From the Dangers of Venezuela to the Promise of America: The Humbling Journey of Anthony Arismendi

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_03: And so, and those thoughts went through my mind as a 15-year-old.

You know, like, geez, you know, even, you know, a person that seems down and out, I mean, by American standards, by the standards where I came from, this person's got everything.

I mean, the sky's the limit here.

SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Lowdown with Kevin Low, the podcast shining light on the inspiring stories of ordinary people choosing to live out anything but ordinary lives.

All in the hope that you will be inspired to live out your best life.

Because this life is meant to be lived, and this podcast is meant to inspire you to do it.

What's going on, and welcome back to the Lowdown with Kevin Below.

This is episode 115, and well, I'm excited to have you joining me today.

I hope your day is going incredible, and if I have it my way, it's about to get even better.

Because today I'm sitting down in the studio with a guy who has a story that I think you're going to really love.

You're gonna love it not only because it's entertaining, it's very interesting, a little bit exciting, a little bit thrilling, but because it also has a deeper meaning to it.

I know it did for myself while talking with today's guest.

The guest I'm referring to, his name is Anthony Arismendi, otherwise known as Tony.

And Tony grew up on the dangerous streets of Venezuela as a child.

But even as a child in this faraway country from America, he had a dream of living in America one day.

And lo and behold, that dream would come true.

Now, from my perspective, when I heard about his story coming to America, I thought to myself, wow, how awful.

Because he would end up being basically a homeless teenager, couch surfing between friends, all the while still continuing to go to school.

For myself, I looked at that and I thought, wow, that's just so tough.

That's so sad.

But not for Tony.

For him, he knew where he came from.

He knew where he was.

He was in America, a place full of opportunities, a place where the sky is the only limit.

And he would make the most out of that.

He would go on to become a citizen of the United States of America and ultimately would become an FBI agent.

His time in the FBI was incredible.

A highly decorated FBI agent he would become.

But what has Tony in the studio with me today is because he's written a book.

His book is called Outside Agent.

And it's basically the story of his life.

The story that I'm about to unpack for you inside of today's episode.

Now, as you listen to my interview with Tony today, I want you to just think about your own life and think about the challenges that you endure every day.

But instead of looking at them as challenges, maybe start to flip that mindset and view them as opportunities.

Because the truth of the matter is, is that all the actions that we take today, all the events that happen in this moment are actually little pieces to a bigger picture.

Now, the crazy thing about life that can sometimes be a little bit frustrating is the fact that we can't understand what that big picture is until we travel down the road.

But that means it's that much more important that you be sure you're doing your very best at this moment, that you're living life to the best of your ability right now, that you're taking advantage of every opportunity that's given, that you're counting your blessings, that you are charging forward in life.

So that way, when you do travel down the road and you look back, the picture is even more beautiful than it could have ever been.

I look at that and I compare that to the life of today's guest.

And well, I'm excited to introduce you to his story today.

If you're loving the podcast, if you get something out of today's interview that truly speaks to you, inspires you, motivates you, encourages you, please be sure to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening to this podcast, as it just helps to be sure that others know about the podcast, find out about it.

And also, selfishly, it's a cool way for me to be able to look and see hey, people are actually listening and loving what I'm producing here on the show.

So if today's episode speaks to you, please be sure to leave a rating and review.

Otherwise, just sit back, relax, and enjoy today's interview.

SPEAKER_03: But I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela.

Well, at the time, I mean, Venezuela, it's a pretty dangerous place to grow up in, Caracas.

I mean, from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, you know, you had to be on, you know, your antenna up and and and and just in survival mode.

So it was it was uh interesting place to grow up.

I I didn't know any different.

You know, my parents, like any other parents, create an environment so that can nurture you and a protective environment.

And I grew up in that, but the moment that I, you know, stepped onto the streets, it was, you know, uh dangerous place.

And so and luckily for me, I had uh an amazing people that raised me and a lot of very, very strong women, my mom, one of them, and my grandmother.

And uh I like to describe my mom like, you know, she was a she-wolf tigress type person that uh just very uh in tune with the environment and very in the know and and wanting to race us to protect ourselves and and to educate us.

And and so those were my formative years, you know, growing up and you know, you're not too very too far from the jungles in South America, and and so there's all kinds of different things that that can kill you.

You know, if the spiders don't kill you, the snakes don't kill you, the wasps don't kill you.

And like I like to tell people, you know, you can't just, you know, swim in a random river or a lake.

You know, it could be teeming with piranhas and they'll eat you.

So uh and if not, if that doesn't happen, it's just your fellow man.

You know, you're in a very cloister environment.

And that was back then, and and it's gotten worse now, as as you probably know.

I mean, it's uh Venezuela's in the news a lot, and it's not really for good things.

So it was a a tough environment.

And I again I didn't know any different, and and so that was really the formative aspect of it.

And you know, my mom, and I I tell some stories about my mom, but my mom was very, very tough.

And uh she was like a drill sergeant.

I mean, from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed, it was just, you know, very driven to to make sure we got things done.

And and so yeah, I got hit a lot.

And uh, you know, and and and I mean, I'll illustrate, you know, to give you an idea of what she was like.

I uh uh and I've told this story before, you know, we were getting portraits.

Again, you know, I didn't grow up in the 1800s, okay?

But at the time, you know, you you uh you get your pictures taken by a professional photographer, and then you go to a studio.

And my mom had parked in a place, and uh and apparently a woman felt that my mom had like taken the spot, some Russian woman.

And so she walks up to our car and and really catches my mom completely by surprise, and he just hits her, pow, just right in the face, and and then slaps her, or I think she punched her and walked away.

