10 Questions with Caesar the Consultant
faith, finances, fitness, and fire
Good morning,
They say in this world that you’re foolish if you’ve got a network and you don’t leverage it…there’s an awful lot of credence to that.
Thus, I was inspired to start diving into my rolodex and getting some insight from some of the more accomplished, opinionated, and intelligent people I know- and just like that, this 10 Questions idea was born.
You often see on nightly news shows or on podcasts a disclaimer that reads something like “The views and opinions do not reflect that of this network, etc”…isn’t that the whole point?
The idea in starting this new segment is to see views and opinions from all different perspectives and walks of life.
Some you and I may agree with, some we vehemently disagree with.
That’s what makes this all beautiful.
Interviews are meant for gleaning perspective and knowledge- not comparing and contrasting our own inputs of “right and wrong” on a chart with tickboxes.
So without further ado, I give you 10 questions (and some conversation), with my guy Caesar the Consultant.
Before we begin, here’s a little background:
Caesar the Consultant
Caesar (not his real name) will be joining us today using an alias, thus protecting his reputation at a Big 4 consulting firm in Manhattan.
A long time personal friend, he’s somebody that I see not only attaining his goals and financial/physical status well beyond his years, but doing so with a passionate (dare I say unbridled) voice and energy, and chasing what he wants out of this life with no apologies.
For a visual, he’s a modern Franco Colombo type with a sharp eye for business and strong sociopolitical opinions and viewpoints, all while tying in his life’s work to his strict adherence to his faith.
He’s also a strategic pick- as we head into the onset of four years under President Donald Trump, he’s the embodiment of the successful “New Right”, a taste of what’s to come as younger generations become financially and politically stronger.
I believe that’s a lens and a viewpoint we could all do well to gain perspective from.
Luckily for us, he is chock full of opinions and speaks well, and isn’t afraid to show it.
Enjoy our conversation with an open heart and an open mind, and I look forward to hearing back from you guys.
J: Give us some background as to who you are and what you do.
C: I am a sensitive young man who works for a management consulting firm in Manhattan and spends most of my free time pursuing physical fitness (weight lifting and martial arts), learning, and praying.
I also enjoy not taking things too seriously.
J: Obviously I only want to expose my readership to qualified people we want to talk to- as someone who has known you for awhile, it's cool to see somebody who has drive and then makes things happen. What's the key to that?
C: If I were to speak to some therapist, I am sure they would ascribe it to childhood experience, like being a child of divorce with some “trauma” residing in my unconscious.
Maybe.
Although, I have not been overtly driven like this my entire life, in fact, I would say I was more timid than not up until I attended college and pledged a fraternity.
Then perhaps you could say pledging a fraternity, which was a very difficult thing to do, was some sort of catalyst that activated dormant biological traits.
I would say there is a marked difference in my drive and ability to perform pre & post pledging.
Ultimately, I think it is a formula.
Human nature is always one of the primary variables, but absent the requisite experience and self-inflicted challenges, you’ll never unlock your true potential.
Willingly placing yourself in situations where the only way out is through, pushing yourself to the brink of collapse when engaging in physical pursuits - your back is against the wall you have to stand and fight.
You must force yourself into these situations as they will give you the confidence to plunge into the unknown and find the will to act.
Just get started.
Challenge yourself repeatedly and find out who you truly are and then act according to your nature. Be prepared to stand alone. Become a man who is capable of just acting without paralyzing yourself through thought.
Appreciate God giving you the opportunity to enact His will by preparing for and executing difficult tasks.
Choose the path of most resistance and find joy in the struggle.
J: How's your outlook for 2025, both personally and professionally?
C: Things don’t change much year to year. Just trying to get better: more lifting, more martial arts, deepen the relationships that matter, more praying.
Most importantly, having fun and making the most of it.
Professionally, it will be another busy year at my day job, investing.
I will continue pursuing a business venture to address a major issue in the banking industry, which I hope to get off the ground and into a viable working state this year.
I don’t believe in psychics, but my mother visited one and told me I will “solve a big problem and achieve a breakthrough” this year. I am choosing to believe this.
J: So you believe in the supernatural stuff.
