What If Obedience Is The Real Healing with Ricky Pate

Grief, mentorship, and faith collide as we talk with Ricky Pate about losing his son and finding a new path through Man Camp and the steady guidance of Nikita Koloff. We dig into holistic health habits, veteran support, and the kind of obedience that turns talk into real service. 

• Man Camp as a catalyst for spiritual honesty and change 
• Meeting Nikita Koloff and stepping into mentorship 
• Processing loss while rebuilding purpose after tragedy 
• Joining the Provision Project and moving past MLM skepticism 
• Tranont daily wellness routines and real-life diabetes goals 
• Hydration, supplement habits, and the long view of holistic health care 
• Navy service, injuries, and staying out of the VA when possible 
• Returning to a call to preach after years of running 
• Building Sheepdogs Anchored in Christ to support veterans 
• Helping vets with VA compensation forms as a DAV service officer 
• Brotherhood, housing help, and walking with men through hard transitions 
• Closing prayer and a reminder that obedience matters 

Make sure y’all check that out anchored in christ dot faith 
It’s www.tranont.com/ricky_pate 

Transcript

A Toast To The Misfits

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see the world differently, who don't fit neatly into boxes, and refuse to live by someone else's script. You can quote them, you can disagree with them, you can glorify them, or vilify them, you can shake your head at their ideas, or be inspired by their courage. But the one thing you cannot do is ignore them. Because they change things. They disrupt what's comfortable, they challenge what's normal, and they push the human race forward. Sometimes with loud revolutions, sometimes with quiet persistence that changes everything over time. They see possibility where others see limits. They dare to dream out loud when the world tells them to be silent. They take risks, they stumble, they rise again, and they keep going. Not because it's easy, but because they can't imagine doing anything else. These are the ones who remind us that every great leap forward was once considered impossible. So here's to them: the ones who won't sit down, won't be quiet, and won't stop until the world is different. Because they're the reason it will be.

SPEAKER_04 3:49

Better than I could ever imagine, I'll put it that way.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

That's an amazing thing, man. What do you think? Um, so you went to man camp. I went to man camp. Which man camp did you go through? I went through the one in spring of 23. 23. Okay. So you went two years before I did. That's it, that's man, a man camp is uh, man, it's life-changing, isn't it? It is, it absolutely is. So how did how did let me ask you this? We can't, I know we can't really talk about what happens at man camp, but tell our audience how it affected your life and the people around you when you came home from man camp.

SPEAKER_04 4:36

Um, you remember that song? You know that song from uh Max Powell, New Creation? Yep. You can pretty much say that was me. I mean, I was I went to Man Camp saying, Oh, I'm a Christian, I know what I'm doing, and that thing, and then uh I hit man camp and I was like, ooh, okay.

How Nikita Became A Mentor

SPEAKER_03 4:59

Similar experience, man, and I I love Mac Powell. And funny story is when uh my kids were small, I used to sing in a Baptist church down the street here, and uh they always told me I sounded like Mac Powell. So that's that's cool. That we we listened to a lot of third day. This was back in the 2011, 2012. They were really oh yeah, the Christian rock was really big back then. So that that that's that's that's a really cool thing that and that's cool you said that. But um well, let me ask you this how did you get invited? How did you get invited to man camp? How did that whole thing come about about Nikita?

SPEAKER_04 5:38

Nikita himself invited me.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Oh wow. So how did you meet Nikita? How how long did you know him before you went to man camp? Tell me a little bit, tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_04 5:48

Okay, so uh I gotta tell you a little tragic thing first.

SPEAKER_03 5:51

Uh no, that's fine, man. We we love testimonies.

