SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Pystic Our Hero Podcast, hosted by Grammy Award winner Dream. This is the spot where we celebrate creativity, share stories, and lift each other off in the arts. Each episode will dive into conversations that inspire, empower, and spark new ideas because art isn't just about what we make, it's about the community we build together. So grab a team, get coffee, and let's grow in creativity side by side. The music is our hero podcast for creativity, community, and inspiration comes to life.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

All right, here I am today with Josh Jones Cologne.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

That's right, that's me. Yes. Dry, it's good to see you, darling. It's good to see you. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

Yeah, of course. Good to see you too. Um, Josh, I know just from uh karaoke, I guess, a lot, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:00

Yeah, I mean, yeah, we know each other from the area. We're both, you know, around there. Yeah, I showed up to your karaoke gigs quite a few times. It's uh it's a bar where everybody knows our name, and uh it used to be well used to it's always a good time. It's always a good time when Dre when Dre is DJing or or bartending or even doing karaoke.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Well, that's Boo Boo that DJs.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Oh, yeah, boo-boo. Yeah, the alter ego comes out. Yes. Um yeah. She also books me for you know private mail gigs and stuff like that. And it's uh it's always a good time with Dre. So I'm I'm happy to be here on the Music as Our Hero podcast.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to be here. Um, Josh, I really don't know him a lot because we never really got a lot of time to like sit down and talk, but he has so much to talk about that I'm super excited to get to know you. Um, I know a few things like you were in the real world, you've been in a band, I don't know how many bands, I know that you do that. Um you also are a boxer or a wrestler, yes, right? Yes, dancer.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

So let's just like start diving into like, you know, any anything that we could talk about that's inspiring from your story and to learn and also just hear and talk about you.

SPEAKER_03 2:12

Well, um, you know, it's uh it's been a long road. It's been uh it's always something um that I reflect on, how many actual, you know, things that uh I I've tackled already. I like to call it the nine lives of Josh Cologne. Okay. Um, because there's been repeated times where I've had to um, you know, see myself at my lowest and then reinvent myself and then, you know, eventually get there again and just keep reinventing myself in a different way and um having success every time too, just because I've had to pull myself up from my boot heels. Um it definitely hasn't been an easy road. Uh came up in uh South Philadelphia, and uh it was um, you know, growing up for me was uh I can't say it wasn't fun, it was a good time, and uh it was just Philly, you know.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

It had to have some fun in there.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

Yeah, we had we had a lot. We had block parties, we had uh, you know, culture, you know. I'm Puerto Rican and Italian, so we have rich, rich, rich heritage roots in South Philadelphia. It's the melting pot of America, if you ask me, one of the main melting pots. And uh I just grew up with so much culture, and uh I'm definitely fortunate for that. Uh but also came with uh a lot of aggression though, uh a lot of fighting, a lot of uh people not liking you just because of what you look like, and um that you know probably played the toll.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

Uh what in you mean like where you grew up?

SPEAKER_03 3:33

Yeah, where I grew up.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

So South Valley has a lot of like culture, but there's also a lot of people that don't yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

No, well here's the th here's the thing. Back in the day, and you know, I'm not gonna give away my age, but back in the day, let's say the you know 90s and the 80s and stuff like that, uh, there were uh just different areas that uh operated a certain way. And it it's uh it's not like it's any different today. And I'm not gonna get into the the race discussion, but uh there's plenty of times where um I have been noticed for being the only Latino uh or Italian descent and uh been taken advantage for it and uh beat up a lot. Uh I've gotten jumped a lot of times, which um would definitely lead into my boxing career. It's like I had to learn at a young age that if I didn't defend myself, it was going to keep happening. Uh, I have plenty of scars to prove it. Anybody knows knows what I went through. Anybody who knows me really knows what I've gone through. Um just for just for being different in my own kind of way. Uh they didn't know, you know, where I came from, what I looked like, what what the uh origin was, or you know, what I was about. But uh one thing I did have was a family that loved me very much, and we had the numbers. You know, my one aunt had 10 kids, and they're all the same mix as me. And they're all you know ready to uh you know do whatever they gotta do to defend me and me, them, and vice versa. So we had a lot of animosity like that growing up, and um it only made us stronger as a unit. You know, I love my family very much. I don't think everybody has that luxury of having, you know, the other those people around. But now, you know, as the time goes on, we're starting to lose people. It's really, really heavy on my heart. Uh, I deal with depression, I have uh, you know, the mental health issues and um which which which is at the forefront today. And then do not be afraid to talk about your feelings because there's too many people losing their lives, there's too many people taking their lives, and I feel like we need to change the stigma and we need to stop doing it. Uh, me personally, I got into boxing. I found somewhere to put that anger, that rage, that that that whatever that was, I learned how to hone in on it and uh let it out and um didn't let the uh the the the feeling of uh deception or despair take me under. I feel like um yeah, it's uh my life is one that got documented at one point, and we'll get into that in a little bit, but it's uh it there's a there's a reason. I know everything happens for a reason, and I feel like um it's definitely led me to the path and where I am today. And um I'm happy to still be here because I'm one of them guys that probably shouldn't. Uh name of your podcast is Music is Our Hero, and music is definitely one of the things that saved my life. If I couldn't uh if I couldn't talk about that too much. That's at the that's the last question.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Yeah, but that's the one question I have.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

So yeah, we're not gonna get into it too much, but it's it's it's it's it's uh it's a big thing, and that's why I came to karaoke, and I gotta I gotta get up here and sing, and I gotta let it out, and I gotta express myself in some way because that's my artistic uh desire. Um I was I was in two bands. One of them um just happened to be on MTV, and uh the whole building of it happened to be on MTV, and uh we'll get into that in a little bit. I was a kid growing up in South Philadelphia, just dealing with the animosity of being different in some way. So I constantly got picked on. The bullying started, that started, all that started, and then um, you know, I I I just had no choice but to learn how to fight. And I I I guess by the time I was 13 years old, it it was there was no more games. I knew how to throw my hands. And uh people thought twice about either calling me a name or you know, taking my money or taking my sneakers, which happened very often. I had a mother that loved me, she bought me nice sneakers.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Oh, and they throw them up on the wires?

