Now that I’m back from London and Dallas, I’m finally getting back into the groove here at Adversity University.    Hopefully you enjoyed reading about my Dallas speaking engagement with Frito-Lay and the trip to London last week.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I began my raw food journey in September 2008 with awesome (I should say RAWsome) results.  I created a new category here called “Raw Food Journey” for those of you interested in this way of eating.   Not long ago, a domain name was reserved for “Stephen Gone Raw” (a.k.a. Stephen Gone Crazy).    I’m in the process of looking for a theme to adopt and then implement a new blog just for this topic - raw foods.    So stay tuned!

Today’s interview is guaranteed to blow you away because it is one of the most inspiring raw food success stories that I’ve come across.  I can’t remember how I found Philip but it’s not hard to see his name and face floating around the raw food world once you delve into it.

I rather let him tell you his story but before we call him out from backstage, let me just tell you that when I first discovered him and his incredible weight loss story, I found myself crying every time I read an article he wrote, saw him on video or looked at his Before/After and other pictures.   I don’t ever remember anyone touching my soul like he has.  Then I realized why.   It was because I was seeing a mirror image of myself!   What you see in others, you see in yourself!

People who adopt a raw food lifestyle (whether it’s 100 percent or some variation of it), tend to look like angels.  I’m not kidding you.  Their eyes become brighter and their faces take on a translucent look.  It’s a most amazing transformation that is hard to miss.   When I saw Philip appear on CBS’s “The Doctors,” I swear to God it was like watching an angel walk out onto the stage.   I believe a link will be provided sometime during the interview to this amazing and inspiring clip.  He had that translucent glow.  You’ll see.

That’s why I am super excited to bring him onboard for the first-ever interview of a raw foodist at Adversity University.     Without further ado, please help me welcome PHILIP McCLUSKEY!

Whooooooo!   (Audience clapping wildly, whistling and stomping their feet, yelling PHILIP, PHILIP, PHILIP!!!)

(Philip comes out from backstage and greets me with a bear hug)

Philip, I can’t believe you’re finally here at Adversity University!  You have no idea how much of an impact you’re going to make in the next several minutes!  I’m so excited, I’m literally shaking in my booties.

Let’s get going and get started, shall we Philip?

Philip McCluskey, "Before and After"

1. One of my favorite questions when I want to learn about someone is by asking them to give me their 5 second introduction when I pose the question:  “What do you do for a living?”

First and foremost my main “job” (joy of being) is to spread love wherever I go, and be a catalyst for transformation and change.  Secondly, I am a motivational speaker, blogger, entrepreneur, and aspiring author.

Stephen’s Response: Oh boy, aren’t you ever the catalyst for change and transformation!  You are the very essence of being that!  All someone has to do is take a look at your before and after picture to see the stunning transformation you’ve made in the last 2.5 years!

2. Tell me in 3 to 5 sentences something we can’t read in your bio or at the “About Page” at your blog “Loving Raw.”

I enjoy thriving in my Scorpio nature.  With 5 signs in Scorpio I get to enjoy such wonderful extremes in my life, from an intense embodiment of love and stillness, to being wonderfully passionate and embracing my darker side as well.   Balancing extremes is my lifelong dharma.

Stephen’s Response: I’ve never heard of such an interesting response to that question.  So you are a man of extremes?  Interesting.  I suppose I could describe myself in that way too.  I mean, after all, some of my friends think I’ve gone off the deep end when I started my raw food journey in September 2008.  I went out and bought a $500 Vita-Mix blender, filled my fridge with mostly fruits and vegetables and just last week went to London at the drop of the hat.  And I suspect more is coming!  Yeah, I can definitely identify with “extremes” although I’m not a Scorpio - I’m a Taurus.  Is that bad?   LOL.

3. How long have you been blogging at “Loving Raw“?

I started the Lovingraw.com website a little over a year and a half ago.

Stephen’s Response: So did you start that at the beginning of your raw food journey?  Or was that created after you went raw?  (You can answer this in the comment section if you wish).

4. What is the real reason you started “Loving Raw“?

I had felt so unsupported in regards to my weight and unhappiness for so long, with really no direction to turn to.  After finding such amazing success with the raw food lifestyle in regards to weight and new found zest for life I knew it was something that needed to be shared with others.  So I decided to document my entire journey, the good times and the bad, so others could learn and grow along with me.

Stephen’s Response: Documenting the good and bad is a great way to give a balanced report of your experiences.   I’ve done the same.  In fact, your blog/website has inspired me to go to the next level and start my own raw food blog (”Stephen Gone Raw”).

What’s amazing about the Internet and blogging in general is that it has opened the world of possibilities for people like you and I.  Because we can publish anything at the drop of the hat, we have the potential of inspiring untold numbers of people who might not have otherwise known about our journeys had it not been for the Internet.   Thank God for that!

