F1 to Freefall: Matt Jaskol on Speed, Skydives & Pushing Limits

"I was gonna die where I was sitting, so I might as well die trying."

In this episode of Pursue Vegas, we sit down with Matt Jaskol, a professional race car driver, skydiver, and adventure junkie who doesn’t just flirt with danger—he races toward it. From Red Bull's Formula One development team to surviving 42 days on a deserted island, Matt’s life is proof that playing it safe isn’t always the safest bet.

Raised in the fast lane, Matt got his start racing motocross and go-karts as a kid, eventually making his way to NASCAR. But Matt didn’t stop there. In true thrill-seeker fashion, he became the first NASCAR driver to skydive into his own race.

"Jumping out of the helicopter was going to be the safest part of my day."

We dive into what drives someone to push every limit—on the track, in the sky, and on reality TV. His time on Castaways, where being stranded on a jungle island taught him the hard truth about being alone versus being lonely, and why discomfort is often the greatest teacher.

Through all of it, Matt shares how adrenaline isn’t just about the rush—it’s about healing, clarity, and testing who you really are when all the comforts are stripped away.

"When you do something like that, it changes your life in a positive direction."

Whether you're into high-speed races, mental endurance, or just love a story about defying the odds, Matt’s journey will light a fire under you to stop waiting and start doing.

Key Takeaways:

• Racing and skydiving aren’t just sports—they’re metaphors for life.
• You don’t need comfort to grow. Discomfort is often the best classroom.
• Blending adrenaline and purpose can be a path to healing.
• Reality shows like Castaways test more than survival—they test spirit.
• Doing scary things rewires your brain toward strength and resilience.

Resources:

• Matt Jaskol on Instagram
• Learn more about skydiving, motorsports, and adventure therapy
• Watch Castaways for a raw look into survival and self-discovery

"The greatest experience of my life. I would do it again." — Matt Jaskol

Thanks for tuning in to The Pursue Vegas Podcast!

Transcript

0:00:00 - (Matt Jaskol): Hey, everybody, this is Matt Jaskol, professional motorsports athlete, and you're listening to the Pursue Vegas podcast.

0:00:08 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:00:13 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:00:18 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are. All right, welcome back to the Pursue Vegas podcast. I'm your host, Dave Berlin.

0:00:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I'm your co host, Tawni Nguyen.

0:00:31 - (Dave Burlin): And this one is a different level. It's a different level, Tawni. This is a whole different category of excited because. Matt Jaskol, welcome to the show.

0:00:42 - (Matt Jaskol): Thank you, everybody.

0:00:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): He's been talking about you for months.

0:00:45 - (Matt Jaskol): Don't say different level. I'm only, like, five.

0:00:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, I mean, if you're jumping out of planes, it's kind of a different.

0:00:52 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, it is a different. Well, yeah, it is definitely a different perspective, and we're gonna get into that. But no.

0:00:56 - (Tawni Nguyen): Willing to jump out of a.

0:00:57 - (Dave Burlin): For us.

0:00:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): I.

0:00:58 - (Matt Jaskol): Yes, I would love. Yeah. Not only willing, I'd love to do it. Yeah, we'll talk about it. Why? You know, we'll bring up why that happened.

0:01:03 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. Matt is one of the most fascinating humans that I've not only met in Las Vegas, but probably on the planet. And I sincerely mean that because we got connected at a dinner. It was like a dinner party group, not a swinger thing. Just to be very clear. Like, I feel like when you think it was. It was called Spice, but it's like, it's such a. As soon as you're, like, cryptic at all, it's like, oh, is it a swinger?

0:01:26 - (Tawni Nguyen): It was not a swinger.

0:01:27 - (Matt Jaskol): It was a Spice party in veg. What is that?

0:01:30 - (Tawni Nguyen): Not at the Green door. Got it.

0:01:31 - (Matt Jaskol): And, like, it was an entrepreneur party. Yeah, it was.

0:01:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. But what's interesting is, like, there's three insane pillars about who you are. There's like, 20. But, like, the first one was like, oh, yeah. He was on this TV show called Castaways, and I'm like, what? And, like, that's a whole thing, and we'll get into it and then you do some other stuff. So I'm just gonna let pass the mic over metaphorically to your microphone.

0:01:56 - (Matt Jaskol): Thank you.

0:01:57 - (Dave Burlin): Please tell us who you are, what you're excited about, and what are the things that you're into, my friend.

0:02:02 - (Matt Jaskol): Oh, man. Yeah, that is a tough one. And maybe. Maybe I have jack of all trades, master of none, you know, type of thing. And I'd like to think I've mastered some things, but I've been a race car driver my whole life. You know, I lived in Las Vegas. I am. It's painful to say I'm proud of it, but painful at the same time. I'm 40 now, just turned 40. And born and raised here. Born and raised, but 35 years.

0:02:22 - (Dave Burlin): Okay, 35 years.

0:02:23 - (Matt Jaskol): So born in California and then parents brought me here. And I love telling the story. You know, it's always like, oh, wow, you've been in Vegas 35 years. You born and raised there? No, born in California, but came to Vegas when I was five. Like, wow, what brought you to Vegas? I'm like, well, you know, housing market was booming. You know, things were going down. I was like, my parents bought me here.

0:02:41 - (Tawni Nguyen): I had big decisions riding on me at 5 years old.

0:02:45 - (Matt Jaskol): There was a, there was a, there was a, you know, real estate crash in California. So I figured Vegas was the move. I'm like, I didn't really have.

0:02:51 - (Dave Burlin): I told your mom, like, mom, my.

0:02:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): Diaper prices went up. I had to get out of there, you know.

0:02:56 - (Matt Jaskol): Exactly. I was like, I really didn't have much of a. I didn't have much of a choice. I mean, it was great. I love, I've loved Vegas all these years and, and kind of what we, what we're passionate about and connect on is Vegas and, and, and we'll get into that, right? The changes and things that are happening in Vegas. But, yeah, so professional racing driver all my life. And what that means is I was, I was pursuing motorsports. I was, you know, racing motocross at a young age of 5 to 10. I was racing go karts from 10 to 14. I had, you know, quote unquote, turned professional about 14, 15 or 15 years old. And what that meant was I got a scholarship to race in a racing series in a real car called the Skip Barber Racing series, where most American drivers in open wheel ranks, you know, pursuing the open wheel, Formula one type stuff. So I went into that when I was only, you know, 14, 15, 16 years old. By, before I was 18 years old, Red Bull had plucked me out for their Formula One development program. So I was an American F1 development driver 20 years ago now, which is crazy. And, and, and like a lot of the drivers in the Red Bull program, I did not make it to Formula one for. For a multitude of reasons. And obviously, I like to believe it wasn't talent.

0:04:01 - (Matt Jaskol): I had plenty of that, I believe, but it was, you know, and other things going on in Motorsports as people can imagine, especially for those new F1 fans watching Drive to Survive, which is amazing. It's opened up a whole new level of people that, that follow the sport and there was a lot going on. It was a traumatic time for a young 18, 19, 20 year old to be going through that era of Formula 1 and trying to make DEF1 and then. But I still pursued my racing career and, and, and, and again it would take an hour and you know, some of it to go in of, you know, how the, my racing career went up and down. It, you know, the economic collapse took me out like a lot of people in my early 20s.

0:04:36 - (Matt Jaskol): We got hit harder than anywhere in the country. Right here in Vegas. My family was losing, the house was in foreclosure, things getting repoed. You know, life was tough, just like a lot of people and my racing career kind of stopped. And when you're not a race car driver to make a living, you're a racing instructor. So I was working at racing schools and being a performance driving instructor and got burnt out on that and was doing some triathlons and other things and then, you know, keep, keep coming down. I was working at Dream Racing for many years as the chief instructor, became a skydiver, turned that into a semi profession as a racing, as a, as a TAND instructor and film an outside video and, and again I, I started skydiving out of depression. I did that because I was depressed not racing. I don't want to just be sitting at a racetrack being an instructor. So, so I started.

0:05:18 - (Dave Burlin): Do you see the Rogan clip about skydivers? He's like, they're psychopaths and it's, they're absolute psychopathic human beings.

0:05:25 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, everything he says, like dopamine, you know, junkies, I'm like, that is really accurate. Unfortunately, unfortunately, that's me. Can you cut that to that clip that he talks about? It's, it's, everybody sent that to me and I'm like, it would be funny if it wasn' wasn't true. Yeah, it's the absolute truth. So yeah, anyway, skydiving, doing that. And then because of crazy life, you know, scenarios and relationships, a man that I met 20 years ago through go kart racing kind of made it, he had some money, had a big automotive business that he still is, you know, fighting, working with, now publicly traded. And he took me nascar, you know, he sponsored me to race nascar. So I got to, to race at the highest level of motorsports in America. Pretty much, you know, in the, in the top three Tiers. Then there's the Cup Series, Xfinity and Truck, and I was racing Truck and Xfinity part time for two years.