SPEAKER_03 7:22

No, they take them because they're nice. You know, I come from an area because you know, say, you know, a pair of Iversons or Jordans or something like that, you know, they want them because you know they feel like they can take that from you. Um, and it's just just not a good mentality to to grow out with, you know. I had a loving family, I have a loving mother. My father had his own family situation going on, so we didn't grow up in the same house. And who is an Olympic qualifying boxer? Uh, he fought in the qualifying rounds of eight 1984. So the the sport was always in my blood. And um wait, so your grandfather was in the Olympics? Is that what you said? No, my father was in the Olympic qualifying rounds to go into their Olympics. Okay, but got that. But got that but he got there. Yeah, but he got there. Okay, and um, it was just uh, you know, a testament to to my bloodline. And uh by the time I was old enough to realize that is when I started taking it seriously. And um, it took me a while though, because I still had so many other things that I wanted to do. So by the time I I I guess in my 20s, I started looking for you know more stuff in the entertainment realm because that's one thing I always was was an entertainer, period. Whether it be dancing, telling jokes, singing, um dan just just just anything. It's just you know, the the attention being on me is something that I saw that what's your sign? Huh? What's your sign? My sign is Aquarius. Oh, Aquarius, okay. Aquarius, yeah. Um, but it's just something what did you think that? What is it usually?

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Well, I don't know, because I'm a Leo and they always say Leo's for the spotlight, so I was just wondering.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

No, for some reason, yeah. But Aquarius, yeah, no, I get it. I I always I think yeah, it was just entertainment. It was the it was the it was the effect of grabbing somebody's attention, either making them laugh, making them cry, making them want to dance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah. It's just something. You know, it just it's uh it's very selfish in a way. I guess I needed that self-validation and something.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

It could be if I mean if you if you go that route with it.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

I grew up, I grew up with a a single mother, a very loving single mother, but she had to work a lot, she had to hustle, she had to do things to to to put food on the table. So I was one of the latch key kids.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

My mom was a hustler too.

SPEAKER_03 9:28

You know, I was a latch key kid. That means that means you know, I had a key around my neck and I let myself in at home. I did there was there wasn't dinner, there wasn't dinner waiting for me on the table. Right. I had to make my own dinner. I had to I had to open the door, you know what I mean? I had a key around my neck because my mom had to work, you know. Uh, but then when I was 15, my younger brother was born and it was just such a blessing. You know, my little brother, um 15 years apart. 15 years apart. We are, yeah, we're 15 years apart, and that's Dante Jones Cologne. He is uh becoming uh such a well-rounded young man that it's that yeah, it really is.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Now is his life a lot different, you feel like, than yours was?

SPEAKER_03 10:04

So yeah, yes, yes, yeah. We try to right all the wrongs, you know, when it goes like bad. I'm more like and then you're like, yes, you're showing him the ropes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I had to show him, I had to show him, you know, my version of the ropes and just let them know it's not easy out here. And there's people out here that are gonna try and take advantage of you, they're gonna take care of your humble heart. They're gonna, they're gonna they're gonna step on it, and you gotta really be ready for that kind of thing. And um, you know, he's become such a well-rounded young man that uh I'm very impressed. He has a he has a girlfriend, and they're um they're very serious, and uh he works his ass off. Um, way better kid than I was at that age, I'd say.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Well you didn't know, but that you know what I mean. There was a difference. You were bigger, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Yeah, but I was happy I was there for them because his dad never really was. His dad was just, I don't know, probably for the first year of his life around, and that's about it. And um, you know, I had to be the dad for some reason at 16. Yeah, yeah, you know, and um I didn't care. He was my little baby. He was my he was my little guy. He was like your baby, yeah. He's my little guy, and that's and that's just what it was. And um, I think that that saved my life in a lot of ways too, because there's plenty of times where I had to watch him or or I'm sitting there doing stuff with him, and I've heard got phone calls, my friends are dead. You know, a lot of people that I grew up with died because they were into that street life. We were all into it. I'm guilty as well, you know. And you know, when you get into that, it's um all you know. Um which which is not the it couldn't have been the case for me, but it's all I saw. So therefore it's like, you know, I think it was just a mischievous.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

I guess it depends if it's like all that you know and you and you live it. But there's some people don't think outside the box. Yeah. So you probably like we're thinking outside the box and living it. Where some people just stay on the streets because they don't there's nothing there's nothing else. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:55

And then it's like I should've, you know, I should've I've I've always said then, you know, if I knew then what I knew now, right? You know, I I uh I ended up, you know, getting locked up a few times at a young age. Uh you know, some youth study center stuff. That was a little bit of a wake-up call, but not enough of the one that it needed, you know. Uh after that, I started looking for um more entertainment work. I started looking for, you know, stuff like modeling. I started looking for small uh independent movie roles. I would go on Craigslist and look for TV, film, and video. Craigslist came up with straight up.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Like you know, that's how you know your age.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

Yeah, yeah, right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

Because the only people talk about Craigslist are around my age.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