SPEAKER_04 5:54

June of June of 2022, I lost my son in a uh signal vehicle accident. Man, who was 26 years old. And I I went, you know, obviously I was in a in a lot of grief for a long time. Yeah, about I think it was right about right around September. Um I noticed there was a uh a man at conference down in uh Fort Mill, South Carolina, and I'm like, well, Fort Mill is not that far from here. I can drive down there and bag no problem, you know? Right, right. So it was a three-day thing over the weekend, and the first day I went down to come back home. The second day after I got back home, I was like talking to my wife, I said, you know what? I'm just gonna find a hotel down there and stay down there until the tuber's done. And she's like, Okay, that's cool, of course for me. So while I was down there, I met, I mean, Nikita was one of the primary speakers.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Right.

SPEAKER_04 7:00

And uh I I got a chance, you know, first I got a chance to meet him whenever I I bought both of his books at the time and uh you know, went to the book signing and everything. And then uh later on uh I went it was a real small area, like almost like a classroom type room where he was speaking at and um after he got done speaking that one uh that that was that second time. I mean, I just it was just all over me. I knew it was the Holy Spirit, and I just walked up to him and I said, Hey, can I can I'll speak to you for a little bit? And he goes, Yeah, I I got a minute or two, you know. And I walked over and I said, Look, I said he's telling me I know what it is, and they're telling me that they don't want me to ask you to mentor me. And he's like, Man, let's get together and talk. So um we you know, he chose a time and place and everything for us to get together, and we did. And then he also met me right down here in Salisbury, so yeah, he's up in West Land, which is not that far from us.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Right.

SPEAKER_04 8:11

Um he met me down here in Salisbury. We went to uh we went to a Starbucks and just sat there and talked for about, I don't know, half an hour or so. And uh from that point on I I I really considered him my mentor. He he checks in on me periodically, you know. Um wants me to tell me, you know, he you know, every time we talk, he goes, Hey, keep me updated on this, keep me updated on that. I'm like, okay, yes sir, I'm gonna drop it, yeah. So um I I I mean I I went from you know being a fan. I mean, I was a huge fan of uh of Nakia when he was in his heyday. Even even when he was with Uncle Ivan and the bad guy, I still like this was just cool. He is cool, you know. Right, right. He's supposed to be the Russian, not supposed to hate everything, but I'm like he's cool.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Well, it's kind of that Darth Vader effect, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_04 9:07

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 9:08

Yeah, I mean, everybody likes, you know, they make when you make the villain look cool, you know, it's as a man you like that, that sort of thing.

The Aftereffects Of Man Camp

SPEAKER_04 9:18

Yeah, and then when he when he joined up with Dusty, I was like, oh man, this is gonna be awesome. So anyway, I went from a finger a kind of a fan to uh man, he's he's um I have I didn't in my past I didn't have a lot of father figures. Man, you're definitely he's definitely a father figure to me. I mean every bit of a father figure to me.

Joining The Provision Project

SPEAKER_03 9:45

That's amazing. We have a very similar story, man. The only difference is I wasn't really a fan growing up. I wasn't like a huge wrestling fan, like I had some action figures and stuff like that, but I wasn't like a lot of the people I meet um from Man Camp. They were actually really, really hardcore fans. And um, but the way he came into my life was similar to exactly what you're talking about. Like I just in the middle of a car dealership, man, I met him where I was working, and the Holy Spirit jumped on me, and man, I just started bawling and get just telling him my life story. And he just, he just he just hugged me and prayed with me and said, I'm gonna scholarship you to go to man camp. And Brian's gonna let you off for the whole week to go. And I just made a decision and went, man. It that's some good stuff, man. That's that's really good stuff. And and now we're like all three of us are like business partners. Yeah, exactly. In the provision project. So he's not only a mentor, he's he's a mentor now with our business and our personal and and spiritual life. That's that's it's an amazing thing. So tell us a little bit about Tranat and what I can explain a little bit as well. But tell us about you, how it has affected your life, your goals with it, and um how you want to help it to build your ministry, I think is what you told me. But go ahead and let, yeah, give everybody a little insight on on your goals and what the Lord has put on your heart and that sort of thing with our provision project business.