0:06:11 - (Matt Jaskol): And I do a little bit of stunt driving, a little bit of Hollywood stunt driving. I'm a sag, you know, so that's. And that's hard. That's harder to get into than motorsports. At least in motorsports, if you're. If you have a sponsor, you can pay your way in. In the Hollywood deal. It's hard. It's.

0:06:24 - (Dave Burlin): It's.

0:06:24 - (Matt Jaskol): And it's been. And of course, I just started getting into stunt driving. Right. Right when the. The big, you know, the big. What do you call it?

0:06:30 - (Dave Burlin): The.

0:06:31 - (Matt Jaskol): The strike happened. The writers, Gill and, you know, there was no work for like a year, but. But a couple movies I worked on, like, there was a Wahlberg movie, Mel Gibson movie that came out. So trying to do. I'm passionate about. I am passionate about that. I'm passionate about, you know, precision driving and being behind the wheel, amongst other things. But so hopefully more. More of that in the future.

0:06:47 - (Dave Burlin): I love it. And then you. You went through a couple of NASCAR races as well.

0:06:51 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. Right.

0:06:52 - (Dave Burlin): And you. You did something that I don't. Has anyone else ever done that before?

0:06:55 - (Matt Jaskol): Oh, no. Yeah, I forgot about that.

0:06:56 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. So you. You got to skydive.

0:06:59 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:06:59 - (Dave Burlin): Into your race.

0:07:00 - (Matt Jaskol): Yes.

0:07:01 - (Dave Burlin): Insane.

0:07:02 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, it was.

0:07:03 - (Dave Burlin): How did that happen? Like, what. That doesn't just happen. It's like, did somebody, like, hear about it or like, how. How does that even come to reality? Which, by the way, everything is absolutely possible in LA and it's. It. I don't know. Is that something that you, like, brought up or. Okay, tell us how that went down.

0:07:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): I thought it was going to be like, do first, ask permission after.

0:07:22 - (Matt Jaskol): No, no. I know. I definitely know. I cannot jump into a, you know, big NASCAR race.

0:07:28 - (Dave Burlin): Think he's a terrorist or something.

0:07:31 - (Matt Jaskol): You have to have FAA clearance, tsa. If I did that, I'd be going to jail. I wouldn't be sitting here right now.

0:07:35 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:07:36 - (Matt Jaskol): Probably or so. So that was a pretty amazing thing. Making it to NASCAR was a big deal. I broke into NASCAR 2021, and again, it's very racing, so complex and. And people would, you know, some people in motorsports would understand, but most would never understand how difficult it was. I. I got into NASCAR during COVID Rules and what was going on. There was no practice and no qualifying, and I was getting into a race car that I had never sat in. I'd never even started the car. There's no practice, there's no qualifying.

0:08:04 - (Matt Jaskol): I was showing up to NASCAR races, getting plugged in and going straight to the green flag. And some of the tracks I was going on are average speed of 190 miles an hour and. Yeah, man. And it was, it was, hon, honestly, kind of insane. It was, it was amazing that NASCAR even gave me the permission. There was a lot of special things that happened. We, you know, when I had the sponsor, it was a, it was a dear friend of mine here in Vegas named Mike Young who kind of helped introduce me to a NASCAR team because he was kind of sponsoring them and it was a lower budget team. And I went to, we went to nascar. You have to get approval. You can't just go race nascar. So I went to NASCAR and I was able. Luckily, they, they knew who I was. They knew my background. I have a, you know, had a res. Even though I hadn't raced professionally in nearly a decade, I still had the, the pedigree and the racing background, you know, behind NASCAR gave me the approval. And when you go into nascar, you can't just go straight to Talladega or daytona on the 2 1/2 mile superspeedways. You have to start at one of the slower, the smaller tracks. So NASCAR said, okay, we'll let you race, but you have to do. You got to go to Martinsville. Martinsville is one of the oldest NASCAR tracks, you know, in existence from the, since the 50s. And it's a half mile, so it's a short track.

0:09:07 - (Matt Jaskol): So I did, I did Martinsville. Didn't, didn't scratch the car, didn't, you know, didn't crash, finished the race, moved up through the field. And so then NASCAR approves you to go to the next race, which is a mile track. I went to the famous Darlington Speedway. And so I kept moving up the ranks and, and everything was going really well. And, and so. And again, only part time. I mean, there's 30 races a year in the NASCAR Xfinity series. I was only racing about 10, 10, 12 of them because that was what the budget we had for me to race.

0:09:32 - (Matt Jaskol): So. So again, I'm showing up to some of the gnarliest famous NASCAR tracks. I'm showing it to the, the do Dover, the mile, it's called the Monster Mile. I went to Darlington, called the lady in Black or the track Too tough to Tame. Darlington is famous. I was, I was so honored to be there. I had to start dead last because there was no qualifying and my team owner points. So I had to start 40th position every race, and go to the green flag, full throttle in turn one, which was. No BS. Around 180 miles an hour at times. 170 on lap one. And I'm literally going. I hope it's. I don't even know what the car is going to do. I've never driven this car on this track in my life.

0:10:07 - (Matt Jaskol): Boom. Turn one, 40 cars, 170 miles an hour. So Darlington is famous, if anybody knows Days of Thunder, right? So, you know, never heard of her. Yeah. Come on. So Days of Thunder, one of the most famous NASCAR movies. Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise gets his first NASCAR win in the movie at Darlington. So. So the race there was pretty special and had a good, decent run, you know, and moved up through the field.

0:10:30 - (Matt Jaskol): So now. Okay, long story, like I said, it's complicated.

0:10:32 - (Dave Burlin): Were you a stuntman in that movie?

0:10:33 - (Matt Jaskol): I was not. I wish I was. I was a baby. I was just like. I was. I was like less than that. But there's a new one. There's. There is talks. It's already in the works that. That a days of Thunder 2 is coming out. And I've already trying to.

0:10:44 - (Dave Burlin): Is it an origin story?

0:10:45 - (Matt Jaskol): No, no, it's, you know, it's typical. Like, you know, he's. He's the older driver now, mentoring the young hotshot, I think.

0:10:52 - (Dave Burlin): So there's basically Top Gun all over again. It is, but for days of thunder.

0:10:55 - (Matt Jaskol): 100, it's top gun for NASCAR. You know, that's 100 what it is. And I'm trying to be in that movie for sure. Whether it's. Whether it's a, you know, manifesting podcast.

0:11:04 - (Dave Burlin): Manifesting podcast.

0:11:05 - (Matt Jaskol): I'm talking to stunt coordinators, people. I'm. It just. Whether I'm a stunt guy, just a stunt driver or a stunt double would be my. Would be a dream, actually, to be a stunt double for one of the, you know, one of the main actors. So I'm working on that. So anyways, I go to NASA.

0:11:17 - (Dave Burlin): One of the main actors.

0:11:18 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, I have a little bit of a Tom Cruise look.

0:11:21 - (Dave Burlin): I think a lot of the Tom Cruise.

0:11:25 - (Matt Jaskol): So. So anyway, so I go to. So Vegas. So Vegas, my hometown. I'm gonna race NASCAR in my hometown. And. And there's a saying in motorsports, you never know if it's going to be your last race. Not. Not from a morbid standpoint, because there's that element of being hurt. You know, it's just because of money and fight, you know, the way things are for a multitude of reasons when you. You never know when your last race will be your last race. And.

0:11:45 - (Matt Jaskol): And. And so here I am. I get to race NASCAR in my hometown in front of my family. And it's kind of like, you made it. You know, you made it to the pro level. Whether. Whether you're a big famous driver, whether you're making millions or not, you still made it to, you know, one of the top tiers of motorsports. And so here I am. I get to race in my hometown. And so I went to nascar. I went to the speedway first because I have friends there. I've worked there since I was a kid.

0:12:06 - (Matt Jaskol): And so I went to the. The president of public relations and some other friends, Jeff Molly, who's an amazing guy. And I talked. Who's Naysan Gray, who's like the president of marketing. So those guys alone are great. And I said, hey, this is gonna sound crazy. What if I skydived into my race during driver intros? And. And I thought for sure it would just be like, shut down. You're an idiot. And they went, what? Really? And I. And I. So then I'm like, yeah. And they were like, you could do that? And I was like, well, if you guys allow me to. Yeah, I'll make it happen. And they go, how does it. Well, what does that look like? And I was like, well, I'd rent a helicopter, and.

0:12:39 - (Matt Jaskol): And then I. You know, I had file a lot of paperwork. Guys got to give me the permission to do it. You have to say yes, and then I can. And.

0:12:44 - (Dave Burlin): And they.

0:12:45 - (Matt Jaskol): And they even asked. They go, would you be in your driving suit? And I'm like, yeah, because I'd have to go straight. I mean, I'd go to the driver, intro the stage, and walk to the car for the national anthem and get in the car and race. And they went, you can do that. I was like. I said. And I. And then I said. And I say to them, and I go, sadly, I'm more current jumping out of a plane than I am racing nascar.