And and of course, my mom just she just turns red and she just livid, turns around and tells my brother, my sister, I mean, sit there, don't move.

You know, so she reaches into her purse and and um she was in Aquila, which she which is like a you know, boy scout, like a Cub Scout then mother, and she had her scout knife.

So she grabs the knife out of her purse.

And so, of course, you know, we're little, but we see the knife and we're oh my God, what is my mom gonna do?

So she gets out of the car and she heads towards this lady.

Of course, the lady gets in the car, she shuts the door, she rolls up the window, and then she sees my mom coming, and oh my god.

My mom literally goes around the car and she punctures every single tire.

Pah, pa, pa, and then heads back to the car where we're sitting and still gets in, and he was like, nothing had happened.

We were just sitting there, just stunned.

And it's like, okay, let's go.

And uh later, you know, that day, you know, she's telling the story of my grandmother who was Catholic and she was in, you know, in mourning, so they were black, you know, seven years, and then you know, somebody else dies and they were black again.

And so, of course, you know, when she gets to the part where she punctured the tires, you know, my my grandmother thinks she stabbed a lady, so she starts crying.

And so that's not what happened.

But so, you know, this this is she was a tough woman, and this is the type of woman that that I raced, you know, uh with.

And I mean, she was there's another story that uh there's so many of them, but we go to a like a family get together or a party or some kind of diff thing, and then you know, my mom would call my brother and I over, and then she like hit us, and they're like, What did you hit us for?

She goes, You guys are gonna do something.

So I'm gonna hit you right now because I know you guys are gonna do something.

So she was uh yeah, she was pretty tough, and and uh another time, you know, and and again, you gotta realize that it's not like here, not you know, in the United States.

I mean, I don't care what part of the U.S.

you're in.

And I mean, for the most part, you can, you know, go to the store, and you know, if you're in a bad neighborhood, you just have to have your antenna up and and and be cautious.

But she would pick us up from school and take us home.

And there was a gang that was after us all the time.

And and and I saw my brother up from a distance, and he must have said something to the gang member, and and and later on, of course, safe face.

They actually bought my mom's car from when she was picking us up and they wouldn't let her go.

And my mom gets out of the car, literally, and then she basically says, you know, so she's looking at all these kids and they're teenagers, but make no mistake, teenagers are not.

I mean, they'll kill you and take your heart out and show it to you.

And and so she disarms, basically gets them to take everything out of their pockets, and then identifies who the boss is, and then she leans into the car.

And then I wanted her to ask my brother, because my brother was the real fighter, and I was, you know, she had put us in karate, so we kind of knew a little bit how to fight, but my brother was the one, and she looks at me and she says, You, get out, and you better go out, kick his ass, and if you don't, I'm gonna kick your ass.

So this is the kind of mom that I grew up with.

So that that was the formative aspect of growing up there.

It was a lot of it was just, you know, learning how to be tough, how to survive, how to get along in this really in this environment, not knowing really that at some point I would be moving to the United States and, you know, forevermore and be here and make this my home.

So that was really wasn't in the cards at that time.

But you know, what happens is my parents had been, you know, fighting with each other, and as as you know, people are in the process of separating and getting divorced, you know, they're fighting my cats and dogs, and and you reached a crescendo, and then my parents obviously, I mean, at some point separated.

And my dad went on to live uh uh my grandfather's one of my grandfather's properties, and they started talking about the future.

My grandfather saw what was coming in Venezuela and and was already in in tune with that and and was looking to see and had interests overseas and started talking to my dad about uh, you know, going to another country, and and he was ailing, he didn't know how bad, but he was ailing with cancer, and and so a decision was made, and my dad started talking to us about it.

And then there was a falling out there between my brother and my mom, and then I got caught up in the whole falling out and ended up going to live with my dad.

So my dad had talked to us about, you know, how would you guys like to go to, you know, Europe, and we were talking about different countries.

But my dad was educated in the United States.

He he actually uh had gone to one of the oldest military academies here in the U.S.

and he spoke English perfectly.

He loved the United States, and and so we always heard about his stories and all that, and so it was kind of decided that we were gonna come here.

And as a kid, really, I thought it was gonna be a vacation.

I mean, I didn't know it was gonna be like forever, you know.

Yes.

And uh, so it was like, you know, we all agreed to it.

My brother and I did, and you know, it was my first secret mission.

Yeah.

So I mean, my mom didn't know, and obviously she was upset about it later.

And uh and that's what where my journey began.

But I think he began even earlier than that because I had this affinity for the U.S.

that it was unexplainable.

My dad would scratch his head, I mean, he didn't understand where they came from, but I always loved the United States.

I loved everything about it, and and I just felt it, you know, and it was something that you couldn't like, it wasn't tangible, you couldn't hold it, you couldn't you just knew.

And I felt that the US really really was home for me.

Yeah.

Very early on.

I mean, I mean, ever since I can't remember.

I mean, from the moment I could probably speak.

And and my dad knew that.

And and so when I when I came, when we this made that decision and we landed, that was already wireding me.

You know, that was wireding me, and then just contributing, being part of the fabric of the American society was all part of me.

And he and again, it was the adventure to aspect of it was because there was such a huge contrast when I landed here coming from Venezuela.

I mean, everything I saw seemed magical.

I mean, everything.

I mean, down to like the poorest person.

I mean, I felt that that even, you know, the a person that that I guess in my eyes, through my eyes, the person that didn't really have anything had it all.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_03: And so, and those thoughts went through my mind as a 15-year-old, you know, like, geez, you know, even, you know, a person that seems down and out, I mean, by American standards, you know, by the standards of where I came from, this person's got everything.

