Champion's Mojo for Masters Swimmers
The award-winning podcast for Masters swimmers, adult athletes, and health and wellness seekers striving for personal excellence. Join your host, world-record-setting Masters swimmer, former NCAA Division I swim coach, best-selling author and health coach Kelly Palace, as she dives into inspiring stories, expert insights, and proven strategies to help you unlock your champion mindset. A podcast that champions you!
Champion's Mojo for Masters Swimmers
Swimming Through Sorrow: Matt Mauser's Path from Loss to Triumph, EP 275
"Swimming for me was huge therapy," Matt explains. When Matt lost his beloved wife Christina in the January 2020 helicopter crash that also claimed Kobe Bryant's life, his world shattered. Just weeks later, COVID lockdowns isolated him further as he faced the daunting challenge of raising three children alone. In this profoundly moving conversation, Matt reveals how he returned to swimming—a passion from his youth—as a form of therapy during his darkest days.
From the depths of unimaginable tragedy emerges a story of remarkable resilience, as Matt Mauser—musician, author, and masters swimmer and former NCAA All-American swimmer—shares his journey of rebuilding life after devastating loss.
"Swimming for me was huge therapy," Matt explains, describing how he improvised with a harness in his jacuzzi when pools closed during lockdown. This determination to keep swimming symbolizes his broader approach to grief: showing up even when it's difficult. "I go not because I want to go, but because it's the right thing to do."
Matt's story weaves together his journey from competitive swimmer to successful musician fronting the popular Tijuana Dogs band, his marriage to Christina (whom he met at one of his performances), and their eventual connection to Kobe Bryant through basketball coaching. Through it all emerges a powerful philosophy about finding joy after loss: "Life is for the living, and I intend to live."
Now, through his heartfelt memoir "Bittersweet Treasures" and the Christina Mauser Foundation (which has provided over $100,000 in scholarships to female athletes), Matt honors Christina's legacy while embracing a future filled with purpose. For anyone struggling with grief or seeking inspiration to overcome life's challenges, this conversation offers a roadmap to finding those "treasures" that make life worth living again.
Subscribe to Champions Mojo for more stories of resilience, achievement, and the healing power of swimming in our lives.
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
Little simple, you got it. You just have to acknowledge that you're being recorded, I think, and that's all right.
Speaker 2:Yes, this is Matt Mauser and I'm being recorded.
Speaker 1:Okay, yep, all right, here we go. Hello friends, I'm Kelly Pallas, the host of the Champions Mojo podcast. Today I'm thrilled to introduce an extraordinary guest whose journey is as inspiring as it is multifaceted. Besides being a master swimmer, matt Mauser is a dynamic entertainer, author and former NCAA All-American swimmer, whose passion for music ignited at a young age. From fronting the wildly popular party band Tijuana Dogs to captivating audiences with his Sinatra tribute shows, matt's ability to blend charisma, talent and authenticity has made him one of the West Coast's most sought-after performers Beyond the spotlight.
Speaker 1:Matt's story takes a deeply personal turn After losing his beloved wife, christina, in the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant and others. Matt turned to music, swimming and writing as a way to navigate his grief. His heartfelt memoir Bittersweet Treasures A Father's Journey Through Loss and Healing not only chronicles his journey, but also supports the Christina Mauser Foundation, which honors Christina's legacy by providing scholarships to young female athletes. And when Matt's not performing or writing, he finds solace in the pool, reconnecting with his roots as a swimmer and embracing the therapeutic power of water. Get ready for a conversation filled with resilience, passion and purpose. Matt Mauser is about to take us on an unforgettable journey Matt. Welcome to Champions Mojo.
Speaker 2:Kelly, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Well, matt, in all that introduction I didn't even say that you were a finalist on America's Got Talent 2, which is another thing that I, that I didn't put in there, but it was a lot. Your, your life story is is truly multifaceted and amazing, and you know, we are a swimming kind of health and wellness podcast. So we, why don't we start with? You know where you got into swimming? Cause I, you know, I read that you also were a water polo player in high school and then an All-American swimmer in college. So how did swimming, you know, morph into music, morph into this life that you kind of find yourself in today? And, you know, leave some space for me to ask you questions.