5. One of the reasons why you’re being interviewed, Philip, is because I am also on the raw food journey having started in September 2008.  As soon as I dove into this new and unfamiliar world, I found you all over the place.  And I’ve seen countless of your videos, read several of your articles.  And you know what?  You have singlehandedly made me cry many times.  Why?  Because not only am I inspired by your weight loss story but I am super touched by your sense of authenticity, a requirement for being interviewed here.    Your face radiates with incredible love and light.  It seems illuminated by the spirit, which is very powerful.  What happened to make you like this?

Being morbidly obese, I had been hiding my entire life, wanting to be loved, but not really wanting the attention.  After making the change to “go raw” I decided I would do a 180 and switch everything around, by starting a blog and being 100% transparent in everything I do.  I found that by living that kind of life I hadn’t really had any more secrets to hide, and I could be up front about everything.  There is such a beautiful liberation when you come to that realization.

So by connecting more with nature, practicing meditation or stillness, and just choosing to connect with the divine in others I am able to create a space of love wherever I go.  People find that the walls they generally put up around others are not required when they are around me, allowing us to able to communicate authentically right from the start.  I also love to see the go(o)d in others and set the intentions to act as a mirror so they can see their own divine beauty in my eyes.  It’s really learning to love the person, and yourself in the person as well.  We are all one after all.

Stephen’s Response: Wow, that is such a powerful revelation - you’re right - being transparent can make the world of a difference.  It’s is very liberating indeed.  We all have work to do on the art of transparency.  I was reading a very interesting article somewhere about the power of transparency.  Who would you rather listen to during a sales pitch?  Someone who gives a scripted performance or someone who speaks from the heart and sounds like a real person?

I am touched by what you said about how all you wanted was to be loved.  That’s true for all of us.  Who doesn’t want love?  I’ve learned that love wins in the end.   Love conquers all.  It turns darkness into light.  I’ve experienced it with my own eyes.

I totally relate to how people find that the walls they put up around others aren’t required when they are around you.  I find that to be true in my own experience - I am probably the most non-judgmental person you’d ever meet.  Nothing you tell me would shock me.  I even had some people writing to me confessing their worse secrets!

Philip, you are amazing.  You’ve definitely managed by simply being who you are to set the intention to act as a mirror so that others who see you in person or on video their own divine beauty that you see with your eyes.  In other words, when I saw you on video, I cried, right?  That’s because I saw the divine in you, which was a reflection of the divine in me.  Did I make sense with that?   Hope so!

6. If I were to ask you to dig a little further, how would you define who you really are?

I am a beautiful expression of the divine, having a human experience.  Light and love encapsulated in a body, interconnected to everyone that ever was and ever will be.

In the physical I am Philip McCluskey, 32-year-old motivational speaker and online blogger.  I am passionate, expressive, a communicator and a lover.  Loving all people, and seeing the light within.  I am a man working out my human existence daily, constantly growing, more un-attached, more balanced, and most importantly more loving.

I enjoy the quiet times I have alone, reading and just being still with my thoughts - and I love the parties and friends and laughter too!  I have abandoned all… to pursue love, bliss, and happiness, at all costs.  The time for holding back has come to an end, the time for living and loving is NOW.

Stephen’s Response: We are all spiritual beings having a human experience so I’m right there with you on that one.   One thing that really stood out to me in this response was becoming “more un-attached.”

This is something that’s been a work in progress for me over the years.   Being unattached to the results  — letting go and letting God.  Trusting that all will work out.  It’s about letting go of control.  I’m happy to say I’ve made tremendous progress in this area.  There’s nothing more powerful than being able to surrender but understanding that it doesn’t mean “giving up.”

I also love my quiet time.   In fact, I relish that.  I live alone and enjoy it.  In the summers, I frequently go to my favorite lake and take in the scenery, the sun and the clear water.  There’s something powerful about spending time alone with God and nature.  I’ve always been drawn to clear water for some reason.    Looking at it (especially when the sun is reflecting off the surface) soothes me somehow.

7.    What is the best advice you’ve ever received?  Given?

These answers are simple.

Best advice received:  Love

Best advice given: Love

Best advice given runner-up: You are God.

Stephen’s Response: Runner up?  That’s a first here at the “Stephen Hopson Interview” series!  I love it!  Yes, you are God.  We all are.  There’s God inside each and every one of us.

8. What do you consider your proudest achievement in life?

Making the choice to NOT get gastric bypass surgery.  Being overweight my whole life, and trying over 30 different diets, the choice to apply to get approved for the surgery was an easy one.  But after a month of tests to satisfy my insurance company, with the decision that I could get the surgery at any time, changing my mind was a whole different matter.

It was the moment that I decided to reclaim my power back and take responsibility for my life.  I had decided that I was worth it, and that everything required for change was already inside me.  It was my moment of liberation, celebration, and congratulations all in one.  It was my rebirth.