Like for first, because that was our social media network thing. Like it was. I got some gigs through Craig. We got we got some gigs through. Until Craigslist got weird, and then it got weird. I actually um, you know, I I I got a few. Uh, and that's actually where I saw a real uh casting for a show called The Real World. Oh, really? On Craigslist? I saw that shit on Craigslist before anything. Yeah. Wow. So Craigslist could have popped off. Craigslist was you know, it's where I looked for, you know, regular work because I did a lot of banqueting and catering at the time anyway. So right after I'd be doing that search, I'd be doing a TV film and video search. And then one day, casting, season 23, MTV's Real World. I said, oh shit. 2023. There, no, no, it was season 23.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

Season 23. And I was like, oh shit. Like, could this be the could this be it? Like, could this be the sign that you've been waiting for? Could this be the uh the chance you've been waiting for? And uh So you saw that. Here's the thing that happened next. I've worked at Pat Stakes for uh most of my uh I lived half a block from there for two years. Teenage adult life. My uh my uncle Sammy was the manager there for years. And uh my teenage and adult years were spent there. So I basically grew up in that joint.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

At Pat's?

SPEAKER_03 13:55

Yeah. That was like my um I didn't know you were so yeah, I didn't know.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

Yeah, I was right there. I was right there.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

I probably served you a cheesesteak or two back in the day. You didn't eat it. I haven't eaten meat since the 90s. Yeah, yeah. Well, I was I I've uh 14 years old. But I got French fries. I got a job there when I was 14. I had a job there when I was 14 years old. So that is what made me, you know, realize there's a workforce, there's a way I can make money, and this was all because you know, my mother and my uncle had a you know connection already and whatever it was. But um that morning after I saw that, I w I go into work and my uncle goes, Yo, Josh, Josh Jones, that's my nickname, that's my nickname in work. He goes, Josh Jones, you know the real world's coming to Philadelphia? I said, Yeah, Uncle, I'm already on it. He's like, What do you mean? He's like, I was like, I'm already on the list. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go down there and I'm gonna I'm gonna wait in line for I don't know for like eight hours.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah, so would you have so okay, so yeah, what was that process? Okay, so now you're coming from South Philly, yeah, crazy boy. And you're gonna hit the real world. Now, what was the um process of all that?

SPEAKER_03 15:00

So the process was a grueling eight hours of standing in line.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Uh, and then you get into wherever the space is. The casting directors and the the the crew look you up and down. They start tapping people on the shoulder saying, You can go home, you can go home. Thanks for coming out, you can go home, thanks for coming out.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

Oh, you don't even get a time, you don't even get a chance to show your personality before they just look at you.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Yeah, yeah, sometimes. Yeah, that that that's how it was at that time. And um is that show still around? Yeah, it is. Yeah, I don't know. Paramount Plus just brought bought M T V. So um really is that what happened? They're making other they're making other shows like it or whatever like that. But probably that specific one, no. But uh yeah, it was very I I thought it was very vague, but yeah, it was them listening to everybody speaking to each other. So just based on that, they were getting they were getting people out of there. Once you made it into the the lounge, which was the the Raven Lounge on 18th and Samson in Philadelphia, which was a dope spot to hang out at the time, and it had three floors. And um, they were basing it just on what they heard and what they seen. So yeah, they were eliminating people quick. I didn't get a tap on the shoulder. I uh wind up How'd you feel when you didn't get a tap? I was just like, I guess I'm doing something right. Yeah, yeah. I guess I'm doing something. I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing. And I what I what I think helped me a little bit was my my my aesthetic, my stylistic approach to it. Yeah, because I was just I was just breaking, I just broke up with my first band. My first band was like a punk glam band.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Okay, so you were in a band before this real world thing happened. Okay. A punk punk glam band. It was a punk glam band. Wow. Wait, did you did you wear makeup and everything?

SPEAKER_03 16:51

Yes. Did you have long hair? Yes. Down on my shoulders, it was uh curly. You're showing your age again. Yes, ma'am. Yeah, yeah, we were in a punk glam band, and uh this was the rebirth of something like that in South Philadelphia, too. So it was big at the time. Name of the band was Whiskey Living. The mummers. That's that's a whole other thing.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

I just thought about the mummers when you said.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

Yeah, no, we were from Fifth and Second Street, so right around there. It was it was it was called Whiskey Living, and that and that's what we and we were um we were a punk lamb band, and nobody had seen anything like that in probably 20 years in the area. So we grew a following pretty quick, and they already had like a little bit of you know their friends and stuff following. But when I joined the band, we noticed almost a cult following. I don't want to say it like that, right? But they were there were there were new people showing up to see us play. We weren't that good, but it was the way we looked. And you know, some of our songs were catchy, some of them weren't, but it was really like you know, I I think our aesthetics we came off as like a New York dolls, dead boys, uh dead Kennedys kind of feel. Like it was just like, okay, I think we like this, and it worked for a while, and it worked in New York really well. We should start a band, and then uh shit, man. I'm not I'm not I'm not against it. You know, music is my hero.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

I don't want I don't want to off-track you, but I just wanted to say it.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