SPEAKER_04 11:46

Well, yeah, when uh uh Nikita, well actually it was Nikita and Matt Hitch both, they both uh approached me about it. And when I first heard about it, of course, you know, I'm thinking MLM. Uh I'm not so sure about this much. Uh but I'm like, well, Nikita's behind it though, so exactly. I'm gonna I'm just gonna see, I'm gonna give it a shot, see what happens with it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Right.

SPEAKER_04 12:15

And I got in there with it and everything, and I, you know, got connected with uh you know Robert Taggett's and Jennifer and all them, you know, as far as via Zoom and all that kind of stuff. And listened to it, and I'm like, well, yeah, it sounds like it might be actually pretty decent. So I sort of ordered, of course, I I went ahead and with me working for security, yeah. My my my my uh funds are not exactly what they need to be sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 12:46

Absolutely. I mean I get it.

SPEAKER_04 12:48

So I went in with the smallest, I went in with the smallest pack.

SPEAKER_03 12:54

And uh same with me, my brother, same with me.

SPEAKER_04 12:58

And then just went from there. Uh I've I was able to get uh another min camp buddy of ours, uh of mine to uh to go in there with me. So he's up under it with me, Gene. Yeah, Gene Bennett, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Everybody knows Gene. But uh yeah, I got he's he's uh he's in he's in my in my in my loop, you know. Uh later on I was able to actually uh talk to my wife and explain that to her, and she she says you come in as a customer underneath me. So we're using her leg for uh try to throw some people underneath there when I get a chance.

Daily Health System And Diabetes Goals

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Right, right. But uh I mean what do you think about the product? I mean, what do you what's your favorite what's your favorite one?

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Well, I uh I started off, of course, with the simple with the uh the first the small pack, you know, the daily health system. Yeah, the transform and activate and enrich, you know. Yep, and uh and the main reason I I wanted those anyway was because I'm a diabetic anyway.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Oh wow, so yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:09

And I'm trying to get I'm trying to get off the osempic and I'm trying to get off the metformin. And uh it seems to be it actually seems to be working pretty well for me because there's been there's been times when I when I actually forgot my exempic or my metformin and uh just taking that stuff daily, you know, with the meals or whatever you need to take it with, you know. I I the activate, I drink it like a normal drink. Uh I'll I'll I I I'm not a guzzler, you know.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Yeah, yeah, no, I do it too. I have a big old big gulp cup that I use. I just, you know, it says put 12 out, 12 to 20 ounces or what I use like 32 to 48.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

Yeah, I uh well what I do is I uh you know those those uh bottles of uh splash fake flavored water. Oh yeah, yeah. They don't have any sugar or anything like that in them. I don't know what the sweetener is from exactly, but I wish it was Stevia, but it's not. But anyway, I uh I pour one of those, uh I I pour my put my activate in one of those and shake it up real good, and then I pour it in my in my big blue cup with my with ice and everything, and I drink on that almost all day. Right, right. Well, just now now that's after I finish off my mojo coffee, which I'm drinking right now.

SPEAKER_03 15:31

Yeah, I'm gonna I was gonna ask you if you did the mojo, because that's the first thing I do. Um they also have this energy drink type thing that has the stevia in it, and they have another drink called Quench that you should probably replace your flavored water thing with because it's actually it gives you electrolytes and B vitamins, but it doesn't have any caffeine in it. So it would probably do you could probably put that with the activate and drink on it all day, and it will give you the the sugar, not the sugar flavor that you that you want, and it'll give you the electrolytes. Um, it's got like coconut powder and stuff like that, which is really good.

SPEAKER_04 16:22

Yeah, that's I I've been I've been actually looking at that.

SPEAKER_03 16:24

I'm just and I'm uh it's just a matter of adjusting, you know, my my prop my uh adjusting my package here and there, you know, so that I can oh yeah, just what I what me and Courtney have been doing is taking the things that we normally spend money on on a day-to-day basis and and replacing it slowly with Tranok products.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

Yeah, that that's basically my plan right there, too. Just a little out of time replacing it with those those products. That way there's no real Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

I call it supplementing your health care. Exactly. You're basically buying supplements to making your body healthy, and then you will have less time in the doctor's office.

