Adam Mills interview

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This is a long time coming this interview. This is actually supposed to happen before the farrez it worked out that I couldn't get through last week. Me again being Messi, but we finally have Adam Mills here. H he competed at the Far show. He competed the the weekend gone as…

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This is a long time coming this interview. This is actually supposed to happen before the farrez it worked out that I couldn't get through last week. Me again being Messi, but we finally have Adam Mills here. H he competed at the Far show. He competed the the weekend gone as well. We're going to let him explain how we felt and went, but how are you? How are you doing? Thank you very much for joining me. Sorry about delay. How the past couple of weeks been? You've been very busy uh competing. >> Yeah, I've been well. Like I've been flat out for past three weeks just trying to get as much competition in as I can because uh they it went well like a lot of them like I was some of the results I wasn't happy with but like it was good experience and it was just a good events overall cuz like I was out for I think maybe three four months with an injury. So like the whole like my whole competition schedule for the whole year was just completely like thrown off. Like I had so much plans for the spring and the summer, everything was thrown off. So being back now and been able to be as active, but I have been is very good. It's very it's like really nice. >> And then hopefully there's a strong end to the year. So I wouldn't know a whole lot about BJ or competitions, but I see every weekend there seems to be some sort of competition, whether it's either like an in-house uh invitational or like that like on the far like an event type of thing. Is there is there a lot for for the end of the year that you can kind of catch up on what you've missed out of over the past four to five months? >> Yeah. Well, basing off like because like last year I would have done all my competitions like during the winter. So based off last year, hopefully there should be a good few events. Like I was looking at Smoothcom and there is a lot and there is like a few more invitational shows coming up. But I kind of want to get more into those tournament things to get those kind of accolades to just show that you have like a IBGF medals or more like credential things rather than just one win on a invitational. >> Yeah. No, I know. I get you cuz like that cuz I like that IBJF I've heard of them. ADCC which was that run there recently got a bit of coverage from the Energize which is good as well that they're able to cover and and put jiu-jitsu out there a bit more because I don't think there is there's not really a a really big outlet for it like media wise is there you do get the people who come and go and and they do pictures or they do videography but you don't really have kind of people who do interviews and stuff like that. more so kind of like like this or sit down into type of thing, do you? >> No, it doesn't like like probably like yourself or like just little things like that like MMA medias who like expand to jiu-jitsu but especially in Ireland like there's very little like there's no like I know there's Irish BJJ magazine but they don't really like they kind of just do summaries of the things and what's going on current events. They don't really pull out like athletes like the top level guys and interview them and all. It's it's there needs to be more exposure. There needs to be some that's just going around interviewing all the jiu-jitsu people. Energize show what they did at ADCC. That was pretty good. It was very good exposure because they're like quite a big like group and it was great. It was just great for the great for the sport. >> Yeah. Hopefully if I had more time I'd do it, but I'm struggling to do the MMA at the minute myself is and you've probably seen me that the past four weeks or something. show. There's a show next weekend, weekend after. Then you go to November, there's within two weekends, there's three shows. There's two on the same day, one the week before. I'm actually commentating on two of them. So, I'm in Derry, then in Belfast. I've been to Cork in the past two weeks in Belfast in the past three. Um, but you were talking about the injury there. What was the injury if you don't mind me asking? as so basically in March I think it was I flew over to Berlin me and another teammate we went over to Berlin to compete in a grappling industries it's like a round robin like it's kind of just like the local competition cuz we just wanted to compete abroad for the first time just to kind of get that experience in and see what the level was like in Germany and I got a foot sweep and didn't think anything of well your man foot sweep me but he just kind of stomped on my shin so I didn't think anything of it but it like bruised like a ring around like my whole calf and I was like, "Oh, that's a bit strange." Then a month later about Easter time, my leg just started swelling and it just kept swelling and just kept swelling and eventually it was just like it was swelled up a lot and like I could barely walk like I was on crutches and all and it was it was just rough and uh had to go into the hospital to get cut open basically. I got an infection on the inside. They don't know how they don't know what