It's all yeah, it was it was a good time. Because you I already know we first my first experience, not not my first experience seeing the crowd react to what I could do on stage either. So I won my first talent show when I was in first grade. Okay. Uh second grade. What'd you do? Billy Ray Saris, Aiky Breaky Heart. Oh my god. People still talk about that this to this day more than they talk about. What'd you do? You sang it? No, I did a dance and I lip synced it. It was a whole choreograph dance, and I had the whole class behind me doing a choreograph dance. And that was back in the day. There was probably no camera videos back then, right? Uh yeah, no, there was a video of it somewhere. I'll show you. Yeah, it was a it was yeah, it was my cousin doing it on the big John. Yeah. I loved it. But um, that was my first time where I looked out at the crowd, and the reaction that I got from the crowd was uh, you know, a standing ovation. It was a they were going crazy. And I was just like, you know, I was this eight-year-old kid, and I was able to do that then, you know. And it was the first time to see the crowd reaction. I was like, I think I'm gonna do this the rest of my life. And that's what I said, you know what I mean? So fast forward, I start the band, start getting that feeling, that reaction again. And um my aesthetic was kind of as if I looked like a mix my my ex-girlfriend would say, You're like a mix between Slash and Guns and Rose, Slash from Guns N' Roses, Michael Jackson, and Lenny Kravitz. That's all your inspiration. That's and and yeah, she was she melted my heart when she said that, obviously, because she just like nailed every single one of them. And she was a musician, she saw my aesthetics, what it looked like my hair was down here. I would wear the top out. You the hair was around the eyes, so all you could see is the nose ring and the sunglasses. So it was a mystique, and that's how I went to the real world interview. And that's oh wow, and that, my friend, is why I probably got picked.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 19:56

Yeah, yeah. Eyeliner, it was it, it was my it was my own, it was it was it was it that that is what got me through. I would have never known that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

And now and now So you had long hair, glasses with the hair in the glasses, basically. Yeah. Eyeliner. Nose ring, eyeliner, nose ring, and it was 20.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

It was 2010. 20 no, it was oh nine at the time. 2009. Yeah, it was 09 at the time. Yeah. So I I looked like I came out of a uh a a cream magazine or something, right? You know what I mean? If you if you get, you know, my old heads will know what that means. You're aging yourself again. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

You're the one that brought up not talking about your age. Oh man, it looked like I'm not sure. I usually always get people's age, but I'm not going to in this one, but you are just aging yourself.

SPEAKER_03 20:44

Well, just because I know what cream magazine is. I mean, I wasn't born with that. Catuls everything around me magazine? No, not yeah, that one. We'll we'll go with that. But I don't even I don't know if I know. I think I had this like Heath Ledger, Jim Morrison Doors shirt looking on thing on. You were just a smash up of the last couple decades. Yes. And they were like, I don't know who Slash, like, and I heard I don't let Slash leave. I don't know who that is. Don't let Slash leave. I heard somebody say that, you know what I mean? Like in the background, you know, far, far off. But it was a whisper of that. I was like, I'm doing something right, I'm just gonna keep doing this. And I was just being personable. You make it to the interview rounds, and then you're one-on-one with the the casting director. And the first thing he said to me, he said, How's the line out there? I said, I hope you brought a lunch. That's and he started just cracking up. Like, I was like, I hope you brought a lunch, you're gonna be here all day, period. Like, you know what I mean? Like, just try to make them like entertained in some kind of way. He started cracking up, everybody in the group started cracking up, leave an impression, and I was like, That's a good first impression, you know. And he and he and he kept talking to me one on one. So I was just responding with, you know, yeah, I'm in a band, I'm this, I'm that. This is my ethnicity, this is my name. And um, yeah, he just wanted to know more. And um I had some um I you know some very provocative, ambiguous photo shots taken at the time, and I did that for you know a reason to attract that rock star-esque vibe or whatever it was, and he looked took one look at it, and he was just like, Man, people people are gonna go crazy over you. You know, I had this fur jacket on, and you know, it was a good shot. It was a whole thing. He had a lot of fashion going on. I it was a good photographer, her name was Mars, and um, she was a good friend of my mother's, and uh, she she brought that image out of me, man, and and that became my image. It was just like that Lenny Kravitz eslash, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

So then, okay, so now you're standing there and you're like, okay, I didn't get tapped on my shoulder.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

And then I go and then I go to the one-on-one's and still didn't get tapped on my shoulder.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:54

Cast and director just loved it. And um he let us go home eventually. You know, I was probably last. There's only 10 people there when I left. So I was one of the last ten people. I got a call that night.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

How many people were getting picked? Do you know?

SPEAKER_03 23:10

Did you have to live in a house? Did you have to live in a house with those? There were like 40,000 people, but it's eight. Well, at the end of it. It's eight, it's eight. They put eight in a house. Eight in a house. Eight in a house, yeah, with completely different personalities. All right. And they want to see what unfolds. But uh, yeah, I got a call that night. I I got a call that night from the casting director saying he wanted to do a follow-up interview, which was um just another chance to impress them. So I showed up as myself with my get up on, and um, you know, I showed up with some cheesesteaks actually, because I walked of course you did. I worked, I worked the paths, I wouldn't expect anything. I made that happen, you know what I mean? Cheese steak and a Philly Blunt. Yeah, yeah. And uh yeah, and then they called me for the finals in LA and check this. By that point, I'd cut my hair. I didn't know what they were gonna think because it used to be that used to be the interesting thing. So, what made you cut your hair in the middle of all this? Because for some reason I thought they wanted some business.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

As as I was going on, I felt like I don't know. You didn't know at that time.

SPEAKER_02 24:10

Right, you didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 24:11

Through the interviews, I felt maybe I should grow up kind of thing. You know what I mean? So I cut my hair. I didn't know if they were, I didn't I didn't know what was gonna happen. I went I showed up to the finals in a suit with the hair cut. Yes, I did. Yes, I did. And what did they have to say? They were like jaws on the floor, like jaws on the floor. They loved it. I didn't know if they were gonna love it or not. I thought they were gonna hate it. I thought that, but the one dude was like, what happened to your hair?

