In Omaha, Nebraska 🇺🇸, having a genuine conversation with Luke Schnellbaecher

One of my best childhood friends growing up in Alaska is Luke Schnellbaecher. Luke now lives in Omaha, Nebraska. That's right, the same Omaha where one of the wealthiest people in the world, Warren Buffett, resides. I was so grateful I had the opportunity to catch up with Luke after not seeing him for several years. I can say to this day that Luke is one of the most interesting people I know for how he carries himself, his extreme tolerance to doing challenging physical tasks and making them look easy, and his ability to consistently make any activity you do with him fun and a rewarding human experience. He also shows care to people who are strangers. I started to get to know Luke when we played Little League baseball together and attended middle school and high school together. Luke is an avid competitor, and he would never put himself above the team. 

From my time traveling to other parts of the world and living outside Alaska, there are numerous things Luke has taught me that I still carry with me today that I didn't realize I had been doing all along until I realized after seeing him during my Omaha trip. For example, Luke is the king of nicknames, and whenever I would be with him, he had several nicknames for me, and it wasn't just me. It was for everyone in our friend circle and even people he wouldn't be acquainted with. I have come to appreciate his nickname skills as this makes him a creative person, and again, it adds to the fun of hanging out with him. I have adopted this skill of nicknaming with the same people I meet throughout my life, and I have come to use it the way Luke has taught me to connect with others. Luke usually will call me Al or Big Al, and sometimes, during middle and high school, I remember him calling me just by my last name Clemens but with a French accent. 

Another aspect of Luke is his ability to withstand and thrive during physically intense and challenging tasks. I am reminded of this whenever I would work out with him. He will always refer to and call me Marine or others working out with him as Marines as if he is the drill sergeant. He expects you to give it your all no matter what type of workout or exercise you are doing. There were numerous times I would go on these long runs with Luke in the wintertime in Anchorage, Alaska, and we would go running in the snow in just shoes and shorts, and he always made it look easy and could tuff it out. There was also this other time when we were at Luke's house on the hillside of Anchorage in the wintertime. We would sit in his hot tub outside watching the stars for a short period and then jump out and perform long sprints in the snow without shoes and only in our shorts, followed by pushups and then jumping in the snow before warming back up in the hot tub and repeating the cycle all over again. He has always struck me as somebody who will join the military as he has discipline and thrives in physical hardships. I remember chatting with Luke on the phone when we were both in college in different states, and we convinced ourselves seriously that we wanted to join the Marines or SEALS. I've learned how to have fun and joke during physical hardship and challenging workouts from my time growing up with Luke, and I know I have used this in how I train my clients in their training sessions as a personal trainer. 

I'm grateful that the first video podcast I did and starting this creative journey and seeing where it will lead has been with one of my best friends, Luke. As my first video podcast, I didn't have any structure or much thought to how to film and just focused on doing it. It was fun to reminisce about the dogs we had growing up, commercial fishing, and Luke's lifestyle in Omaha, Nebraska. I still can't believe his new puppy Jax is expected to be 200 pounds! That blows my mind, and it is neat to see Luke so loving, affectionate, and caring for his new dog. Luke, you rock as a great friend of mine; I will always have stories to share with the people I meet wherever I am in the world about you and the impact you have on me, and I look forward to our continual lifelong friendship. You rock, and keep it going with creating and discovering your path in life! Stay blessed, brother! 

Side note I revisited Luke in Omaha over 17 months later to find that his puppy Jax wasn't a puppy anymore but a massive cuddly bear that is on pace to be 200 pounds, just like Luke mentioned. I've included pictures from this trip to show the size of Jax and a boxing workout I did with Luke.