Episode Transcript
Intro: This is words that move me, the podcast where movers and shakers like you get the information and inspiration you need to navigate your creative career with clarity and confidence. I am your host, master mover, Dana Wilson, and if you're someone that loves to learn, laugh and is looking to rewrite the starving artists story, then sit tight but don't stop moving because you're in the right place.
Dana: Hello, hello friends. Welcome to the podcast. We'll come back if you're a recurring listener and welcome, welcome for the first time. If this is your first time listening, I'm stoked to be talking to you today. I'm very excited about this episode, but before I get into that I want to talk about something else that I am very excited about and that is the Instagram contest that we are having right now. We definitely are wanting to spread the words that move me and make sure as many people find the podcast as possible. So to do that we're having an Instagram contest and I would like for you to take a look at all the details @wordsthatmovemepodcast on Instagram. It's in our story. It has a special little album there. I think I'm using the right words all of a sudden I am not the master of Instagram anymore. I'm learning and I'm right there with some of you as I learn. Anyways, I'm very excited about the contest in order to see all the terms and the ways that you can win and also the things that you might win. Make sure you follow us on Instagram. That's going to be the best way.. Well it's the only way to be a part of the contest. Um, and it's the best way to make sure that you are playing by the rules. Although occasionally I do recommend breaking them. Okay. So in addition to the contest, I also want to clear up a few things. Cause the other day I ran into a human being, an actual human in the flesh and she was like, Oh my gosh, I'm doing the daily challenge and I absolutely love it. I was like, that's great. What's your handle? And she told me her name, she told me her handle and I didn't recognize it. I was like, I don't think I've seen your project out there. And then through a little bit more digging, we discovered that she had been hashtagging “daily doing” instead of hashtagging “doing daily” And honestly you guys, I think I've probably said it both ways from the start of the podcast until now and this is something that is definitely worth a little clarification and carving out a special place for this. I want to see your daily projects.
So I have decided to create a special hashtag, a bucket that we can put all of those beautiful things and that is #doingdailyWTMM as in words that move me. So if you are a daily doer, which is confusing cause I do say that a lot. If you're a daily doer then you are hashtag doing daily. Yes. It feels really good to have that cleared up. Excellent. If you have no idea what I'm talking about right now, that is probably because you haven't listened to episode one or episode two where I pose the challenge to all of my listeners to take on a daily creative act every single day. For some amount of time, preferably an amount that's slightly longer than what you feel comfortable taking on. I promised myself I would make a video every single day for 365 days and I did it plus some. It changed my life. And I know that a project like this can change yours. So jump on over to episode one and two after listening to this episode and happy making, I'm so excited for you and for the ways that this can change your life. Hats off to all of my daily doers. Keep the hashtag doing daily. This is how I remember it by the way, hashtag doing because the doing is the important part. #doingdailyWTMM now let's get into it.
I'm stoked about today's episode because I got a chance to catch up with one of my favorite people, Jason Bonner. Jason and I met when I was a dancer on tour with Justin Timberlake in 2007. So this was the, um, future sex love show tour. I was 20 years old. I turned 21 while we were on the road. Um, so I'm this tiny young danceling and this man who at the time was Justin's personal trainer became my trainer as well and a very, very dear friend. He's one of the relationships that I made on that tour that has stood the test of time and is still um, a great friend and inspiration to me up until today. So I got to catch up with Jason and I have to be totally honest with you. We talked for over two hours and a lot of that talking is actually just cackling like words and sounds that you would need subtitles to understand. So I did edit this episode down into some really good digestible chunks of information and inspiration and I really hope that you dig it. Okay. Before we get into the words with Jason, I want to explain the being that is Jason, I want you to imagine a life scale GI Joe, like actual man sized GI Joe and then turn that up to X. Like, he probably isn't, but it feels like Jason is eight feet tall and his like the circumference of his bicep is probably the circumference of my thigh at its widest. You will probably hear in this interview him slamming his hands on the table and the microphone responds to that a little bit. So I do apologize. This is my first phone interview ever and I'm still learning a lot about that technology. So bear with me on the learning curve. Also, did I mention I am coming to today from my hotel, actually my hotel closet in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is where I am working right now. So I apologize if the sound is different or if there's an occasional passer-by in the hallway, a door slam, a weird pipe sound. My pipes are making weird gargly sounds. I can't explain it, but I think we're safe. I don't see any water anywhere, so I think we're safe. Anyways, all sound aside. I'm very, very excited to share this conversation with Jason Bonner. So let's dig in.