SPEAKER_02 24:36

I was so it must have been your charisma and your energy and your personality that sold you.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

Yeah, yeah. It wasn't that's exactly exactly what it was stood out, I think. But they still liked you regardless. A lot of things lined up for me. A lot of things aligned, and uh, I was happy about that. And uh it worked out. It worked out. It happened to be uh, you know, four months of filming, the craziest time of my life. Uh, some of the stories, you know, memories I got from it. I don't know, probably a little too explicit to put on this show, but it's just um, yeah, I got to live out a lot of my fantasies, you know. And uh it was a smooth ride for like four or five years, I would say. But then, you know, here comes, you know, my Wait, so you filmed for four months.

SPEAKER_02 25:17

And then when does the season get released?

SPEAKER_03 25:20

About a year, uh, about six months after that.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

And then how long was the season? Like what'd they chop that up into?

SPEAKER_03 25:26

Uh it was 13 up 14 episodes, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 25:30

Were they like an hour long? I don't know. Yeah, yeah. And you and then so there's a lot off, there's a lot off camera.

SPEAKER_03 25:36

Yeah. Oh, shoot. Are you so your fantasies? What kind of fantasies? They only use 20% of what they film. Okay. So a lot of those fantasies.

SPEAKER_02 25:45

Were you having a good time?

SPEAKER_03 25:46

Yeah, man. A lot of uh, we were bringing girls.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

And this who was paying so did they pay for everything?

SPEAKER_03 25:51

Um, we got jobs while we were out there. That's the thing. You gotta get a job.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

You get a real world job.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

Yeah, no, not a real world job. You had to go get your own job.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

But so the people that are hiring you don't know you're on the real world. Do you tell them to get a job? Eventually, yeah. I would do it. But they don't film anything at the jobs. Yes. Oh, they did end up doing that. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

I was a bartender in Georgetown. Okay. Um, I was booking um this was in LA. No, it was in DC.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Oh, DC. That's right. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 26:16

It was in DC season. Uh, I was a bartender in Georgetown, and it was um that that was my gig. Yeah. It was a good time. And uh I got to know a lot of the locals. I got to mingle with people, you know, people would just show up because I was there and it was good for the bar too. So we obviously knew it was a good hire. Right. Uh there was an Arlington National Golf Tournament, which I came in first place in, and I was like, I don't even golf like that. And I just happened to do it, it was eight-hole. It was like a tournament of virtues. Like a real golf? Yeah, it was real golf. No mini golf.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

And you don't play?

SPEAKER_03 26:50

I do. I I've played a little bit. Yes, I've played. I'm I'm just naturally, I don't like to say I'm naturally athletic. I'm a natural athlete.

SPEAKER_02 26:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

You know, uh, but I wound up winning. It was a bike and a cash prize and shit like that.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

And uh like a motorcycle bike or like a bicycle?

SPEAKER_03 27:03

Okay, yeah, it was like a Miller light, Miller light bike or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. There was some, there were so many things we did while I was on the show. You know, we did a lot of things for the uh the underprivileged youth in the area. We would go and help build soccer posts and stuff like that. Um, I was actually, you know, one of the I don't know, I guess one of the asshole characters at the time. Excuse my language, but it was just like uh, you know, they're I have to watch. I have never seen they painted me as a womanizer, this, you know, that thing. But uh it was more like um, you know, I broke up with my girlfriend. We got back together. We did it on the city. Oh my god, I have to watch it after this. I feel like it was good. It was it was some. Is it on YouTube? I gave the season probably, right? It's on Paramount Plus, season 23.

SPEAKER_02 27:51

They won't have it on YouTube.

SPEAKER_03 27:52

Uh there might be clips. Actually, I think I have Paramount. Yeah. I need to put some clips on YouTube. Yeah, we'll figure that out. Yeah, you'll figure that out. But um, yeah, it's on yeah, it's it yeah, it was the time of my life. And like I said, four or five years, smooth ride after that, you know.

SPEAKER_02 28:05

So you when you say four or five years smooth ride after that, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_03 28:08

I went on tour. I was doing modeling gigs, doing acting.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Would you on tour? So okay. Yeah, modeling that thing.

SPEAKER_03 28:14

On tour with my band that I started on the show because it's my second band. I'm sorry, we didn't get into that.

SPEAKER_02 28:18

Well, yeah, we started in, you know.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

I I asked you. So, okay, so you started another band while on the show.

SPEAKER_03 28:25

While on the show. I did it uh because I wanted to bring the sound back. It was like a funk hop rock kind of thing. And uh it was more like a um uh we had like a gym closed heroes ish vibe, and it was working at the time. And uh live band, rapping, singing, my guitar player rapped and sang. I rapped and sang. We had drums, DJ. It was badass, if you ask me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? And um, we started drawing in um in all the uh the college areas and stuff like that. So we did an MTVU tour, and uh yeah, I'd never you know thought I'd be playing for crowds that big in my life. Wow, that's crazy. Making about three grand a show. It was nice, you know. It was it was a good four grand.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

You individually?

SPEAKER_03 29:05

No, no, no, no, no, no. So that's what the you guys got. Yeah, but yeah, I was getting I was I was getting a 50% actually because you know they were all under contract for me because I had the you know I MTV brand. Okay. So I was getting about splitting the rest, and eventually they didn't like that eventually. Yeah, that's what happens, whatever. And then I was like, you know what? I can break this band up and do this shit by myself. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

Well, they call it the gatekeeper, but uh in the beginning they always need that, and then people got to respect that kind of like you wouldn't never had this opportunity, and it's cool, but I made this money a little extra because I owned this. Yeah, but it's okay if you want to if it's okay if you want to then once you learn and you can do it yourself and make it happen, go for it. I don't want you to get it.

