Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: There was always a soundtrack to our home, which, which was so looking back now, a frequency thing. So hearing that while watching people do skills that I was really good at, I was like, oh, oh, come on y'all, can I please be on your team? You know, my first game, walking out at Buckeye Stadium in Ohio state and seeing 103,000 people. I remember full body chills, wow. As I sat on the side and started leading crowds. And then shortly after that, I had come out to my family and I at that time was sent to conversion therapy. So I spent a year really disconnected from myself and very alone. That was my community and I had found it. And so being isolated from that was very difficult. And it made me realize though, through that entire process though, that I was actually relearning myself and I was building myself stronger adversely to what they were trying to do.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: By being intentional with that and really directing the flow and being a conscious creator of your life even in the hardest of times, then that's going to shape something beautiful in your life that you don't even know yet. But you're planting this beautiful marker that's going to pull you there to it even, even through these hard times, right? And trust me, I know it. I've. I've lived in my car at a point in my life, so I've seen the low times too.
[00:01:36] Speaker C: Welcome to Harmonize youe Life. Conversations that inspire, awaken and harmonize. Today we have a 25 year veteran of cheer and multi world champion, coach, athlete and choreographer Logan Cheryl joining us to discuss how he uses Aya to elevate the performance of the teams he coaches. I'm also joined by co founder AviAFIT Michael McDonald. Welcome everyone.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Logan Sherrill, magnificent human being, multi world championship coach, choreographer, athlete, dancer. I mean you're like business man, inventor.
I mean just, you know, tell us, tell us about yourselves. Like tell us your journey to now.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: Unexpectedly, my family uprooted in 1997, moved to a completely different state from my tiny hometown where all my family was. I was a power tumbler, trainer and homeschooled all growing up just to train at the gym. So one mini national and world titles in that tiny sport. And I had found a gym when I moved one June summer day in 1997 that had a rod floor where I could upgrade and keep my skills. I walked into that gym and there was a cheerleading practice going on and I could not even as determined and as dedicated I was to my, my craft at that time. I couldn't keep Focus. I watched the team the entire time, and from there, the rest is literally history. I quickly was drawn into how the music and the movement was creating a story, and I just. I became obsessed. I was in the seventh grade, and I didn't know that I was a creative at the time. I didn't know that I had gifts to unlock. And so as I began to build on that, I. I mean, I dove straight in. And I would go home at night, and my homework would be on this side of the page, but on the other side of the page, I'm writing out formations and putting songs to them, and I would start to imagine visions of what it would be like to make that own movement.
And when I started doing that, I realized just how difficult our sport is. And, I mean, this was over 20 years ago, so, I mean, to look at it now is insane. But I, I. I started building brick by brick what made me feel so expressive. And as I did that and learned the skills and the techniques and built on the education of cheerleading, it led me to, you know, being able to go out on my own as a choreographer at a very young age at 18. And opportunities fell in my laps, and then. Bring it on. And those were huge milestones for me.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: Okay, wait, back. Back up, because there's a lot, Lot going on here. Like, I don't want to skip over some of this juice, but. Okay, so you're in seventh grade, right? And then. And then you became a cheer athlete.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Right.
So tell us that first.
That first week or that first month.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: Like, like, that's so good. When.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: When you. When you got in there. And then also that pivotal moment. Like, okay, I'm. I'm pretty good at this. Like, there. There's something here. Right? So there. Tell. Tell us about that.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: So I. I brought a. I brought the advanced tumbling element, you know, and. And in that day, there was not many boys in the sport at all. I might have been one of, like, four boys in the entire state that competed all star cheerleading, but I quickly realized that it had unlocked something in me. And at the time, I didn't know it. I just felt it. And so that first week, going into practices and learning what literally that team was in its own entirety, a community. I was like, oh, I found my tribe, and. And I literally just. I. I suctioned to everything, every piece of knowledge, everything I could soak up. And it was. It was overwhelming at the time, but I look back, and it literally shaped the trajectory of. Of my entire life.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: Wow. You said something really important There, right. And I felt it when you said you found your tribe. Right? And especially, you know, I don't know what was going on, but in your life in those early days, but, you know, just thinking across, you know, society today, right. And a lot has changed since then, right? As far as, you know, the media and the music we're watching and, you know, all the pressures that, you know, children go through and moving from, you know, adolescence into teenage. So I imagine you finding your tribe was very meaningful, but also, you know, thinking of kids today or when they're. They find their tribe because, you know, is it. And I'm sure, Kingsley, you can attest to this. Like, I had no idea how intense cheer was. I, I didn't even know that it was a sport, right. I. I knew nothing. Right. But I knew taking Dylan. And by the way, Logan has been a premier coach for Dylan for the last four years in cheer and, and one of his big mentors. But Dylan, at the age of six, we took. We. We were taking him to parkour training at six years old, and he spent the whole time watching a flyer, having a private with two bases, and he could not stop watching. And afterwards, I go, you like that? Well, I noticed they had tryouts coming up, so then I asked for tryout training. And the next thing you know, he's in it and he's loving. This is his life, right? So he found his tribe, right. People that resonate with him and his. And his wants. So, you know, thinking back when you found your tribe, like, like, what did that mean to you? And then also relate that. What does that mean to kids today? Because this sport's only growing in numbers. It's. It's. It's now in an exponential rise.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, no, no matter where you're located, when you, when you do find that tribe, you know, kids come from all backgrounds. When you get to school, it is a, you know, hierarchical system of, you know, popular kids. You got your theater kids, you've got your, you know, and there's a melting pot which is. Which is great. But when you. When you come into a cheerleading environment where everyone's goal is. Is to bring out the cheer in their soul without even realizing it. And it's all together. It doesn't matter what school you go to, your age, it doesn't matter. Your upbringing, your past, your. You are automatically tuned in and connected to people that feel the fabric that you're on.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Well, Logan, tell me. Well, tell us your. Your first kind of win back then. Like, you're starting out and you're, you're getting your, your groove on. You're bringing advanced gymnastics. I mean, you must have been a rock star out of the gate. You know, I'm just imagining, right, like you just, you just showed up and they go, where have you been? That's, that's my fantasy. Right, like, like Logan's here, right?