Speaker 2:Well, it's a. It's an interesting past, uh, and definitely an interesting path to how I got to swimming. My uncle, or my, my aunt married a gentleman who was an Olympic kayaker and a great high school and college swimmer and he became the swim coach at a at a very popular you know, strong, uh, strong swimming background school called Newport Harbor High School here in Orange County. So in the 80s my uncle was the head coach at Newport Harbor. I was, I grew up in a beach community. I was a junior lifeguard and we spent a lot of time in the water just growing up. My dad lived on a houseboat. My parents separated when I was young. My dad lived on a houseboat when I was, you know, seven, eight years old, so we would spend all summer, you know, swimming around and I was always pretty, you know, comfortable in the water.
Speaker 2:I was a baseball player until I was about 14 years old and then one day in a PE class I was playing baseball and they said it's a hot, it's a hot day, it was a hot September day and they put us all in the pool and they said swim across the pool, we're going to race. And I won, and the water polo coach happened to be there and pulled me out and said, hey, have you ever thought about being a water polo player? And I had grown up around swimming? So I said, yeah, I'd give it a shot. So I went out and gave it a shot and I was pretty good and then it developed there I played baseball, I played water polo, but swimming was something I did because you had to. You know, I play in both the sports.
Speaker 2:And then when my junior year one of the teachers, one of the coaches for this, for the swim team, said you're a really good swimmer, have you thought about, you know, maybe quitting baseball, because swimming and baseball were in the same season and I said, no, I haven't. He said, well, if you ever want to make money being a lifeguard or you want some kind of scholarship, you know, unless you're a great baseball player, you might have a pretty good shot. So I took his words. I went out and I would swim in the morning, go to baseball practice and then go to swim practice at night. And I got pretty fast. I ended up breaking the school record in the hunter backstroke. This was 1987 or 88. And uh, I got some some offers to swim in college, I got my best offer. All my friends were going to a junior college, so I went there and it just continued on from there.
Speaker 1:And where? Where did you swim in college?
Speaker 2:I swam for two years at Golden West college and then the head coach at Cal Poly, san Luis Obispo, saw me at a meet and I believe I won an invitational and he said I would love it If you. I believe I won an invitational and he said I would love it if you would consider coming to Cal Poly, san Luis Obispo. So I I got a couple offers. I was looking at UCI Pepperdine was also on there for water polo. Believe it or not, I was also a pretty strong water polo player and I really something about swimming. I had just started and I was, you know, continuing to get faster and I just said this is what I want to do. So I went to Cal Poly.
Speaker 1:So you're, you obviously like swimming and did well with it. But your, your real passion in life seems to have been music and you know your career path was music. So how did you transition like into you know, the Tijuana dogs and and really getting into music? And then you know, eventually getting on America's Got Talent and and really music is your, your career. So what, what? How did that happen? And and what happened to your swimming along the way? With that, some people stay swimming and some people just get out of it for 20 years and then come back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I did both. I, when I was a young boy, my dad played guitar. I come from a very musical family. My aunts were concert pianists, my great grandmother played in the Philadelphia Philharmonic. She also played at the White House for Teddy Roosevelt.
Speaker 2:So I had a long history of classically trained musicians and I grew up around music. I could sing on key, I would sing all the Elvis tunes and and you know the Johnny B goods and stuff like that, and and I would dance around with my little brother and we would, and my dad would just play guitar, and so we had music in the in the house, which I think it's such an important thing for kids just being exposed to something, not necessarily music, but anything, if you're exposed to it, you, you, you learn it. Necessarily music, but anything, if you're exposed to it, you, you, you learn it. And so as I was growing up, I, I really had an affection for guitar. So I would, you know, find, find pieces of music, uh, at music stores, and I would learn them, and just on my own, everything that I did was pretty much on my own. Um, when I went to college, I, uh, I remember they invited me to go to a party and I brought my guitar and I started doing some songs and I remember everybody sitting around and just saying I said this is what I want to do. But nothing gave me that thrill when I thought of careers. I was a lifeguard, I was a teacher for 20 years. I learned Spanish and I was a Spanish teacher, but nothing gave me that thrill like competition. I loved the competition that I got in swimming and playing in sports, and the only thing that gave me that same level of adrenaline was music.