I mean, the sky's the limit here.

And so when you look at it through that lens, then it's very hard.

And at the time it would have been inc impossible for me to for you to tell me or talk me out of the fact that I felt America was the beacon of light.

And and to this day I feel that way.

I I I feel that this is a great country.

It's the greatest country uh in the world, and and it welcomes, you know, immigrants, it welcomed me.

And I came here with a bag full of dreams and and not knowing, you know, how long I was going to be here.

And and uh and so the journey began really for myself, my brother, and my dad, and and it sure has been an amazing journey.

I mean, the U.S.

has, you know, given me so many opportunities, just so many different things.

And for every door that shuts, ten doors open.

And and so there's opportunities just around the corner and just looking at the glasses half full and looking at opportunities and looking at any challenge that comes your way as an opportunity to learn something, you know.

And so that was you know, that was wired in me then, and then and then it it just carried on.

It carried on into the present, you know.

And so, you know, I'm obviously many other people have come before me, and many other people will come after me, because America is, you know, the land of opportunity and it's the land of immigrants.

I mean, nobody really is from here.

Yeah.

Everybody comes from everywhere, you know.

Like Neil Diamond's got that song, you know, coming to America, you know, which is beautiful.

And so that was really my journey to, you know, in a nutshell, really, and how arriving here in the U.S.

SPEAKER_00: and wow.

Wow, that's that's so so crazy how how life can be and take us on different paths.

I wanted to ask you, so your mom did not come to America.

SPEAKER_03: No, no, she didn't.

And and you know, they obviously separated and gotten divorced.

And again, like I said, she she didn't know we were coming.

Yeah.

So we made that decision with my dad, and she was upset.

But ultimately, you know, she could have had us back and all that, but she she made a conscious decision that she knew what was happening.

She had had discussions with uh relatives and and family and knew that if we were going to realize our dreams, might as well have them realized here.

And and eventually she came.

You know, I brought her here.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_03: And she's much older now.

And and so but at the time she did not.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

How long had you been living with your dad when you guys left to come to America?

SPEAKER_03: Not very long.

I mean, I it wasn't very long.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_03: Again, like by the time I came, I was I turned 15 and and then uh of course, you know, I had been with my dad, and once they got separated and and then I moved in with him and my brother, you know, we started making plans.

And then, you know, when when we got here, it was and then really how it happened too was, you know, my grandfather was ailing.

Ultimately, you know, we found out he had cancer and he actually, you know, succumbed to it later on in years later.

But but in the process, he knew what was happening, he knew what was coming, and he could see it.

And other people could too.

And then there was it was actually an American businessman, but he was a shyster that was he was courting uh wealthy Venezuelans and and talking in into investing their monies overseas, and so he had talked to my grandfather, and so a decision had been made to take a portion of his wealth to try to invest it in the United States and start a company with my dad.

And ultimately that never did happen because this guy ripped my dad off.

And so it got interesting, very interesting once we landed, because then shortly thereafter, this individual ripped my dad off, and then the journey got even harder.

Yes, because we lost everything.

And it wasn't very long.

And so I ended up uh in Utah with my dad and finding out that we had lost everything and not truly understanding or grasping the significance of the magnitude of that.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_03: Because as a teenager, and again, you know, I'm taking in all the beauty and the enchantment of being in this amazing country with all the just everything, again, seemed magical.

And so when my dad finally, you know, comes to grips with the fact that we've lost everything and he has to share that with us, then he now he has to figure, well, what's he gonna do?

You know, how is he going to make ends meet?

And we had started the process of immersing ourselves in in into the culture and had gone to an immersion school to learn English, and then we were gonna be attending high school that coming year.

And my dad left to try to figure a way of getting that back and things that he really wasn't sharing with us because we were teenagers and not wanting to worry us, and also because he didn't feel that we needed to know.

So he left us, and we were latchkey kids for for a little bit of that time in in Utah, and and my brother and I, and he had made some arrangements, but those arrangements fell apart for me, and and my brother ended up with his girlfriend who he later went on to marry, and I think they've been married now 40 some years.

But uh and for me, the arrangements had fallen apart.

So I was couch surfing for a while and a little bit of homeless and didn't have any money and had to sort of reserve.

To eating leftovers at school and whatever I could, taking showers at the school, and again, just going from house to house.

And when I didn't have that, then you know, I'd find some place to sleep somewhere.

But I didn't really see it again.

I it through my eyes, I saw it as an adventure.

I mean, I felt like I was camping.

I mean, I I'm in America, and it's just hard to explain sometimes to people what that's like.

But, you know, there are people that are coming from, you know, from Ukraine or other parts of the world that you could put them in a little tiny apartment somewhere and they're just thrilled to be here because they they understand what really truly is like not to have something or not to have anything.

And so for me personally, I never saw it as something that was setting me back.

In fact, it was just part of the adventure.

Yes.

It was really part of the adventure, and I was I was in heaven.

Yeah.

I mean, every time I turned around, there was one new thing, something new.

I'm learning a language, I'm learning interacting and soaking it up.

And so during that period of time, I put myself through high school and then I connected with a friend of mine that I had met at the immersion school, and then his uncle uh was a World War II veteran, and and he kind of realized that I was, you know, just floating around.

He just kind of knew something was up.

Yeah.

And he offered me his uh basement, and I did.

I ended up spending the rest of the school year there, and and you know, had a couch and I had a couple of shirts and a pair of shoes.

And at some point, I connected him with my dad.

My dad sent me$10, and my mom started corresponding with my mom.