C: Yeah, I guess so.
J: I’m with mom on this one.
J: So you mention praying a lot, is that more of an adulthood thing?
C: Moreso the last 6-7 years when I’ve had more perspective on how terrible certain things have become.
There’s no refuge anywhere where do you go.
Have you ever seen these masculinity camps on Twitter?
It’s like a bunch of guys getting paid to get screamed at and stuff like this?
J: Dude me and
went in on those last year.C: So the Church became my refuge, which could be seen as feminine because they preach a lot of love and stuff, but it’s also masculine and it’s not degenerate.
It’s the only thing left with no agenda.
You have sports, I don’t even care about sports but even they have political slogans on the field now.
(Goes off on rant about a guy wearing a Mets hat in a restaurant)
J: There was a Soprano’s scene about that.
C: And the manger did nothing about it because he had a sloppy suit on with sneakers.
J: Sneakers and suits with the exception of very specific circumstances is a big no.
J: You're President for a day (maybe a preview of the future!), what's the first thing you implement? Let's keep it somewhat appropriate.
C: The two most important issues facing the country right now are border security and health. I would also implement a physical fitness curriculum for all children through the 12th grade.
J: The "average guy" is probably more in a state of total disarray than ever before- what do you attribute that to?
C: I think there are multiple factors at play here.
The post-WWII world order has basically realigned itself to demonize traditional masculinity, nationalism, God, having a strong will, among many other things.
The reason why and who is behind it are for another discussion.
However, men have been raised in a society that has repeatedly told them that being a man is “toxic”, which really means they must act against their nature.
We are also living in a time where things are easier and more comfortable than ever before-everyone has access to endless pleasure through streaming, professional sports, pornography, drugs, gambling, etc., and no interest in seeking out challenging activities that will help them grow personally.
This results in unhappiness and deterioration.
Ted Kaczynski described this situation as modern society inhibiting individuals from engaging in the “Power Process”, which means being able to pursue a very challenging, but attainable goal that requires effort.
Historically, you had to put in effort to live and doing so gave a feeling of reward - think of how people used to live before the 20th century.
Now that life is so easy, men must seek out challenges willingly for true fulfillment, or else face total destruction.
Let’s not forget that women are also in a complete state of chaos. I’m pulling from memory, so the stats won’t be 100% accurate, but I know there have been reports published stating most women are on some sort of anti-depressant and more women over the age of 30 are single than ever before.
Women and reproduction are a motivating factor for men, and the current state of relationship dynamics and the prospects of a romantic future with a woman are extremely bleak.
What did you think was going to happen to men when you turned them against themselves and their nature, poisoned them with endless sin & vice, vilified them, and degraded the quality of relationship prospects with women?
It’s always so funny to me when people say modern man has it better than kings and emperors of the past because we have plumbing and air conditioning and Netflix.
Kings and emperors and all men of the past answered to God -- not nagging managers -- and they had more control of their destiny, and were able to act according to their nature.
Modern man has nothing in comparison.
One last thing - don’t forget to blame the Boomers, who have made it economically impossible to start a life like everyone else before us because of their greed, selfishness, unwillingness to pass on their inheritance or step aside, destructive policy, etc. Even if you manage to secure a good job, you still cannot participate in the American way of life that all previous generations had.
You can never have a conversation like this without blaming the Boomers.
We will miss them when they are gone, though.
J: Don’t you find gender war discourse is so unhealthy?
C: Women are under just as much under attack as men. Just because they’re getting ahead economically doesn’t mean they’re happier. The detoured man is out of shape, playing videos games. For a woman its her alone eating pizza drinking wine all alone thinking she’s happy.
J: The biggest irony they’re both online talking shit about the other.
C: Exactly. There’s things both genders can control and act upon, but it doesn’t help to set blame on each other. I’m not an incel or “MGTOW” or something like that.
J: Now I feel like I have to qualify to the reader that you’re very handsome.
C: I’m not telling anybody what to do, I’m just saying how it is.
J: Let's get into fitness for a sec, as we know you're in great shape and take it seriously. We've all heard "Yeah bro, eat steak and lift", which has just become cringe at this point in our corner of the internet. What's some more "off the beaten path" actionable fitness advice you can give us?