Speaker 2:So when I graduated from school and I went to look for work, I kept my lifeguard job. I got a job as a teacher. I passed all the tests and I became a Spanish teacher and I said I'm going to start a band. So at 25, 26 years old, I started a band and I would invite all the people on the beach, I would pass off flyers, I would invite all my lifeguard buddies and I would just bring a huge crowd to every club. I would. I would say I'll pack your place and the band was was average at best. But I would bring, you know, two, 300 kids into the club and you know, bar owners like to make money. So we would. I realized it and I said this is, this is what I want to do.
Speaker 2:So I never was a starving artist per se. I always maintained jobs. So I had my teaching job. I was lifeguarding during the summer and then the band really started gaining traction. I got some great musicians in the band and we just got really popular. So for for about a good 10 years I was living the dream here in Southern California. I had a very popular band, I was a lifeguard on the weekends and I would teach during the year. You know, sometimes it would coincide and I'd have to kind of figure things out. I would be tired as a teacher and I had to, you know, kind of find a way to make sure that the kids didn't see me tired. But it worked out and uh, that's that's kind of when I was kind of a little bit crazy, living a crazy lifestyle.
Speaker 1:So, obviously, one of the things that we want to hear from you about today is, um, you know how you've dealt with your grief and the loss of your wife, christina, and where, where did you meet Christina in this journey, and what you know? I read that she was a big part of your music career, and so that must have been quite a blow. Obviously for a number of reasons besides being the mother of your three children. Quite a blow, obviously for a number of reasons besides being, you know, the mother of your three children. You know where did you meet her and what was her connection to you know, being on Kobe's helicopter.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of moving pieces to this part. So while the band got popularity, I would say we were working three, four nights a week. I was teaching at a private school here in Newport Beach and I was lifeguard in the summer. And then one night, at one of our shows, this beautiful, tall, athletic woman walked in and I was just, you know, taken by her. I went up and introduced myself, she bought a T-shirt, she bought a CD and I didn't hear from her for a while. So a few months later came by and I saw her again at one of our shows. I asked her out. She denied me, but she did give me a dance and we talked a little bit and then, a few months later, I would say it's probably like nine months later. But she did give me a dance and we talked a little bit and then a few months later, I would say it's probably like nine. Nine months later from our first encounter, she came walking in again and I I said this is getting a little bit. I mean you must like the band or maybe there's more. And I said I'll ask you out again and she accepted. So that was in 2004. Within nine months we were married. I asked her to marry me and by 2005 we were married.
Speaker 2:I didn't know much about her until I realized that she was incredibly. The beauty was just one part of her. She was incredibly bright, incredibly athletic and we had a lot of the similar histories. We both went to the same high school. We grew up, you know, within a mile from each other and we never knew. She was a little younger than I was, so we we'd never met prior, but once we met it felt like we had known each other our whole lives. So I knew she was the right one for me. I asked her to marry me. She accepted and she was a fantastic basketball player, a fantastic soccer and volleyball player. In fact, for our high school she was athlete of the year three times for three different sports. She she was just an incredible athlete, but mainly her love was basketball.
Speaker 2:So I was the basketball coach. It was a small school. We had to wear a lot of hats. I was not only the on-site EMT Spanish teacher, carpool director, but I was also the basketball coach. I wasn't super knowledgeable about basketball, but I loved it. I was a huge Laker fan and I learned a lot, so I figured out how to run defenses, how to run offenses. And one day I had a show and I couldn't make practice, and I'm sorry, it was a game and I asked Christina if she would cover my game so I could go work. She came in and the athletic director said who's this coaching for you? I said that's my wife, Christina. I said OK. The next day I came back. He said she's a better coach than you are.
Speaker 1:How do we get her on?
Speaker 2:board. So they gave her a job. They asked her to be the PE teacher with another wonderful couple of people that were the head of the department, and she and I started coaching basketball together. So we coached together for about 10 years Along that path. It was a very well-to-do school and Kobe Bryant's kids went to our school. His daughters both played for me. His second daughter, gigi, showed a pretty significant interest in basketball and I was her coach. My wife and I were her coach, and One day Kobe came to me and said hey, I want to start a team. Would you want to be my assistant coach? And we had gotten to know each other through music. He was doing some production stuff and he asked me to do some music for him and I became his full-time songwriter for his children's podcast Not long after that.