And again, this is I'm dating myself here, but in those days, you know, it was letters.

Yeah.

Right.

You know, there's no emails, there's no computers, there's no nothing.

So letters take three weeks to get to Venezuela and three weeks to get to the United States.

So I connected with my mom and and she pleasantly surprised me with uh$40, and I had 10 from my dad, and I was thrilled.

Yeah.

Bought myself a pair of shoes and a couple shirts.

And and after I went through that, I obviously graduated from high school and then kind of reunited with my dad, uh, who had moved to California and looking for a job there.

And and it was the economy wasn't good.

So my dad was struggling, and we went through all just all these different trials and tribulations, you know.

SPEAKER_00: Yes.

Well, so can I just like state the obvious?

And listening to your story, I sit here and I think to myself, good gosh, this guy is incredible.

I mean, I understand you know, like when you say the things that basically, you know, it was an adventure.

You you didn't know any different, you didn't know any better.

What you were experiencing was, you know, you know, just what it was.

And it was good for you.

But at the same point, I think something has to be said for the type of person you were even as a teenager, the resiliency that you had.

Here you are in a new country, even though it's America, it's a new country, it's a new culture.

You now are basically alone.

Your brother, you know, is is living his life, your father is living his life.

You're you're going couch surfing, homeless, you're but you stuck with it and you kept doing what you needed to, all the way to the point that you still kept going to school.

You graduated.

I mean, I just have to say, I mean, I just find that really remarkable.

SPEAKER_03: You know, and and again, I I think it goes back to, you know, the formative years.

I I had lived in such a really danger Will Robinson environment, you know where, you know, again, you're in danger all the time.

And then, you know, if you you're worried about getting kidnapped or killed, and the press down there doesn't censor anything.

So I had friends that are actually been killed, and you, you know, you see uh newspaper, you know, right on the front page, you know, this person and and so those things really they mark you, you know.

And again, when you don't know any different, you just you're living that.

And then when you are transplanted from that kind of an environment to an environment like this one here, I just saw it as as really it was like fantasy.

I mean, it was it it was fantastical, it was um magical, uh it was surreal in in a good way through my eyes.

And so for that reason, I was able to see it.

And I'm and I'm fortunate that it had that lens because then I saw the glass as half full always.

I never felt that I was missing out on anything.

I didn't feel like I that I was lacking something.

I just felt like I'll just figure it out.

I'll just figure this out and figure that out.

And part of it maybe because I was young, and but a lot of it had to do with my upbringing.

And then, of course, understanding too that I could achieve things, that I could there the country is so huge, so big, there's so many different things.

And so I just have to become part of it, I have to assimilate.

And then when I do, you know, I wanted to serve, you know, I wanted to serve the country.

And I serving the country and the military and and law enforcement was wiring me.

I I had seen a couple of shows when I was a a kid and about the military, the FBI, this and that.

But again, I had this other wiring that I couldn't explain, that was just part of my soul that was that had this affinity for America.

So in the process of graduating from high school and reuniting with my dad, I started, I continued on, you know, I continued to find the opportunities and to, again, you know, just soak up the culture and the environment and see opportunities where the other people didn't see them.

And then I would, I had American friends and had friends from that I found myself having to point out to them how good it was, you know, when they were complaining.

You know, when they complain about something, I go, what are you talking about?

I mean, this is great.

You could do this, you could do that.

And and so, you know, I was seen as naive in some ways.

You know, I mean, I remember, you know, one thing that stands out, I remember watching a show, and I don't know who I was with, but and I saw this guy's working out, and they looked pretty buffed and not very happy, but they looked like pretty buffed.

And and so I asked someone in the room, you know, where where where is that?

And then they told me that it was prison.

So I couldn't believe that this guy's were in prison.

Because I mean, like you gotta be kidding me.

They get that, you know, good, you know.

So I mean, even in that environment, through my eyes, I thought, wow, I mean, this is I mean, this is a great country.

I mean, the sky is the limit here.

Yes.

So once it was clear that uh that I was basically here to stay, and it wasn't, I mean, at the time I still had to go through the process.

I mean, there's a you have to get the visas and then residency and then you know, and then your citizenship, and that's a process that takes years and years and years.

And I went through all that entire process.

And I I mean, I had a had I had some of those things earlier on, I might have just I, you know, I wanted to join the Marines, I wanted to join the military, I wanted to go and serve.

But, you know, that wasn't possible at the time because I didn't have that.

Still, that light was there for me, and and at some point, and again, it was, you know, the mid-70s I came in and then in the eighties, once I had uh graduated from college, and and and I had really I got my citizenship, and I was thrilled.

That was probably one of the most amazing times, I would say, in my life, getting my citizenship, you know.

Wow.

My shiny shoes, my suit, and I thought I had just, you know, hit the lottery.

I'm an American.

And and I didn't want to just say I'm an American.

I wanted to have earned it.

I wanted to feel like I earned my citizenship.

How can I do that?

What do I need to do to earn my citizenship and give back to the country that had given me so much?

And for me was, you know, what I ultimately did, and which we'll talk a little bit about.

But in for anybody, it was just, you know, we can we can give back in whatever way.

We don't have to do a grandiose thing.

We don't have to do.

But for me was how can I do that?

How can I gift back?

But the excitement of being able to have a certificate that said, you know, I was a U.S.

citizen.

Wow, what an what an accomplishment.

And uh again, earning it was something that that I felt that I needed to.

And and so so I went about doing that.

And then in the process, I I looked for to to serve, obviously, and and I had a list of places that I wanted to go to, and and uh I was gonna apply, you know, at the Navy, the Marines, the Army, you know, every branch of government.