Dana: Jason Bonner! I am so excited about this call. Really, truly, utterly. I can't even handle it. Um. All right, so, the podcast, because it's young and I want to tell you a little bit about the podcast and our listeners. Its primarily about creative careers and making art in entertainment. So some of my guests might be confused as to why I am speaking to personal trainer to the stars and I would tell them that is because you are much, much more than a personal trainer to the stars. So number one, please introduce yourself, all of your interests and all of the many different hats that you wear.
Jason: How are you doing Dana? My name is Jason Bonner, whether it's training, whether it's life coaching, whatever it is that I'm doing, I really love helping people. And through my friends in industry, the people that know me, they call me like the Jack of all trades because I really can do whatevers thrown at me. So I do everything from training to styling to image to branding for an artist, this is actually what I do. I kind of wear many different hats. I've done everything from A&R record to written on records before, as a writer. In it past eight months or so. I've uh, I started a management company. I have a two artists that I manage and a songwriter. And I wrote a film, with one of my best friends. About something that happened in my life, true story. It's a comedy. So we're in the process of getting that done now, so excited about it. The movie is basically like a mixture of Friday and Ferris Buller’s Day off. That's the best way I can describe it.
Dana: I want to live at the center circle of that Venn diagram that is exquisite.
Jason: I am, I'm beyond excited about it because it was something I didn't really think about getting into. Oh. So it just happened. Mmm. The working out on is really the easiest part of it. That's like the easiest thing to do. Um, I work with, uh, Josh Groban, the a Joe Jonas, Frank Ocean, hit boy, Bruno Mars producer Rob Knox. This new kid. Aaron Wright, he’s amazing You hear about him soon? I worked in Luke James. Mmm. Another producer named Monsour Producer Harvey Mason Jr before? I'm actually working with Chris Stapleton right now. Amazing guy. Flat out. Amazing. Mmm. I take it very seriously because I was on my way to be a pro athlete. Before, I got hurt. So I'm very competitive when it comes to what I do when I work with somebody in that capacity. Whether it's training, whether its, branding whether it's you know, conditioning for shows or whatever we're doing. I'm really serious about it. And part of it is, you know, when you're working with artists and people you're close to, you kind of have to read them and understand the mannerisms. So part of why it worked so well with the people that I work with is because I studied their habits, I studied everything about them. So like, like for example, um, I've been working with Justin Timberlake since, the year 2000 so I pretty much know like the back of my hand. Like I can walk into a room and tell him, “you need something to eat or you need to go to sleep? Mmm. Anything. Literally anything.”
It's true. Jason is a great study of subtlety and human behavior in general and I think he gets a lot of that intel from movement specifically like posture, someone's walk , their body language, their performance at the gym or their performance on stage. He could almost always tell if something was off, like if something wasn't quite right and some of the time he could tell exactly what it was, whether it was not enough rest or too much rest occasionally or homesickness, relationship drama, family drama and by family drama I of course mean tour, family drama because when you eat, sleep, breathe, work and play together, that's exactly what you become. You are family. So Jason's eye for detail and like Olympic level people watching skills are what taught me that you don't need to perform all the time. In fact, being a good audience member, being watchful that can help you do your job even better than all of the, all of the uh, exporting, right. Do a little importing. Just sit and watch. When I was on the road and training with Jason, his type of watchful felt a little bit like, um, like a law enforcement officer or like the way that a teacher watches over their classroom taking a test and they're like looking to see if somebody is cheating or passing notes or something or a little bit like a referee watching a game like very, very closely. But I really think there's more compassion to Jason's style of watching. And actually one of my favorite things about becoming a people watcher thanks to him is that it helps me feel more compassionate towards others. And I like that. Okay. So now we're going to talk a little bit more about my first tour and Jason's style of quote, compassion, which is a special brand of no BS. Tough love.
Okay. So I want to really quickly go back to the year that we met, which was, um, I believe it was 2007. The future sex love show tour. And I was a dancer and I assisted the creative director and choreographer, Marty Kudelka on that tour. I was 20 years old and I was green. And I remember meeting you and you, you make quite an oppression, quite an impression on a young lady, um, because you are so certainly who you are. And I remember at that time, I'm still figuring out who I am and I, um, I had these ideas about what a personal trainer to the stars was and you certainly look like that. Like you look like that guy. But I remember being very taken aback by how generous you are in giving your attention, your time, your talent. And I was very interested in getting healthier, getting more fit. And I remember you, I remember thinking that a personal trainer was a certain thing and that I would have a whistle in my ear at 6:30 in the morning and you'd be a drill sergeant and you'd be like, banging down my door, get me to the gym. And you really weren't that. So I would like to hear a little bit about how you encourage people into their own greatness without being a drill Sergeant and a heavy hand, even though you look tough. Mmm. And it was your voice in my head when I was like, no, get to the gym, get to the gym. But you only showed up for me when I showed up for myself. And I would love to hear more about why it is that you, why you operate that way.
