it. I know such a perfect name. I think of it more of like, not about me, it's more of like what you can accomplish and even what you were just saying, of like you're looking to the future, like even if, like with having to cancel your fight, it's like your mindset about it, of like there's so many other things that I can do. I also know that I want to be a mom and I know I, you know, like you're looking into the future. You're not focused on what's going wrong right now or what went wrong yesterday, and I'm like it's the perfect name.

26:02 - Michaela (Host)

But as far as like that, like I kind of also pertain it to like okay, as a fighter, and you know you have to be, you have to have all the techniques and all of that and have like that range of fighting skills and you have to, you know, be physically fed and you have to meet weight and all of that. But what beyond that, like wellness-wise, like looking into the future? Like when did you start paying attention to kind of the more unique things? Do you know what I mean? Like with you partnering with Aries Tech? It's like why would an athlete care about EMF or why would an athlete care about a product like this?

26:38 - Maycee (Guest)

Well, for me, growing up, it was something that my parents have always been pretty health-focused, and so they always had us. I know right, they always had us eating organic. And my mom's always like don't put your phone on your body, it's so bad for you. And in my mind, like as a young teenage girl, you're like, yeah, okay mom, like all right, well, what's that gonna do? But then, as you start to really pay attention, it's like, okay, I've actually noticed these things. Like if you have your phone to your head, you're like, oh, my head, like my head, literally starts to hurt, and I think it's more now, because I'm constantly on it, that I've noticed that.

27:13

But also things like your hormones, like hormone disruption, and like what you drink water out of is it plastic, is it glass, is it metal? Like the different things, and then all the other things, like the products that you put on your skin, the things that you do, and then other things like sleep, are so important, and so for me, it's been like there's a lot of information out there and there's a lot to like overwhelm yourself with, but I feel like the things that you do on a daily basis are like the things that you can start with like sleep and how you're like communicating and how you're like all the phones and all of that, and then your, your nutrition, and then like all of those things are something that's like a constant daily thing versus like, all right, am I gonna change my laundry soap? Am I gonna change this? Am I gonna change this? Like, instead of overwhelming yourself, I tried to start with just like low-hanging fruit yeah, the staples of like what's happening on like every day of my life, and so some of it was like water and um, emfs and stuff like that, and then nutrition, and also as an athlete, like those things are some of the most important things, because if you're not sleeping and you're not recovering right, then you're not going to perform at your highest.

28:22 - Michaela (Host)

I feel like I mean, I wouldn't know because I'm not a professional, but I feel like, as a professional athlete, you must notice the slightest decline. Do you notice like the little things? Because I feel like that, that peak performance level? I don't know Like it's, just like it seems like any little thing you would notice like, oh, I'm not at my top.

28:46 - Maycee (Guest)

Yeah, I think we do. But also as a professional athlete but not just an athlete, but a professional, fighter I feel like we notice those things but we also dismiss them because we're like okay, yeah, but I'm mentally tough, so I'm just gonna push through that, like it just doesn't even matter. You know, like, because as a fighter, you're not gonna be like, oh, I didn't sleep right, so I'm just not gonna train. You know, like it's just that's just not something that computes in our, in our brain, so, but that is like both a blessing and a curse, because, like it's great to be mentally tough and to be able to push through those things. But also, if you continue to push through those things on a daily basis and you continue to have those kind of lifestyle habits, you don't actually address those things. That's what leads to injury. That's what leads to, uh, lack of performance. That's what leads to injury. That's what leads to a lack of performance.

29:31 - Michaela (Host)

That's what leads to, potentially, a loss or something where you're not able to perform at your yeah, your highest Cause you're, yeah, cause you're already putting so much stress on your body every day that it's like, like, like what you were saying, anything you can do, like sleep and what you're internally eating and what you're putting on your skin, like anything you can do to, like, give your body what it needs to recover. Honestly, because, like that has to be a huge focus for you guys. Quick break in the episode, you guys, because I got to tell you about the amazing sponsor, aries Tech. Aries Tech creates cream of the crop, top of the line EMF protection devices that do not interfere with your signal, but all of their technology is actually backed by peer reviewed, patent and published research that has been going on for almost 20 years. They were originally funded a couple decades ago by the military to create a medical device that would help protect men and women who are working on radio signal towers without interfering with the signal, and have since become a consumer product as we have become more of a technological world. They're also used by professional athletes like Tiki Barber from the NFL Giants and Macy Barber from the UFC for performance optimization tools.

30:33

You can go to their website, airestech.com, and check out some really amazing studies where they've done some EEGs to show how these devices are affecting your baseline brain activity. It's really really cool. I personally have one on me right now, near me, because I have my phone, my computer, my camera everything going on all at once in an office building where everyone has their own Wi-Fi, so I don't mess around. Check them out. Airestech.com. Use code INTUNE I-N-T-U-N-E 30 for 30% off your entire order.