0:13:05 - (Matt Jaskol): I go, you guys are letting me show up to Vegas. 190 mile an hour track with zero practice. I've never been on this track. And I'm gonna go straight to the green flag. You guys are letting me do that. Jumping out of a plane, sadly, will be the safest part of my day.

0:13:20 - (Dave Burlin): You're like, I jumped out of a plane this morning. Yeah, I did.

0:13:23 - (Matt Jaskol): I think I did jump that. More working, you know, I was like, I. So it sounds funny, but I was like, guys, it genuinely would be the safest part of my day. The most dangerous part of my day will be strapping in that race car. The safest part will be jumping out of a helicopter and ironically. And so they went, all right. They went, do you want us to ask nascar? And I said, yeah. I said, but frame it. It's not a stunt. I'm not some Travis Pastrana, who's a buddy. Actually, I'm not. I'm not some Travis Pastrana stuntman. This is. I'm a professional. I have a license to do this. I even have what's called a pro rating to jump into stadiums for, like, events. I go, so listen, I'm a professional doing this, and I'll. And I want to do something meaningful. I want to share the story, you know, tie in why I'm a skydiver. It's not just a stunt, but it was everything. It was. Give some exposure to my sponsor and my friend, do something special that's. It's so, so freaking impossible to be the first to do anything these days, you know, like, so I wanted to be the first one. First NASCAR driver in history to ever skydive into his own race. And I'll probably be the last, maybe, you know, And.

0:14:21 - (Matt Jaskol): And I said, I'll raise $10,000 for children's speedway Children's charities, one of the oldest charities that does amazing work. They've been around since, like, I think the 80s or 90s. And so I went to an old team owner of mine in Vegas, Don Foreman, who owns United Nissan. I kind of made him put up the money. I was like, yo, you're going to help me do this, this. And so he gave me the money for the. For the donation, and the speedway gave me the helicopter with Maverick helicopters. So we went to nascar, and here was what's funny.

0:14:46 - (Matt Jaskol): And. And I remember reading the email. So they went to NASCAR and said it. They did it for me. They said, hey, Matt Jaska wants to do this. And it kind of was like, matt who? You know, I'm not. Even though I'm racing nascar, I'm not one of their big drivers, right? So they're like, who wants to do what? You know? And so they came back with an email, and they're like, all right, we'll let. We'll let Matt Jaskill jump under one condition. And we're all just like, what's that?

0:15:08 - (Matt Jaskol): As long as he's got a backup driver, so. And we. As long as he's got a backup driver, so. And the joke went, you know. You know, NASCAR is desperate for Ratings when they let the no name NASCAR driver skydive into the race. As long as he doesn't get blood on the trail. Like listen, the show's got to go on, okay? So that, that car's got to be in the show so he splats on the ground. Make sure there's a drive backup driver, no bs. I have the emails. Wow.

0:15:38 - (Matt Jaskol): Probably framed someday. So NASCAR said, well, we'll, we will give Matt Jaskill the permission to skydive as long as he has a backup driver in case I get injured. I was like, wow. All right, cool. So. So my spotter. So if, if people know in NASCAR because I work as a spotter, a lot of times you have it, you ha. It's mandatory. You have a spotter up in the top of the, the grandstands or in the tower. We say, and, and they're talking to you the whole time because when you're in a nascar you got really see much and they're talking to you to say, you know, at your door, looking inside so you don't just like turn down on another car. Still happens when you watch like Daytona 500 sometimes you hear the drama about oh, the spotter didn't call him clear or whatever. So.

0:16:16 - (Matt Jaskol): So my spotter is a awesome badass driver. Actually, you know, another driver is not racing, doesn't have funding. His name is Steven Light. He's still a good friend and he was actually kind of like coaching me. He's been a driver a long time and he's a badass spotter. And so he was my spotter for the, for most of the season when I was travel racing. And so I gave him, so he was my back. And so we all joke because there was, I mean there was, you know, Xfinity race. You know, we get maybe 50,000 fans total in the, in the infield, you know, for a cup week and everything.

0:16:44 - (Matt Jaskol): But at the start of the race, there's not a lot of fans in the grandsons, but there were still about 10,000 estimated fans and you know, still a good, good fan base. And when I landed, you heard the crowd, they didn't know who I was really, but it was like a local, so people heard there was a local. So, so I landed and you just heard the crowd just go wild. And we all joke that everybody stood up when I landed and the crowd was like, yeah. And my spotter was like, ah.

0:17:08 - (Dave Burlin): So he's like, who packed your shoe, bro?

0:17:12 - (Matt Jaskol): Got the special back job for you.

0:17:15 - (Dave Burlin): So be like, it's all Good for you. Here you go.

0:17:17 - (Matt Jaskol): And you're like, you're my backup, you're my backup driver. So, so okay, that was pretty special. That was wild. And, and of course, of course I say this, it did not get the credit it deserved, of course. And it was a little frustrated, right? Just typical kind of the way things are with anything. It's not just nascar but, but so they didn't even show it live. They showed a highlight of it like, like 20 minutes later at, you know, they, so they, they didn't show it live.

0:17:42 - (Matt Jaskol): Then they do the national anthem and then as we were doing the warm up laps before the green flag, they did a quick spot, you know, like 60 seconds or like. And before the race Matt Jaskill skydived and they kind of messed up the story and they didn't tell it right. And they're just like, it's like I just jumped out of a helicopter from 5,000ft, landed in the grass, waved at the crowd. What from the time that I jumped off the, the skid of a helicopter to driver, start your engines with my helmet on was like 35 minutes.

0:18:09 - (Matt Jaskol): And then I went on to race every lap from dead last and finished 20th, which is a big deal for a low budget team. I drove halfway through the field and didn't, and didn't crash and finish the race. And NASCAR was just like, yeah, that was great. And Justin Allgire, he just got a new puppy.

0:18:25 - (Dave Burlin): Congratulation live to his family in Nashville, Tennessee.

0:18:30 - (Matt Jaskol): Like, I mean I didn't think he got the credit it deserved and I, I would have, you know, just to tell the story. But anyways, we pulled it off and, and it was a cool thing too because you know, it gives you that. Sadly, I haven't raced NASCAR in two years. My last race was, was, was my birthday of 2022. So it's been a couple years since I've raced NASCAR mostly due to funding and just like anything, no sponsorship and, and what was I going to say is, yeah, I.

0:18:56 - (Matt Jaskol): When you do something like that, when you pull it off, what's amazing is NASCAR was kind of like, hey kid, you ever, you ever want to do anything else? You manager of the Texas Motor Speedway was on site and he came up to me and said, hey, we want you to jump into, you know, into a race in Texas sometime. So it was cool. We pulled it off and nice. And I didn't die, so it was good.

0:19:12 - (Dave Burlin): Nice.

0:19:13 - (Tawni Nguyen): Glad to have you here. You didn't. I'm still marinating on the.

0:19:17 - (Matt Jaskol): You're like where they're like have a backup.

0:19:21 - (Dave Burlin): So, man, I could tell you this. Well, okay, I, I gotta know because you said that day you finished 20th. Yes. Had you finished. Finished ahead of that before?

0:19:32 - (Matt Jaskol): Yes, I actually, my, my career best finish In NASCAR was 16th place.

0:19:36 - (Dave Burlin): Okay, gotcha.

0:19:37 - (Matt Jaskol): And that was on a road course in Portland. And before that, I finished 17th in NASCAR truck series at Atlanta. So, you know, and again, these were, you know, in the, in the world of motorsports, I'm very transparent. People are interested in this stuff just to give you ideas of budget, right. To do a NASCAR race. Xfinity and Truck, not Cup, is the high level nine. That's even more money, right. So Xfinity or truck, which is the more realistic budget, you know, to be in a race car?

0:20:01 - (Matt Jaskol): It's about $30,000 per race, which is insane. It's even to me, that's an insane number. $30,000 for one race to be in a NASCAR race, and that's with a lowbudget team. And what that means is if you want to go faster, you just got to be with a better team, you know, that has better budget, better cars. And so to give you an idea of disparity, my budget were around 30 to 35k per race, and that was good enough for a top 20 car.

0:20:24 - (Matt Jaskol): You're not going to do much better than that unless people crash and stuff like that. It' that's just all you're going to do. Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kyle knows me. We're not really. Kurt is a buddy of mine. Kurt Bush. Kyle and I, not really pals, but they know me. They contacted me and said, hey, we'll give you a special deal because, you know, you're a good driver. We know you $100,000 per race, and they usually charge 120. So it gives you an idea of equipment.

0:20:45 - (Dave Burlin): So.

0:20:45 - (Matt Jaskol): So I mean, I'm running $30,000 a race you're not going to do. If you finish inside the top 20 like I did, you get, you get mentioned the t, you know, the TV crew will say, hey, and great job for that little team today. You know, you know, Matt finished in the top 20, 20, whatever. And then if you want to finish in the top 10 or above, you're paying 100,000 per race. So that. And unfortunately, it is a pay to play sport. It's. That is the game, you know, whether it's Formula One, NASCAR, all the same thing. There's a reason why Ferrari, McLaren, those teams are up top. And then you have the.