[00:09:14] Speaker A: Like on the tumbling side. Yes. I was able to do, you know, a double full twisting layout on. You know, at that time we had dead floor, which is just the foam surface on concrete.
Now these kids are on, on spring floors. But to get to your question, I, I actually was just great at the tumbling at the time. I. My movement, my coordination, my. Everything was so rigid and, and steady in the training of my technique and form of just gymnastics.
So I began. I would go home every night because I knew and I would fall in love. We'd get a mix or we, you know, back in the day would. It would go from Paula Abdul. Come on, everybody, let's do the conga. Straight into. Boom, boom, pow, high kick. Yeah. You know, so the mixes weren't customizable and license and stuff. It was just what we were creating and what we felt in the moment that fit. And I just will always come home remembering making playlists and little mixtapes and movements and formations.
And then we developed obviously as a very powerful program there and we started winning national titles. And I was like, oh, I'm traveling to other places and I see other people, I see other teams and you meet. You know, for me it was super important as a kid that was bullied heavily to see other guys, you know, from New York, I'm from Florida, I'm from Washington. Oh my God, we have. And then you, you, that community already just swirls up again and you're like, what is this?
[00:10:56] Speaker B: Wow. Wow. So you're, you're, you're winning national titles and you found your tribe and then you're probably going like, there's a career path here. Like, when, when did you know that you were the cheer was going to be your life?
[00:11:15] Speaker A: I think it was the second week.
After speaking about the first week, my mentor, Orson Sykes, he's the owner of Twist and CH All Stars. He serves on many boards now to these days is one of the most highly respected. And I fell into the best nest I could have ever fallen into. And I watched him as a big family guy dedicate and spend time coming and really speaking to us. And at the time I did, I didn't know, you know, the Impact, the full scale of what it was doing for me. But I knew in the back of my mind, I said, I will be doing this probably for a really long time if I can get really good at it.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Beautiful. So, so tell us, Multi world champion. Let's go down the kind of the, the accolade list, right? Because, you know, I've never, I've never heard it right. I, I know that you're this superstar that's been there, done that. You. You just know everybody in the industry.
You're highly respected. But I don't know the details, and I'd love to know.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: I mean, so if I can get really personal, I, I went all the way through high school, found my dream college, Texas Tech, went there, made the cheer team, and I wanted to cheer on crowds. I wanted to be a sideline cheerleader. I'd never been a sideline cheerleader in a stadium. I was always in a gym competing against other competitive cheerleaders. And I was like, while I'm in college, I want to see, you know, my first game walking out at Buckeye Stadium in Ohio state and seeing 103,000 people. I remember full body chills.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: As I sat on the side and started leading crowds. And then shortly after that, I, I had come out to my family and I, at that time was sent to conversion therapy. So I spent a year really disconnected from myself and very alone. And when I got out, Orson, the man who owned this program, showed up. He drove 13 hours to Memphis, Tennessee to watch me graduate this program, and he invited me back into his gym.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: You know, we, we just, we just skipped over something super personal. And you go where you feel comfortable with this, Logan. But I know that this story could help a lot of people that are, that are not fully understood or accepted because, you know, cheerleading attracts a, A certain caliber of a racehorse. Right. Of an athlete, of a human. Right. So I know even in our gym, there's. There's been athletes that have had to quit based off of not being understood by their family members. And, you know, I want to get into details, but it's, it's really unfortunate and sad because you see these very talented individuals that truly love the sport that are pulled out of it because of.
They don't fit in a certain mold. Right. And. And maybe your story can help bring solace and comfort to others out there that may be facing a similar, know, level of scrutiny or misunderstanding.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I mean, I think, you know, at that tender, formative age of your teenage years when maybe you don't feel that you are part of the crowd, you part of the a community. That was my community and I had found it. And so being isolated from that was very difficult.
And it made me realize though, through that entire process though that I was actually relearning myself and I was building myself stronger adversely to what they were trying to do, you know, and I have no hate or malice towards them. You know, I've done a lot of work to, to make sure that I am authentically centered here and I think it's really important. I think it more importantly showed that I have a place where I need to look kids in the eyes and say you're perfectly fine and you're perfectly beautiful the way you are. So let's see where we can take this.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: That's wonderful. Now, now you stating that you took that experience, so you were basically extracted from your tribe for a year in conversion therapy and you took that as a learning opportunity, a growth, a growth opportunity. I don't know if you saw it that way at the time, but I think in. In hindsight you see how perfect that was in or in order for it to shape you as the is the man you are today. Is that, that.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: That was the first, that was the first marker on my map that taught me that my biggest conflicts against my ego or my understanding of the world actually mark my biggest lessons which marks my biggest growth.
[00:16:48] Speaker B: Yeah, that's beautiful. Maybe even at the time of that year long separation, in hindsight you see how valuable that was and there's no hate. There's no, you know, it is what it is and I learned from it and it helped shape me who I am today.
And so I guess what my message would be for that individual that's, that's going through a tough time of not being understood right now and maybe having to be separated from their tribe is that as hard as it may be there, there is a beautiful viable opportunity here.
There's a diamond in the rough. There always is. And it's in these hard times that if we actually can muster the self talk to ask the question what is it that I can learn, heal, create, conquer, understand from this situation in order that I can move gracefully through it and to be better on the other side of it, I'm ready for that information now. So by being intentional with that and really directing the flow and being a conscious creator of your life even in the hardest of times, then that's going to shape something beautiful in your life that you don't even know yet, but you're you're planting this beautiful marker that's going to pull you there to it even. Even through these hard times, right? And trust me, I know it. I've. I've. I've lived in my car at a point in my life, so I've. I've seen. I've seen the low times, too. So this, this story that you share, Logan, I think, highlights an important message for people, especially children going through tough times of uncertainty and not feeling understood or accepted, is that there's something really valuable here for you to create and to bring forth in the future. So, actually.