31:01 - Maycee (Guest)

You might have. However many athletes are in the UFC like everyone's good. Once you get there, like everyone's good. So it's not just okay, we're all good and we're just going to do this, and you're just going to train. It's like now what sets you apart from being at the top. You know like you got to the highest level of the sport. Now how do you get to the highest level of the highest level? You know and like those are the things that are going to matter.

31:35

The little things are going to set you like that much apart. Am I sleeping better than them? Am I eating better than them? Am I drinking better than them? You know, like all those things, like, am I everything? Am I doing everything? Yeah, because, again, if you're the top 10, everyone's training and everyone's trying, and everyone's trying to recover.

31:42 - Michaela (Host)

Yeah, everyone's doing that.

31:43 - Maycee (Guest)

So what are you gonna do that they're not doing?

31:49 - Michaela (Host)

Okay, so I want know, like it seems like you kind of like were raised by parents that were kind of how I raised my kids, like don't put your phone near you, like get away from that, you know. But like, what was your actual first impression of Aires, especially like before you got the brain scan? Like did you have like any hesitations? Like I wanna know the truth. What's the truth?

32:17 - Maycee (Guest)

So how I even found Aries Tech was when I was younger. Again, to prove that I wanted to fight, my dad put me in a Navy SEAL course, so I did a 20X challenge, which is like you ever heard of Hell Week. Yeah, so it's like the before Hell Week, like you do that one before you do the actual Hell Week, and it was a I think it was like a 12 hour day and it was torture, literally, like it was like me and like 15 other people.

32:54

I was the youngest one in the whole group and it was ran by, uh, two people, and one of the people that was running it was Ben Greenfield oh and yeah, well, so we were, we did that entire course and ever since then, I followed Ben Greenfield and he's like a super biohacker and I'm always like, okay, how can I make my body better? Because, again, as an athlete, like I'm always trying to get better and better and better, and so I followed him for the longest time, whether it was like red light therapy or cold plunge or the contrast and all of that, and, um, same thing like thing, like also the, the radiation, and I knew that already. And so I've just always been like, okay, well, what devices are someone? Someone like him, like, who's a, who is a biohacker? That's always like that's their. His main focus is how to optimize your body, right, um, I was like, well, what is he using? And I was like, so I did some research.

33:52 - Maycee (Guest)

So I saw that and then I reached out to Aires Tech and I was like - I need this and I need to, I need to start using this because it's something that's important to me, because I've done like I already knew that this was something that I wanted to focus on and then I did the research to find the, the company that was going to be the best for that purpose, which there's not very many of them out there like. There's maybe like one or two, and they're like not good at all.

34:20

There's definitely not as many that have like as much research like that, like the actual research, and that's yeah, like I was going through like all the different, like the other companies, and I was like, okay, there's no like actual testing, there's no factual data or anything that's out there. So, wow, that's super cool.

34:36 - Michaela (Host)

I was expecting to be like yeah, I thought it was bullshit, I mean okay, but every time I tell people about it they're like does that really work?

34:43 - Maycee (Guest)

And I'm like, well, listen, every time I have it and I use it, I don't get headaches, and I used to get headaches all the time whenever I had my phone with me.

Yeah, we actually started at night. We'll like turn our phones on airplane mode too, because we're like how do we, how do we block out everything?

35:00

Yeah, you can do more now there's like there's like a device on the router, there's a device, right? Yeah, we'll keep it on the keychain, cuz like got it up above our head, keychain the car, like everything. Okay, and every time I see people I'm like here you need one of these.

35:13 - Michaela (Host)

Yeah, because it's so a non-invasive.

35:21 - Maycee (Guest)

It's just like you know whether you want to think it's bullshit or not. Like put it on, it's not that big of a deal, yeah you, just you carry it with you. And if you think it's a placebo effect, fine, but like it's right, it's not, cuz like I've actually gotten to see the difference. And also doing that brain scan that I did, like everyone keeps asking me like, well, do I get a brain scan? And I'm like, if you want to pay for it, go pay for it. But like, or you could just watch mine, because I'm not going to lie to you, I'm like just watch. You know, like because if you could watch that and see the difference, and then for me like to be able to say, like I've also noticed the difference, but same thing.

35:54 - Michaela (Host)

Like you said, it's like you just put it on your keychain. Is it really hurting you? So did you already kind of have like a really good relationship with the product before you saw the brain scan, did that change how you were using it or like anything like that?

36:09 - Maycee (Guest)

So I had already noticed the difference, like I said like, with just being able to not feel as fuzzy Cause, again, anytime I'm on my computer or my phone, by the end of the day, I'm just like my head hurts. I have like no motivation to do anything. And so then I started using them and I had them around me and I was like, okay, I'm just going to carry this around and whether it's like we were just talking about, whether it's real or not, like I'm just going to try it. So I started using it and I noticed the difference. And then I didn't realize how much of a difference I noticed until I took it away. So like I didn't have it and I used it for a long time and I took it away and I was like, oh my gosh.