0:21:15 - (Matt Jaskol): And it's usually around $100 million a year is the disparity of top five manufacturers versus the bottom five. So. Yeah.

0:21:22 - (Dave Burlin): Did you know any of that?

0:21:24 - (Matt Jaskol): No.

0:21:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): That's why I'm sitting here staring at him so hard, just like, wow.

0:21:28 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:21:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because the logic side of my brain is trying to compute, like, numbers, obviously, because I'm like, analyzing your. The data that you're telling me, but like, realistically, on a. On a lifestyle portion, I'm like, what the.

0:21:38 - (Dave Burlin): Like, yeah, because.

0:21:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because I'm pretty much just like any other person that's like, oh, nascar, cool. But yeah, when you hear what actually goes into it, I'm like, what the. Yeah, you can see my face probably. I was like, what?

0:21:50 - (Matt Jaskol): It's a tough business, right? And like, and again, people probably curious like, oh, what are you making? You know. You know, there's drivers out there that make millions. It's not as good. You know, racing is not what it used to be. In the early 2000s, the heyday, you know, the late 90s, 90s, up until the economic collapse, let's say from the early. From the late 90s until 2000, let's say eight, you know, drivers were making in the millions, you know, the big name drivers in both IndyCar, which is like the American version of Formula One, and NASCAR. And then, you know, sadly, that those budgets just aren't there, man. Like, drivers aren't making the money they used to make. You know, budgets are cut all the way around. And then there's a lot of nepotism. You know, you see drivers out there. I mean, there's the, you know, I can point at almost, you know, half the field, and it's, oh, his father's a billionaire. That guy owns this. And same in Formula one. There's drivers there like Lance Stroll. Again, if you're an F1 fan watching this, his father owns the team. He owns the Aston Martin race team. That's why he's there. You know, it's like, how convenient. Yeah, how convenient. Right? So it's. It's a tough. I was making.

0:22:44 - (Matt Jaskol): I was getting a paycheck of 1500 bucks a race.

0:22:46 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:22:47 - (Matt Jaskol): And I even remember thinking, I was like, has not enough money to risk my life out here. And how drivers make money like me is you might get a small paycheck per race, and then you're selling sponsorship, so I might have my title sponsor. And then I'm selling little space on the car from little sponsors to try to make a little. Like when I did my Vegas race, I was able to make around five grand. And that's. And it was more about like, I'm risking my life out there, I need to pay my bills. And so I was able to sell the race was paid for and I was able to, you know, put the sponsorship together to make a living for that race. And it's a. It's like being a prize fighter. I mean, you're fighting, you're fighting for money to pay your bills, man. It's a tough.

0:23:22 - (Matt Jaskol): I love it.

0:23:22 - (Dave Burlin): You're getting beat up.

0:23:23 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, well.

0:23:24 - (Dave Burlin): And that's the other part too. Living here. You'll also do whatever it takes in the off season or in the time in between when the races are happening. Right to that point, like where I asked that question, it was kind of like, do you think the adrenaline from the jump had anything to do with you doing good in that race that day? Because. And it's kind of a loaded question because I'll never forget. So Matt took me on my first jump and I'll never forget that day because it was the first time I jumped out of an airplane. But, but as soon as we hit the ground, we were with Nate from the Real World San Diego.

0:24:01 - (Matt Jaskol): We didn't hit the ground.

0:24:02 - (Dave Burlin): He hates, he hates when I introduce him that way, but it's Nate from the Real World San Diego because he was on the show.

0:24:08 - (Matt Jaskol): Yep, Real World San Diego. I still keep in touch with him a little bit.

0:24:11 - (Dave Burlin): I love Nate. I hate Nate at the same time because he's, he's, he's the character, man. He's got some, he's got some energy. But that day he was, he had called me the night before and he said, hey, I'm in Vegas. I think I'm gonna bungee jump off of the Stratosphere. And I said, don't do that. And I called you and you took the call and you were like, tell him not to do that. Meet me at Jean airport. So we went to Jean airport.

0:24:33 - (Dave Burlin): You took me on my first jump. I think he'd only jumped twice at that point, maybe not very many times.

0:24:38 - (Matt Jaskol): He had two jumps and now he's.

0:24:39 - (Dave Burlin): Jumped like 5,000 times. Cuz that's. He's just a. Adrenaline, A little bit of adrenaline. Right. Which is great. And I'll never forget as soon as we landed safely. Yeah. Not hit the ground.

0:24:49 - (Matt Jaskol): He said hit the ground. We landed safely.

0:24:51 - (Dave Burlin): As soon as we landed safely, hopped in a car, drove to to dream race to a dre racing. We took. I took a Ferrari for five laps. You took me. I coached you.

0:25:02 - (Matt Jaskol): I Was your driver coach?

0:25:03 - (Dave Burlin): Yep. Your drive. My driver coach. We also drifted. You took us drifting, and then we even did.

0:25:09 - (Matt Jaskol): I had a little shakuri board, I.

0:25:10 - (Dave Burlin): Think, for you guys. We did a little shoot board ready.

0:25:13 - (Matt Jaskol): For him, and then little sh.

0:25:15 - (Dave Burlin): T. Best thing ever. And I mean, this. We went back to WeWork. We were top floor at WeWork. We were in a whiteboard room, and we just threw down some of the greatest ideas. And, like, I'll never forget the level of adrenaline and clarity that was pumping through my veins. And I. I made this joke. Actually, I didn't even mean to wear it today. I just wear it all the time. I bought this watch shortly after. It's a little Ferrari watch. And I. I think of that day every day that I go into any sort of setting where I'm trying to make sure that I need to be sharp, I need to be ready. I think about the day that we jumped out of the airplane race. Race cars and threw it down on the whiteboard.

0:25:53 - (Matt Jaskol): Amazing. Yeah. And it was cool. We did that. And some. I still have a, you know, a passion and a dream to try to do, but it was basically, we were kind of doing a market test.

0:26:01 - (Dave Burlin): Executive experience.

0:26:02 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, executive experience. Like doing adventure experiences where you have a host, you know, not just a regular company where you go book. Not like a destination management company, but like a.

0:26:13 - (Dave Burlin): Not like a figure it out. Not a diy, More of a. More of a white glove done for you. It was adventure therapy.

0:26:19 - (Matt Jaskol): We came up with adventure therapy, which I still. I still want to do. But he was like, the market. We took. Took his friend and him. And so I. I planned out the day. I was like, we're gonna go skydiving first in the morning, and then, you know, VIP transfer to the racetrack where the race. You know, we'll put you in whatever car you choose. I'll take you for a drift ride. We'll have a charcuterie board, champagne toast, and you guys were out. And by 1pm yeah, like, we jumped out of an airplane, went and drove race cars, went for drifting, had a champagne toast, and they were back in the office by 1pm Coming up with ideas.

0:26:47 - (Tawni Nguyen): Where do I sign up?

0:26:48 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, exactly. Right.

0:26:50 - (Dave Burlin): Well. And then. So what did that turn into? Right. I remember then later in life, like, a year later, maybe somebody. This is how it goes back to Bunker Labs. And it's funny. I used to be the chapter pres. Or chapter lead for Bunker Labs. You said you almost wore that shirt today, which was funny. But where that comes back, I was in, I was in Austin, Texas and I was talking to somebody, Joey, who is the cigar guy, he's in New Jersey. And he was like, oh, you're in Vegas. I got somebody I want to connect you to.

0:27:18 - (Dave Burlin): And then later when Deb came out for ces.

0:27:21 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, Deb. Yeah.

0:27:22 - (Dave Burlin): She was like, tell me what's the craziest stuff that I can get 50 people into? And I like, I painted this crazy picture.

0:27:28 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:27:28 - (Dave Burlin): I think the only thing they dropped was like, because I had it like. These executive shuttles are going to pick you up at the Cosmopolitan. They're going to take you to Maverick Helicopter. It's going to be an 8 helicopter convoy that's going to take you to Dream Racing. And like whenever it was, she's like, run the numbers for that. That we ran the number. She's like, drop the helicopter, but let's do everything else. And they, they came out, they were able to brand like vehicles with the, the company that they were, they were supporting.

0:27:55 - (Dave Burlin): So there's a whole world of stuff that you can really do to.

0:27:58 - (Matt Jaskol): Yep.

0:27:59 - (Dave Burlin): And the funniest part too is that day that we were out there, we ran into some celebrity stunt person. I can't even remember, I'll have to look it up on Instagram. But we ran into somebody out there that was racing that day. Dream racing is cool, man.

0:28:13 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. You know, and I'm honored to still be a part of Dream racing. Started there again. It was like, you know, you know, story of my life, part of my life. The economic collapse and kind of floated around figuring out what to do with life and, and then dream racing opened up in. In essentially like, let's call it January 2012. And they signed me on and, and they kept me on there as the. And I signed me up as the. Or you know, hired me as the chief instructor where I, I worked as the chief instructor, excuse me, all the way until 2016.