Speaker 1:Matt, I'm just having a little bit wonky internet. My editor will cut this out of here, but I'm going to. I'm just having a little bit wonky internet. My editor will cut this out of here, but I'm going to. Just I'm here, I'm just going to stop my video so that the bandwidth on video may I'm not in the place I usually am, so it may pull. It may help us, so just go. So so you started working on his podcast, so start right there.
Speaker 2:There you go. So I was working on his podcast, I was writing music for Kobe and I got really busy. It was a demanding schedule. So at one point we were, we were coaching basketball together and I was doing music. And he says to me and I said, hey, kobe, this is a a lot of time. I don't know if I can keep running these. Uh, you know, I'm a lifeguard, I'm a teacher, I'm a, I'm running my band and I'm writing songs for you. I think something's gonna give. And he said, well, would Christina want to be my assistant coach? And I said she would be wonderful. She's better coach than I am. So that was kind of how the whole thing, the genesis of her coaching with him Originally I was the coach and just the fact that she was better got her the job.
Speaker 2:And you know, they were going to coach for three days a week, and three soon turned into five and five turned into seven. They were playing every day. You know we had three kids. My wife and I both quit our teaching jobs me to just pursue music in 2018. And we pulled our kids out of the private school, we put them in public school and her job was was coach and we were extremely happy. It was just a wonderful time in our life. It was just a wonderful time in our life, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So, um, obviously, when you, you know, heard the news of the Kobe's helicopter going down, I, I read the excerpt from your book Um, and it's, you know, it's very touching, very emotional. What, besides reading your book and and you know, learning all the details of this, what was just kind of your general feeling when you, when you had this happen and you know where, where your mindset went, and maybe what might have helped prepare you, or was there anything that helped prepare you? But what would you say to people who might be going through something similar?
Speaker 2:Right? Well, as you can imagine, when you lose the most significant person in your life, you are overwhelmed. The first feeling is shock. I mean, everybody goes through that one day, I would imagine. I was shocked, I was terrified.
Speaker 2:As a father, my first thought was my children. How am I going to do this without their mother? Was my children? How am I going to do this without their mother? And you know. And then, putting my feelings in there, I almost felt selfish, putting my feelings ahead of my kids. But I just, I just missed my wife tremendously for the first part and so.
Speaker 2:But I did have some comfort in the fact that I was prepared. You know, I I was teacher, so I could teach my kids. I knew how to deal with kids. I was a Spanish teacher, so I could teach them Spanish at the very least. But I knew I was going to get through it. I didn't know how, and that was the scary thing. So my first instinct and if you remember this was January of 2020, and less than a month later, by March 15th, march 13th, we were in COVID shutdown. So not only was that I lost my wife, but then I lost the ability to be around people and we were on complete lockdown and the kids got sick, I got sick. So there was some, there was some pretty hard, hard realities I had to face and that was terrifying.
Speaker 2:And that's where swimming and kind of came back into my life. I would swim on occasion. When Christina died, that became every day and that was the swimming for me was a huge therapy. I did therapy like where you walk in and you sit down on the couch and you talk, and I did it for about three or four months and I absolutely hated it.
Speaker 2:I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't stand it. It just wasn't for me. I'm not I'm not knocking it for anybody else, it just wasn't for me. I'm not knocking it for anybody else, but for me I just hated it. And they shut down every pool. I had a jacuzzi, a good-sized jacuzzi, so I tied a string to a tree and I put a harness around my waist and I got in that pool every day and I swam for like half hour and 45 minutes. They reopened the pools and by that time my good buddy, who is a master's coach at a local pool here, uh said, come out and join me. So I went out and that's when I started swimming, uh, consistently, and I haven't stopped for the past five years.
Speaker 1:Were your when you got back to your master's group.