C: Let me just reiterate that yes, you should lift heavy weights, eat the grass fed/finished red meat and organ meats, pasture raised eggs, remove toxic and processed foods from your diet, eat organic fruits and raw dairy, try using more natural shaving creams, shampoos, etc., and rub beef tallow into your face.
You should seek out added obstacles to everyday tasks, for example, park further away from your destination and walk, put more effort into taking the garbage out or cleaning your dishes.
Treat everything you do as improving your physicality. The little things make a difference in your health, especially as you get older.
You must stay moving. Be grateful you still can.
I know it is cliche, but you should not watch pornography or drink frequently (although you need to have fun).
I don’t mean to belabor the point, but consuming adult content is pathetic - you are pleasuring yourself to other people performing grotesque sexual acts on screen. Please stop engaging in humiliating behaviors that make you weak and separate you from God.
You are not “horny”, which is a marker of health, you are a degenerate with a sick addiction.
J: You clearly have strong feelings about that.
C: Ted Bundy said it started with that, and he needed something more and more extreme.
J: That’s a valid point. You read stories all the time about people who get addicted to the point where they’re watching just downright absurd stuff to get the same fix and then they hate themselves. It’s awful for performance, too. I guess that’s we see Blue Chew ads on TikTok where the average viewer is like 17.
C: Yeah. And they want you addicted. Did you see Delta is putting Draft Kings games on the back of seats now?
J: We’re pretty fond of planes here.
C: You can gamble on the flight, I think like casino games.
J: Dude even being in the sky is not a break. Anyway, back to fitness.
C: These are things most people already know. This is the bare minimum. Everything I previously mentioned can be put into action immediately.
When it comes to weight lifting, keep it simple. Understand what works for you and what feels right, as well as what feels right on any particular day.
You need to stick to a routine, but you should also maintain flexibility.
In other words, create a program so you have structure when you enter the gym, but on any given day, perform the lift the way it feels best - change the tempo, the sets/reps, the types of sets (rest pause, timed sets, etc.) and so on.
I’ve had push days where I’ve gone into the gym and did my entire chest workout on a chest press machine because it felt so good that day.
Listen to your body.
You will grow and make gains if you are pushing yourself and progressively overloading.
J: I love the flexibility thing- too much strict adherence and you’re jamming your cortisol levels and it’s counterproductive
C: Yeah, it’s supposed to be fun too.
I have a routine I stick too but I’m not afraid to deviate from it. I’m not gonna have a day and be like “omg I was supposed to incline DB press today and I didn’t”
I have a friend that always does the same exact workouts, just waiting for the number to go up.
It’s not a schedule, it’s not linear.
J: Some days you’re hot some days you’re cold!
C: I did an entire workout on the chest press because it was feeling amazing and I had a great pump. I don’t need to do different movements and push weight.
J: That’s intuitive, that’s smart.
C: I read that in Dave Draper’s book, Brother Iron Sister Steel.
I was doing some elements of it, and it’s like, if it doesn’t feel good that day, do what you can.
Just hit it hard. Do what serves you and hit it hard.
J: He passed away not too long ago and it was in a previous article of mine. Any other insights?
C: If things are feeling stale, take a week to blow it all up - deload or refrain completely, try different pairings of body parts, do things unconventionally.
Inject some energy into your lifting before returning to your regularly scheduled programming.
The more you train, the more you immerse yourself into the lift, the better you will become at listening to your body, and this will spill into other areas of your life. Stay focused.
Men serious about physical fitness should seek out martial arts, or any physical activity that requires adherence to a set schedule and accountability.
You learn more about yourself sparring than you do in any physical activity.
J: I want to stop right there for a moment because that’s one of the best things you’ve said yet, and it’s so true. I got back out on the mats a little this summer and just trading punches again, hitting and getting hit…nothing compares.
C: Exactly. Going to the gym and lifting is easy, in the sense that you are on your time, and you are the master of your fate. At a certain level, your own discipline acts like an outside instructor, but ultimately you are accountable only to yourself.