0:28:38 - (Matt Jaskol): My father had a heart attack, survived, but it was very unexpected and open heart surgery and, and he had a wood flooring, wood, you know, custom woodworking business that he's run for 45 years. It was going to go back bankrupt. It was going to fall apart with him in the hospital. So I left Dream. It was, you know, an amazing thing in my life too. It got me out of. As much as Dream was amazing, I wasn't happy. I just, just because I wasn't fulfilled. It wasn't anything other than, you know, I was just kind of stuck and wanted to do something else. So I actually, as tough as it was, and as sad as it was, I taking over my dad's business was an amazing thing because I also stopped working so much.

0:29:13 - (Matt Jaskol): And that's when I became a skydiver, really. And I started traveling the world skydiving and balancing my time and. And. And doing more with life and. And yeah, so it was, you know, everything happens for a reason. Right. But I'm honored to still be a part of Dream Racing and. And to have that amazing partnership with them. They allow me to come out there and coach private clients and put together corporate programs like you said, and. And I'm actually working even now. Like, life come around full circle. A decade later, looking to possibly do more with Dream again, you know, almost 10 years later to do something.

0:29:40 - (Dave Burlin): We need to come back and then do a part two.

0:29:42 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. Maybe a part two follow up this time.

0:29:44 - (Tawni Nguyen): Can we do a podcast while jumping out of a plane?

0:29:46 - (Dave Burlin): I bet we can.

0:29:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): I've only jumped once when I was 25, so it's been a decade.

0:29:51 - (Matt Jaskol): Oh, so. So you do. You're overdo. Yes. Time. Time to jump again.

0:29:54 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, I think it's like. It's a. It's a health thing. It's almost like how people go get a colonoscopy right. At a certain age. Like, you have to jump at least every two years.

0:30:02 - (Tawni Nguyen): That's a great way. That's a great analogy.

0:30:07 - (Dave Burlin): Where are we going with this?

0:30:08 - (Matt Jaskol): There could be some great cross promotion there. Turn 40 looking to get a colonoscopy. How about a sky.

0:30:13 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, you're probably. Yeah, you're probably overdue for. You're probably overdue.

0:30:18 - (Tawni Nguyen): Get the colonoscopy.

0:30:21 - (Matt Jaskol): Oh, man.

0:30:21 - (Tawni Nguyen): Oh, my God. That is the best midlife crisis marketing there it is.

0:30:26 - (Dave Burlin): You know how it's funny because they. I. There's a whole niche of people that as soon as you turn 65, you start getting all the marketing. Or as soon as you turn 60, email, they start email blowing you up with all this. Everybody about to turn 65 now. Now it's as soon as you turn 40, it's like, when's the last time you went skydiving?

0:30:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, it's like having a midlife crisis. Don't buy a Buick.

0:30:43 - (Dave Burlin): Go skydiving instead and then buy a Cadillac shameless plug.

0:30:50 - (Matt Jaskol): I might. You know, I should have preface. I always tell everybody always assumes it's. I've heard it since I was 15 years old. Oh, you're just an adrenaline junkie. And I used to think that until I got. You know, until you learned a little bit More about the human condition and the chemicals in the brain and stuff. I'm not an adrenaline junkie. I get scared like anybody else. I mean, I. I get terrified about some stuff.

0:31:09 - (Matt Jaskol): I'm a dopamine junkie, if anybody knows. Dopamine is totally different than adrenaline, and I will admit dopamine is the. That same, you know, like endorphins, like runners high when you go running and stuff like that. So. So when you skydive, you do get that there is some adrenaline. But when you, you know, when you've jumped as many times, I have about 10. Over 10 years in the sport, around 5,000 plus skydives now, both as a sport, as we say sport, and as a professional kind of mixed in. And I don't get the adrenaline, but I get the dopamine.

0:31:37 - (Matt Jaskol): Know, there's still. It's a spiritual thing, jumping out of a plane as you. As you've experienced, you know, like, everything going on in your life disappears in that moment, and all you're focused on is that jump. And. Oh, you asked about, did the jump have anything to do with how I did that day in the nascar? And it's such an amazing question because I've never. I don't think I ever processed it that way, but absolutely. 100.

0:31:57 - (Matt Jaskol): And now when you asked that, I sat here, I was like. I started replaying that day of, like, what I was going through because again, you're. You're overwhelmed. I was. I mean, I. I was nervous. I was scared about screwing up. Right. I was scared about messing up the landing or not. Not getting out of the helicopter on.

0:32:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): The ground that they have to clean up.

0:32:13 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. The parachute having a malfunction. You think about those things and like, and. And I'm in charge of the spot. So in the helicopter, I was telling the helicopter pilot, move over this way to make sure I exit the helicopter in the right area. And I don't. I don't land outside the track. And now I miss. Now I miss the start of the race.

0:32:28 - (Tawni Nguyen): You're, like, on top of the bleachers.

0:32:29 - (Matt Jaskol): Or on the other side.

0:32:31 - (Dave Burlin): You land there.

0:32:32 - (Matt Jaskol): You got a job.

0:32:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:32:34 - (Matt Jaskol): Land in Las Vegas Boulevard.

0:32:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): And like, that's how you make the news is like man running to his own race.

0:32:38 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:32:39 - (Matt Jaskol): The embarrassment of, like, not landing, jumping.

0:32:42 - (Tawni Nguyen): Out of the plane.

0:32:43 - (Matt Jaskol): And I hate to say it, calling out skydivers. You know, there's. So as anybody has seen, there's jumpers that jump American flags. The Navy team, the. They're called the leapfrogs. We have The. The US army, the Golden Knights, and then there's private people like myself. So there has been quite a few accidents throughout the years in. In races where skydivers landed in the fence they're hanging from. Their parachute landed in the side of it, like back in the early 2000s, a guy with an American flag. There's a big weight that hangs from the American flag, like 50 pounds, so it can stay drawn out. And he slammed in the side of Kevin Harvick's nascar, and it delayed the race. So all.

0:33:18 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:33:19 - (Matt Jaskol): Yes. All those things go through your mind. And honestly, the race probably went a little smoother because when that. When I got that jump done, I remember taking a big sigh of relief and thinking, like, whatever happens, the rest of the day is bonus. I just pulled off one of the coolest stunts ever, and I'm, you know, I got nothing to lose. I'm starting dead last. I'm just gonna send it in. It literally, you know, the definite. I'm just gonna send it into turn one. And so that did help. It probably. It made my perspective on the day. A big, deep breath.

0:33:44 - (Matt Jaskol): I wasn't as nervous. And, yeah, I would jump in every race if I could.

0:33:48 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, man. I have to say this because. And it's interesting that you've never processed that, because I know how I felt that day. Day. And if for anyone that's never jumped before, actually, I'm just going to make this thing up because there's this. There's this incredible veteran program that I work with. I've been interested in really helping amplify what they do. It's called Vetoga. They help veterans become certified yoga instructors.

0:34:14 - (Matt Jaskol): Oh, amazing.

0:34:15 - (Dave Burlin): And obviously, you can immediately know why, because there's a lot of therapy that goes with that. And I'm just like, I wonder if there's anything like that with skydiving. Skydiving instructors. Yeah. If there isn't, then it should come back, because there was.

0:34:28 - (Matt Jaskol): And he's still around, is a dear friend of mine. He was a Marine, and he's also a professional skydiver and pilot. He's flying commercial planes now and in private jets. Pretty awesome. He started a company called Mission Volant, and it was to take wounded veterans and put them through skydiving and get them licensed as skydivers. And he did that for years, and he did it successfully. He ran it as a nonprofit. Just a lot of work.

0:34:52 - (Matt Jaskol): He closed it down to move on and start a family and have kids, but he ran it successfully. They licensed. Licensed. Some. Some Skydivers that were missing limbs and stuff like that. So. So it did exist, and unfortunately, you know, just a lot of work. And he moved on to other projects there. I think there is still some. Some military stuff out there that helps skydivers. But you're right, it's something that should be.

0:35:12 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:35:12 - (Matt Jaskol): Should be there full time.

0:35:13 - (Dave Burlin): It's. I. I can't. It's like, for a mental health perspective, it's. It's very amazing what happens that day. Again, the creative process where. Now, I will say this about Nate from the Real World, San Diego, because I always have to say, like, he's brilliant. Like, he is one of the most brilliant. Like the person that helped us when we were scaling the DJ business and we were talking about the vision, he just looked at the map and he goes, why don't you just do a hub and spoke model? And we're like, what?

0:35:38 - (Dave Burlin): And he's like, the way GM grew their business was a hub facility with a certain spoke around it. And then that's how we pick Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, Indianapolis, very specifically to follow that model. And he's just like, yeah, you'll have.

0:35:51 - (Matt Jaskol): To hang out with Nate for five minutes to realize that he's different and he's highly intelligent. Yeah, he's a bit. He's a bit. He's a bit crazy.

0:35:57 - (Dave Burlin): And then you add that to jumping and, like, you get, you know, those brains firing up on all those different cylinders.

0:36:03 - (Matt Jaskol): That's why he became a skydiver.