And on the top of the list in my list was the FBI.

So Yeah.

Yeah.

So at the time when I came in, and you know, again, I'm dating myself, it's in the mid-80s, you know, in the 80s, you know, mid to late 80s.

And um there was actually a at the time there was uh the Miami shootout.

There was uh this bank robbers who were basically robbing armor cars and banks and and killing people randomly.

And um, there was an FBI squad of agents who actually were former military.

So these are two rogue former military bank robbers, you know, up against a lot of former military FBI agents.

And so and so this reverberated throughout the country.

And it was a uh story that just was there, just and that's the time that I came in.

So that and and there were other stories that there was a movie called Mississippi Burning, and then there was uh Donnie Brasco.

They hadn't made it into a movie with Johnny Depp yet, but the book was out.

So there were a lot of different things that I was reading about.

And uh so I went and to the federal building and and applied and and got to meet uh, you know, not James Bond.

I mean, he was just uh pretty buffed and seemed like he was a former military guy and interviewed me and and we talked a little bit and then the process began.

The journey for me there began, and he took two plus years to go through the process and then and then that's it.

The that's when that my career started.

SPEAKER_00: Wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

So so once you became joined the FBI, what kind of work did were you doing with them?

SPEAKER_03: In my career, I primarily worked organized crime, drugs, money laundering, gangs, violent crimes.

And throughout my career, primarily in putting together and developing undercover operations against in in those particular areas.

And I was in the FBI SWAT team and and and uh so participated in in a host of different things.

And it was exciting to say the least, but it it again, here's another adventure that I embarked on.

And so yeah.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, wow.

Well, so I I can't help but think, wow, we're starting to see maybe a little bit of your mom coming out in you getting into this line of work.

You know, she's you're disarming gangs and and now you're kind of doing the same.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's it's funny.

You know, and it's funny because, you know, at the time, you know, I was born about 16 years after World War II ended.

So, I mean, so imagine what's happened in Ukraine and decimated, it's been just flattened to the ground.

And but multiply that by every country in Europe.

So that was World War II.

So what happened to all those people?

Well, they had to go all over the world because they were just walking around, they're unemployed, they have to, you know, uh rebuild all those countries.

And a lot of those people moved to South America, and people moved from all over the world.

And it just happened that this karate master had moved to Venezuela, Choco Sato, and he my parents somehow found him.

And and so my mom and my dad signed us up for uh to take classes from him, and so uh that was part also of my upbringing and learning, and you know, unbeknownst to me, this guy was just unbelievable.

Uh at the time I was a kid and I knew what karate was.

And again, you know, to to put it in perspective, I mean, there was no social media, there were no computers, there was no nothing.

Yes.

I mean, I grew up with maybe two, three channels, and there was just a limited amount of TV, and I wasn't allowed to watch anything because there were in there was one little tiny TV with little antennas, and my grandmother had it in her room.

So entertainment really was just keeping yourself from getting kidnapped or killed, you know, and uh and going to school and studying and hanging out with your friends and blowing up stuff and doing things that could be potentially considered dangerous here.

So yeah, so so that was part of that upbringing that we talked about.

And then the other was that the George Washington of South America was Simon Bolivar.

And like in the United States, the revolution started because obviously taxation without representation, you know, Washington Jefferson and Franklin and, you know, Declaration of Independence and all those different things to break from England.

And so the colonies, you know, wanted to break from England.

And in South America, they had pretty much the same thing.

It was very similar, but it was to break from Spain.

So here in the United States was the British throne and the King of England, and in South America was Spain, with the exception of Brazil, which was uh Portuguese colony.

But for the most part, all the other colonies were from Spain.

So at the time, Napoleon Bonaparte was doing what Putin's doing and and and what Hitler did.

So this is predating Hitler, predating Putin, and uh Napoleon was just wreaking havoc all over Europe, and he placed his brother on the throne of Spain in ousting the king.

And so the colonies in South America saw that as an opportunity to break from Spain, just like they did in the United States.

Yes.

And that revolution was headed by Simon Bolievar.

Well, the second in command of all the armies of the South American Revolution was my great-great-great-grandfather.

Oh, wow.

And he and so those stories were told to my grandfather, my father, me, and everyone in my family.

And also the stories of my great-great-great-grandmother, his wife.

She was a fierce woman and had an interesting story, too.

You know, she was captured by the Spanish, and they tried to use her as a pawn to try to get my great-great-grandfather to turn himself in because they they couldn't take him out.

Yeah.

They just couldn't capture this guy, they couldn't take him out.

So they captured her, and at some point they tried to ship her to Spain.

In fact, they did.

And and it's kind of an interesting story, and then there's a couple appendices in my book that tell that story.

But as they're making their way to Spain, you know, the her ship gets attacked by the pirates of the Caribbean.

unknown: Wow.

SPEAKER_03: So, you know, the pirates pretty much figure out that she's a prisoner and then, you know, give her the option of like being liberated.

But she says, no, I'm going to Spain.

I'm, you know, I'm a prisoner of the crown.

And so when she gets there, there's this drama, you know, not only the pirate drama, but the drama that, you know, she apparently doesn't curtsy or bow and before the king, and then, you know, and the king had been reinstated.

You know, I failed to mention that.

So Napoleon was taken out completely.

Okay.

And once he was taken out, the king of Spain was reinstated.

And he put an army together that with a lot of the generals and soldiers who had fought Napoleon, and that army was to go to South America to get the colonies in line.

And that's how the revolutionary battles took place, because they tried to break earlier, as I mentioned, but once the king came back and to the throne, you know, of course he wants his colonies back, and then, you know, Simon Believer and then all these generals and all these colonies are not wanting to get back in line.