Hey Listen! This is the only thing in life. Only thing in life, no matter how much money you have, no matter how much you think you have, that nobody else can do for you, right? You have to do it yourself. Like there's, there's no way around it you have to do this for yourself? So it's one of those things where it's like, listen, I could yell at you, I can scream at you, I could get mad at you, whatever did you face, whatever. It's not going to matter if in your head you don't want to do it. So I don't care who you are. I can look somebody in the face and tell them you're not serious. And there'll be like, why is it because I know people, okay, who have that look that they want to change their lives. You don't want to change your life? I say, so don't ask me again or waste my time. Ask me something that you're not serious about. So for me it's like I don't have the patience to deal with, with BS. So it's just like you don't take yourself serious. So why should I? Again, because I was a, you know, I was working on trying to be a professional basketball player. My drive for myself was very high. Right. So I learned how to channel into me, erm, at an early age, so when everybody else would be partying or people would be asleep in the dorm, I was up at five in the morning running stairs, you know, getting ready for the season. Mmm. In college, the basketball season. So I kind of took, well not even taken, I, I'm actually wired to, to be self motivated. So if I see that somebody has something in them, I feel like if I have the tools to help them get to that space, have the obligation to give you, if I genuinely care about you as a friend or as a family member, I'm going to give you this information so you can be great. Um, so saying all that to say, so like when I got called to work with Justin for the first time before I met you, I meet with them in the first thing I say to them, this is a true story. The first thing I say to him, I said listen, before we start this meeting, let me tell you who I am. I don't care about being seen next to you on TV, film, magazines, tabloids, anything. The only thing I care about is if you take this serious. I say, because I am very competitive and if my name was attached to you, I'm going to make sure I pull whatever's out of you. I'm going to pull it out of you to be great. I said because of what I think thats inside of you. You have the opportunity and hear me when I say this, the opportunity to be one of the best people in music history. If you take this serious, I said, you have to come to a world where you make it. You have to make a guy like me, like you. And he's only there because he has to bring his girl that he come see you and he's mad. That he's there to watch you, So I say, so whenever we do in the gym, we’re at rehearsal, dance rehearsal. If it takes you a hundred times a thousand times to get a dance step, right? You want to do it a thousand times still you get it right. Thats it. Because you don't have the luxury to mess it up and that's it. And , I said, so when you see that guy, he's looking at you like this <inaudible> you have to get that guy to move. And I told him, I said, you can get that guy to move. You get the world to move. You hear me when I say that? If you get that guy to move, you can get the world to move
Um, did you write that down? Literally one of my all time favorite ways to lock in an incredible performance is to lock in on one person. The one person that's not feeling. It’s a game. Of course, I don't know actual voodoo or like mind trickery, but after hundreds and hundreds of shows, I became able to get at least a smile and a step touch out of even the most unenthusiastic concert goer or chaperones as I like to call them. They're the ones giving off the, Oh no, no, no, no, no. Um, I'm not here for you. I'm here for my girlfriend or my daughter or my wife or whoever. Okay. Don't get me wrong though. There is something very, very moving about a room full of screaming fans, but if you can make the not a fan move, Oh my gosh, it feels like winning the lottery. It is incredible. Although I have never actually won the lottery, so maybe that's not the right analogy. Also, I've never actually bought a ticket. I'm getting off topic. Okay, we're back. Okay. Let's get back into working out with Jason and the three words that changed my dance life forever.
I remember a lot of our workouts. I remember your pushup routine that I still do occasionally. I remember you bench pressing me as your weights. I remember, um, frog jumps. Is that what we call it? I don't remember. I got so ridiculously sore that I couldn't dance and I had to like dial it back. But this one moment it was not workout related. This one particular show during the 20/20 experience, um, I was, I think I was under the weather. I was either like physically sick or maybe homesick. I don't, I don't remember exactly what I was going through. But I came to you as I often did and I was like, yo, Jay help me get through this show. Like what is going to get me through the show tonight? I don't, I don't, I need fuel, I need juice. And you said “You only have three things that you need to worry about in this show. Three that is all, hips, lips and fingertips. And it sounds silly, but within that confined I found tremendous freedom. So by cutting my mind off from the things that were distracting me and focusing it on just three things. I was able to go so deep on hips, lips, and fingertips, and it was just so liberating. I think I delivered one of the best shows of my life that night. Um, what other wisdom might you have for people that are feeling less than.And that can help us focus into being more than.