0:36:04 - (Dave Burlin): It actually.

0:36:05 - (Matt Jaskol): So he was extremely a type person. He. I would say. I would say he's. He's borderline genius. And he's, like, manic at times. Right. Like, just mind going, oh, no, he's a. He's a. He's a bioengineer, and he's a brilliant guy.

0:36:17 - (Dave Burlin): Nuclear electrician by trade.

0:36:19 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, his. His IQ is. Is way up there.

0:36:21 - (Dave Burlin): But you can't take him anywhere in public.

0:36:22 - (Matt Jaskol): Right. Yeah. With the high IQ comes a lot of, you know, social. Yeah, social problems.

0:36:28 - (Tawni Nguyen): Social challenges.

0:36:29 - (Dave Burlin): For everyone that knows the show know the real World, there's always one person that they either gets kicked off or they want to kick off. Like. And that was Nate. Yeah. From the real World.

0:36:41 - (Matt Jaskol): I wanted to kick him out of the plane, but then he became a dear friend. Yeah, I was going through some NASCAR hard times, like.

0:36:47 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:36:47 - (Matt Jaskol): Sponsorship, and the team was gonna fold. And I stay. Let me crash at his place. But I. When a race deal fell through for me a couple years ago, so.

0:36:55 - (Dave Burlin): Phenomenal. Human. We will. We will Let him as a guest on the show.

0:36:58 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, no, I need. I to need.

0:36:59 - (Dave Burlin): But he has to sit in the different room.

0:37:00 - (Matt Jaskol): I do love that you're not going to record it.

0:37:01 - (Dave Burlin): I'm just kidding.

0:37:02 - (Matt Jaskol): I want to. I want to stay to himself. But when he became a skydiver, it was amazing how some people, it gets them all jacked up. It brings him down, it calms him down because it gives. It's very intricate sport. You know, you got to focus. So he. The reason he pursued it and I don't know if he's. I haven't talked to him about it. I don't know if he's still jumping but. But why he pursued it was a guy like him, centers him.

0:37:23 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:37:23 - (Dave Burlin): So I would be remiss if we didn't tackle this before we go. Oh, and this is. This might be a little bit heavier because. Because one of the fascinating things that we didn't touch on is when it comes to reality shows, that was the funniest thing that I get to tell the story. I'm like, oh, my friend Nate from the Real World, San Diego. So I called Matt, who was also on a. On a. On a reality show.

0:37:45 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:37:45 - (Dave Burlin): How did that even happen, bro? So talk about what Castaways is. Yeah, yeah. So.

0:37:51 - (Matt Jaskol): So Castaways was a pretty amazing experience. And again, it would take a. And that could be a part two because it would take a whole hour were to explain the intricacies of how that came about. It was. It was a life changing experience, but.

0:38:02 - (Dave Burlin): Teased us with it.

0:38:03 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. So to try to make. To make a long story long, like I like to say, I stole from a friend. I. I was. It was in 2017 and I was going through a really hard time in life. My father was recovering from the heart attack. I was running the family business. My mother was suffering mental illness. She was having mental illness issues. And. And so I was going through, you know, just like you read about in a movie, I was going through a really hard time in life. And a friend of mine, and it's so sad, man. Sadly, he passed away in a motorcycle accident. But he was a gentleman. Just passed away recently. He.

0:38:32 - (Matt Jaskol): He was in the go kart. He knew me since I was a child in go kart racing. He was just involved in kart racing. And he messages me on Facebook and he goes, hey, Matt, my daughter in law of sorts. It was. It wasn't even as a. It was like his. His son was dating this woman. She's involved in Hollywood and she's a casting Agent, and she just. She put this across my desk, and I wanted to bring it to you.

0:38:51 - (Matt Jaskol): She's looking to cast people for this interesting show, and I. And I kind of blew him off because I was. I was taking care of life, family. I mean, my. It was a mess, and I kind of blew it off. And then he messages me again, and he sends me the call sheet, and I kind of. I was a bit of an asshole, to be completely honest. I was just going through a hard time, and I was just, like, being really short with people.

0:39:10 - (Matt Jaskol): But he was a great man, and so he wouldn't leave me alone. He really wanted to pursue me. And so I go, hey. Hey, pal. What's up? Dave's name's Dave Larson. I go, what's up, bud? What can I do for you, man? And I try to hide, you know, what's going on in life. And he goes, hey, listen, would you just talk to her? And I was like, man, I'm just going through a really hard time right now. I don't know if it's the time. He goes, just. Just chat with her. Just, you know, I said, you'd be the right. The right guy.

0:39:32 - (Matt Jaskol): So he. I get on the phone with this lady, and she goes, listen, we're casting for a TV show. I can't even tell you what. And she's being all cryptic, which is annoying right now. I'm just being like, I don't have time for this bs, you know? What is it? She's like, well, I can't tell you what network. I can't. And it was all super vague and cryptic. And she was like, listen, it could change your life, but there's always a big but.

0:39:51 - (Matt Jaskol): It could involve surviving in a deserted jungle island for up to two months without food or shelter. And I was like, I laugh. And I was like, lady, you got wrong, guy. Like, I got a pedicure a week ago because I needed to chill out. I was like, I'm a Vegas city race car driver guy. Like, you got the wrong human being. I was like, survivalist. I, like. I go camping, you know.

0:40:12 - (Dave Burlin): I was like, rv.

0:40:14 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, I'm resourceful, but I'm not. I'm not. I'm not a survivalist. And she was like, no, it's not like that. It's. You remember the TV show Lost? The famous TV show Lost, where the plane crashed and everybody's. You know, and. And you get washed up on shore and you just got to figure out what to do? It was kind of like that. The premise was let's take unique individuals that are struggling in life that are going through something special, whether it's a guy fighting obesity. There was two military guys out there. One was a Green Beret, and one's, you know, they both have some issues going on at home, and one is a struggling young singer. I mean, there's all these interesting people, and they always want a race car driver of sorts that's, you know, these TV shows. And so we have. We found a race car driver, so let's throw him in there. He's got family problems at home is perfect. So it wasn't what everybody thinks. It wasn't a survival show by any means.

0:40:59 - (Dave Burlin): It was a human.

0:41:00 - (Matt Jaskol): It was a human experience. It was a human experiment, a social experiment. You know, the creator of the show, amazing guy, his name's Grant Kaler, and he had a partner named Brian Mandel who's done a lot of stuff. He is the creator of Alone on History Channel, the very famous. One of the most famous survival shows. So he created. Created it, but ABC owned it. ABC took it. So. And when I say, you know, I say it negatively because ABC probably wasn't the best network for him for a show like this, but it was still a big network as abc, and the show did well. But it, you know, people just didn't understand it because it was emotional. People were like, I remember when.

0:41:34 - (Matt Jaskol): When the very first episode came out, there was like 10 million viewers. It had the chance to skyrocket, to be like the next Survivor, but people just didn't understand it. And they didn't do a very good job explaining what it was going to be. People were on Twitter going, why am I crying? Why am I depressed? You know, people thought it was going to be like, when are they going to hook up? When are they going to vote each other off the island?

0:41:51 - (Dave Burlin): Like.

0:41:51 - (Matt Jaskol): Like. It wasn't that they wanted drama. They wanted drama. And it's. It was about life. It was about human beings. Like, you didn't see anything I did to survive. I mean, I was spearing stingray and catching fish and struggling to stay alive. You didn't see 90% of that. It flashed back to my life at home and then back to the jungle, and it. And it, you know, paralleled what you're going through. And. And then the whole purpose was if you could survive to the.

0:42:13 - (Matt Jaskol): To the end, if you could make it to Rescue Day, which you didn't know when it was, if you could make it, which ended up being 42 days in a jungle, I made it to the end. And I lost 32 pounds. I'd almost start. I almost entered starvation, was almost days away from being dead, you know, having kidney failure. I made it through the experience. And the most emotional part was, how do you look back? I get emotional time. I was like, how do you look back on your life now?

0:42:36 - (Matt Jaskol): What do you know? What changed you? How do you. Like, every. I analyzed everything in my life. You know, I went through the most dark moments. I learned the difference between being alone and being lonely. I was alone for eight days in the middle of a jungle, and I was happy. And then I went and tried to find people because I couldn't survive. I realized, like, I can't do this on my own. I can't make fire and find water and find food.

0:42:56 - (Matt Jaskol): You're gonna. You're not gonna stay alive. You know, it was a very spiritual show. Like, during one of the. During one of those episodes, a quote pops up, and it says, if you want to go far, if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together. And you look, learn. I mean, you learn that we think we know those things in the world.

0:43:13 - (Dave Burlin): You live it. You don't learn it, you live it.

0:43:15 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:43:16 - (Dave Burlin): You have to live it.

0:43:17 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. I mean, I was genuinely almost. You know, I had nothing. You know, no food, nothing. Barely the clothes on my back. And. And you learn the difference between being alone and being lonely. I found two other human beings, and I found the wrong human beings. There were two guys that didn't want me there, and they didn't want to share resources. And I found loneliness. And so here I was, alone. And that was a profound thing. I was like, I've never experienced that. I didn't realize that you can be alone and be happy and then be with the wrong people and be. And then being with the wrong people will physically harm your body.

