00:00You know, it's about this journey,
00:28but it's as much about what cheese means
00:31as the path Adam takes to help these people
00:35get to where they need to go.
00:37And as a result, you know, increase his brand in a great way.
00:41Could you talk about that concept and connecting with Adam?
00:45Obviously, because you worked at the New Yorker, Vice,
00:48you probably had that interaction.
00:49But can you talk about that?
00:50And then I'll go to Adam on sort of the journey
00:53and sort of representing that for him.
00:55Yeah, for sure.
00:56So I knew I had wanted to make a documentary about cheese.
01:00It's something I just had always been interested in.
01:02And, you know, but cheese is just a topic
01:03and I needed a story within the topic.
01:06So I kind of did a bunch of research into cheese,
01:09talked to some initial people in cheese.
01:11And eventually I kind of stumbled across Adam,
01:14just seeing some articles and stuff
01:16that had been written about him.
01:18I just reached out cold.
01:20And basically, you know, we had a first meeting
01:23and, you know, it went really well.
01:26And I think Adam saw that my love for cheese was vast and genuine.
01:32And, you know, from there, it was basically a kismet.
01:36You know, we started this journey about three years together.
01:40And yeah, it's really been a journey.
01:43I know that's like a cliche thing to say.
01:45But yeah, you know, talking to Adam,
01:48I think one of the things that really attracted me to the story was,
01:51you know, I mean, there was the competition aspect.
01:54But to me, the competition aspect was always just sort of
01:57almost like a narrative framework or an excuse
02:00to kind of dive into this world,
02:03to just give the film some structure of like,
02:06okay, this is what, you know, we're going to orient around.
02:09But talking to Adam, one of the things that drew me to the story
02:12is I knew he had this deeply personal story about,
02:16you know, why he wanted to return to this competition
02:19and what it meant for him from more than a,
02:22you know, winning the medal standpoint.
02:25So that was always something we had in mind
02:27when we were crafting the film
02:28and something that, you know, people ask
02:31about having this sort of underdog film.
02:34How did you know it would still be interesting
02:35even if they didn't win?
02:37And I think just knowing that Adam
02:39and quite honestly, all the cheesemongers on Team USA,
02:43just having these incredible personal stories
02:45was what gave me that confidence
02:47that the film would be good, you know,
02:49win, lose, or whatever would happen.
02:53Introduce the one, the only, Mr. Moon!
02:57If you would have told me that I'd be in the cheese business,
03:00I would have told you you're out of your mind.
03:02I worked for a bank.
03:03I have a PhD in German literature.
03:05Cheese gave me a direction.
03:07It gave me a passion.
03:09But people think the cheesemonger
03:10is another person behind a deli counter.
03:12Oh, so you sell cheese.
03:13That's funny.
03:14Like, what's f***ing funny?
03:15To ask you this, Adam,
03:17it's never really about the destination.
03:20It's about how you get there.
03:21It's that journey.
03:22You know, but actually showing, you know,
03:24that, I mean, that's what makes that last shot of you,
03:27the last question they asked you,
03:28you know, at the,
03:31I think it was the 2023, if I'm correct,
03:34you know, and you get very emotional.
03:37And it's so great to sort of see that
03:39because, you know, we're all bombastic in our 20s,
03:42you know, our 30s,
03:43but, you know,
03:44then you can see the path.
03:45Can you talk about understanding,
03:47walking the path,
03:48but understanding the path
03:49as you grow older,
03:51just both in the aspect of knowing,
03:53you know, your business inside and out,
03:55even though your family's been in it,
03:56but knowing yourself
03:58because that's the hardest thing
03:59to reveal to a camera.
04:02I, so,
04:04cheese is a fermentation
04:05and aged cheese is called maturation.
04:10And I think that is just a wonderful symbol
04:13for what I'm on.
04:16I,
04:17I only know how to be my authentic self.
04:22I, it's none of my business
04:23what other people think of me.
04:25I spent so much of my time
04:27in my earlier life
04:28people-pleasing
04:29and,
04:30and living as a third person
04:32and in recovery,
04:34in my sobriety,
04:35I've learned how to
04:36attempt
04:37to be my authentic self
04:39on a daily basis.
04:41And to Sarah's credit,
04:43she really was a fly on the wall
04:45because
04:46the difficult part about this movie
04:49is that
04:49we really
04:50worked our ass off
04:53to try and win.
04:54and cheese people
04:57are socially awkward people
04:58are,
04:59are introverts
05:00in many ways.
05:01Sam is such a tough read.
05:03And so like
05:04playing that delicate balance
05:06of
05:06the window into our world
05:08while also,
05:09while in our world
05:10trying to win
05:11was a,
05:13was a very interesting task.
05:15Regarding
05:16the outcome,
05:17I will continue
05:19to,
05:20to portray
05:21a simple truth
05:22showing up
05:23is winning.
05:24We define
05:25our success.
05:26Success is in
05:27overcoming adversity.
05:29Success is in
05:30trying our best.
05:31We're,
05:31we,
05:32all of us
05:33as human beings,
05:33we're only competing
05:34with ourselves.