Veteran Life Injuries And Staying Well

SPEAKER_04 17:10

Yeah, and that's that's a uh me as a that's a good thing for me since I'm a uh one thing I forgot to mention is I'm a 10-year Navy vet. Yeah, I was in I was in during Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and all that mess.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Well, we we appreciate your service, my man. That is one thing for sure. I think you appreciate that. We are definitely a patriotic show here, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 17:34

So uh the thing is, is uh because of that 10 years of service, right now I've got um two sections of my lower spine that is nothing but titanium.

unknown 17:50

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 17:51

Yeah, and I just recently got an artificial knee on my left knee. So yeah, I I I need to make sure I can do whatever I can to stay out of the VA as much as possible.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

Right, right. Yep. Get you some uh get you some glow and get you some. I got it, I got it. Working good. I mean, you should Optimize is another one. Optimize along with um the little vitamin E gel caps, I forgot what they're called, but um optimize is another one that's really good for inflammation. It's got turmeric blend in it. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep. And then uh the other one's a vitamin E blend, which helps with pain like headaches and muscle fatigue and that sort of thing. Um, I forgot exactly Courtney knows more about the product. I'm still learning, but man, these things, it's it's it's cool that we're uh learning basically holistic health care because I I really honestly believe that is the future of medicine. And I think that's that's the whole thing about it, though.

SPEAKER_04 18:58

Uh when my I'm on my this is my second wife, okay, and this is gonna be my only wife now because I ain't gonna I ain't gonna be on her. She's she's she she's amazing. But my first wife, after she left me, I kind of went a little bit wild.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

I understand.

SPEAKER_04 19:18

But at the same time, uh I was still wanting to have a uh uh uh I wanted to get into a field where I was helping people. Right. So I was living down in uh good old Gilbert, South Carolina with a buddy of mine.

SPEAKER_03 19:32

I know Gilbert very well.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

And uh I was going to and I went to uh I can't remember what it's called now, but it was back then it was uh Southeastern. And they were uh and I and I I I got certified as a massage therapist. Gotcha. So I I got into that holistic health thing real, you know, in my forties, you know. Or late 30s and early forties, and I was into it for a while, but then I just kind of got away from that. I understand. And now here we are all these years later, and and now we're introduced to Tranant, and I'm like, wow, okay, I know some of this stuff. I know what as far as what the effects are supposed to be on some of this stuff and everything, and I'm like, hmm.

SPEAKER_03 20:23

Yep, the world's changing. I mean, they flipped the food chart upside down. Yeah, I know. It was amazing. That's it's an amazing thing. It's everything that I've been talking about. You talk about, and you're almost you're 57 now.

SPEAKER_04 20:39

Yeah, I'll be 58, not so.

SPEAKER_03 20:41

So you were you were getting slowly into it in your 40s. Yeah, we've I've been dabbling in it for about 20 years myself because I was I had my first diverticulitis about when I was about 20 years ago. Yeah, so that's when when I got out of the hospital and they kept me in that hospital for a week, I was like, something, something ain't chicken in the gravy, as we say down in the South. So I when I started doing research, I was like, dude, I have been feeding myself poison since I was a child. I was like, no wonder my gut's trashed, you know? And then then I come to find out it's harder to eat right than anything else. Yeah. It's like harder to maneuver the poison in your life in this society than anything else. Like it's it's almost easier to maintain a relationship with God than it is to like maneuver the poisons that are that are uh readily available for your life. It's it's uh it's crazy. Like it's so propagandized. It's I I'll I'll get off on a soapbox, man.

SPEAKER_04 21:54

Yeah, I understand that.

A Calling Back To Ministry

SPEAKER_03 21:55

But um, but tell us a little bit about the ministry. Uh I think uh you know you said you were trying to build this business to fund a ministry what kind of what kind of ministry what kind of tell me a little bit about that uh a little bit of backstory real quick first uh I I actually felt a call felt the call to preach uh back uh uh back in 2003 2004 around that area right and the church I was going to at the time they were you know the well the senior pastor at that point in time uh was right there with me you know and uh he got me uh into where I was there was this little there used to be this little uh truck stop chapel uh at this one truck stop close by here in Salisbury right and I and he got me into where I was I was I was actually preaching there uh every Friday night.