0:43:45 - (Matt Jaskol): And to carry that in back into the real world, when we have distractions, we have our cell phones, we have food, we have. We have all these distractions, all these decisions. Yeah. That keep us away from a potentially bad life experience. We might be in a situation, whether it's. Whether it's family, whether it's professional, whether it's intimate. That isn't good, and it physically will kill you faster. And I lived that. I was with two people that weren't the right people, and I was physically dying faster than some other people that were the right for me to be with, you know, And. And so, yeah, there was a lot. A lot that it was an Amazing. The greatest experience of my life. I would do it again.

0:44:19 - (Matt Jaskol): And I genuinely starved out there. And. And. And I said no to it at first. And then they kept pursuing me. And I. I went to my parents, who I. Who I was taking care of, and I thought. And I was using them as an. As a crutch, as an excuse. I kept saying, no, I take care of my parents. I can't leave. I have to help them. And. And then the. This woman, she goes, well, have you asked them? And I was like, no.

0:44:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, damn it. How dare you call me out.

0:44:40 - (Matt Jaskol): And I remember being pretty emotional. I went to my father and I was like, he. The whole. I explained the whole scenario, and my dad goes, I think you need to do this. And I was like, oh, okay.

0:44:50 - (Dave Burlin): Shit.

0:44:50 - (Matt Jaskol): And then I go to my mother, who for sure is going to say, no. You know, I. She relies on me. She. You know, she freaks out if I leave town for a day, let alone two months in a jungle. And I tell my mother everything. And my mom's like, starts to cry a little bit. She was like, I think you need to do this. And I was like, oh, I guess I need to go do this. And I never. I never intended to make it the whole time. And that was another thing, you know, I didn't believe in myself. I learned about being proud of myself. I didn't believe in myself as much as others.

0:45:15 - (Matt Jaskol): I saw in myself what other people saw in me that I didn't see in myself. The production met me and they knew. They wrote down that I would make it to the end. And I. And I. And I said I wouldn't. And I did. And they told me. They go, matt, we had no doubt. We knew. We knew you wouldn't give up.

0:45:29 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:45:30 - (Matt Jaskol): And so, yeah, it was great. It makes me emotional. Talk about.

0:45:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, your post. Every year, whenever you talk about the day that they picked you up, because what day was that?

0:45:39 - (Matt Jaskol): It was November 11th.

0:45:40 - (Dave Burlin): November 11th.

0:45:41 - (Matt Jaskol): And they chose that. That day for Prosperity, the show. We never knew. You didn't. Yeah, you knew you could be out there for up to two months. But they ended up rescuing us on day 42 with helicopter and a boat. And we were out in the middle. We were. We were hours away from civilization.

0:45:56 - (Dave Burlin): Get away, bro.

0:45:57 - (Matt Jaskol): No, no, we actually. We were cry. We were like instant. We were. We. We didn't believe it was real. We were crying like, are we really. Is it really over? Like, that's how crazy it was. And so on day 42, and it ended up. They rescued us at 11:11 in Indonesia on 11:11. So it's always a special day for me. And it's by 1111 is also.

0:46:15 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:46:16 - (Matt Jaskol): Veterans Day.

0:46:17 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, it is. It is. Yeah.

0:46:18 - (Matt Jaskol): I always feel bad posting because I'm not. Because I'm not taking anything away. It was just a special day to me. You know, the 11:11. You know, people make a wish, this, that, but that was a special day for me and always. And I hope to carry that for the rest of my life. It. I'll always remember it.

0:46:32 - (Dave Burlin): I'm so glad I know you, bro.

0:46:33 - (Matt Jaskol): Thanks.

0:46:34 - (Dave Burlin): It's. You've taught me so many lessons. And before, like, with Nate, San Diego, it's. It's. It's kind of a gimmicky, funny thing, but, like, I remember when I met you, and I was just like. All I said was, wow. And, like, I never knew how that would turn into me jumping the first time or second time.

0:46:53 - (Matt Jaskol): I took it for a second.

0:46:54 - (Dave Burlin): Second time, too. Yeah.

0:46:55 - (Matt Jaskol): Second time to myself.

0:46:56 - (Dave Burlin): Strapped.

0:46:57 - (Matt Jaskol): Strapped to me.

0:46:58 - (Dave Burlin): But also just all of the other, like. And that's the other thing, too. Like, even coming to the show, like, I reached out and you're like, yeah, like, there was no question.

0:47:07 - (Matt Jaskol): I mean, you give me a lot of praise, but, I mean, you are truly one of the most special human beings. And. And. And I'm grateful to know you. And you've always been. You're always just such a positive person. And. And I've. I always think about you when it comes to ideas or trying to brainstorm, and you've always been such an amazing energy of, like, you know, actually to motivate me to continue doing the things that I dream about. And that's what you do, man. And. And so when you go, call me, you know, people always say, oh, Matt, you always answer the phone. I'm like, not always.

0:47:36 - (Matt Jaskol): Not always. And you are definitely right there at the top of the list when you call or. I'm so excited to hear from you. And so when you said to do this, I felt so bad because I canceled the first time, and. And I.

0:47:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): We were just crying by ourselves just a little bit.

0:47:50 - (Matt Jaskol): No, but I mean, allowing me to share my story and. And also you. You remind me of things that, you know, kind of go away a little bit. And so to let me share my story, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

0:48:01 - (Dave Burlin): That's great. And then so there's. How can people find you? Actually, before we get to that, I'm curious. What do you, like, if you had advice for somebody who's looking to do that thing. Right, because you talked about fear. Right? All that. We all have it. It speaks to all of us very differently. I learned this about myself recently. It's like, for some people, it's like, hey, who are you to do a podcast? And some people listen to that, and you're like, yeah, who am I? And they don't do it.

0:48:29 - (Dave Burlin): For me, there's been so many things where it's like, who am I to. Well, I've done this, and then it's like, aha. Then I do this. And for me, it's like, when it really kicks me hard, it's like, oh, but also, like, you've done all these things, but then, like, if you look at it, everybody in your life, like, bails. I'm like, oh, we all have fear at different levels.

0:48:48 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:48:48 - (Dave Burlin): But there's somebody who is hanging on the edge of their seat listening right now because half of what you said, one fraction of what you said, has given them that sort of permission that they thought that they needed, but they didn't.

0:49:00 - (Matt Jaskol): Right.

0:49:01 - (Dave Burlin): What advice would you give to somebody who's wrestling with that. That fear, whether it be moving to Las Vegas, leaving Las Vegas. Yeah, whatever. Whatever that. That thing is that's holding people back, what piece of advice would you give to them?

0:49:15 - (Matt Jaskol): Okay, I do have. I. It's, again, kind of cliche, but it was a. It was a moment out in the jungle, something I learned. And. And it was so cool because later, people were, like, messaging me with this. They're like, oh, my God, there's the quote. And I. I was just sitting in the middle of jungle. I was just talking to myself. And. And what happens is, like, you were pretty much alone out there. They weren't filming you. Like, you think. But I had to make. I. I tried to make a swim, like, a mile across water with nothing, with just my body to try to go find other human beings.

0:49:40 - (Matt Jaskol): And. And later, the production, they asked me, they go, what made you do that? You know, what made you. You know, you don't even know it's in the water. You don't know if there's anything there. And I said this, and. And people were just like, wow. And I was emotional. I was crying. I didn't. I wasn't trying to be some quote. I just said. And it was just true. I was like, I was going to die where I was sitting, so I might as well die trying.

0:50:00 - (Matt Jaskol): And. And everybody was just like, that's. You know, And. And so I tell people I. I tell my. My brother, my. I was. I know, right? Like, I. My brother, who's going through a hard time in life right now, I just said it to him the other day. I was like, dude, you're. You're going to die wherever you're sitting, so why not die trying to do something? You know, so that. And it was making. And you just said, don't know. To make that leap. I'm gonna move or, you know, make this big life change. I'm like, what? You know, there's so many taglines, there's so many catchy things. But. But. But at least when I share that, it was. I was sitting in a jungle, and I know it might have just been a TV show, but there was real life danger out there. I mean, you were alone 15 hours a day. You know, you could step up the wrong step, you could get bit by a snake. And. And. And also, I didn't want to fail. I didn't want to fail. People are afraid of failing. We all are.

0:50:41 - (Matt Jaskol): But I was gonna. I was gonna. My. My time was gonna end sitting there with my ass in the sand, so I might as well make this swim. And. And guess what? I. I made it. You know, I made it. And. And it might have been the difference that kept me alive both spiritually and. And figuratively out there. And. And literally out there. And. And so, yeah, if I can give that advice to anybody, is. Is. Is make. Yeah, just. Just make that. Make that leap. You're. You got nothing to lose. Really.

0:51:09 - (Dave Burlin): Just do it. That is trademark.

