Peace Family and Welcome Back to another episode of The Foundation Podcast, on this episode we sit down with a very special guest Karl Phillips. Phillips is a Baltimore, Maryland native who has established a Foundation with fitness and in addition has served his country with the Navy for over 20 years where he served as Petty Officer First Class. Raised in the Douglas projects of Baltimore, Phillips was a typical kid from the outside looking in as he excelled in all sports including basketball, football, and wrestling, even coming from an area where greats like Mugsy Bogues and Sam Cassell. However, even though his parents did everything to keep him out of trouble, Phillips still found a way to begin getting in trouble in streets. At a very young age Phillips had to grow up quickly being based in Baltimore around the civil rights era and also drug epidemics, he had to navigate through hostile environment all throughout the city

Additionally, growing up with two brothers who were suffering from mental health issues in an age where not much was known about the conditions, greatly contributed to the stress on a young Phillips. Phillips cites feeling the need to protect his brothers from bullies and also to look out for them, he had to also be active in the streets. Phillips found out very early the dangers of the street life as at the age of 14, he was involved in a fight in which he nearly lost his life and left him with over 150 stitches on his face. Faced the possibility of an early death or a life in an out of prison, Phillips chose to look for a way out in the form of the military. The interview ends right when Phillips begins a tumultuous career in the Navy.

Throughout the interview, Phillips eludes to the importance of weight lifting at a very young age and how he felt a spiritual connection in the weight room and he felt it was all that he had. The weight room had become the Foundation he used to begin building himself up as a man. The second part of the episode which will be released next week goes into the actual journey Phillips had in the Navy and how he had to fight and ultimately conquer all his childhood fears and demons in order to come out on top. See if there are any tools you can take from Phillips story in order to help you build your own Foundation. Until next time family, Keep Building! Peace! #TheFoundationPodcast #Episode28 #BuildingWithKarlPhillips #FromMenacetoMilitaryStandout #Navy #BuildersBuild #DocumentationUniversity