it was from because there was no cut. There was nothing pierced it. So they were just like your body just reacted in a bad way to like an imp impact. >> Oh. And then that that's like that when you you think nothing of it and then all of a sudden it's something was that frustrating and because you had like all your things mapped out and and how do you manage when an injury comes along because like that you had so much mapped out and then all of a sudden you can't do it and then obviously you can't train certain like you might not be able to train fully. How were you able to manage that? Did you manage it well? Did you manage it badly? Or have you had injuries before that you were able to kind of see your way through it? >> Well, that like that was my first big injury. Like I've been doing martial arts like 10 years like different disciplines and all. So like that was my first big one that put me out for a while. So I was I was like at first I didn't I was very lost. But now looking at it is probably like one of the best things that could have happened because I started like I wasn't able to work. I wasn't able to train. So I was sat at home just sitting on Instagram harassing everyone in the community. So I made connections from just pissing people off essentially and like now some of the people that I'm connected with like are good friends or they're like good people to have around like so it is it was a great thing just sitting at home on my ass just pissing people off. >> When you say harassing how did you approach this? What do you mean harassing? Were you going into the post going into the DMs? And what led you to harass them? Oh, I was just like I was just like just started posting on my story just tagging people being like you're a [ __ ] just like and then that was kind of like started getting that personality and then when I was like to come back competing I just kept that energy up and I made a I started going to this open match called compound and basically there was a guy called Fion there and me and Fion both wanted to match on this the RJ invitational to help them rebuild the gym. >> Yeah. So there was no opponent. There's no opponent. Then F's a bit light in me. And then F was like, "Yeah, I I'll take the match." So I just took like [ __ ] Craig Jones approach just just posting memes, just pissing him off like just like getting pictures of his mother and posting them up like winner gets her and all. And so and it it it did like like me and F are friends. So like at the end of the day there was no bad blood like but we did go out and go to war. We [ __ ] we we put on a a great show. Like everyone was kind of invested. This is where the whole like [ __ ] Adam Mills thing came from cuz it was just like he had a little piece of paper that said [ __ ] Adam Mills got a t-shirt made and all. So >> Oh, really? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> I'd nearly support him in that and buy one. But I like I like it because like that when you kind of remind me there's a guy called Dennis Ring Pong. I don't know if you're with him. and he done something similar when he was fighting uh I can't remember who it was Morris. Chris Morris and he actually put a picture of your man's mother on his like on his on his boxers at the weighin and I was like and then he sparked him. I say, man, imagine someone doing that doing that with your mother's face and then sparking you out would be [ __ ] mental. But it's good cuz like that, like I said, there's no bad blood. A little bit of banter can get it a bit interesting as well. And compound you mentioned there, that's Oshin McCabe. Obviously comes out there, fantastic gym. He's a fantastic fantastic person. But um with with the competing obviously I senior at the far show that's where the four horsemen line came out of you said John um and the other the other lads. Um what was it like? Was that your first time in a cage or like competing in a cage? >> No actually. So basically the whole reason the whole reason I started MMA was or started jiu-jitsu was I wanted to do an MMA fight and they uh basically had zero grappling like had no grappling but there was a grappling studio in the same building that we were in. So I went up and started doing a bit of grappling there. It was so I started maybe December last year and then I went to I just started doing a few classes. cuz I started training there like nearly every second day every day and the thing got cancelled. So I was like right I'll go and do a grappling industries went in got one win got smashed in the rest of my matches with like two months grappling experience I was like I love this like this is great. So I went on did the MMA on like three months grappling basically just got out wrestled the whole thing and I was like ah and then from that time on like I didn't really compete until the end of summer and I just kept training and training and training and I ended up just kind of falling in love with jiu-jitsu. So >> yeah, it's that's what a lot of people say that everyone goes to me I think because I'm 38 so people like not going to fight, right? It's not going to happen. I went to training and there's these 18y old thumping the head off me. I said, "You know what? [ __ ] this." Right. Um, but then I went to jiu-jitsu and I I don't think it was I think something maybe kickboxing or something light or something might be for me. But everyone says she'd fall in love with