Clay Dimick - 2024 USL1 Comeback Player Of The Year, Life Changing Injury Rehab & Trophy Aspirations For Charlotte Independence! - E14

Jamil & Dom welcome Charlotte Independence captain Clay Dimick into the studio this week! We discuss Clay's off-season, and the nightmares of pre season runs. We delve deep into his journey back from a serious double cervical surgery and the incredible challenges Clay and his family had to overcome. All of this led to being awarded the 2024 Comeback Player Of The Year Award, for his incredible comeback, captaining Charlotte Independence and playing every single minute in 2024. Clay shares insights on his leadership style, the support he received during his recovery, and his trophy aspirations for the upcoming 2025 USL League One Season. As always, we round off by taking Clay through extra time, where we discover Clay's “Special Appreciation” for adult beverages… Enjoy!

00:00 Intro & Pre Season Nightmares

07:57 2024 Comeback Player Of The Year

11:07 Life Changing Spinal Injury Rehab & Recovery

16:29 Clay's Lowest Moment (Which We Can Laugh At Now)

18:40 Charlotte Independence & Charlotte Community Support

24:46 USL Championship Early Years At Charlotte Independence

27:41 Transfer Collapsed Over Covid Vaccine?!

33:23 New Contract & Trophy Aspirations For Charlotte

40:09 Extra Time

46:49 3 West Virginia Alliance Alum's On The Show!

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Transcript

Jamil Roberts (00:00)
Hello everyone and welcome to the Backstik Podcast. I'm Jamil Roberts and I'm joined here as usual by Dom Okus Domo, how you doing mate?

Dom Okus (00:10)
Yeah, good, bro ski. Good, good, good. It's still absolutely freezing in Austin right now. It's about 25 Fahrenheit for American folks, about minus five degrees Celsius. There's snow on the ground. I didn't know it snowed in Texas, so that's ridiculous. But I'm hanging in there trying to keep

Clay (00:13)
you

Dom Okus (00:28)
warm. And obviously I'm looking forward to this super dope conversation we're about to have with Clay, man. So looking forward to it,

Jamil Roberts (00:34)
Yeah,

exactly. you kind of did the soft intro for us there, mate. you know, I'm excited for this one because someone that, you know, I've come up against many times in my career and it's always been fun and we always have a little bit of a laugh every now and then when we face up against each other. But yeah, it's a pleasure to introduce Charlotte Independence captain, Dimmick. Clay, how are you, mate?

Clay (00:37)
Okay.

Good, appreciate you guys having me on. Excited to be here for sure.

Jamil Roberts (01:02)
Yeah, mate, as are we. We were just chatting, weren't we, just before the pod started. you know, the energy's already there. I think this one's going to be a good one. So just kind of, just to take us into it. So obviously you're in the off season now. Just how was your off season, mate? Obviously coming off a good year last season. Obviously you wanted to go further and maybe lift some silverware, but you you enjoyed your off season. You ready to get back?

Dom Okus (01:02)
Or it's meant anytime.

Clay (01:28)
Yeah, for sure. mean, off seasons for me now are just hanging out with the family. We have two boys and so just spending time with my wife and the kids and it's never a dull moment, but I wouldn't want it any other way. So yeah, just trying to soak up those moments before we get going again in a couple of weeks.

Jamil Roberts (01:43)
Yeah, and you mentioned they're getting you back in on a Sunday, so I'm sure you're thrilled about that one and all the boys are buzzing to get back at it.

Clay (01:49)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (01:50)
It's good.

You

Clay (01:56)
Yeah, I know the first day it's already like come on man a Sunday really

Jamil Roberts (02:02)
I know. and then and then the other thing obviously is obviously teams teams can get back in earlier this year, right? So, you know, we touched on it before, you know, Naples have seen already back in and whatnot. But it's already a long enough preseason for me in it, I think anyway. So I think just in general, you know, obviously, you know, everyone down at Charlotte getting you back in, I think that that fits.

you know, kind of the life cycle of the USL season anyway. Because, I mean, we all know, the three of us know that pre-seasons can be absolutely disgusting at times, especially when they're long. But Dom, just to kind of touch on that, to be honest, any minging pre-season springs to mind just when I ask you.

Clay (02:40)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (02:41)
you

All of them.