[00:18:50] Speaker C: So I'm not sure if our audience is familiar with conversion therapy. I think I know what it is, but, Logan, tell us, what exactly is that?
[00:19:01] Speaker A: So basically, this specific topic, conversion therapy, is for the LGBTQIA community.
It exists under a huge religious umbrella, and it's basically where you go and you are told. And I won't get into the graphic details of what we went through at that time, but you are. You're trying to be reprogrammed into. You can call it brainwashing if you want, and to fit a narrative, a style, a societal norm to make sure that you are not out there breaking the mold of any kind.
And I. I look back and I. I know we all wear a tool belt around our waist every day of our life. Tools. In those moments, I realized my tool belt was taken off, but I didn't realize that everything in there was being sharpened until I. Until I put it back on.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: Wow. What a great visual that is.
[00:20:09] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a great way to put it. Yeah, that's.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: So.
[00:20:12] Speaker C: I'm just like, I'm so curious. Like, how do you.
How do you. How do you resist that?
I mean, obviously, you know, you're born the way you're born, but how do you.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: I gave them hell. But. But I am, again, like I said, a community person. And I was there with so many people who also, just on that. That aspect of our lives was so deeply personal, and as we were alienated, it actually healed some of those wounds in us. Meeting people the exact same way, exact same space at different ages, different, you know, life markers. And.
And I literally think, you know, even though for it cost me a little arrested development there emotionally at 18, I. I think it. It did more for me than anything hard and obstacle wise that I've faced in my life since.
[00:21:16] Speaker C: So everything's easy after that.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: I. If baby you. If you can. Yeah. If you can fight those swords and you can go in that lion's Den. And you can come out holding the mane. I think you. I think you're all right.
[00:21:29] Speaker C: Awesome. I love that. That story of kind of redemption, resilience, that's. That's what we're all about here at IA is. Is pulling that out of people. And, you know, first of all, saying, yes, like Michael said before, like, it's okay to be you. You said that as well.
I'm curious about the music now because you said you were on the. You were on that. That floor. You were doing tumbling, but. But you said you were a little stiff and. But now you're a choreographer. Like, connect the dots there. How did you. How did the music come into it for you?
[00:22:02] Speaker A: Well, I mean, I've always. My. My. My family. You remember the big old triple stacked radio with the glass doors back in the day, the sound systems was always playing. Whether it was worship music or, you know, Led Zeppelin or this. Anything of the seventies.
[00:22:23] Speaker B: It.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: There was. There was always a soundtrack to our home, which. Which was so, looking back now, a frequency thing that I just literally was a part of that. I think she shaped how I began to express myself. So hearing that while watching people do skills that I was really good at, I was like, oh, oh, come on, y'all. Can I please be on your team?
Yeah. And so that's really where that started, the connection between those two, at least.
[00:22:57] Speaker C: Nice. Yeah, I think. Yeah. That being. Being from gymnastics and then cheer, there's something really, that is the big differentiator really, is the music. I feel like in gymnastics, except for the flow routine, of course, there's no music. You're just sitting there watching someone do a routine.
But with cheer, it's really driven by the music. And I think I mentioned this the other day. I was like, if I can't watch my daughter does cheer as well, if I can't watch her live and I watch it later, they cut the sound out because they don't have the permissions, and it's like, unwatchable. I mean, it's really just odd.
Of course I watch it, but it's.
[00:23:40] Speaker A: Like it doesn't make sense.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: Yeah. So talk us through your approach to music and choreography. And I'm learning as a cheer dad about all the counts and all this. So connect that between the. Yeah.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: So going back to then, I being the rigid, perfect body form, you know, having to. I would go home and I would shut my door and I would. I would put on music and I would begin to move, and I didn't care what I look like. I Didn't care what I felt like. And I learned my body, I learned the rhythm of where I flowed and what made me peak in moments of where I found the most excitement. And I fed off that. I kept doing it. I kept doing it, I kept doing it. And there's a little story.
One of my great friends who was the assistant choreographer. I'll bring it on. You know, 20 years later, he was our first choreographer that came in. So I'm the only boy on the team. And you know, we have our mix. He's a LA hip hop dancer. And he comes in, he's popping all these and I'm like this. Oh, dear Jesus, I don't think so. I have to go center. I'm the boy. I'm the focal point, basically.
And at the end he was like, come here. I was like. And he was like, listen, you got a little white chicken dance going on in you, and I'm gonna need you to. I'm gonna need you to loosen up and 20 years later, get down the road. He's the choreographer for Bring It On. And I became the demo for the entire cast on how movement and musicality. And when I finished doing the demo, I looked at him and I said, am I still the white chicken?
And he lost it.
So it went from there all the way to there.
[00:25:33] Speaker C: Wow. Okay, so Bring It On. So that really was my first.
The way competitive cheer was introduced to me was through that movie. So that's crazy that you were actually involved with it. So explain that a bit more. So you were, you were helping the choreography or.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: So there was. There was six movies that came out. When Bring it On came out, they did a like back to Back to College one that was just so terrible. And the third one, what was good, it was all or nothing. It was. Is what it was called. But then I got hooked up with the choreographer he was calling and I, I said the only way we will do this is, is if we bring the real actual skill, the, the full on what we do and not the just rah rah spirit fingers. And. And that's what they did. They did a nationwide tour of gyms and came to chair athletics in Dallas, Texas, where I had been at the time. And it first started working and we.
They brought together so many huge collaborative athletes. And so we had already known each other growing up in cheer. And so we basically just went and filmed every day what we did, but we brought it to the level of what competitive cheer was. So in. In it to win it.
The fourth edition is What I was in, it really showcased more on a level that could relate to, to competitive cheerleaders instead of just the scripted, you know.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Yeah, it's so cheer is a very fast evolving sport.