So, you know, enter my great-grandfather being one of those rebels.

And so as she's appearing in the court, she did apparently she didn't curtsy.

And then there was a diplomat, I think a British diplomat who was taken by her beauty.

And and at some point, you know, well, she she's not killed for not, you know, paying homage to the king.

And she's allowed to walk freely.

And and then this diplomat helps her escape to England, and from there she goes to Philadelphia.

And then after that, she when the revolution was over in South America, she goes back to South America.

So she was a little bit of a celebrity, and her stories are incredible.

So all these things impacted me.

Yes.

They impacted me and they were told to me and they inspired me.

So throughout my life, I always thought to myself, you know, about them and about what they had gone through.

And had they not persevered, had they not just looked at the situations they were in and had they given up, then I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: Because the, you know, I wouldn't be here.

And, you know, it's interesting that sometimes you're prompted by an unseeing hand of some kind.

And for me, and it's in the book, uh, I had a a situation, you know, an instance once when I was in school where, you know, I felt like I was gonna have to leave school because I didn't have any more money for the next semester in college.

And and so I went to the library where I studied and I sat and uh for a year or two, a place that I had picked just randomly, and and I was thinking about quitting school, and then I never really paid attention to the books that were around me, especially in the desk that I was sitting.

But, you know, I was just sitting there, and then I ended up just grabbing a tome and just putting it on my desk as I was still thinking about quitting school, and I opened it to the exact page where my great-great-great-grandfather's portrait is, and that then I looked at the tome and it was a volume on the history of the revolution of the South American Revolution.

So here's a tome on the exact page with my great-great-grandfather on it, and this narrative in English telling a story of all the trials and tribulations that they had to go through and what he had to overcome, challenges.

And I mean, had he been captured by the Spanish, they would have quartered him and hung him, and who knows what else other things they would have done.

But he didn't give up, and there were letters and communications between him and and Simon Bolivar, you know, requesting weapons.

And so I was able to immerse myself in the story, and I remember I didn't read it all, but I read enough to just sit there and think, oh my gosh.

It gave me chills because I knew that that was a message for me, specifically, to not give up because the decision I was about to make would have derailed completely, you know, whatever was to come.

And it's like the butterfly effect.

Just a little thing happens, and then next thing you know, you you're just derailed completely.

And I was stunned.

I I remember, and again, those those were the days where then there was no cell phones.

Yes.

There were no way to communicate.

And so I went to the payphone and called my ex-wife, and she answered, and she came to pick me up, and I told her, park the car and come up.

I gotta show you something.

So she did.

And then, you know, of course, I told her the story that I just shared with you, and she was just shocked.

But those are the little things that happen, and we all have those things happen to us.

It's not unique to me, it's unique, it's everybody.

Sometimes there are whispers, you know, from the other side.

Uh, there are uh synchronicities, serendipities, things that happen, and they do happen for a reason, even though it's cliche.

Sometimes we have setbacks, sometimes we have doors to close, sometimes things that happen that may appear to be horrific or may, but then there are lessons, you know.

And, you know, one of the things that that I feel carry me through was that this belief that there is another side to our lives, you know, and that's that mystic side, that that unseen side that we're not able to tangibly feel.

We live, let's say we live a hundred years, and so once we're done with our lives, where do we go?

I mean, where does everybody go?

Well, we go back to where we came from.

We go back to that place we came from.

But where is that?

Well, I mean, religious people will tell you one thing, other people will tell you other things.

But it's really truly where we are from and and that's that unseen side.

And it's one of those things, that's where that message came from.

So it th those were elements of in also in my upbringing, and they came through.

Through for my dad that put me in touch with my spirit, you know, with with who I really truly am, which is, you know, I'm an eternal spirit having a human experience.

So, and understanding the challenges and the trials and tribulations are meant for us to learn lessons, you know, for us to to go through and and live these lives and and use that for the betterment of our soul.

I mean, not to get uh mystic here.

But and in the process of all that too, I was just discovering for myself, what am I doing here?

You know, the perennial question, you know, what's my purpose?

What am I doing?

What's the purpose of life?

Why did I choose this career?

I mean, so it's serve and give, but then for what?

I mean, what's the end goal?

And in the process of discovering that for myself, not to proselyte, not to pontificate, not to I stumbled on different things like astrology, for example.

And it's been around for for thousands of years.

You know, it is just it didn't come into existence yesterday or last week, or, you know, and and it's come and gone, you know, in the past couple hundred years.

But and it's not something that somebody put together that's on a tabloid when you walk, you know, the grocery store.

I mean, that's it, it's something that that I saw that it worked.

And the way I like to explain it to people is, you know, our bodies are made out of water primarily.

And so the planets still have an impact on us.

You know, you talk to any sailor, to anybody, and they'll tell you, okay, well, the moon rules the oceans, the ocean tides.

You take the moon out of the equation, and we have a cataclysmic event on the planet.

So if that's the case, then what would make you, me, or anybody else think that our bodies, that we're not impacted by the planets, including the moon.

So we are impacted by that.

And so that opens other doors to the mysteries of mysteries of mysteries.

But what I learned along the way was that there was some consistency to this.

And that's where astrology sort of came into the picture for me.

And to start seeing and validating that there's something to this.

And then, you know, in the process, and now we're in this day and age where you just can Google anything.

I mean, you can everything, anything you want to know really is at your fingertips.

And in this day and age, for anybody to think for a second that we're alone, I mean, we're this tiny planet and the sea and a galaxy and a sea of billions and trillions of planets, and we we're it.

