Episode 16: “At Least I Feel Alive”: Wilson108 on Gaming, Being a Full Time Youtuber, Choosing Your Kind of Hard, and our Top 10 Childhood Games

Full-time YouTube creator Wilson108 doesn’t see video games as an escape from his world. He sees them as an invitation into someone else’s.

Matt and Wilson108 talk about the layoff that pushed him to bet on his channel, the dread of answering “what do you do?” when it wasn’t paying the bills, and why he’d choose that hard again. Along the way they dig into why gaming picked up a stigma, what online negativity does to a creator, and how empathy keeps a community healthy.

Then it’s on to the big questions in gaming right now: PlayStation going digital-only, console and game prices, what Xbox does next, GTA 6, and the Ocarina of Time remake arriving November 5. They close by trading their top 10 childhood games. Only one game made both lists.

Guest: Wilson108, full-time YouTube creator. Find him on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wilson-108

Host: Matt Martinez, Registered Respiratory Therapist and host of What’s the CO₂?

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Aldair Pérez never planned on being a coach. He wanted to be a pro soccer player, then a WWE wrestler, then an MMA fighter. When that window closed, he worked job after job, from a janitor at a UFC gym to an assembly line to construction with his dad, before finally telling his father he was leaving the one job that gave him security. He did it in a long text, because he was so concerned about disappointing him.

In this episode, Matt sits down with Aldair, a personal trainer, boxing coach, and manager at Storm MMA & Training Center in Laguna Hills, California, for his very first podcast appearance. It’s a conversation about following your calling, even when it costs you stability.

In this episode:

• The childhood dreams that shaped him, and the “what if” that still tugs at him from his amateur MMA days
• How he drifted into coaching, long before it was a career, by running his high school track team and a faith-based MMA program
• Free MMA training for at-risk youth, and the short Bible study that closed every session
• A bullied boy who walked in shy and timid, and what boxing did for his confidence
• An honest talk on concussions and what parents should know before putting a kid in combat sports
• What a first session at Storm looks like, from movement screens to a recovery center
• Why motivation fades and habits last
• Faith, gratitude, stepping out of your comfort zone, and finding your purpose

Find Aldair on Instagram at @kinetic_kingdom.

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Registered dietitian Allison Knott has spent her career helping everyday athletes eat well, and she says the protein craze is crowding out the rest of the plate. In this episode of What's the CO₂?, she talks about why protein is in everything from cereal to ice cream, why she calls herself a "supplement skeptic," and what to look for before you trust a label.

Allison also gets personal. She talks about the three years it took to rebuild her strength after back-to-back pregnancies, why the "six-week" recovery expectation doesn't match reality, and what that experience taught her about the clients she works with. Along the way, she explains why food is more than nutrition and how a meal can be both physically and mentally satisfying.

We also cover:

• Why a dietitian still serves frozen pizza some nights
• How GLP-1 medications are changing nutrition, and why lifestyle still matters
• Gut health and her biggest takeaway: eat more fiber

Find Allison at anewwell.co or on Instagram @endurance.sports.nutritionist.