And you know, I wouldn't, I know when I was in high school there was no, I don't think there was even tumbling. It was more just pom poms. And I don't know, maybe they would do some lifts. I don't know if they were like half lifts. So they were nothing interesting. Yeah, yeah. I mean it was just really, you know, it was cheering on another team.
But explain, explain the differences because I think a lot of people think that's what cheerleading is. And there's, I mean, I guess you had the music of the band, but competitive cheer, that's very different. Like you're the focal point. There's no other team, you know, there's no other team. You're no football team, you're cheering on, no basketball team.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: When I found out that cheerleading was first an all male sport was started by the yell leaders of a university way back in the day trying to hype the crowd. I was like this.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: I knew it.
[00:28:04] Speaker A: But we had to have the girls, we had to have the glam, we had to, we had to put somebody in the air learning the evolution about it.
And then like I said, music back then without licensing and stuff and the sport not being what it is today, we got to do kind of whatever we wanted. So it was custom to us. And now it is so advanced that every mix is either, you know, a licensed cover copy, but is integrated into what now teams do themes. Like for instance, your daughter is on a team that has a Legally Blonde theme, a movie. And we have an artist that created an entire script integrating cheer and integrating the movie so flawlessly. And so the kids got to watch it. And now they take on the personality of Elle woods from the movie and, and Michael's son is in a routine that I base it off Clueless the movie, you know, and so everything is as if. And you know, you just really, you really get to connect there. And then they get to bring it to like an actual stage and show them their skills, highlight everything that they are so good at while giving you an entire Hamilton production.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: Love it. Yeah. And again for me that's that, that bringing that personality to it is really key. I mean, it's not all of the scoring, of course, but you know, I've noticed some performances like just, I use the term, they didn't have the energy.
So I Have a feeling this is kind of where, where Michael comes in with Aya, like getting that energy through the music. And I want to, I want to segue to a, a story from I believe Dylan's team, although I guess you've made it with a couple other teams too. And that's using music to motivate behind the scenes, not necessarily the music for the performance.
But Michael, do you know what I'm talking about? I'm alluding to?
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Yeah. And something that's going to be live soon on the platform is Aya's RFM music generator. So you will be able to go in there and create music in any style. A hybrid if you want of types of music, slow, medium, fast, specific instrumentation, the words that you want to use, you know, your power words, your, a poem you wrote, a short story. And then if you want, you can hit the lyric alchemy button and Aya will transform that into a fully flat, fleshed out structured song that relates to the genre that you chose or the, the hybrid genres you chose. So she's an amazing songwriter and she uses something we've developed called neuro linguistic AI. So every word in language, no matter what language you speak, but we're speaking English, every word has a resonance to it. It has, you know, we're a meaning making machines. That's what we do is we make meaning out of everything and we use words to do that. Every word has a frequency associated to it. So I will take your words if you want her to and to elevate those to into high vibrational language that captures the essence of what you're, you're looking to do. So trust me, she will blow your mind.
You know, you, you put a three word phrase in there and you hear hit lyrical alchemy, boom, you're gonna get something that's going to shatter your paradigm and then you push the generate button and then the, the resonance frequency music track in your style will be created in that style with your lyrics with a, a female or a male vocal of your choice or sometimes it's a duet and it's very high quality, wonderfully produced music that is a new genre in, in music. It's, it's a new paradigm for music because I can create things that humans just can't do. I, I'm a producer, I've produced music my whole life. So she blows my mind daily on things like how did she do, was that a flute or is that a voice? Whatever it is, it's cool, right?
So she can do things that I Just can't do in the studio and effects and pannings and just, you know, structures that I would have never even considered. So this is coming live soon to, to the platform for users I've been doing in the back end for months and months.
But in the world of cheer, we, we saw an opportunity for a team bonding to where, hey, what if we got the cheer team together and had them write out their power words like statements or words that, that light them up to give them power, that make them feel invincible. Because what we want to do is we want to see if Aya can create what's called a mat song. It's like, it's that, it's that song that just lights you up and makes you want to just, you know, conquer, hit zero, you know, to be the champion. Right. So we with, with, with Logan leading the way, we had the girls write and boys write their power statements. We took those words, we inputted into IO said, you know, Aya, make a hard hitting matte song for these, for this cheer team and I'll let Logan kind of share the rest. But that's kind of like the, the premise.
[00:34:21] Speaker A: I, I just want to touch on a story really quick. So he offered this so graciously and spent his time. I had girls literally with shredded pieces of paper and markers to exercise like he said, writing your power words. They had no idea what they were doing at Force of Thanks gave them to Dylan to take home.
Michael turns around and I get a track. So I'm listening to this track and as a reward for the team's great performance, one day practice, I introduced and told them exactly what it was and kind of this and they heard it. And when I tell you the buzz, oh my God, I wrote that down on my paper. I.
So it became their comp song and I literally from there it went and I, I feel like my crown lifted off my head. And just last weekend we were at a competition because we, you know, we get so busy in the dedication of executing every skill and, you know, making sure the score sheet, our bible is, is where it needs to be. And we were getting ready.
Teams arrived two hours early. We had done hair check, makeup check, pre warmup, motivational talk, and we're getting ready to go to warm up. And so I'm like, all right, let's go. Get your walk out line here.
My little team leader comes from the back, she taps me on the shoulder and she said hello. She said, what are you forgetting? And I was like, oh my God, who's in the bathroom. Where's the speaker? And she said, no, our song, she said it has to be played to get the vibe right before we go into warm up. And I, my brain and heart did a literal backflip split because I was like, you right, girl. And so that whole team walked in blaring this eye attract that was only to them, that only they knew. And they knew all the words. I didn't know they had studied it. I didn't know because, you know, at that age they had written down unicorn popsicle, you know, and, and it, but to them it connected so well and those 26 individuals turned into one entity. And, and, and I, I know for a fact it is, it is why our showmanship was the highest it has ever been for that team in a competition, scoring a 1.9 out of 2.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: You know, I just got full body chills as you're saying that.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Trying to Corral 26 energy, either deficient or high functioning anxiety, you name it, athletes is super tough to harness that energy. And so, you know, you do the best you can and then you put out fires along the way is what I like to say. But if you could experience that as a team right before you go in. And it's not just music, it is heart centered technology that vibrates to the frequency of what your word said, then they have no idea what just happened. But what, what just happened was revolutionary for, for them. And I, and I, it struck a chord and I said, all right, let's go.