Speaker 2:Were you supported by your teammates or how? How did your? How did the whole master's kind of reignite after COVID? For you, diego's a wonderful guy and I said I don't want to be with people, I just need to get in the water. So he said I'll meet you there. You tell me what time you want to be there. I said I'll be there in a half hour so I would go. And when it first started, I mean I could go maybe 500 to 1000 yards and it wasn't that I was out of shape but my adrenaline was so high for a few months and just in complete defense mode. But I would get in and you know, slowly I kind of started getting my wind back. Slowly I started getting my. You know, I lost the first two or three months. I'm about 200 pounds. You know 198, 195 at times, but I got down to 175. I lost, I lost a legitimate 20, 25 pounds in the first couple of months. So I was really thin and I was just uh, you know, was that?
Speaker 1:Matt, was that from swimming? Or was that nervous? Just nervous eating, no appetite.
Speaker 2:No appetite, no appetite, couldn't you know? And my adrenaline was just going all the time. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I was just always in, you know, survival mode. Was it like a fight or flight anxiety feeling that you were having during that time?
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, and you got to remember, you know, we thought COVID was you know, was it like a fight or flight, anxiety feeling that you were having during that time?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and you got to remember. You know we were. We thought COVID was. You know, now we think of COVID as being, you know, a strong cold or a flu, but back then everybody was, we thought everybody was going to die. And my kids got it and I could get my son's temperature down for about four days. He was at 103, 104. And I was convinced. You know, I just lost my wife and you know what else, what else is going to happen. You know so I was, I was, uh, it was a hard time.
Speaker 1:What else did you rely on, matt? Um, besides the swimming and the counseling, um, I'm sure there were multifaceted things that you did to get going. And, matt, I'm going to ask you to stop your video, for whatever reason, my video stopped the bandwidth. We're just I'm glitching sometimes on what you're saying and it's just. You know, I want to make sure we get every word. So if you just stop your video, you know we've got enough a video to promote if we need it. But you know, I know you're there, you know I'm here.
Speaker 2:And I think.
Speaker 1:I think it'll probably give us better sign sound. So let's try this again. We're so. Besides swimming and going to therapy, what other ways did you cope with this? You know loss, the grief, the COVID taking care of your kids. You know your appetite there. Just there has to be a list of things that you did to kind of resurrect yourself.
Speaker 2:Right, right. Well, the first thing is I made a list of the things that I needed to do and I prioritized my life and the most important thing was I needed to be a good father and that kind of motivation. You know, when you look in your children's eyes and you see just the pain and the grief that they're going through, you realize quick that you know you need to have some strength and I needed to get myself together. So my kids were my major motivation. My second thing was my music. I started writing music again. I got back in the studio and we were shut down. You know, we stopped playing.
Speaker 2:Kids were on Zoom for school, but I knew that it was going to come back and when it came back I wanted to be ready. So I started writing music, I started preparing for the next part of my music career. So that was that. That occupied my time. And then I said I got to get. I got to get physically fit again, so swimming. So those are my three things the children, the music and swimming, and in that order and, uh, they all. You know I kept it really simple. When, when tragedy hits you, you realize that life isn't, doesn't need to be that complicated. You have to really focus on what's important and my health and my kids and my health, included my ability to play and perform music.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Were there ever mornings when you didn't want to get out of bed and you just said I just got to keep it simple and focus on those three things.
Speaker 2:Kelly, kelly, every morning I felt that way. Every morning I felt that way. It didn't go away. There are days where I still feel that way and you know, I just want to make it real clear I just adored my wife. I adored my wife. She was everything to me and to my kids and it just doesn't go away.
Speaker 2:But what you have to do is you have to dig and you have to find. That's why the book is called Bittersweet Treasures. It's like you have to go and you have to find. That's why the book is called Bittersweet Treasures. It's like you have to go and you have to force yourself to get up and do that, just like when you don't want to jump in the water. I swim at night, every night, and it's cold and sometimes it's raining, and it's 7.30 to 8.30 and it's dark and I have to leave my children with the nanny and I go, but I go not because I want to go, but because it's the right thing to do. So when you asked, was there days I wanted to stay in bed? There's still days I want to stay in bed and it's. It doesn't just go away, but you have to force yourself to go and find. Find that you know the good in life, the treasures in life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you just got to keep going.
Speaker 2:You don't give up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't give up. Well, so your book actually just came out one week ago, right March 20th. Yes, we're recording this on the 27th, so it's very exciting. Now, I'm sure, for you to be an author, and I'm sure you're going on a lot of podcasts and telling your story what? What is your hope for this book?