it and it's not as physical and not as violent. And I says your man with the neck brace and the [ __ ] leg brace on. What you on about? Like I suppose if you're competing obviously when you're when you're pulling an arm bar, you're pulling a limb, you're pulling it to basically hurt them. it's up to them to tap and then obviously people leave it on longer. So I presume most of the injuries could come from competing with more strain. Obviously I know it will happen in training but it's a lot of people just say it's just so addictive and and what I find fascinating is a lot of people go in and go just say like I go just say I go in and I get smashed by a 12y old absolutely fs me up like a pretzel and then people like I love this and I was like I I'd never leave the house if a 12-y old beat the [ __ ] out of me like like you know but I can kind of see where it is. If if someone that young or maybe in a lower like a lot lower weight and you can do that. Yeah. Imagine what you' be capable of your way being able to do. Is that what kind of it was that the skill and technique I think is so good and so smooth and I actually am really really interested in it and how the body works and how you manipulate limbs. What like what was it just that made you fall in love with if you can remember? It was like I I think it was just like because I've always done like so basically I did karate and like kind of kickboxing for about 10 years and I got the black belt in karate and I was like okay I've kind of like I've like not completed it but like I feel like I've reached a level where I can't progress more. So I started looking at MMA. I was like I want to like use this somewhere like I don't want to just keep training aimlessly and like so I kept looking for fights. Kept looking for fights. eventually got it was a novice MMA league. So, I was like, "Right, grand. I'll get a match on that." And uh so I started grappling and it was just it was just like the thing of like cuz a lot of the boys who were training there I would have went to school with and like these aren't the most physically imposing like people but like the things they were doing to me and I was just like this is interesting and like I already had the head for fighting like I already had like I liked how things worked and I understood like the kind of game of chess. So, it was just essentially taking the head from striking and moving it straight to grappling. And like I just just took the same approach and just kind of fell in love with it because it was a learning. It was more about the learning. Like I just really enjoyed like learning new things and getting that experience and just bettering myself essentially and trying to become a complete MMA fighter. But now I've ended up just kind of taking the switch and coming to grappling. >> Yeah. No, and I like what you're saying. It's cuz like there is with the striking or whatever and that's why you like when you see high level UFC it's a chess match. You look at Usuzman versus Paul Hughes the second one a lot of people go oh that wasn't that interesting but that's because two of them knew each other and you see they were throwing faints and like it is ultimately it's a violent chess match is what it is. Um like jiu-jitsu is like folding clothes with people still in them is the way I kind of describe it. It's a mad fascinating sport. But what's the what's the kind of scene like? Cuz for me, I see the scene is is pretty big like and what's the community like you said the the ROJ um uh obviously had that unfortunate incident where someone had had done whatever and kind of you could see everyone kind of pull together do seminars and stuff like that. What how how do you find the community? Because I find the MMA one is fantastic and I'm assuming the BJJ one is much the same. >> Yeah. Like generally like cuz like before I kind of moved to BJJ like I wouldn't have really been involved in any other clubs like like when I was doing like karate and you're going to karate competition like these people were like rivals like these were like like you like I wasn't really close and this was before sport karate so I was kind of doing more like tours like free like it was like freestyle kickboxing kind of competitions. So, uh, yeah, but when I started getting involved in the jiu-jitsu community, I just started like cuz we're all like-minded individuals. Like people who fall in love with the sport, like you're obviously going to have a lot of the same belief. Well, not a lot of the same beliefs, but a lot of the same like thought process behind things cuz like no normal people are doing like this every day of their life for fun. So like like a lot of like the friends I've made from jiu-jitsu like we've just clicked like that because we have common ground and then you start talking about things outside of jiu-jitsu and it's like great. But genuinely like ever since getting involved and like more involved in the community like the community is some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Some of the best people. There's obviously some egos. There's some this. They're always going to have that in a sport. But like from the base level like most people I've met I've gotten along with I've gotten been friendly. like I have zero enemies in this sport kind of thing. Like even people aren't competing against like we're speaking on the regular or training at open match. Like so it is just a good community. It's a sense of belonging. That's like what everyone wants. It's a sense of belonging and it's a great thing. >> Yeah. Know I'm surprised that you have no enemies after you abused everyone the whole time you were out injured. But look, it just goes to show they're obviously the forgiven type. But yeah, I get what you're saying and h it's the same with MMA. When I kind of came in, I was accepted like I I have no sports like a combat sports background and I think it was because they I took an interest in trying to promote the regional scene and they really appreciate that was doing and like you said there's always one [ __ ] like in a gym like there's but I think overall I've been in different circles whether it be GA, soccer, rugby, I think it's the least amount of [ __ ] is in combat sports. 