[00:37:27] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah. And you know, and this is, and this is the thing, right, because we have a lot of high level, beautiful, smart, very smart advisors, right, that are looking at iffit platform from all angles, really. From a medical, from a scientific, from a scrutiny, right, scrutiny left and right. And I got off a call earlier with somebody that called me with some really valuable insight, right? But you know, it's scrutiny. It's like, hey, you know, we don't want to over sell. We don't want to make claims, you know, we don't want to, you know, and I got off that call, you know, grateful. But at the same time I'm thinking like, we don't need to make any claims. The music speaks for itself. Like just try it out. You, you'll feel it, right? And, and it'll shift you how it shifts you, right? But, but that's up to you, right? You're the, you're the, the co creator, you're the conscious creator here. So you said something that, and that's when the chills that shot up my body is that, you know, you said everybody came in. I think it was 27 of us. And that song lit us up and we became this one entity, right? Like you were all singing from the same songbook, right? Like all the distractions, the social media, the boyfriends, the moms, the drama, the, oh, my God, she wore my shirt. You know, she doesn't like me. Oh, I'm too fat fat. All of that slipped away, right? And you guys came together as this one entity with this one. Cause this one thing. Thing that you've worked so hard on. And Kingsley and I know, like, we.
[00:39:17] Speaker A: As parents, y'all get it?
[00:39:18] Speaker B: YouTube, right?
[00:39:20] Speaker A: We.
[00:39:21] Speaker B: It's a. It's a commitment. Like, we. We ask Dylan sometimes he comes home and we go, are you sure you want to continue here? Like, I can't tell you how many times we've asked him that. Like, you know, I don't know if I'd be continuing under these circumstances, but.
[00:39:40] Speaker A: Hey, we supported my part, my hand in that.
[00:39:44] Speaker B: So. So we know, like, we know the grind and I mean, and it's much more kings. I'm sure you can attest to this too. It's much more than us as parents can even understand because we're not in it, you know, doing bear crawls for hours and, you know, just all the.
The stuff they're running in 105 degree weather outside, right. For three miles in sheer shoes, right? So. And showing up. And then the intensity of the coaches is it's like Marine Corps boot camp, right? But for children, it's serious stuff. It's real world serious. This, this isn't you. Sometimes Francesca and I go, you know, it's called. It's called cheer.
But I'm not seeing too much cheer right now. It's like, you know, going on here.
[00:40:39] Speaker C: So also dangerous, like, you're not all in sync.
[00:40:43] Speaker B: Is this, like, group of 27 just kind of on the same, singing from the same page? This is their creation. Nobody outside of this group is going to quite get it. Like, they are. It's their words. It's their. It's. It's their theme song. And they come together for two or three minutes in celebration, and then they go out on that mat and tell me, tell me about that, like, what happens next?
[00:41:11] Speaker A: You know, like you were saying. Well, at practice, you know, they don't know, but they're taking off their tool belts and they're laying them at the front of the floor and we are, we are sharpening them with our words, we are sharpening them with our instruction, we are sharpening them with our insight into. Because our. Whether you work in whatever with youth sports, you are just a vehicle for, I believe, life lessons that these kids need to harness, or I believe it's your responsibility.
And, you know, that's why years ago, I started beyond 5, 6, 7, 8, which was just something to promote during the pandemic, something that, you know, we couldn't get together, we couldn't do skills, you know, so what's beyond the map? And you, you, you watch these kids, you know, day in and day out, come in and train. And I mean, especially both of your children, I know you guys know they, they take on double the load. They're talented. So I'm like, I need you on this team, and I need you on this team as well. So their load is. Is doubled.
But the intensity is so great that if you do not find a way to get to the middle of that child's purpose or to at least make sure that they feel heard and seen, you really have done nothing but make a child exercise. And so when, when that happened, and I realized that, you know, we. Because, yes, they'll all sing their favorite TikTok dances, and that's just out of habit and memory. But when something is created on their behalf that they were a part of, it takes on a whole new meaning. And it, and it does do exactly that. It gets them centered and their tool belts are back on. And it's like, you go out and you're looking at the next team. You're like, my belt's sharper than yours. Yeah.
[00:43:06] Speaker B: Wow. And so you mentioned that they got their highest performance rating ever. Wow, that's huge.
[00:43:17] Speaker A: I, I literally looked at the scores because I go down, you know, you're separated in a top half of a score sheet. Everybody's going to do the same skills. Then you're going to be judged on how well you executed those skills. At the bottom half is how was your routine creativity, know, as a choreographer, how was your. And showmanship is the one I'm talking about.
How much did the judges genuinely feel that you were athletically having a good time and selling the performance?
[00:43:45] Speaker B: It's.
[00:43:46] Speaker A: It is basically in the glossary of, of the term. And they can tell if, you know, if you just haven't trained enough, you're just trying to get through the skills. Your showmanships can be very low. But if you've trained the skills and you're centered in a place at just for this example At Aya, it's completely different than just listening to another song because they already did that the way. The whole way here the night before in the car with their friends. What they didn't do and what they didn't realize was they were, you know, summoned to come back to themselves with stuff that they had created.
And I think literally that is the definition of showmanship.
It is like. And you know, when it's genuine, you know when it's authentic, you know when it's real.
And that is why, still at 40, I do this when I. When I see a kid hit that final pose, knowing they gave everything they had, it's. It's still emotional for me because we are one of the only sports that trains so intense with no off season, and we get one to two chances of two minutes and 30 seconds to say, pick me.
And a big part of that is the musicality of them showing you. Okay, I've really worked hard, but look how fun this is too.
