Former homeless man talks about living by a river and working his way up

About this episode

Lance Corbett, a St. Louis-area landscaper and Vance's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training partner (both coached by Mike Meyer), recounts a five-year stretch of homelessness that began after a comfortable upbringing in Edwardsville, Illinois collapsed under unspoken family pressure and "never feeling good enough," leading him into a bad crowd, addiction, and eventually a tent camp by the river in St. Louis. He describes the mundane survival logistics of homelessness (firewood, food, avoiding theft, showering via a gym membership he scraped together while flying a cardboard sign), the loss of nearly everyone he knew there to death, and the slow, self-driven process of climbing out — quitting drugs and alcohol, holding a sign that said "will work for food," and eventually landing housing under a pastor. He frames his recovery not through outside intervention but through a self-generated set of "milestones," a term he prefers over an externalized "demon" voice because he insists the decision and effort were entirely his own. Wrestling (state-level competitor, boxing background) instilled the physical intensity Vance references from their BJJ rolls, while a disciplined yoga practice (three to four sessions weekly, some up to 90 minutes) taught him breath control that carries over into grappling and daily stress management — looking at a treeline to remind himself he's "just an ant on an ant hill" when work stress spikes. He articulates an explicitly stoic worldview (Vance directly names Marcus Aurelius), rejecting attachment to outcomes, belt rank, or even fear of death in favor of moment-to-moment effort. On COVID-19, he reports zero disruption to his personal habits or lifestyle — he was never socially dependent — but notes his income source shifted when his gym job (Blue Fire Fitness) shut down, pivoting into landscaping work that has "exploded" as homeowners stuck at home hire out yard labor while maintaining distance from their porches. The episode closes with mutual appreciation between Lance and Vance about the "butterfly effect" of small acts of visible discipline (a flexing photo after a hard day's work) inspiring others, and Vance signs off with a personal update about exploring virtual event formats during the pandemic shutdown of his speaking business.

Key moments

• **[00:14:10]** Lance traces his path into homelessness back to internalized family pressure and "never feeling good enough" despite a comfortable suburban upbringing.
• **[00:21:16]** Account of drug and alcohol use in the homeless camp, and the deliberate decision to quit both while still living by the river.
• **[00:31:09]** Lance reveals that nearly everyone he knew from the homeless camp has since died.
• **[00:32:15]** Lance reframes Vance's "demon" concept as self-generated "milestones" — insisting the change agent is entirely internal, not an outside voice.
• **[00:39:05]** Vance explicitly names the stoic/Marcus Aurelius parallel in Lance's worldview around detachment from outcomes.
• **[00:44:17]** Lance's pandemic take: no personal habit changes, but his income source shifted from gym employment to landscaping as pandemic-driven home demand surged.

Notable quotes

“We are just ants on an ant hill. Somebody can walk by and kick that ant hill right over and wipe our whole existence off. And being okay with that helps me not stress about those things.”

“Every now and then I'll look down while I'm working... I'll see all the scars on my hands and I'll think... I can huff another barrel of rock.”

“It's technically you that's thinking it... you're the one that planted that seed... that's all you, that's 100% you.”