Well, my motto is I've been saying that since I was a kid. If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. Because you have to be prepared for whatever's thrown at you in this entertainment business at all times. You know, you're gonna have random sleep. You know, you're gonna have random food. You know, you don't know if the hotel beds going to be comfortable, well, you don't know. Did she just prepare for anything? If your show was two hours long, then we’re training for three hours? The main thing is to get your mindset ready for anything. This is always my answer is always do you have to program your mind to already be ahead of whats about to happen to prepare yourself for anything. If you're the sports team and the star players coasting everybody on the team is not going to give that kind of effort. You have to give the effort to set the example.
I think that's an important note because not only for the leader or the the front man of the group, but for everybody in the group because you're leading somebody, whether you know it or not, someone is looking to you for the tone, for the vibe, for the energy. It might be a fellow dancer on stage or it might be somebody in the audience. I think setting a bar, setting a high bar is so important. It's why people are drawn to you. It's why I was drawn to you. It's why we're still friends and I just, I can't thank you enough for being so excellent.
So being somebody that's so, uh, face to face with popular culture all the time, do you have any recommendations for how to drown out the noise in terms of what people should be and how to reinforce all the lovely things that we are
The biggest thing I would tell people is to understand your inner voice. And what I mean by that is the only person that knows what's really going on in your head is you. And if you understand the field, or the business that you want to get into. Meaning, something tangible that can work in this space and you know your work and you really understand what it is then don't listen to anybody but yourself. Your intuition is never ever wrong. It's something that we are born with, that we have inside of us that connects us to everything that's happening around us. And if you really understand it and you really listen to it, you understand how much you're in tune with the world and other people. But you have to be open to receive it. If you're not open to receive it, then you'll miss it. Listen to yourself. No. Then if you put a really, if you put your mind to something, you can do it with no problem. You just have to understand that it's not going to be, nothing is a cake walk. There are very few people that are like gifted to do certain things. It just give a born to do that thing and there's nothing you can do about it. There's just, there were born to do that thing. They were built for that thing. Body’s constructed for that thing. Their mindset, their feet, their hands, everything about it was built or that thing. Most of the people have to work towards that thing. Even though you understand that you might have to work towards it. But some people are just gifted to do that thing. You know, it's like by Kobe Bryant, his passing, he was built to play basketball. Everything about his body was built for that sport. It wasn't built to play football. He was good for the sport of basketball. Michael Jordan, the same way. Certain people are just built for that sport. No. Um, and then you have an exception to the rule. Mmm. Like
There’s always an exception
Ryan Williams who's know, six, seven, six, eight 285 pounds. He looks like a defensive lineman and he jumps like he's 160 pounds. It doesn't make sense. So you have those anomalies every once in a while. But again, that's just a gift that they're born with. But most people, again, I understand it's something you really have to study it. If you want to, you know, learn how to be a great dancer, then you study with other great dancers. If you want to be a great artist, study with great artists, you have to be around people who are great, In order to observe, greatness, unless you're just a freak of nature and you just born with that gift of whatever that thing is that you're doing know. So like when my, my godson, who's an artist, right? The only person who's want to teach them showmanship is you like, you're on what you're already on. Are you already on my list of people who are going to be part of his team? Because because of what you are, he needs what you are. He needs you to teach him. That'd be a certain way on stage because he doesn't know. Mm. Yeah. He can move. He has natural talent. He can dance, but he needs YOU..
Yeah, I am flattered and you know exactly where to find me.
It is really, really cool to see how far time, talent and connections can take someone because over the years that I've known you, you've been so many different things to so many different people. I cannot wait to meet music producer Jason. I cannot wait to watch the movie that you wrote and produced and or directed. I cannot wait for the world to see these things. I'm just so happy to put you in touch with a part of my world. Introduce them to you because you've really helped mold me into what I am today. Thank you so much for doing this.
You don't have to thank me. You know i’d do anything in the world for you. I’m your family. You already know that, so thank you. I appreciate it. I'm glad I could help you.
Oh by the way, I have on the podcast, I have a a sign off line. My sign off is “keep it funky.”
Oh, I like it keep it funky.
Yeah. Okay. Keep it funky everybody. I'll see you next week.
Good. If You smell something, It’s just Dana.