No.

There's life in other planets.

We're getting ready to go to Mars, you know, and we all go to other planets.

And you and I may not see that, but we will.

So all these different things were part of that fabric that that made how I saw the world, really, how I saw through the lens that I saw my existence.

SPEAKER_00: And yeah, no, I love it.

Absolutely love it.

So is this whole because I I I just have to laugh because you you are so deep in your thoughts.

And and here I was, I I, you know, we sit down and and I'm thinking, okay, we're we're getting ready to talk to FBI.

And but you go so much deeper.

And I thought, I understand now why this guy wrote a book.

Because this guy, he takes things to a such deeper level that I love.

And this whole idea that everything that's happened in our past isn't just for nothing.

It all builds upon itself and helps to create us into the people that we are.

And I just find it really fascinating.

SPEAKER_03: You know, everybody has a purpose.

You know, like going back to astrology, you know, you know, what I've learned and I devoured, I read as many books as I could.

Everything I could get my hands on, I read.

And then I was able to validate that.

And and and I was learning a lot of this stuff while I was still an FBI agent, and and I saw that it did work.

You know, it people have are predisposed to certain things.

You know, you could have an Aries, you could have the Pisces, and what does that mean?

Well, a pure Aries would be like pure coffee, okay.

You know, an espresso.

And then you could have a weaker Aries, which would be like a glass of water with three drops of coffee.

Both are coffee, but one's stronger than the other.

And then the how the planets circumbobulate and how they do impact the individuals.

And all these things have been studied for eons.

You know, observations were made.

And most of the inventions and most of the things that that we have now were that came about as a result of observations that scientists made.

And so they made observations of the planets, and every culture, every society for eons has done that, the Mayans, you know.

All these cultures have always looked to the stars.

So they understood, you know, when to plant, where not to plant, what to do, you know, the tides, and but where's that all coming from?

The planets.

So they are absolutely impacting us.

We're protoplasms.

And and they again, that's the larger picture.

The smaller picture is okay, how does that impact you individually?

And what are our individual journeys?

Mine is different than yours, and yours is different than the next person.

But each and every one of us has a blissful aspect to our lives that we are to follow.

And if we if and if we learn the lessons, whatever travesties or whatever lessons or whatever good things and bad things come our way.

I mean, as I understand it, you know, you're blind.

So, and you came to that when you as an adult, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, but so you were able to overcome that.

You were able to find some way to take that adversity and turn it into something.

And and that's that's really what, you know, I know that this is what your show is about, but that's really what life's all about.

Just looking at the situations and finding opportunities in them, not just for ourselves, but opportunities to give back, to give back and to give people hope and and to be a role model in some way.

And in, you know, giving is not just like it could be a word, it could be a gesture, it could be a kind, you know, deed.

And but it reverberates because we're ultimately all connected.

So I served in the way I felt that I needed to serve, and you know, during the time that I was in in the FBI and did the things that I needed to do, and put certain people in check and and then moved on with my life.

And you've served the way you have.

So, and other people, listeners you have, have their trials and tribulations and the things that they do that it sometimes feel like, well, why me?

Why did that happen to me?

Or what am I to do with this?

And and so we have to introspect.

Our society here is culturally driven to externalize, externalizing everything and looking for some way to find enjoyment.

And really, it's all from within.

And and again, you know, you you're blind, so I think and m you can tell me better than I could ever say it, but I think that that probably opened doors of perception to you, or where, you know, you didn't have that before, and now you you're you're in tune probably to voices and to things that maybe you wouldn't have had otherwise.

I mean, am I correct on that?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Oh, 100%.

Yeah.

I mean, that's that's exactly why I fell in love with podcasting, is because literally it's nothing but sitting down and talking with somebody.

And and you eliminate the visual perspective, you know, and you only focus on the person's voice, the stories that they say, the emphasis in their words, and you get to know somebody based solely on the words that they speak without that visual interference, you know.

And, you know, of course, for me, you know, the visual interference, I don't have that in my everyday life, but for my listeners of this podcast, you know, I'm allowing them to get to see my my guest, you today from my point of view, you know, and and I do, I think that's what's truly amazing about about the uh the realm of podcasts.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah.

And and and I find it amazing too, you know, just learning a little bit about you and what you had to overcome and what you had to do and how you turned your so your life around.

And and and then just and it's it's not, I mean, it's like in anything, you know, whether it's a sport, you it's not how you that you drop the ball, it's how you pick it up and keep on running.

How do you like take that adversity, that situation, and you turn it around?

And you know, going back to what I was mentioning with the astrology thing, I I like to tell people, obviously, we live a period of time, let's just a hundred on the average for a human.

Let's just say maybe some more people people live longer or shorter, but on the average, a hundred years.

So if your life, I mean, let's just equate our bodies to a phone, like an iPhone.

Okay, so you get your body, you're an iPhone, and you go to Verizon Heaven, and then they give you a number, which is your spirit, and then now you activate a phone, which is your body, and now you're on.

Now you can call your friends, you can download memories, you can take pictures with your eyes, and you can function.

If that iPhone breaks in any way, shape, or form, and it dies completely, then what happens?

Are you out of a phone?

You are.

But then you go back to Verizon Heaven and and then you say, Well, uh, my phone broke, but your spirit doesn't die.

Your spirit's still in Verizon Heaven.

So we're eternal spirits having this human experience.

And that human experience was that phone that broke.

But that spirit's still there.

You know, there's nothing's created or destroyed.

It just changes.

You know, from water you go to ice, from ice to gas to gas, you know, from solid to so this changes happen, and I believe that we come back.