05:36Right?
05:37There is no rat race.
05:38Right?
05:39There is no rat race.
05:40Nobody who's running
05:41a marathon
05:41thinks they're going
05:42to win the marathon.
05:43They're not running
05:44it to win.
05:45They're running it
05:46to see how far
05:47they could push
05:47themselves.
05:48And so for me,
05:50I mean,
05:50I,
05:51you know,
05:51I think it rings true.
05:52Like the last time
05:54I was at Mondial,
05:55the,
05:56I was so close
05:57to taking my own life.
05:59Like I,
05:59I was fascinated
06:00and fixated
06:01on trying to,
06:02I would call it
06:02Anthony Bourdain
06:03myself and I,
06:06I was paralyzed
06:07with fear and anxiety.
06:09And so for me,
06:10just getting back there,
06:12like that was everything.
06:14Um,
06:15and then cracking,
06:16but then also like help,
06:18like helping Courtney,
06:20like,
06:21cause Courtney facing,
06:22Courtney having to face
06:23her family and explain
06:24to her family what they,
06:26what she does for a living
06:27was like a very serious
06:29thing in her family story.
06:31And,
06:31and Sam,
06:32like last,
06:33we watched the movie
06:34last night,
06:35Sam's story.
06:35Every time we get
06:36to the Sam story part,
06:38I start to cry.
06:39Like it's great.
06:40I,
06:41I,
06:41I,
06:41the amount of loss
06:42that his family experienced
06:44and his willingness
06:45to share that.
06:46And then more importantly,
06:47challenge himself.
06:48And like,
06:49and that's,
06:50what's also,
06:50what's so cool
06:51about this movie
06:51is how like so many
06:53characters are coming
06:54out from the shadow
06:56of their family,
06:57coming out from the shadow
06:58of the expectation
07:00of themselves.
07:01Like this isn't a cop,
07:02like this movie's
07:03not about a competition.
07:05This movie is about
07:05people finding
07:07their passion
07:08and overcoming adversity
07:10to,
07:10to be their true self.
07:12So we made cheese
07:13mongering the sport.
07:14And when they cut
07:15a perfect quarter pound,
07:16the audience goes crazy.
07:19That's fire!
07:20Yeah!
07:21This year,
07:22Team USA will go
07:23to compete
07:23in the Olympics
07:24of cheese,
07:25Mondial du Formage
07:27in France.
07:28If you win,
07:29you are the world's
07:30best cheese monger.
07:32If you've gotten
07:33to this contest
07:34and can't taste
07:35the difference
07:35between a sheep's
07:36milk cheese
07:36and a goat's
07:37milk cheese,
07:38my friend,
07:38you're never going
07:39to get there in time.
07:40That's the great thing
07:41that, you know,
07:41because I didn't even
07:42know CMI existed.
07:43I go to a lot
07:44of festivals,
07:44like more beer fest
07:45and stuff like that,
07:46but I wasn't even aware
07:47just to see the,
07:48the breadth of it
07:49and basically
07:50the different people.
07:52But, you know,
07:53everybody's so individual.
07:54I mean,
07:55you,
07:55you highlight a couple
07:56people that didn't
07:56even go to the competition.
07:57Obviously Lilith being
07:58one of them
07:59and she became a coach.
08:00But the thing is,
08:01is that all these people
08:02have such a specific
08:04personality
08:06and they're very strong too.
08:09Just like cheese.
08:11And like,
08:12you know,
08:12a lot of funkiness,
08:13a lot of,
08:13a lot of,
08:14a lot of big bold flavors.
08:16I mean,
08:16cheese,
08:16I fell in love with cheese,
08:19but I fell in love
08:20more with the cheese
08:21community.
08:23I really believe
08:24that anybody
08:26working in artisan cheese
08:27is part of a global village
08:29where we're serving
08:30one master
08:31praise cheeses.
08:34And
08:34to,
08:37to Sarah
08:38and her team's credit,
08:40like the cheese business
08:42is riddled
08:42with characters.
08:44The cheeses
08:44themselves
08:45are characters.
08:47The shops
08:48are characters.
08:49The countries
08:50are characters.
08:51There's so many
08:52freaking characters.
08:55But more bluntly
08:57and specifically,
08:57there's a common thread
08:59in the American
08:59artist and cheese scene
09:00where cheese
09:01saves a lot of
09:02people's lives.
09:04Cheese,
09:04cheese for me,
09:05I was lost
09:06and rudderless
09:07and spent
09:08from the corporate
09:09bureaucratic nature
09:10of America.
09:12And I tripped
09:13and fell backwards
09:14into cheese
09:14and cheese gave me
09:16passion and purpose,
09:17served as a North Star
09:18when I so desperately
09:19needed.
09:20And then
09:21more so,
09:22cheese saved my life
09:23again
09:23when,
09:24like,
09:25I mean,
09:25I lost my mind
09:28for two weeks
09:29and,
09:29like,
09:30cheese literally,
09:31like,
09:32was my North Star
09:33coming out of the
09:34darkness of insanity
09:35and continues to be that,
09:38right?