Serving Veterans Through Real Support

SPEAKER_04 22:51

Oh wow and that also is also what led to my divorce because my my my first wife was like oh yeah being a preacher's wife so you know but that's a different story. Oh wow and so um I ended up getting divorced and like I said I went wild. I just I just completely abandoned that that whole ministry and everything. I moved down to South Carolina with my buddy uh and then that's when I got into the whole uh holistic health and all that kind of stuff I just wanted to help people understand man so um long story short I you know struggled for a long long long time and I know why I was struggling because God was was trying to pull me back to where I needed to be and eventually uh I got to a point where I was almost homeless went I was ended up living with some friends of mine finally I got ended up I ended up at the church I'm at now and uh this is that this is right before I got married to my wife and everything and just after the man camp thing I could I mean I I it was just so big I could not deny it. I had and I was trying to I was trying to start a security consulting business because I've been security all my life. Right and I was and that wasn't going anywhere and I know why I wasn't going anywhere because that's not what God wanted me to do. Yeah I get it man I spent 30 years as a finance director in the car business I get it and I kept I kept fighting it fighting I was like I need to get some I didn't make I need to make money I need to make money and then it just finally hit me no I've been calling you to to veterans forever you need to start helping veterans and I was I've already had a friend I already got a friend of mine who's which she's already got a different type of nonprofit ministry where she helps homeless vets and it just it just kept playing over and over and I was like finally okay you know what I'm shutting I'm shutting security business down I'm turning it over to uh a new ministry name came to me right away sheepdogs uh anchored in Christ so sheep dogs covers everybody that's you know military law enforcement all those guys that you know they're responders you know that kind of thing right and the main focus though is veterans who are coming out of service who've having or who are having a hard time because I had a hard time with the transition from military to civilian uh and and and just can't you know deal with it you know yeah that's that's where my focus is uh you know helping them to you know get helping to get the care they need help them get whatever it is that they actually need to need to have uh I just recently got certified as a DAV chapter service officer which means now I can fill out the forms and and and send the forms up for uh the VA compensation and everything that they need for whatever you know yeah uh I've been helping I've helped two Marines so far one of them being uh one of them being Gene that's awesome that's awesome yeah he's he's and I mean that stuff that stuff's if you don't know what you're doing that stuff's very very it's I get it it's hard yeah and Gene oh man he's not he's nothing what he is now is nothing like what he was before he was oh he was he he was so so angry bitter I I was able to you know earn his trust and we've had there have been times we've he we had right here in my living room we've had conversations that most people wouldn't bother to have with him but I but I literally became his brother that's awesome and so you know we're we're we're we're good friends we're not just good friends we are brothers now we're totally brothers now and it's just been you know it's been like that for us uh uh another guy that that I've helped out uh his name is his name is JD he went he went JD went to man camp with me he was one of my son's best friends back when he was in high school he got out of the Marine Corps and later on I found out he was living in his truck and I'm like okay this is not gonna work right so I could so I caught I got a hold of him through uh through messenger because he was on my Facebook anyway and I said hey here's my number give me a call so he called me and we talked and I I've I've known I've known JD since he was a kid so you know there's there's there's there's already a trust a trust built built there.