Clay (02:54)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (02:55)
All of them. All of them. Anyone who knows me personally knows I'm not on this running ting. At all. Like, at all. So like, let's say the test in college was you've got to do a 5:45 mile. I'm timing to hit the line at 5:44. And that's what I'm training for all pre-season. And then I'll get to preseason and I'll do it. But I'm not planning any extra work. You're not going to get a 520 out of me, a 530. I'm aiming for 544. And that's what I did.

Jamil Roberts (03:12)
You

Clay (03:15)
Peace.

Jamil Roberts (03:22)
On

the dot

Dom Okus (03:23)
So I

never failed a test. Yeah, I never failed a test in college. I'm just gonna hit exactly what I've been asked to do and nothing more. And that's why I'm not a pro.

Jamil Roberts (03:30)
Yeah, well, that's ridiculous.

Well, now you're speaking to two full backs who actually can run. Dom was a center half in his day and he was half decent as well. He was half decent. He could run. He could run maybe not far, but he had a turn of pace.

Dom Okus (03:39)
Yes.

Clay (03:39)
Yeah.

Okay.

Dom Okus (03:53)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, because I've got the long legs, I just do the striding thing. So that was my thing. I never get burned and I wasn't unfit, but I'm not on this running around like you're not going to get a 10k like kick on the GPS out of me. No chance. Absolutely no chance. But what about you boys?

Jamil Roberts (04:06)
Mate, if any center arse run in 10k, I think they've done well for the afternoon. That's a striker that runs

Clay (04:10)
Yeah, I got a problem. Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (04:15)
the channels.

Dom Okus (04:17)
Obviously as the modern day fallback you've got to be up and down right? So are you players naturally good at running? Or is it something you had to get used to?

Clay (04:26)
Yeah, I feel like for me, I had to get used to it. But now I feel like it's one thing I try to pride myself on, just, you know, being the captain, I'd like to lead by example. So that's something I try to pride myself on because it's something I can always control. But yeah, it's not saying I like it, but I just think it's like a there's like a mental piece to it, a mental battle. And so if you can keep winning those little mental battles in your own head, then I don't know. I think it's something that gives me some momentum going into season, even though I don't really enjoy it.

Jamil Roberts (04:56)
No one enjoys it, do they? Let's be honest, no one enjoys getting up and going for a run. Yeah, to be honest, I think the same thing. I've always been naturally fit, which is, you know, pisses off a lot of my teammates in the past. But let's just say this past preseason, I did not come in fit at all. And it was the first one. It was the first one where I sacked off my off season and I'm never doing it again because it hurts so much.

Clay (04:57)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dom Okus (04:57)
What the?

Clay (05:15)
Haha

you

Jamil Roberts (05:26)
And then I've got I've got in May I've got the manager telling me yeah, you came in like massively overweight and this and that and I'm like Brilliant. He's telling me to lose five pounds. I'm like Yeah, literally literally, right But it's funny you mentioned like obviously we touch on the topic there and Clay's one of them one of them fullbacks obviously we play on the same side, know I play on the left and clay plays on the right and

Clay (05:34)
Peak summer too.

Jamil Roberts (05:55)
and he's always been one of them fullbacks that he's not necessarily you I wouldn't describe you anyway as one that's like bombing up and down right but what he likes to do and it's really annoying to play against is he just likes to stand really high and wide and the thing is let's just call a spade a spade we didn't have the wingers that like to track back so all of a sudden

Clay (06:03)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (06:13)
What?

Clay (06:20)
Yeah

Jamil Roberts (06:23)
I'm just 2v1 the whole time and I'm thinking which one do I go to here? And your pitch is fucking massive as well.

Clay (06:25)
Yeah.

Massive,

biggest in the league for sure, hands down biggest in the league. And it was funny because our winger always tucked inside. So I was like, if I can just stay high and wide the whole game, because your winger would never track me back. So every time our winger got it in the pocket, it was 2v1.

Dom Okus (06:35)
Flipping out.

Let's go.

Jamil Roberts (06:50)
My whole I literally remember the game away at your place last season and my whole first half was just chasing the balls over my head

Clay (06:58)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (06:59)
Thanks

Jamil Roberts (07:03)
Literally, I remember once like I just I lost my head like completely lost my head I was screaming at the lad in front of me like fucking held me out would you?