Speaker 2:That's a great question. You know I want to. Really I wanted an account for my children of what it was like during these five years and I wanted them to see not only how much their mother loved them and how much I love them, but just you know what my life was like prior to meeting their mother and the things that made me who I am. You know I'm. I'm getting up there, I'm not young anymore and I want my kids to someday look back and at least have a documented account of what life was like. You know my youngest, she was three when she lost her mom and she doesn't have any back story. So this is a way number one for my children, for them to have a back story.
Speaker 2:The other part is I would really like, like I said, with with you know, treasures. You have to go out and you have to hunt. I want people to realize that you can go through something tragic, painful, devastating and still live a beautiful life, still get up and make life. You know, life is life, is supposed to be happy. We are not meant to be suffering all the time. That's part of life, yes, but in the cracks in between you have to find the ability to be happy and really it's the simple things that make us happy your kids, friends, smiles, being able to relate with people, finding satisfaction in your job and in your work, and those things, those things are important.
Speaker 1:What are your thoughts on that? When we suffer deeply, we sometimes can have joy, you know, in the same amount. You know in the same amount that when we do suffer, it makes us appreciate joy a little bit more.
Speaker 2:I think, yeah, I would agree with that 100%. My my big issue when I feel joy is allowing myself to not feel guilty that I'm here and my wife isn't, and that's a constant. So, for example, my daughter she plays water polo. She got a scholarship to play water polo at Indiana University. She's a really good water polo player. She's at one of the strongest programs here in Southern California and next year she's got one more year of high school and then the following year she'll be playing water polo in Indiana. She's had a tremendous amount of success. She was athlete of the year, she was, you know, a junior Olympic MVP last year, last summer up in Stanford. She's had tremendous amount of success and I've just felt so much happiness but that's peppered with this sadness and this in this feeling of just, you know, regret that my wife can't be here.
Speaker 2:So I have to learn to be able to let it be okay that I can feel that sadness and then it'd be okay that I can still feel happy. You know, and that's and that's okay, and I can still feel happy, you know and that's and that's okay, and it's the same thing with you know, there's a part of the book which says I wrote a letter to my wife and I say at this point I have to let you go and I have to learn to love again, because love, like life, is for the living. And you know you have to accept that we only have a little bit of time here and you have to take every day as a gift. And in life, life, there's a great saying life is for the living and I intend to live. You know, I made the choice that I want to live, I want to be happy and I want all the things that are associated with with love and life and being happy.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, I love that. That's beautiful, that's beautiful. So, um, before I ask you the last question that I always ask, the second to last question um, do you have any? You like to compete? Do you have any goals for your swimming, your master's competitive swimming? Are we ever going to see you in a meet?
Speaker 2:My coach keeps asking me because I can still. I can still bust out a pretty good time in a 50 or 100 back. You know I, you know he's asked me to come out and compete, usually on the days that the meets, that we've had meets. I usually am am working. You know my, my schedule with my work schedule with with the band is it's pretty crazy. I play, performing over 150 shows a year.
Speaker 2:I'm on the road a lot with a great producer named david foster. I don't know if you know who he is, um, but I go on the road with him on occasion and I'm out of town. You know I perform in a lot of different states and so if there's a meet where I'm not working, I will be there and I'm looking forward to getting back into competition. We do compete with ourselves at practice. Um, I can still. I can still get pretty fast in the hunter free and the hunter back, but, um, to me it more I want to be on stage and be able to sing and not have, you know, fatigue and that's in the swimming is the really the only thing that allows me to keep my lung capacity and keep my wind and I'm so. You know there's nothing that that's. That's better for you than swimming, especially if you're a singer like I am.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you've chosen to um activities that you can do, you know, into your nineties or a hundred. I mean, we've got singers that you know stay out there and rock the house until they're it's so funny you say that last night I went and saw Paul Anka.
Speaker 2:member. Paul Anka.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh my gosh. Yes, of course.