So when we come back, that we may get another iPhone.

But it may not be the last iteration of it.

It might be iPhone 18, 19, right?

And then all of a sudden it's like your spirit's back on, and it's unique to your phone, is unique to you.

And the one thing that we haven't, or we're not there yet, maybe a handful of people or a few people in our planet, like a Dalai Lama type, that they can download their memories from previous lives.

So they can download, you know, all their connections, and then they can just pick up where they left off.

I mean, for the most part, I think as humans, we we don't remember who we were.

Uh, we don't know who we are, and we're just mama, papa, and your name is Kevin.

So, and then you wake up and then and you have to like go through the journey all over again and have memories that are sort of programmed in you that at times you don't even know why you like certain things, you just know you do.

And then you go on to live that life.

In my quest to to quench that for myself, I I've come to those realizations.

And and again, you know, then you go back to, okay, well, I'm still here, what can I do?

And for me, it was, you know, telling the story, sharing this story of coming from behind, and everybody's got a story.

You know, with my book, you know, I I think that what would people would get?

You know, just uh I would hope that that they look at it as a mirror.

You know, everybody has a story to tell.

Everybody does.

And um, we have to overcome challenges and we have to overcome different things.

And then those things make us into a better person.

Nothing ever goes to waste.

We find whatever it is, and he goes into sort of like a junk pile that we can draw from.

Or it doesn't have to be junk.

I mean, experiences.

There are experiences that we draw from that make us stronger.

If he doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.

And then you continue on.

And then finding out that we are this interconnected beings, that we're not this bodies, but with the spirits inside.

And then and once you come in touch with that, even if you just g get a glimpse of it, then you want more of it.

You you come to that realization.

And it could take, you know, one lifetime.

It could take, you may never completely come in contact with that for yourself.

We're in that quest.

Everybody, even if they don't believe that they are, they they are on a quest to try to figure out, you know, what their purpose is.

As humanity, that's really what it is.

And then, you know, we come into this all we need is love and all these different things that John Lennon used to sing about.

SPEAKER_00: Yes.

Yeah.

So so your book, does your book combine a little bit of all of this, your story, plus this kind of deeper level thinking?

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, he touches on that.

It's just a story of an individual, it happens to be me, and his journey as an immigrant, you know, the mysticism aspect of it, and then, you know, and the fact that I did become an FBI agent and I was in the SWAT team, and then I worked on the cover.

And it's an origin story, you know, because to compress my entire life story into a book is a very difficult thing.

And so it was where do you start?

You know, where where do you start in the book?

Well, you start in the beginning.

Yeah.

And then you it's it's a it's a difficult process, but then and start with the origin story, which I've shared some of it with you, and then you go from there.

And and I hope that that it motivates, that the it gives hope, that uh inspires people to self-reflect, to introspect, and to see themselves, you know, and when they read it, they'll relate to it as a mirror.

Yes.

Because they too themselves are going through this journey.

Yeah.

And that their lives matter, that we have purpose.

You know, it it's all about giving and serving, and uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.

I love it.

So now where can we find find your book at?

SPEAKER_03: Well, you can connect on AnthonyArismendi.com, you can find me on Instagram at anthony.arismendy, and then uh and you can buy it on Amazon.

Okay.

Fantastic.

Fantastic.

And it's called it's called Outsider Agent.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

Okay.

Where did the name come from?

SPEAKER_03: Because I was an outsider, I didn't fit in.

Okay.

You know, an outsider is also a person that risks at all, that never places safe.

And it's always operating on the edge of everything.

Yes.

And and that's I I have an acknowledgement there to the all the outsiders.

You're an outsider.

Yep.

A lot of us are outsiders because we don't quite fit in into the groups that we're in.

You know, you you feel that somehow you don't belong.

And but you do.

You belong in the outsider group.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

I like it.

I like it.

Man, listen, this has been an absolutely phenomenal conversation with you today on many different levels, on the one thing coming from me, born and and raised here in the United States of America, of a reminder of how great this country is.

Even at times when we feel like, you know, with things happening politically and in just all over the country and on the news, and we think, oh my goodness.

At the same point, though, be present in the moment, be appreciative for what this country is.

And and in talking to you and coming from your perspective, for I will say for myself, it was that kind of reality check.

Like, you know what?

You got to check yourself and realize, wow, this place is really amazing.

And so I want to thank you so much for for bringing that to light.

And then, of course, just diving into this much deeper thought process on life.

And it's just, it's been a really enlightening, amazing conversation, you know, had with you today.

And I want to thank you for it.

SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you very much.

I I really appreciate it and I appreciate the time and I've enjoyed talking with you, Kevin.

And I I will leave it with, you know, be in the moment.

You know, the past is gone and the future has yet to be written.

So be in the moment.

The moment is all you have, really.

And if you are in the moment, then the future takes care of itself.

SPEAKER_00: Yes, I love it.

I love it.

Thank you so much, Shoni.

And for you listening today, I can only hope that you've come away with so much from this conversation, just as I have.

And please be sure to check out the episode show notes where I will leave links to all of Tony's information for you to follow him on social media, plus, of course, to get a copy of his book.

As you see, Tony is just an incredible guy.

And I'm just cannot be more grateful that he took the time out of his day to be on the podcast.

So I hope you've enjoyed it.

As always, sending you out into the world, wishing that uh the podcast today makes life tomorrow a little bit better.

So until next week, this is the lowdown with Kevin Hello.

Have an amazing day.

And that's the lowdown with Kevin Hello.

I hope today's episode inspired you, motivated you, and excited you to get out and enjoy life, no matter what obstacles that may be standing in the way.