0:51:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): Don't get us a season to season. We were having an absolutely. Moment where Dave cries again. This is not the first time we cried today. When I'm the emotionally sound one, then.

0:51:24 - (Matt Jaskol): I did my job. If I got him to tear up a little, what the hell's happening?

0:51:27 - (Tawni Nguyen): But no, like, that was beautiful. Because people don't really think. They don't really understand that the biggest prison that we live in is the figurative. Like, that we put caged, that we put just within our mental confines. And it doesn't exist in reality until you make that clear. Kind of like going back to what you said about clarity, jumping out of a plane. Whether you like it or not, there's a probability in your head that's like, oh, I might die.

0:51:49 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:51:49 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I think in that moment, everything else that doesn't matter strips away. So for me, lately, it's write something down. Like when Vincent was talking about just writing something down. People think that they have so many problems in their life. But if they sit down with a piece of paper and try to list their problems, and if it doesn't become a sentence, it's not a real problem, because they're just overwhelmed by the breadth of things that are just bothering them. And it's just kind of like stagnating within themselves, but it's not a reality. Like, it's.

0:52:16 - (Matt Jaskol): You know, I do need to meet him. Like I said, I love that. Yeah. And that's why I push people to skydive. It used to be because I love it, but I. I still push people to this day to skydive. And I've seen some terrible things in the sport, both av. You know, things we can get into some other time, you know, aviation and things. And I pulled back on pushing people to skydive because I didn't want to be responsible for something bad happen.

0:52:34 - (Matt Jaskol): But I. I still push people to skydive because I do believe that there is a spiritual thing that happens when you skydive where, if I can help you to do that, it does make other things in life easier. If you are terrified to jump out of a plane, when you do it, you will always remember it. And when you go to do other things in life that you found hard, you'll be like, well, I jumped out of an airplane. I can do this. So I try to push people to do it because, again, it sounds cliche, but it can change your life in a positive direction to where it's things that you thought were difficult or easier to take on because you're like, I did that. I can. I can handle this. You know?

0:53:05 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, I. Yeah, there's a. I can't remember what it's called. One of my coaches took me through that. It's a modality thing where you. What are three of the best accomplishments that you've ever had? And, like, when it really gets hard, you kind of have to go back to that and remind yourself of it. For me, one of them was, like, the day that I got my Eagle globe and anchor as a Marine, like, no one can ever take that away, but it reminds me of what I'm capable of. And, like, right now, at the time of shooting this, like, I went through the season, and even with the show show, there's a lot of, like, are people gonna care?

0:53:36 - (Dave Burlin): Like, you know, I definitely. I get in my head, I start thinking about it, then I overthink it, and then it's like, we just gotta do it right? And. And there's the. Even, like, things like that where I'm Just like, okay, well, if we just do it, like, it's all gonna work out.

0:53:47 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah. Just to touch on that really quick. That's amazing. People ask me. People say to me all the time, family, friends, oh, you're so brave. And I'm like, B.S. you know, like, I'm not. I ha. And I try to tell people I have all the same doubts that you just said. I say all those same things. I doubt, man. Nobody's gonna care. What if I start this new project? What if it fails? What if nobody, you know, supports me? Nobody loves. You know, we go through all the same doubts as humans, but people think because they see me doing these amazing things, and I. And. And what I usually say is.

0:54:14 - (Matt Jaskol): And. And again, this was kind of a thing about skydiving. I was like. And, you know, like a cliche thing that everybody talks about is, I'm still afraid. I've just pushed myself past fear. So I know where that line is. I just know how to push past the fear. I still. And that helps motivate people. I'm like, I still have all the same. Same doubts and things in my head. I just push past them a little bit differently sometimes. And people like us, we try to motivate and help people to push past those fears. That's all, you know?

0:54:40 - (Dave Burlin): That's it? Yeah, that's it. Well, where can people find you? Where can they learn more? Where can they dig in? Where can they send you money to get you back into race cars?

0:54:48 - (Tawni Nguyen): Where do I sign up for the cheese and the jumping out of this corner?

0:54:51 - (Matt Jaskol): I work by my house all the time as a struggling race car. So just my name, Matt Jaskill. All the normal socials, you know, pretty much, you know, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. Yeah. So I'm doing some motorsports work this year as a spotter, as a driver coach. Again, when you're not racing and there's still some hope and dream for me to be in a race car, I still want to do some marquee things, like, you know, racing the Daytona 500 would be realistic, to be honest. You know, after racing Xfinity and you.

0:55:16 - (Dave Burlin): Got to drive some people around on the hot laps, right. For F1.

0:55:19 - (Matt Jaskol): I was genuinely honored to do that. I was. So that was just came out of nowhere again, because of the industry. It was this lady who I've known for 20 years through this program, through stuff Atlantis, which owns, you know, a bunch of the car brands like Chrysler and Alfa Romeo. So I get a phone call, and they go, hey, Matt, Alfa Romeo Needs pro drivers for what's called the Pirelli hot laps at Formula one.

0:55:38 - (Matt Jaskol): And I was emotional. I did a little video and I teared up a little bit and I was like, you know, did. I didn't make it to Formula one, but to be paid. And I was getting paid pretty decent, you know, to be paid to give rides at the Formula one track. For the inaugural year, I was one of the first. First drivers to get to do fast. I mean, I was doing 170 miles an hour down the Las Ve. I'm going to claim that I'm the fastest local down the Las Vegas Strip. There's probably some motorcycle riders during the pandemic, but. But, like, as far as documented, legally, I got to be one of the fastest Las Vegas locals down.

0:56:09 - (Dave Burlin): You have to drive some cool people.

0:56:11 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah, I got to drive Dax Shepard.

0:56:12 - (Dave Burlin): That was badass.

0:56:13 - (Matt Jaskol): He was pretty. He was super cool and he follows me on Instagram now. And we. We're little, you know, pals. We chat on Instagram. What Sort of such a cool dude. So I took a few famous people, got to give them hot laps and be amongst the first drivers to do professional driving laps on the Formula one track. So, again, as a, you know, people who love our city and, and things are changing, but, you know, they're. I was just honored to do that. I didn't get to do it last year, but I still worked at F1. But, yeah, so to be there and be a part of. So I, I even said I was like, maybe I didn't make it to Formula one, but I'm. I'm being paid to be driving here today at my hometown, so that was special.

0:56:44 - (Dave Burlin): I love it. Well, we're happy to get people plugged in with you, my friend. France, great to see you. And we definitely got to have you back.

0:56:49 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:56:50 - (Dave Burlin): And I think you're going to be recording our intros from here on out.

0:56:53 - (Matt Jaskol): I think the intro is going to be a sky. Yeah. Skydiver, a balloon.

0:56:56 - (Tawni Nguyen): But I don't think anyone's gonna top that.

0:56:58 - (Matt Jaskol): But I'd love to come back and we talk more about, like, the, you know, how Vegas might be turning into the new Hollywood 2.0.

0:57:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:57:03 - (Matt Jaskol): The pros and the con, the bad. What I see going on, the changes which aren't, you know, there is. I still love this city. It's one of the greatest places, but it is changing a lot.

0:57:11 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:57:11 - (Matt Jaskol): And it'll be interesting to see where things go in the next decade, you.

0:57:14 - (Dave Burlin): Know, but now there's a new Mob in town, right? Like, there's a new mob. We don't. We're not going to take you to the. To the lake and throw you off with the fishes. We're just going to drop you out of a plane without a. Without a parachute. Pursue Vegas.

0:57:27 - (Matt Jaskol): But I'm excited. Like I said, I always. I'm always looking for purpose in life. We all are. So to. To film an intro out of a plane, I think we need to make that happen.

0:57:34 - (Dave Burlin): Let's do it. Yeah.

0:57:34 - (Matt Jaskol): Awesome.

0:57:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): That's it. Well, guys, if. If your friends suck and you need some friends to jump out of planes, eat cheese, and drive race cars, now you know where to find us. I just called everybody.

0:57:50 - (Matt Jaskol): There's. There's no official. There's no official program, but Adventure Therapy. So if there is people going to watch this and you want to put together a very special, unique Vegas package.

0:57:58 - (Tawni Nguyen): We can supply and demand. If there's enough demand, we got to grab that website.

0:58:01 - (Dave Burlin): Adventure Therapy Vegas.

0:58:03 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:58:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): Buy it, like, right after. Please feel free to slide into mine and Dave's and Matt's DMs. Yeah, yeah.

0:58:10 - (Matt Jaskol): We'll organize some cool stuff for you.

0:58:11 - (Dave Burlin): Let's connect the dots.

0:58:13 - (Matt Jaskol): Yeah.

0:58:13 - (Dave Burlin): Let's make something happen. And if there's people that you know, we should add or have on the show, send them to Tani.

0:58:19 - (Matt Jaskol): No, I'm just kidding. Thanks for having me, guys. Thanks for having me here. Pretty beautiful place you have. So appreciate it.

0:58:26 - (Dave Burlin): You got it. The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:58:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:58:40 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are.