Speaker 2:I saw him last. Last night went backstage and I got to meet him. My manager brought me back there and this guy is 83 years old and he's like a kid jumping around. He says why do I do it? He goes, I love it, but he said he has to stay in shape. And he gave some great advice because he knew I was a singer. And he said just keep physically fit, it'll change your life. I said oh, paul, don't I know?
Speaker 1:Oh, that's beautiful. Yeah, I mean, I know, you know, the late Tina Turner rocked it for so long and Elton John is still out there producing new music and you know, there I'm sure there are many, many more that we can't even, you know, think of right now. But yeah, and certainly swimming, we know we've got the elders in the sport that are still doing great. So well, that's wonderful. Well, we hope that you know. Before I ask you the last question, you know your book Bittersweet Treasures A Father's Journey Through Loss and Healing, which is published by the CG Sports Company publishing arm of the CG Sports Company. So that's out and available, and can they get that on on Amazon, I would imagine, or anywhere?
Speaker 2:Yes, they can get it under Amazon. Just look up bittersweet treasures bittersweet treasures.
Speaker 1:And so the very last question before we go into a fun sprint around, which are a few one, one word answers that I'm looking for? Is there anything that I have not asked you that you would like to share with us?
Speaker 2:No, I think you've hit all the bullet points. Get the book out there. We want, we want everybody to read it. The band is Tijuana Dogs. We're a big band here in Orange County. If we're around, check us. Check out our Instagram Matt Mouser Instagram or Facebook, and other than that, you know, just stay in the water.
Speaker 1:Keep on swimming, and the proceeds from your book are going to benefit your wife's the Christina Maurer Foundation to provide scholarships to young female athletes If.
Speaker 2:I could talk about that. Yes, my wife, she loved helping young women, all the girls on her team. A lot of them have gone on to play in basketball very high. They're playing in college now. But the foundation, we've given away scholarships over the past four years for young women that want to pursue their career in athletics that might not have the means to play. So we've given away probably $100,000, over $100,000 in scholarships over the past four years. The Christina Mauser Foundation and 100% of the proceeds from the book go to the foundation.
Speaker 1:Oh, that is awesome. That's awesome. Definitely going to check that out and make a donation. So, matt, are you ready for the sprinter round of just fun?
Speaker 2:questions. Okay, let's go.
Speaker 1:Here we go, favorite sandwich.
Speaker 2:Peanut butter and jelly.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love it. You know, I don't think anyone said that that is so great, um wonderful, okay. So what do you own that you should throw out?
Speaker 2:Uh, too many children's, uh Barbie sets.
Speaker 1:Herbie sets Scariest animal to you.
Speaker 2:Scariest animal? Uh, I used to swim the pier and I was always terrified of a great white shark.
Speaker 1:Okay, what celebrity would you like to meet? Kevin Costner Hardest swimming event in the pool 400 IM. Favorite movie.
Speaker 2:Shawshank Redemption. Favorite smell Ginger.
Speaker 1:Do you make your bed every morning?
Speaker 2:I do. If I don't, the nanny makes it.
Speaker 1:Okay, kickboard or no kickboard?
Speaker 2:Never kickboard Backstroke, always on my back.
Speaker 1:If you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Speaker 2:Don't worry about me by Frank Sinatra. Don't worry about me.
Speaker 1:I love it, aisle or window.
Speaker 2:Window.
Speaker 1:Describe your life in five words.
Speaker 2:Connect the dots in retrospect Shoot. I don't even know if that's a good one. I I wouldn't. Unexpectedly not what I expected.
Speaker 1:I'll take it. I'll take it.
Speaker 2:Not what I expected. Not what I expected. Okay, Well, that's close, close, Um. What word comes to mind when you dive in the water Cold? Oh, let me think I freedom.
Speaker 1:Freedom. I like it. Oh, I always say I'm home. Whenever I dive in the water, I say I'm home, beautiful, all right. Well, matt, thanks for being with us today. We really appreciate your uh story and, uh, just keep on swimming and singing and thank you you got it?
Speaker 2:kelly, great podcast. Where can I where we got it? Katie says she's got it. Okay, I want yeah should I ask her when it's going to come out? Any idea when I'm going to broadcast?
Speaker 1:um, yeah, I'm going to drop it next friday. So um, yeah, next friday you can turn your thing on again, because we're okay, we're going to stop recording um.