Websites Prayer And Final Words

SPEAKER_03 28:15

Right and I talked to my wife I talked to her said look I need to talk to you about some stuff and she was agreeable to it and so we moved him in for a in our in our house for uh almost a year and now at this point he is he's married um he married a lady that's got that's got two small two small daughters those little girls love him to death and he's I mean he's got his attention well you know the compensation right because of the because of having a TBI and a couple other things that he's got going on with him he's right there almost at 100% which means he's getting a a decent paycheck and they're doing pretty decent right now and I'm I'm really really proud of him he keeps in contact with me he'll every once in a while I'll see a I'll see a text hey Pops what's up that's awesome man as far as I mean he he did not get treated very well when he was growing up that's amazing man yeah he was adopted by by his by his aunt and uncle and they didn't treat him right he's pretty much abandoned his his regular family and claimed me and my wife as his mom and dad hey man I mean the blood ain't necessarily you know family ain't necessarily blood i it took me 50 years to figure that out yeah that's for sure but is there now is there a website do you guys have a do you have a website yeah tell tell them yeah it's it's not the best looking thing but it's a website hey man i i might be able to help you with that or let me know great i mean man it's just a basic website right now it's uh and uh done it hang on it's all right the web i mean if you go if you look up sheepdogs anchored in christ you'll go straight to it sheepdogs anchored in christ right yes yeah all right y'all got that sheep dogs anchored in christ yeah this is this is yeah and then it'll be uh um sheepdogs oh no no it's anchored in christ dot faith anchored in christ dot faith yeah so we got that make sure y'all check that out anchored in christ dot faith and um give us your trenaut website ricky while while we here because we're but we about running out of time now okay it's Ricky underscore paint so it's www.traynaut.com forward slash ricky underscore pate is that right yes exactly so ricky underscore pate but make sure you type in the www dotraunt.com that's t-a-n-o-n-t dot com ricky underscore pate and that is ricky's business and we are all business partners under the provision project which is uh our boss and mentor is Nikita Koloff eight time world champion wrestler and guys this has been Ricky Pate and we're we're gonna um Ricky if you would man I always ask my guest to lead everybody in prayer lead us out in prayer if you would do that it has been a pleasure to have you on the show um I love your stories of discipleship I think God is moving you in the right direction and I think you're listening to him and I think it's a beautiful thing my friend I really do so if you if you want to lead us out in prayer if you got anything else to to tell our audience before you lead us in prayer man that'd be amazing um just the only thing that really comes to mind right now is just you know honor God just and do it the way that he taught you to do it little obedience huh yes yes awesome awesome good word man you mean you lead you out absolutely my friend absolutely dear lord just thank you for this beautiful day Lord Lord thank you for for friends thank you for mentors thank you for all those who who we affect and who affect us Lord Lord helped us to go out and make an impact on someone else's life Lord just uh help us to be the people that you want us to be guide us through that through our journeys Lord in your name Jesus Christ amen yes Lord and we just want to pray blessings over Ricky his ministry his business his entrepreneur spirit Lord just we want to pray that uh you keep lifting him and his family up that he may be able to do the things that you have called him to do Lord it's in Jesus' holy heavenly name we pray Jesus the Christ amen and hallelujah thanks Ricky uh we appreciate you being on the show man and and I'll definitely I'm definitely gonna check out that and if you I'm gonna look at your website and if I can help you I will definitely reach out and I'm sure we'll be we'll be talking more together and uh once again brother I love you I appreciate you and God bless you and your family my friend all right oh that just one last thing for you absolutely uh because of you and Brandon Lake both my ring tone is hard fault hallelujah that's pretty awesome man pretty awesome yeah I I I first heard the sound eh but then I heard I I heard it over and over and then I heard you sing it when at when we went down to help with the service right and I'm like oh man yeah okay I get that song now and you're the reason why I got it I appreciate that man I take that as a great compliment man I take that as a great compliment I'm not really sold on jelly roll I I get that whole thing and um but the song itself is a beautiful song and I try not to get in my head about who's singing it because the Lord has to deal with them personally you know what I'm saying that's why I try not to get in my head about certain preachers and certain things I'm like well you know he's preaching the message and he's saying he's giving a message of positivity and uh there's a reason God put it on his heart so maybe God's working on him as well so I gotta be careful about that as well. So that that's that's yeah that's that's a I I appreciate man I take that as a huge compliment I appreciate that man yeah all right my friend well I love you my brother and uh we will talk soon it's gonna hang up as soon as this recording stops so I'll call you back all right man all right brother thank you all right bye