99% of people are nice. You're all there for a reason. like you said, you similar beliefs, similar kind of cultural things and and I I just think it's fantastic because like that you're getting humbled every day on the mats as well. And I think just to >> I think it's like for people is to be able to stick at for so long. It just shows that there's a dedication and discipline and a willing to learn and I just I just hats off to anyone who competes in any combat sports. But um what's what's left with do you have anything booked for the for the rest of the year? What's your plan? Have you have you been looking around? Have you been calling anyone out on uh on your stories lately? >> Well, basically there's a little thing called tag team jiu-jitsu and uh so so me and John Kavanaaugh were basically we're going we we have a little team set up and we're doing a tag team jiu-jitsu on the 22nd of November. I'm actually like I'm I'm a bit injured at the moment but I should be ground by the 22nd of November. Yeah, know that was the one because I was like I said it's like WWE. I I commentated on the the previous show and >> I just thought it was fascinating because like someone could have you in a leg locked. You just reach out to and then you have to stand back up. It was it was actually like that. People go, "Oh, it's a bit gimmicky, but it was different for people who like who might not like not like they wouldn't be as interested in jiu-jitsu. That made it a bit fun. It's a bit different." And it was the first time I kind of seen it. So, I thought it was a cool concept and and like when me and you were talking about you're like it sounds class and I'm glad you actually are going up to do it. I won't come on another show, but I will be looking out for for yourself and John Z how the two horsemen do in in that one. But is there anything else booked or or like have is there any events in mind that you know that's kind of running that you'd like to get on? >> Uh there's like there's nothing set in stone. There's probably I think there's a grappling industries that me and like my a few of my teammates are trying to like get a lot of the club going just so we can aim for that like the big trophy. But there's nothing set in stone at the moment cuz I did like I was competing yesterday and [ __ ] I took a took a bit of a bang to the collar bone and it's not feeling too great. So I just want to kind of take this month to kind of rest because I've been so active for the past month. Like it's just been I haven't had a moment like because I've been like I've had [ __ ] chest pain for the whole for the whole three weeks after the first competition and I'm just sitting here like I I need I need a break just cuz I love the competing but if you do it too frequently you burn yourself out. you like you're ruining it because I was like I was excited for every single match but by the end of the three competitions I was just like I need a a few weeks just to recuperate just to go back to that learning stage. You're going back to the gym seeing what works trying things because you can't constantly be in competition mode because you won't learn your >> Yeah. And and like that you need to rest your body because your health is well you don't want to get injured again. And I know what you're saying though because if I'm kind of when I wasn't doing interviews, I'd done none. And then when I did do interviews, I was like, I have to go 100% three interviews a day and then after two or three months, I'm burnt out and then I stop again. So I it's trying to manage that and especially with you being out now and you love competing. So um what was I going to say? I'm going to let you go. Uh is there anything you want to say before you go on? Anyone you want to shout out >> in a good way or a bad way? >> I want to shout out uh Alder Jillian. Donahoo fan club. We I know the performance yesterday wasn't good. End of an hour, end of the running joke. Uh yeah. Um I want to shout out my coaches. Just wouldn't be here without them. Uh the four horsemen, Jack Cassidy put on a great performance yesterday. Won the L grappling league. That's a man to watch. Everyone needs to watch out for him. And I just want to say h [ __ ] you Fun. >> I'd have to get Fion on to to respond to that. But thank you very very much for your time. Uh hopefully I will be speaking again. I Joe, I'll have you on before the tag team. I'll get yourself and John on. And then Joe, I might even get your opponents on and we'll get you all on the Zoom together and uh we'll have a bit of fun. >> That's it, man. >> Perfect. Thank you. Enjoy your evening, Pat. I much.