Martial arts, for example, requires accountability to your dojo, your partners, and your coach. It is an entirely different level of discipline, not only because it is extremely difficult, but because you are accountable to others. This breeds a new level of physicality, discipline, and resilience. It’s also fun and a useful skill. The only thing more rewarding than beating someone is getting beat by someone and finding the will to get up and go again.
Look how Mark Zuckerberg’s political beliefs are changing as he works out and becomes an MMA bro.
I want to emphasize that fitness, in my opinion, is more than just your health metrics, your physique, the numbers you can put up in the gym, the way you feel - Yes, these are all great and worthy pursuits, and they are all rewarding and important. An approach to fitness that prioritizes only these aspects is great. But my approach is different - the aforementioned aspects are the byproducts of a higher goal.
I don’t care what your health metrics say, or how strong your bench press is, or how defined your abs are - if you are a coward who lacks the fortitude to stand for what you believe in and appetite to take risk, then you are not healthy.
You are WEAK!
No disrespect to any of the “health gurus”, they have educated so many people and I am grateful for that, but these are not men that are going to stand by your side in crisis, these are not men that have a presence or command much respect when you encounter them in person - they are simply nerds who study nutrition, or they are cringe hippies.
To me, fitness is about achieving a higher form of life.
It is about honoring the power within and the power you have over yourself. I know it seems bizarre to quote Nietzsche as a Catholic, but he said, “The most spiritual men, as the strongest, find their happiness where others would find their destruction: in the labyrinth, in hardness against themselves and others, in experiments.
Their joy is self-conquest...Difficult tasks are a privilege to them; to play with burdens that crush others, a recreation."
Again, you want the elite health metrics, the strong physique, and the healthy foods & everyday products.
You want to be extremely high energy to the point people think your heart is at risk but in reality, your resting heart rate is always below 50 BPM.
J: What do you mean by that because mines low to mid 40’s?
C: No if you have a RHR below 50 thats great, that’s what I have too.
J: Ok good.
C: Its a sign of energy dude. I hear it from people in meetings too like bro how do you have so much energy.
J: I constantly hear it at work because I can’t sit still.
C: The average person knows so little they tried to prescribe long distance runs to me because they think lifting gives you a bad heart. If you see somebody who is kinda crazy you think their BPM is off the chart- but it’s not the case. I had a girl tell me she was HBP at 27 years old!
Long distanced running is the worst form of cardio training period.
Only do it if you enjoy it.
J: Yeah I don’t do a lot of running. Long walks are the way though.
C: Long walks are great because its not about distance. Running is metabolically taxing.
Your body is the vehicle that transports your soul.
Make it strong, make it beautiful, but maybe think of fitness as being the instrument to sharpen your Will and animate your soul.
Strengthen your body to strengthen your fortitude, and do it with great intensity.
This is voluntary - you don’t have to do it, but you also must do it.
When people look down upon you or judge you for willingly pushing yourself so hard physically, don’t bother explaining; what they think of the matter should be of no importance to you.
J: “The body is the vehicle that transports the soul” I love that- is that your own?
C: Yeah. Maybe someone else has said it before.
J: That’s beautiful. I’m gonna steal that and give you credit.
J: Alright, #7. Who is somebody lesser known to the greater population that you really admire right now? Why?
Godfrey of Bouillon.
I don’t know how little known he is, but I’ve never seen him discussed by anyone.
I just read about him recently so I’m not trying to make it seem like I am a Godfrey of Bouillon scholar.
During the first Crusade, Godfrey was the first of the European nobles to answer Pope Urban’s call to put a stop to the aggression against Christians in the Middle East.
Enough was enough.
Godfrey was charitable, merciful, humble, and very pious, but he was also a berserker. A man devoted to God and War.
The road to reclaiming Jerusalem was long and unforgiving, filled with dangerous wild life, unbearable heat, starvation, and intense battles with better rested, much larger Islamic fighting forces.
But against all odds, through faith in Christ and a mission bigger than himself, he inspired his men to fight and struck fear into the hearts of those he fought against, ultimately achieving victory and recapturing Jerusalem.
An example of a great man driving history.
He did so many amazing things. I highly encourage you to read about him and his life as it is extremely relevant today. I also want to give a shout out to all the soldiers who fought alongside Godfrey and never quit.