36:55 - Michaela (Host)

Doesn't it kind of feel like - for me it feels kind of like an energetic pull away, like it's like I can feel when I don't have it on.

37:00 - Maycee (Guest)

This is a dream, like you just feel like you're being dreamed.

37:02 - Michaela (Host)

Yes, I literally feel like I can feel when I don't have it on. It's so wild, okay. So, going back to a little bit about your career, to kind of end this episode, I want to know, like, where are you headed right now? Like, have you gotten any insight? I know that's a tough one.

37:22 - Maycee (Guest)

That's a tough question.

37:24 - Michaela (Host)

Like are you just kind of taking it day by day, like where are you at?

37:27 - Maycee (Guest)

So I've been working with, like numerous doctors and again the performance institute and everyone, and like there's so many opinions and like we've gotten all of the data that we need and I've done so many tests, like as soon as I pulled out of the fight we were, we had already started testing and so lab work, stool test, sinus test, saliva, like everything we've done it all that was like the performance institute did that, so in conjunction it was kind of a variety of, like the doctors and everyone.

37:58

So originally, like all my lab work that I had found out that I was sick was I did that on my own. So like continuously like I'm always trying to find my own.

38:08

Like I'm trying to level up here, so I had found that out and I took it to the performance institute and that's how they were like, oh yeah, you're, you're messed up. And so then that's when we were like started to put that together and then to start this journey of like actually like figuring out. Okay, we already knew that a lot of things are off, but we don't know what things are off. So we did all the other tests to figure that out, and now we're still waiting on some of the tests to come back, because it's like a two to three, four week turnaround. It’s not like a - Here you have all your things, you don't really know what tests you need next until you've had this one right, yeah so we already did all of that and we know a lot of the things like liver, kidney, like all the things I have going on that need to be worked on and plus the antibiotics really from the hospital really messed me up.

38:52 - Michaela (Host)

So I'm sure your mom was like - don't go back on antibiotics.

38:58 - Maycee (Guest)

I'm like okay, I'm trying not to. So we have all that for a timeframe. We're just kind of hoping to get like. Now that we have all that stuff, we're gonna get the process of like okay, this is the supplements you need to take, this is everything else. So I have not been training, like, I have not done a single thing, not even like walking or running on a treadmill, nothing like because they're saying they, they told me, do not do anything like any kind of external stress or on your body right now is not good. So I'm just in this mode of like, okay, learning life without that, which is like a mental battle, because that's all you've ever known. Yeah, it's a mental battle, but luckily, when I had my ACL surgery, like I kind of got a taste of that, like I wasn't able to do much except for, like bike riding. So this is a little bit different, because I can't even ride a bike.

39:49

But that's, okay I can do so many other things.

39:53 - Michaela (Host)

I can ride a scooter. Life is great.

39:53 - Maycee (Guest)

Yes, like give me an electric scooter, but yeah, so that's my update, I guess, is like I'm hoping to get a timeline.

40:07 - Michaela (Host)

Okay so when I was going through your history, you know. My question was kind of like okay, you're obviously incredible.

40:15

When you are in your prime, when you're not having to recover from something that was completely out of your control. So what? How? Because you seem mentally stable, which is good. But what is keeping you motivated, like, what is keeping you in that space, like, with these things that are getting in the way of what you really wanted, you know, like a roadblocks, not saying that it's not gonna happen, but like roadblocks, like what are you? How are you keeping forward?

40:45 - Maycee (Guest)

I mean it's tough at times, cause it does get discouraging, like there's definitely days where I'm like frustrated because I'm like I can't do a lot of things, but also, like you got to think, like there's there's a lot worse things could be happening right now.

40:58

You know, like I've been given a life that I'm very blessed to have, um, and so I just want to make sure that I'm doing anything that I can do to progress myself forward and to give myself a chance at the life that I've been working for in the, in the life that God gave me.

41:15 - Michaela (Host)

Yes, girl. I love that, okay. Last question okay: What is the advice that you would give or like, what do you feel like you hope the takeaway is for like young girls who are looking at you and being like - I want to be the next Maycee Barber you know?

41:45 - Maycee (Guest)

Well, for one I would say don't be me be yourself and better, but I guess I would always just say, like, for me, I used to care a lot about, like, what other people thought about what I was doing, or like felt self-conscious about my goals or my dreams, and I'm like, I feel like a lot of people put like they, they put caps on what their goals are and their dreams are because they think that other people are going to think they're unattainable, and I'm just like, it doesn't matter what other people think about it. Just set a goal for yourself and a dream and just go for it. And there's going to be ups and downs, because that's just how life is, but if you can push past those, you can have just about anything that you set your mind to.

42:22 - Michaela (Host)

I love that. It's like leave the cap open. Maycee, thank you so much. I really really loved this conversation. It was a good one. Thank you. Hey guys, thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe and check out the show notes at wave.airestech.com.