[00:45:11] Speaker B: Yeah, well. And, you know, you know, what's going on there, you know, behind the scenes, you know, when you know, this few minutes before you guys, you know, went out to the mat and you guys were bonding to the song that you've. You created together, it's combined masterpiece. But what's going on there is, is the children and the coaches in that moment are going into something called heart, brain coherence, right?
So, you know, to make it simple, what you're doing is, is you're. You're being centered into your power, right? And you're entering a state of calm, of peace.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: Your.
[00:45:54] Speaker B: Your breath is more controlled and. But what's even more powerful is when you're doing it in a group because now it's more than just you. You've become, like you said it yourself, you just became this, like, entity. It's this. It's this team, right, totally coming into coherence with each other before going out for their 2 minutes and 30 second performance where everything has to be flawless, right? And that's when you want to be in coherence, right? Complete team coherence, right? Where each individual athlete, they've let. They've let go of the drama, they let go of the judgment of their. Of their fears, of all that stuff. They've let it go. But not only that, now they're in coherence with the team where they let all the stuff go and they're hitting it in their best state possible for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, right? And you know, the nerves that you've Got just before going on for a competition, big or small, right, is the nerves are intense, those few minutes building up to it. But if you're in coherence and you're on the same page as your team, which is exactly what we're doing here with resonance frequency music is we're giving a tool that is full of intention. And again, we're frequency beings in a frequency universe. You know, intention is the driver of everything.
Now these aren't, you know, these aren't words and things that people need to really learn or understand, but it needs to be said because there's something powerful at work here is that you're engaged in music that is built from the ground up from intention, right? Of creating coherence. Whether it's a nature sounds track or a hard hitting EDM track, or just a wild and crazy 148 beats per minute cheer song created on iFit.
But it's filled with, with all of this intentionality.
And on top of it, if the athletes create the words that go to that song and now they're part of it and it becomes this intentional like bomb of goodness, right? That brings everybody into coherence at the, at the most important time to become incoherence is those few minutes leading up to that 230 or the 2 minute and 30 seconds spotlight where you gotta hit zero.
[00:48:48] Speaker A: That and that. And that is when it hit me also that this was, this was just one track we had been listening to for a couple weeks.
Imagine, I was thinking, imagine if we fully use what I had to offer. And at the beginning of your practice, you set an intention with a, with a RFM or sonic supplement and you wrapped up with the same thing. You know, you're, you're already bringing them in, letting them go back out, knowing they're going to come back more willing and dedicated to buy into the community aspect of what it takes to hit zero, which is every single person believing that the person next to them has their back.
[00:49:38] Speaker B: Yep. Yeah. Well, and here's the thing is that, you know, and I'm just thinking in real time here, I'm just, I was there at the gym with you where you're using Aya as a tool in your tool belt, as a coach, right? And a choreographer and thinking of how you can bring the team into coherence at the very start of a training session and also at the very end, right? Like for example, you've got your phone, it's connected to the pa, right?
Hey everybody, three power words. First three. Okay, Cynthia, All Right. You get your. Okay, Aya, create me a sonic supplement with these keywords. Boom, boom, boom, generate, boom. And then instantly it's generated plane. It's their co collaboration, they're in on it. Oh, you don't like that one? You know, create it again. Right. But they can be part of that journey and at the same time they're, they're, they're infusing their creative thought to the process.
Even though they may not think of themselves as a creative, they're engaging in a creative process. Right. And it's quick, it's instant and boom, you get the immediate result and you guys are shaking it out on the floor. You know, you're, you know you're, you're 60 second dance off, right?
And then you go into bear crawls or whatever, right. You know, it's stunting or you do bear crawls to the, you know this is your punishment for showing up late, right? Yeah, you know, okay, Aya, let's teach these kids a lesson. All right? Bear crawls. And maybe the track is titled Bear Crawl Hell.
[00:51:32] Speaker A: Right?
[00:51:34] Speaker B: At least they're laughing while they're puking in the garbage can, right?
[00:51:38] Speaker A: It's true, it's so true. Because I, I realized when the 8 year old tapped me and she said, where's our song? I, I had lost my childlike yearning for hey, I felt something there and I, and I want to feel it again.
And I saw that and just like you said, that's a great example. It's so customizable because you might have a team of divas, you might have a team of just really kind of outcast kids that just kind of, you know, came to try it out. So you're able to in any way, format that specifically for them.
You know, you, you turn on a song at the, at the gym, a famous TikTok song or da da da, there's gonna be three or four kids that are like, I hate that one, you know. Right. But they cannot deny when in any situation they've at least heard or watched their teammates give input to create. You know what, we've started experimenting with Aya to at least be invested and go, okay, well next time I'm going to say my power words are, you know.
[00:52:44] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you know, you just gave me another thought here, Logan, because you know, there's, there's good coaches and then there's not so good coaches out there in any sport. Right. And everybody has their own style and it's, it's, it's from their, how they were Taught when they were eight, right?
And so you know how many times I wish that kids that need to be recognized are recognized, right? Because it's so easy. Life is so busy. The coach's life is hectic and busy, right? You can't even imagine, right? So you've got 20 to 30 kids that you're bringing through the system. But how cool would it be to have an athlete that, you know, has a, like a shy, a shyness probably self worth issue, right? Like, like you know that they're working on self worth whether they know it or not. Like, you know that, you know, when they're on stage, they're lit up, but when they're out in the real world, they're, they're shy, they're, they're, they're to themselves, they're withdrawn. So how cool as a coach to be able to say, hey, Aya, can you craft a Sonic supplement for so and so? They're just, you know, just a dynamic cheerleader and they're working on these issues. Can you write something that would just motivate them to dig deeper and to keep going and to know that they're just a superstar? And then generate, then boom. You can just hit the share button, share that with them, right? Or even on the Team Channel doing shout outs to people that did something extraordinary, right? How awesome is it to be shouted out, right? And then here's your, here's your track. John, thanks for man going the extra mile. You really inspired us. And they've got their, like, track that you created in real time and sent it to them.