The First Crusade and what those men went through is truly inspiring.
J: Well you understood the assignment with that one. I have a lot of research to do.
C: There’s a lot of parallels to today. Basically what happened was they asked themselves “how much longer are you going to tolerate what’s happening?”
J: You've landed on a Free Space here. Go off on a topic of your choice, just don't get me in too much trouble.
C: I haven’t been dabbling in much lately outside of “Current Events”, and you can imagine I have nothing good to say about that.
I was driving through the neighborhood this week and came across this majestic 10-point buck laying on someone’s front lawn.
I was captivated and just couldn’t stop looking at it lay there; an imposing build surrounded by smaller deer. They sat there so peacefully, in a meditative, trance-like state, completely at ease and content with their existence.
Then I started thinking about Vivek Ramaswamy’s tweet, basically saying American culture is to blame for our problems because we prioritize prom kings, athletes, strength AKA “Jocks” instead of engineers, scientists, etc.
I thought to myself, first off, why is he trying to create a divide here?
If this is American culture, and has always been American culture, are you trying to say that America, the greatest, most prosperous and innovative nation in the world, doesn’t have any success in engineering or science because we worship Jock culture?
Obviously, that wouldn’t make any sense because our history and success speaks for itself.
Didn’t Neil Armstrong, the American man who walked on the moon, attend Purdue University instead of MIT because he liked the football team?
Then I thought, Vivek is just showing he is a nerd and is decrying the stereotypical jock vs nerd cultural divide.
But I actually think Vivek showed everyone that there is such thing as an American people who created an American culture.
Mind you, Vivek’s post on X came during a heated immigration debate, where a lot of X users were rallying against H-1Bs and other forms of legal immigration, of which Indians comprise the majority.
These legal immigrants occupy many of our tech and engineering jobs because they accept a lower wage, among other things.
Was Vivek trying to say that if American culture was more like India’s, then Americans would not have trouble finding jobs, or America would be more powerful?
And because it’s not, we need to import cheap labor?
How does millions of foreigners from completely different cultures and ancestry working for low wages make America stronger?
Is America, the country that has to put deodorant behind lock boxes in Walgreens in major cities, a more formidable country now than it was 60 years ago when we put a man on the moon?
Attacking the American culture that leads the world by effectively creating a divide between jock and nerd is so off the mark because being an American means being aggressive, innovative, adventurous, heroic, and competent.
This is the spirit of the West and its people.
It is the spirit that changed the world, created science, philosophy, nearly all human invention. Without this, what would life be?
If these were the most critical elements to a nation’s success, why aren’t East Asia and India the dominant players?
Why have they, with billions of people by the way, not produced a fraction of what the West has produced?
And I know what you may be thinking.. what does this have to do with the 10 point buck on the lawn?
Honestly, I don’t know for certain, but I know they are connected because seeing the buck led to my thinking of everything I just talked about.
America is the buck - strong, beautiful, competent, aggressive, surrounded by dependents.
No matter how much of our culture or nature you try to change, the spirit of the American is that buck.
J: The way you tied all that back to your symbolism of the buck at the end, maybe you should be the one writing this.
C: That was me straight up losing it. I haven’t been doing anything interesting lately except work and working out. So I was just driving and it came to me.
J: So this was cathartic in a way then?
C: Yeah.
J: 3 things you can't live without?
C: God, Fitness, friends/family.
I am a human, I also need to be loved.
J: Okay, let’s finish it off- that's enough intellectual discourse, let's be stereotypical men for a moment- who is the most beautiful woman in the world right now?
C: All the women found in our text message gallery. And Stephanie Mandich.
J: Stephanie Mandich- is she a brunette?
C: Yeah.
J: Ok, I’m in. Brother- thank you so much for being a part of this. You left it all out there and I’m grateful for that.
C: I gave you my all for giving me the opportunity to participate.
Hope everyone enjoyed this first go, we’ll be back at this soon.
Lastly- if you have someone you think would make for a great interview in the future, by all means lmk. Perhaps even you yourself.
Love as always,
-John Abbate
26.1.2025