09:38Like,
09:38the making of this movie,
09:39but more importantly,
09:40going to Mondial,
09:42becoming a coach,
09:43right?
09:43Pivoting as a human being
09:45from being,
09:45like,
09:46the guy,
09:47like,
09:47being all egotistical,
09:51I'm on stage,
09:52I'm the DJ,
09:53blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
09:54to now being like,
09:56no,
09:56I'm the coach,
09:57I'm behind the scenes,
09:58man,
09:58my job is to lift people up,
10:00my job is to help people,
10:01I've learned how to be
10:02the best version of myself
10:03and continue to try to do so
10:04on a daily basis,
10:05how can I do that for others?
10:06There is this rivalry
10:08with U.S.
10:09and Europe.
10:10They don't think
10:11that we have
10:11the skills
10:12or the talents
10:12or even look at cheese
10:14the same way
10:14that they do.
10:15In other parts of the world,
10:16a cheesemonger
10:17is a career.
10:19But in the United States,
10:20we don't get the respect.
10:22Do you have an opinion
10:23on American cheesemongers?
10:26Je les connais pas.
10:27Winning would mean,
10:29oh crap,
10:29the Americans,
10:30they know what they're doing.
10:31That's so good.
10:32This is a big year.
10:34This has definitely
10:34pushed them
10:35farther than they've
10:36ever been pushed
10:37in their career.
10:38And I'm just
10:39really nervous.
10:40I think it's a stress
10:41right now.
10:42The sociology here
10:43is so important,
10:44but it's also the fact
10:45that Adam,
10:46none of your energy
10:47or ambition are gone.
10:48You just funneled it
10:49differently.
10:50And that takes
10:50work.
10:52Holy shit.
10:52That takes a lot of work.
10:54But the thing is
10:55is that you did it.
10:57I mean,
10:57I don't mean it
10:58as a congratulatory thing.
11:01I mean,
11:01I'm like,
11:01damn it,
11:02that's the way you do it
11:03because you didn't
11:04lose your ambition.
11:05That's the thing
11:06is the ambition
11:06has to stay the same.
11:07I mean,
11:08before sobriety,
11:09it was just sheer
11:10will and ego
11:12and heart push.
11:13After sobriety,
11:15it's having a God
11:16of my understanding,
11:18right?
11:18I have a deep,
11:19deep sense
11:20of spirituality.
11:22It's being,
11:23being present
11:24is a gift.
11:27If I have one foot
11:28in yesterday
11:28and one foot
11:29in tomorrow,
11:29I'm shitting on today.
11:31It's,
11:32it's being
11:33like really
11:34connected
11:35to a sense
11:36of self,
11:37to a sense
11:37of a higher power
11:38and then the sense
11:39of the world
11:40within my grasp.
11:43It's,
11:43it's,
11:44it's,
11:44you know,
11:45you say I did it.
11:47I don't mean to correct you.
11:48I just want to highlight
11:49I'm,
11:50I'm doing it.
11:52Do it.
11:52It's not as I,
11:54I,
11:54one day at a time
11:55I get a daily reprieve
11:57where I have to
11:57first thing in the morning
11:58hit my knees
11:59and pray to the God
11:59of my understanding.
12:00And by the way,
12:01the God of my understanding
12:01is not a Judeo-Christian sky daddy.
12:03It's actually the force
12:04from Star Wars.
12:06And,
12:06and then I have to like
12:08all day,
12:09like talk to fellows
12:11in my recovery.
12:11I have to do acts
12:13of kindness and service.
12:14Like true service
12:15is what you do
12:16when nobody's looking.
12:17I have to pray
12:19and meditate.
12:19I have to go
12:20to my meetings.
12:21I have to,
12:22um,
12:23eat right.
12:23I have to exercise.
12:24It's a daily practice.
12:26Um,
12:27but what happens
12:28is I,
12:28I believe
12:29the reason why
12:30I love cheese
12:30is because I believe
12:32cheese awakens
12:33our senses.
12:34I think all five senses
12:36working in harmony
12:37is the sixth sense.
12:38I think the sixth sense
12:40is actually the force
12:41from Star Wars.
12:42And so I think cheese
12:43is a gateway
12:44to being a Jedi
12:45and cheese mongers
12:47are actually
12:48Obi-Wan Kenobis
12:49and cheese lovers
12:50are Padawans.
12:51And I truly believe
12:53cheese will save
12:54the Milky Way.
12:54Ten seconds to finish.
12:56Hurry up, please.
12:57I view it as
12:57a redemption.
12:59I want to be the one.
13:00The two people
13:01who becomes
13:02Team USA tomorrow
13:03are who can actually
13:05win this mother
13:06.
13:06Cheese is a passionate food.
13:08Cheese does that
13:08to you, doesn't it?
13:10This is one of the most
13:11amazing, important moments
13:12in their life.
13:13How does anyone respond
13:14to that pressure?
13:15eine Menge
13:16because there is recognition
13:20of the weather
13:21and the otherì°¨
13:21is not going to happen.
13:29The third fewimes
13:30was headed vÃdeo
13:31coach.org
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