Or even like, hey, Aya, the team's going through a hard time right now. We just went through this, this and this, you know, can you create a Sonic supplement that will kind of bring us back into coherence and, and help us stand in unity and, and, and friendship and bonding and then generate, boom. Send it to this whole team, right?
You know, just like, just think of all these different tools that can be used to, to bring not only fun but, you know, caring because, you know, somebody, if somebody sent you either a track that they created for you specifically or a Sonic supplement, you know that that person took some time, right? They took time. And the most valuable thing we have is our time, right? So when you're taking time for someone and you're sending that to them, right? Then, you know, oh, they, there's. They thought of me, right? I feel like knowledge, right? So so many levels, you feel acknowledged, you're spending time, you're giving them something that you know, is going to bring them into coherence, right. If they take the time and lean in. Right. And it's a creative process. So all of these, these layers that we can bring to the sport of cheer, right, to level it up.
[00:56:07] Speaker A: Name one sport where you don't see an athlete right before they take the field with the earbuds in or they're about to run the 800 meter or they're rowing or they are running laps. You've got a track in the background somewhere.
[00:56:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean, music is, is the driver, Right? Yeah. So.
Yeah. Incredible.
So, Logan, tell me, tell me.
You know, we, you know, we've been talking to you about IFIT for months now, right?
And you had a, a moment where you just had an aha. And, you know, now we're bringing you in closer. You know, you're engaged, you're. You're helping us on so many levels with, with messaging and, you know, inspiration for, for Tracks of Iron on IR Radio.
So tell, tell me about kind of your aha and how you would like to harness the IFIT platform to extend your legacy in the world.
[00:57:13] Speaker A: Well, I, you know, as I, as I end, you know, the next couple years, my actual heavy involvement in the spirit industry being introduced to, I, I thought super cool. You know, we had that first meeting, we were talking about my vitality drinks and how to bring that frequency on a QR code. So when someone takes a sip of my drink, whether it's cheer up or chill out, how it would relate.
My aha was that night I went home and so I got straight on Aya and I played every day something different, learning, exploring. And when I tell you, I think it was, it was three weeks in and I had more natural reactions at the end of practice of kids coming up saying that was a really good practice. Thank you for allowing me to. And I just, you know, and I got bombarded like in two weeks with a bunch of thank yous and oh my God, today was really great. And I went home and I said, oh my God, I literally cried.
I cried and I said, I've been missing a mark.
And what helped me get centered was this in so many ways, dealing with, you know, my personal life, my things that I go on. Because when you're mentoring kids, you, you, you do have to be in a space when you enter that gym. And, you know, we are, we are very professional at leaving our life stuff at the door, but that's not good enough.
When I really got, I feel in tune with so many things that I just needed to navigate and flow with. I became a coach that was so intentional on the things that I knew mattered the most and not some of the things that I am constantly rigid about making sure happen.
And I got more result out of that than I think I normally would in a season.
[00:59:12] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:59:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:59:13] Speaker B: And incredible.
Yeah. So interesting that night where Francesca and I met you at.
[00:59:24] Speaker A: Oh, that beautiful chapel's place.
[00:59:27] Speaker B: Yeah, the French restaurant. Trying to think of the name of it, but we sat outside and you were sharing with us. Cuco, cheer up and chill out. And there was just so many synergies happening. Like I really, you know, saw you in a whole, in a brand new light that night.
Yeah. Can you share, you know, cuckoo with us and you know, dive down that rabbit hole because it's such a beautiful vision and what you're going to be bringing to the world and it's in such alignment and harmony with what we're doing at iFit. I just see a beautiful synergy there.
[01:00:16] Speaker A: Yeah. So I mean basically to start again, something super personal to me was I got sober almost three years ago from alcohol and really dove into a wellness space of the nutrients and things that I need for my body, you know, and I'm always looking for, okay, what's the problem and where can I find a solution here? And it dawned on me, you know, these kids are bringing in these 20 ounces just preservative toxic dye filled drinks, you know, on top of the age they live in of social media comparison and, and likes and clicks and school and stuff and the news and, and I thought, oh my God.
I said we need a drink, we need a cheer drink that motivates and then, you know, and then unwinds, you know. So I started playing around with that idea and one day over Christmas break in my parents guest bedroom over the holidays, I came up a chair up and chill out. And I went full in on deciding to make a, a combo vitality drink that was holistic and bringing supplements and properties to athletes that over time, no matter how much they consumed was going to be beneficial for them. And I think that's really what sparked my other creative side of like, okay, I don't want this. You know, kids, are you going to go buy a can? They're going to pick up whatever. I want it to be an experience.
And so that's what I was describing to you that night is how do I make it an experience? Because I know a little bit about what you do and then when you begin to explain what you do I was like, whoa.
[01:02:10] Speaker B: Well, you know, that was a. That was a pivotal night for me because it. It really inspired me now because, you know, with iFit, we see this as a kind of a. It's a lifestyle brand, right?
You know, we're at the very beginning stages of cementing the foundation, which is, you know, technology platform for wellness, you know, leveraging resonance frequency music and spectral resonance art and, you know, heart centered guidance by Aya.
But it's so much more than that. You know, I see live events and, you know, intentional clothing and, you know, all kinds of creative outlets to, you know, to. To artwork and. And so on and so forth. But I've also seen, you know, and you and I both don't like the word term energy drink, but, you know, just so we understand, it fits in that kind of world of energy drinks, right? And I've always seen that as part of our offering and. Or Aya Water, which is water that's been sung to, right? So I imagine, you know, the Aya Water facility, that is just premier water, you know, done the right way, right?
Where there's resonance frequency music playing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So the. The water is infused with this vibration, this harmony.