SPEAKER_03 29:47

And that's what it was. A lot of them are starting to branch off and doing their own things because they were the guys from my band. And I was like, you know what? Hey, it's all going that route. We're all gonna go our own routes, you know?

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

Like KISS. We all made our own solo shit, but we never came back together.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:59

You know what I mean? Um, but it was a good time.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Kiss the band that did that?

SPEAKER_03 30:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:04

They um instead of breaking up, they all did their own solo albums, one of my favorite groups. So they all did their own solo albums, and um, they still they did it, they released it all under KISS and they were all KISS members and stuff like that, and they came back and they did another album after that, and it was uh, you know, good for another couple years. Yeah. Instead of them breaking up at that point, because that's what they wanted to do. They all wanted to pursue their own albums.

SPEAKER_02 30:25

So when they did that, they kept all their business aspect of it.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Yeah, it was still under Chris KISS, but they would get like the songwriting, the publishing if it was their album, and however they split it with other people, probably, right? So they got it.

SPEAKER_03 30:38

It was their choice on what they wanted to give them, each other.

SPEAKER_02 30:40

That's a cool way to work it out when you want to break up as a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 30:43

Oh, yeah. It was one of the earliest times to ever do it. You know, it was the earliest bands to ever do it. So yeah, it was uh it was a good, like, and that's and that's how I was looking at it going into my group. I was like, that's just what it is, you know. But we might not come back together on this one. You know, I had an issue with the bass player. He obviously had an issue with me, my drummer. We had a really good um, you know, friendship relationship. Uh, guitar player, you know, we both had he and I both had drug problems at the time. Now this spiraled, you know, spiraled out of control. Now, this is where I go down, you know what I mean? Like that five years after that, it's okay after the real world. That's where my spiral came in, and I was already uh, you know, addicted to painkillers, addicted to the party life, addicted to all that, you know what I mean? And um I let myself go for a while, and it was uh it was sad because you know, I thought I was gonna die. And um my family thought I was gonna die. But what what I really had to do is really, really dig deep inside, you know. I I it's it it it took a while. It took a while for me to realize, you know. I guess um, you know, by the time I hit like 30, I'd say, I had already lost an angel in my life. Um, she was probably you know that one I should have winded up with, and um, you know, everything would have been all right. And it's not just because she was her, it was just the genuineness of her spirit, love, and kindness she had for me. And uh, I I I I broke this girl in half. Invested on her. I broke this girl in half, and that really, really hurt me. And that to this day, obviously. To this day, obviously. Like I I I still I still love her to death. I don't care. You're like, yeah, yeah, it's just I I can't believe, you know, and I didn't realize at the time, you know, and so you were all sloshed out. How could you how could you do that? And uh I feel like such an asshole, you know what I mean? And not to mention my family, all the other people I hurt during the process and stuff like that. I started getting arrested a lot, you know what I mean. Uh, eventually I had to put myself away, you know, long-term treatment, and um, you know, I wounded up coming out on the other end, thank God. Because not everybody else does.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

And um, you know, that's why I feel like the you know, the nine lives of Josh Cologne. This is where um this is where boxing plays a big part in my life. This is where I start fighting, literally. Like, you know, some of the things that I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

Yeah, not on the streets and like because you never did actual boxing before, right? No, I've yeah, I've fought. Well, you whatever. But so now everything's you've done this, that everything's falling apart. Yeah, it's crazy. And now you're like, all right, it's too.

SPEAKER_03 33:10

Yeah. Now then now it's time. After I, you know, got out of the long-term treatment. I started really considering uh, you know, I was taking care of my body more, health and fitness. I was, you know, considering getting in the ring more and more. Uh, I had worked for the promoter previously, and you know, I wind up uh reaching out, and um, that kept me busy. That kept my drive. I wanted to, you know, be their best there was, at least in that division, you know, in my division, which was the uh light heavyweight, uh light light middleweight, light heavyweight, light middleweight. I wish.

SPEAKER_02 33:43

I love that guys always want to weigh more, and girls always want to weigh less.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

Yeah, junior. It was a light middleweight, junior middleweight division, and um they started having fights, and um, you know, there wasn't nobody could take me out at one point because I had this I had this eye of the tiger, should I say? I had this drive, this tunnel vision to this isn't not just me fighting for this title, this belt, this this camera right now. This is me fighting for my life. This is me um, you know, having to give this 110% because I didn't have another choice. I I was going to die, period. You know, my my my mother was making funeral arrangements, her poor fucking heart. Her poor heart. And um, you know, I was I was gonna die. You know, it was an addiction that um uh I'll never let that evil overcome me again in boxings. Literally how I did. Uh somebody told me to beat this thing, you gotta fight. So that's literally what I did. I I I just hopped in the ring, started fighting wherever I knew how, wherever, whoever would book me, you know. And I started.

SPEAKER_02 34:47

I know nothing about that.

SPEAKER_03 34:48

And I started well well well my How does that even work? I'm fortunate enough to have the connection with celebrity boxing, official celebrity boxing was Damon Fellman. And uh this was becoming rebirth because of Jake Paul and all them doing this YouTube boxing. So now guys like me had a job. And Damon was like, yeah, yeah, we got work for you. Come here. You know what I mean? And then you know, I started putting in the work, started putting in the work, started knocking out the the competition, and um 8 and 0. Nobody's beat me yet. I got two disqualifications, but um nobody's beat me. Of course you do. Nobody's beat me yet. Nobody's beat me yet.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

And um what since since you know, so how often do you fight? Well, I don't know how that works.