Stephen’s Response: You bet - you are worth it and so is everyone else!  That’s what I like to imply through my writings here at Adversity University.  We are so worth having better health, wealth and happiness.

You made one very important point here.  The reason you were able to embark on this incredible weight loss journey was because you made a FIRM DECISION.  You made a decision in your heart that you were going to go about losing weight in the most natural way possible.

When you make a firm decision about anything, you are making a powerful shift spiritually, emotionally and physically.

In fact, I often cite a favorite quote from “Conversations with God” (Neale Donald Walsch):

When you “make up your mind” about something, you set the universe into motion.  Forces beyond your ability to comprehend—far more subtle and complex than you could imagine—are engaged in a process, the intricate dynamics of which you are only just now beginning to understand.

WOW, how powerful is that?  Think about that folks.   Haven’t you had at least one episode in your life where you made a firm decision to do something and everything fell into place easily and effortlessly?  Think back on your life and tell me if this holds true in your own life.  I’m willing to bet it has happened on more than just a few times!

9. We all have a dark side, what’s yours?

You want the full breakdown?  LOL

I had a panic attack right before going raw.  Why?  I had run such a tight life in regards to left-brain thinking, schedules, perfection, over-thinking, over-worrying, etc.  Many things have changed since that day but sometimes I still find myself holding my breath, reminding myself to breathe and that all is perfect in the moment.

I used to dream about being the bad guy in movies.  Being the mafia gang member, or the guy with the shotgun rolling down the street.  Throughout school all of my friends were in gangs, and as I got older I even owned a handgun and shotgun, and carried at times.  I quickly learned that that mentality no longer served me, and that I could let that image go as I transformed into my authentic self.

Stephen’s Response: Oh yes, Philip, I want the full rundown!  This question has singlehandely made this interview series rather popular, entertaining and thought provoking for my readers.  I’ve had some people tell me they don’t want to be interviewed here because of this very question!  Only the brave, like you, can answer it.

Very interesting to learn that you had a panic attack right before going raw.  Hmmm….  What a great solution for all of us - just stop, take deep breaths and remind ourselves that all is well, right at this moment.  It’s called being present.  We’re so overloaded with past and future thoughts that we forget to stay in the moment.

You know something funny?  When I first saw your “Before” picture, I actually thought you might have been part of a gang!  Yes, that’s right!  You just looked the part.  LOL.

10. Tell us how you got started with the Raw Food journey?  Take us back to the moment you discovered it.  What happened since then?

I was reading about fasting and came across the phrase “raw food.”  I remember googling it and coming across a book called “Raw Family” by Victoria Boutenko.  I read about how her and her family all had a different disease, and overcame them with raw food.  I remember thinking, “if they could do it, I could do it.”  I switched to a 100% raw vegan diet that same day, and haven’t been off since.

I decided to eat to my hearts content in the beginning, not worrying about fat or calories.  As time went on I noticed that my portions were getting smaller and so was my waistline.  Now, 2.5 years later my diet mainly consists of eating a salad and drinking a big green smoothie daily.

Stephen’s Response: WOOOOOW!!!  I love it.  I love it.  I love it.  I actually don’t remember how I got started or what led me to raw foods but I’m 100 percent positive it was divinely ordained.   How could it not have been?

The beautiful thing about the raw food lifestyle is that you absolutely do not ever again have to worry about fat or calories.  You know what?  Natalina Rose, author of “The Raw Food Detox Diet” put it perspective for me (her book was the first of several I would read after going raw).

She made a very interesting point when she said in her book that if you were to present a power bar and an avocado to someone to choose from, most of them, reading the ingredient label, would select the power bar because it contains less fat and calories compared to the avocado.  But the body looks at the power bar and sees all the chemicals in it and says, “I can’t break this down properly.”  On the other hand, it looks at the avocado and says, “I know exactly what to do with you!”

Like you, I’ve not concerned myself with fats or calories since going raw.  All I ask myself nowadays is, “Can my body digest and break this down?”

Another thing I want to add is that now more than ever, I’m relying heavily on my inner intuition when it comes to eating.  No green smoothie is ever the same because I keep experimenting, adding and subtracting ingredients.  I listen to my body and feed it when it tells me to (generally every 3 hours).   I plan to be writing an article on this soon because going raw has helped me “hear” my inner wisdom more and more - one many fabulous benefits of the raw food lifestyle.

Turning to the audience:  Well, folks, I’m terribly sorry to say this but we are at the end of our first interview with Philip!  But don’t worry folks, he’ll be back here one week from today with Part II.  It promises to get even more interesting as you know.  I tend to go deep with my questions.

To see more of Philip, go to the following links:

• CBS, “The Doctors”
• Video Series
• Event Pictures
• Travel Pictures

Philip, it was RAWsome having you here with us this week!  Thanks so much for inspiring the Adversity University community with your story.  We are looking forward to having you back soon!

Until next time, enjoy the rest of the week!   Go here to see Part II.

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