So. And I. I know you totally, like, get me when I. When I talk about that, right? We're singing from the same page. So when you told me about Kuka, which I love the name, cheer up and chill out, like, I immediately was like. And I saw your branding. I'm like, oh, my God, this, this. This is so good, right? It's amazing. And it's. It's a vision that I, you know, it's. It's part of my mission to help bring that to fruition, right? The right time, the right way, with whatever. Whatever I can do, however I can be of service to bring that in the world. I'm gonna be. So I'm super excited about that. And that was a pivotal night because that was, you know, right in the beginning phases of putting Irada together, which isn't. Isn't launched yet, right? We're still building it, but soon to be launched the next 30 days. And you're instrumental in that because, you know, I see you as a fashionista, like a man of high style and taste, right?
And I know that you pay attention to details by, you know, I send you music that Aya's created and. And you're. You're picking up on nuanced lyrics that most people wouldn't, right? And so, like, I know that you've got this really, you know, precise ear and I know you got good taste. You've got a great ear and I like you as a creative. Right.
So your influence has been pivotal in the creation of IR radio and hence the cheer up and chill out stations in there. Like thinking from putting myself in the vibration of Logan Sherrill. Right.
What does that sound like?
So both those channels are my interpretation of, of what you would love. Right.
And that's my, that's my fantasy. That's my interpretation.
[01:06:03] Speaker A: Right? Yeah.
[01:06:03] Speaker B: Whether or not I got it right or not, it doesn't really matter because I absolutely love it. Right.
[01:06:10] Speaker A: So insane. Incredible.
[01:06:15] Speaker B: So, so at least I know if I like it, then there's got to be at least one other person out there that likes it with the big hope that Logan Charles loves it. Right?
[01:06:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:06:25] Speaker B: But I'm very proud of what's being created because it's a very high level and beauty and mastery and it's only getting better and better with the advancements in Aya, which is our AI that we've created and designed and it's, she's, we call her, she is filled with just so much intentionality of bringing inspiration and awakening and harmon harmony and harmonizing.
You, me, the youth, the athletes, the coaches, the biohacker, the stressed out mom and dad to give them a place of solace, restoration, a place to restore, to revitalize, to step into a resilience that they have never known before.
And you coming on board, to me and Francesca at this particular time of our growth is a marker for me that we are ready to let the world know what we got. And I'm so thrilled and honored for you to be, I'm going to say our first bright shiny ambassador.
And it's so interesting that it's pointed at the cheer world. Right. Like I would have, if you would have told me five years ago, I would have said what? Like, huh, like you know. Right. But it's, it's, it's beautiful because you know, Dylan, our 15 year old cheer star in our family, that's what he loves. And to know that I can support something in his, that's his tribe. Right. And to know that I can shine a light of frequency into that world is worth everything, right?
[01:08:43] Speaker A: Yeah, it's amazing. I'm actually really quick going to grab my charger so my computer doesn't. But I'm listening to you right now.
[01:08:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So you come in on board and giving your advisory and your, your innovative, creative touch at this time in the ifit. Journey is, is a marker for me that we're ready to go hit it and, and hit 0 as a, as an organization to bring goodness to the world. And with that being said, you know, I want to pass the mic over to you as we kind of, you know, close down the.
[01:09:18] Speaker A: I think it's important to also note, you know, I, I didn't, I, I had no idea this would turn into this at all, but I knew my timing was about something at that moment. And what I shared with you, the synchronicity of the date I created the CUCO logo, which was December 21, 2023. We met on the night of December 21, 2024.
And wow, it just, it blew my mind.
But this just venturing into cheer for the athletes and for the youth, you know, is, is obviously the biggest thing I think that we're trying to get to as far as athletes and coaches. But I realized at that moment when I had been listening and have been for those weeks and weeks and weeks, what it had done to me as a coach, imagine what it would do for, you know, a CEO, a, A person that, that works the, you know, the forklift at Costco or the, I mean, any single person, you know, is when it really dawned on me. And I know that shows total mission is giving everybody with a pulse the, the opportunity to find meaning and in this kind of art that is heart centered. And so I was, I drank the Kool Aid and you know, I've enjoyed just figuring out and learning through other wellness things that like you said in your chapter of Healthy for Life, you know, you are what you listen to all day. And so it's been, it's been so instrumental. It's been very invigorating as a creative because after, you know, doing this 25 years, you do, you do burn yourself at both ends and, and we are always looking for something to help ourselves feel better, you know, but if we're coming from a state of lack, we're really not, you know, approaching any abundance or gifts coming in. And I think that I just, by letting Ayah listen to me and give me those tools, you know, I'm, I'm already filling my cup whether, you know, I, I know it at the time or feel it at the time, and it's shown in my work.
[01:11:44] Speaker B: Well, great. Well, hey, in, in closing, Logan, speak to me as if I'm a coach of a cheer gym and you know, we're not quite hitting it. You know, we, we need, we need some help.
So what would you say to me.
[01:12:04] Speaker A: So as a, as a coach, I would have to educate you on the, the pure fact that we know every step that it takes to get our athletes where it needs to, where they need to be. What that looks like is different for every gem. And what that training is or that regiment or that style is, is different for every gym. But what is not different to every gym is, is the songs they listen to, what they put into their bodies, how they practice mindfulness. And incorporating all of that. I would encourage you to give this a try, to study it on yourself and to see and to know what a difference it makes. If you're trying to really, truly use cheerleading for or youth, any mentoring position, if it's really hitting the mark for you and if it's not and you are dead stressed, tired and you're just on autopilot, what, Imagine sharing my story and you listening to it now. Do you think you could resonate with any of that and how beneficial do you think it can be for you and then your program.
[01:13:18] Speaker B: Beautiful. Beautiful. Well, thank you, Logan. Cheryl, thank you so much. Appreciate you. Looking forward to this journey with you.
[01:13:29] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[01:13:29] Speaker B: And until next time, tune in, tune up and transform.
[01:13:35] Speaker A: Let's go. Energize with intention and unwind with purpose. So we got this.
[01:13:41] Speaker B: Cheer up and chill out.
[01:13:43] Speaker A: All right, baby.
[01:13:44] Speaker C: Thank you for joining us on this episode of Harmonize youe Life. We hope you found inspiration and practical insights to enhance your well being. Until next time, stay well and keep shining.