SPEAKER_03 35:32

Well, recent recently I've gotten into a car accident, so I can't fight for another year.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

I remember not too long ago talking about your back.

SPEAKER_03 35:37

Yeah, yeah, my back and my shoulder are really jacked up right now.

SPEAKER_02 35:40

Uh, so you can't even fight right now.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Yeah, I'm training. I mean, I'm trying to, I'm doing physical therapy and training as much as I can, trying to get solid. You know what I mean? But uh yeah, it's not what it used to be anymore. And uh yeah, I I I'm getting more into the production management side of things, bringing up some younger fighters, and uh, you know, making sure they don't go through what I went through. You know, there's a lot of uh evil in that game too. There's a lot of people that are gonna take advantage of you, and this is your body you're sacrificing. So um, yeah, uh, I do some consulting in that in that area. Uh I also, you know, do photos, video, content, that type of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:19

Um, you know, for in in in the realm of uh bare knuckle boxing is really big now. Uh and Damon and David are brothers. They actually got a Combat Brothers TV show coming out.

SPEAKER_01 36:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 36:30

So Damon runs official celebrity boxing in X Rumble. David Rumble's David Rum runs the bare knuckle fighting championships. Okay. And they are the uh the two that I you know I do some photos for every now, yeah, back and forth. And um they keep me working.

SPEAKER_02 36:47

Sorry.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

Uh they are the ones that uh yeah, yeah. They keep me working for now, but then now Viligence Media. Uh we have our we formed our own production company, Viligence Media. We're starting to get more work uh as as the year progresses. Uh 26 is looking very booked up already. So I'm very excited and happy about that.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

So yeah, so with like doing so okay. Yeah so 2026 is busy with like a lot of basically your it's management. Is that what you said?

SPEAKER_03 37:12

What's that? Yeah, a lot of production. A lot of production. Okay. A lot of production. So we're um we're gonna we're gonna be doing a lot of behind the scenes work on some um upcoming Netflix series and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 37:21

Okay. Um maybe some um Wait, so we went from we're not talking about boxing right now.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

Okay, we are all right. I got lost for a minute. So I think when I looked over here, you know, because Netflix is starting to do boxing now too. But also um anybody is anybody who's anybody smart enough is going to pick up a boxing company and put it on their digital network because it draws eyes and people are gonna watch and they're gonna grow with these fighters. And if your production's right, they are going to stay, they're gonna stick around.

SPEAKER_01 37:47

Okay, you know, I got you.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

So what we do is we put apply the production that would be say, you know, WWE-ish to a sport as real as boxing, and we got an unstoppable product, you know, and we've been doing that with a few other companies, and uh it's working well.

SPEAKER_02 38:04

So awesome.

SPEAKER_03 38:06

Yeah. And then we're you know, we we we work with Timmy Weatherspoon, who's uh former heavyweight champion, two-time former heavyweight champion of the world, and his son, uh working, yeah. We're just um 26 is looking good. And uh, you know, I don't like to talk too much until the things happen because I've been that guy who just says we've got time for that. But you know, it's looking better and better, and uh yeah, I'm looking at it.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

Stay silent in your success, is what I say.

SPEAKER_03 38:31

You gotta move in silence.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

And then let the success be the noise.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Let the success do the talking, simple as that. And um, yeah, so far 26 is uh it's doing the talking for me, and uh I'm happy, you know, I'm at where I'm at in my life. I've had uh ups, downs, ins, outs, you know, thought I'd be done, and uh yeah, I'm not. So I'm still here. I'm still here for a reason. And uh yeah, that's why it's the nine lives, you know, Josh Cologne. Four years ago, I had uh two beautiful babies. They are uh my everything, and they and then they are you know the ones that are keeping me you know motivated.

SPEAKER_02 39:06

So wait, you have two kids?

SPEAKER_03 39:07

I have two. I have two kids. Are they twins? Yeah. One boy, one girl, Ace Cologne and Layla Rose. Ace Valentino and Layla Rose. And that was four, so they're four years old. They're four years old now, yeah. And yeah, they keep me really busy. They keep me really busy, they keep me really grounded, and um, you know, I'm their dad. And uh I I can't think of a better job. You know, it's uh it's it's the hardest job you'll ever love. I was already had the training wheels, I'd say, with my younger brother. So I do have the experience of raising a child. You know, my my younger brother's my son, too. It's my son, period. Well, I know you have a lot of experience. His dad passed away, and he was really never around. So that's my kid. That's how he looks at me, and that's how I look at him, you know. And it's um, yeah, it's a bless it's a blessing. Life is a blessing and it's precious, and I'm happy to still be here because at one point I didn't think I was going to be. Music is something that saves my life. It definitely was my hero. Um, you know, those dark times where I can't get past the mental health issues. You know, those dark times where I really, really can't break that that mental health hold. You know, the times you don't want to get out of it, the times you do want to get out of it, the times you are just frantic about one thing. That's something I'm learning how to deal with. And you know, something that life has taught me that, you know, you you you gotta just take things one one thing at a time because you know, me multitasking too much will do nothing but get me all jumbled up and uh frustrated and all that type of shit. So, you know, I'm taking one thing at a time and it's working out pretty well for me. But um, there's a stigma to mental health that needs to be addressed, you know, and men need to talk about their feelings, and that's why I'm here, and that's why um that's another reason I'm here. That's not the only reason I'm here.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Right.

SPEAKER_03 40:46

You know what I mean? It's just just um, you know, yeah, it's real. We it it it's real because too many people are taking their lives. It's not, it's it's it's yeah, it's not that deep. It's not that deep because we constantly get told to man up. You constantly say, you know what I mean, you're a man, you gotta do this, you gotta do that, you gotta hold the household, you gotta do this. Yeah, yeah, all right, that's all well and good. But you know what I mean? It's not you know, it's okay to not be okay.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Right.

SPEAKER_03 41:11

You know, and uh I've learned to cope with it, I've learned to deal with it, you know. I'm happy I'm on the other side of it, but I still struggle. I still struggle, period. Yeah, you know, and it's always gonna creep up on me. Maybe I need a uh, you know, a diagnosis myself. I've gone all these years, I have autistic children. Maybe I have some type of spectrum area that I take up that I need to get addressed, you know, whatever it is, it is. And that and I'm not ashamed to admit that.

SPEAKER_01 41:35

Right.

SPEAKER_03 41:35

You know, and um as long as I keep working, as long as my babies are good, I got gas in my tank, money in my pocket, I'll be all right. Yeah, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's about it.

SPEAKER_02 41:44

What an ending. Yeah, but yeah, that I that that's a great, that's a lot. That's a lot of a story.

SPEAKER_03 41:52

A lot of story. It's just a little bit too. I can, you know, I was like, we we can go, we we do a part two if you want. Yeah, you know, where I can get into some details and that and that's still as you know, I I don't toot my own horn, it's just as compelling. And that's why I'm happy that I'm in the entertainment industry that I'm in in the, you know, because I got a lot of um experience to offer any movie that would be a blockbuster hit, man. I just lived it. I just lived it. Yeah, um, yeah. It's a hell of it's a hell of a thing to be able to say that. Yeah, you know, uh one of a kind, man. Yeah. I don't know anybody that's been through what I've been through, done what I've done, and just continue re-invent it, re having to reinvent yourself as, you know, not only as an artist, reality star, boxer, dancer, sing uh, band member, whatever. You know, but I've always just you know, people would say I have a personality crisis. I said in New York Dallas are one of my favorite bands, and it's just you know, I can I can transform into anything, and that's part of my heart, that's part of what I am, that's part of my chameleon. So whether that be acting, on stage, uh performing music, in that ring, you know, performing, fighting, or you know, whatever. Whatever. I'm always gonna perform. Especially if I'm pushed against with no return and my back's to the corner, and that's that's just what I'm gonna do. Yeah. I'm gonna fight my way out. And you know, it's gotten me this far, and uh I hope it gets me further.

SPEAKER_01 43:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:17

I need a last for these kids, and I and I need to leave them not only a legacy, but I need to leave them something, you know what I mean? Yeah. So that's my that's my goal right now. Um just focus it on, focus. Yeah, man. Just more than that. It seems like whatever you focus on, you you figure out.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

Yeah, man. All right, so um, yeah, that is a lot of stuff to learn right there, a lot of inspiration, all those good things. And I'm sure there is a part two, three, four, five. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:42

Um we definitely gotta get on at least part two.

SPEAKER_02 43:45

But we're gonna and you you did you did stay tuned, guys. You did start um you did start this a couple times, I feel like, but I'm still gonna ask you because I know you have even more a more direct answer. How is music your hero?

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Okay, so music is my hero because, you know, it's always been there. It's never ever not been there. And it it's it's it's something that if you love it enough, it runs your life. And if you if you need it, it's gonna comfort you. And if you need it to, you know, make you feel another type of way, it's gonna do that too. Uh there's so many different genres. I feel like I'm an eclectic soul. I love I love all music. I can go, you know, from 1950s to now on music trivia, on whoever would want to challenge me, I feel up for it, and I'd probably take you out because I just love the composition of those magic changes. That that the feeling you get when when when you hear that strum or that that chord played, or that that that instant hit, or even the exact time that first time you heard that song, you remember exactly what you were doing. You remember exactly what was going on, and and that's what it's all about for me. That's what it's all about for me. Yeah, it's that it's it's you don't forget what was going on the first time you heard that song.

SPEAKER_01 45:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:19

No, that's that's that's the epitome of memories, you know. That's uh, and that's what we're here to do. We're here to make memories because we're not here long, we're here for a good time, not a long time. So have a good time, have a good time. And I think I think music plays a big part in that good time, and there's only more celebrating to begin. So, yeah, music is definitely a hero.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

Yes, all right. Well, Josh, thank you so much. My pleasure. I loved I loved getting to know you a little bit more. I've known Josh for a while, which I said, and that's what's cool about this um podcast is I get to sit down with people and really like learn about them and what a story that was. Yeah, man. Nine lives. Nine lives. Nine lives. So, um, anyways, yeah. So thank you so much. Um pleasure.

SPEAKER_03 46:04

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

And we will make sure to put your uh information in the description, whatever you want to share. If you got anything to plug right now, that's up to you. I don't know if you have any plugging.

SPEAKER_03 46:12

Just franchise fights, franchise underscore fights on IG, Viligence Media. We got a lot of uh projects coming out, a lot of things coming towards us. So uh if you need any work done, anything to look good, just you know, highlight your boy. We got we got we got things going on.

SPEAKER_02 46:27

So all right, Josh. Well, thank you till next time. Always thank you.

SPEAKER_00 46:33

Thank you until next time. Keep creating, keep connecting, and keep building together. Remember, we're in this together, so let's keep each other shine.