Dom Okus (07:03)
you

Clay (07:08)
You

Dom Okus (07:11)
Eugh!

Clay (07:14)
Yeah, I remember who it was too, that's hilarious.

Jamil Roberts (07:16)
Yeah, god, my hell if you're listening.

Dom Okus (07:17)
Yes.

Clay (07:18)
Ha ha

ha!

Jamil Roberts (07:24)
Guys scored, he

Dom Okus (07:24)
Absolutely stranded.

Jamil Roberts (07:26)
scored after 15 seconds and thought, nah, Jam's got that for the rest of the game.

Clay (07:28)
Yeah, he's the one we played in,

Dom Okus (07:30)
Thanks.

Clay (07:32)
we played the, one of our players played the through ball into him, right?

Jamil Roberts (07:35)
Mm-hmm

Nah my my L is a top lad, but he did he does not like to go the other way Yeah, they and and he's just got a move he's just got a move to Monterey Bay actually so so congrats to him obviously And wish him all the best this season. But anyway enough about my L. We'll bring it back to Clay Dimmick That's what we're here for so

Clay (07:39)
I think that's when you're...

Yeah, he's a good player though on the ball.

Yeah, I saw that.

Jamil Roberts (08:02)
And obviously we're talking about last season and we were sort of reminiscing on a couple of games and whatever. But you know, the big one for me is, is obviously you played this season and you won the comeback player of the year award. So my first question is obviously you received from, from, know, doing my due diligence and I've been fact checked on this podcast before. So I like to do my research now. You won 71 % of the votes.

Obviously that's from your peers. And what does that mean to you? Obviously winning it by that vast majority, obviously you've got the respect not only of your peers, but obviously them recognising the sort of journey that you come through to get back on the pitch and play as many minutes as you did. Obviously you played every minute of the season, which is for anyone is a massive achievement.

So, you know, what does that award mean to you coming off of obviously the injury that you sustained?

Clay (09:04)
Yeah, no, I appreciate it. Yeah. So I think when I had when I realized I was up for it for the players union one, that one's obviously voted just by players in the league. So even just being nominated for it through players was pretty cool recognition. And I was humbled to receive that. And then obviously winning that one meant a lot just because, like I said, it's players and obviously players respect players and that's who you're going against. And if you win the votes of your peers, that says a lot. So I was really humbled to win that. And then the

When the league announced that it was fan vote, I was like, let's see how goes. Cause Charlotte doesn't have any fans compared to some of the other clubs. Our fans are super loyal though. I love them, but like just quant, yeah, yeah, exactly. The quantity is not there, but the quality is awesome. So we're still working on the quantity part, but I knew that I'd have some loyal friends and family members vote for me, but to win it by that much and everything just meant a lot. Cause like I said, it was up to.

Jamil Roberts (09:42)
Yeah, yeah, the the small pod is loud.

Clay (10:00)
the people voting, so their votes were definitely a blessing to me.

Jamil Roberts (10:06)
Yeah, for sure. And don't worry, I vote for you, mate. Just, just putting that out there. But, yeah, Dom, go on.

Dom Okus (10:07)
So for those

Clay (10:09)
Appreciate it, brother.

Dom Okus (10:15)
of us who aren't aware, what's the comeback award? Just for folks who might not be aware, what is it?

Clay (10:21)
You want to describe it, Jimmy, or me?

Jamil Roberts (10:23)
Erm, go on, go on, you're the guest, let's hear it. You won the award actually, you-

Clay (10:25)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. So what I thought it was before this year was I thought it was like somebody coming back from an injury or like some type of adversity. But this year was interesting because I don't know if you saw the guys up for it. I don't know how many of them actually had like a big injury. I know mine was like the only one where it kept me out for like a long time. Maybe like one other guy had a big injury, but I think they added in like injury or adversity. So coming back from something where you had to come over obstacles or hurdles or overcome.

Dom Okus (10:28)
Ehh

Clay (10:55)
whatever it may be, injury, adversity, like I said, and then having a successful year the next year on the field and being able to perform again and then voting on who had the best story or best comeback, I guess.

Dom Okus (11:08)
dope, dope, dope. So I think you touched on it there, but you said you had a big injury. Talk us through what happened and what the rehab process was and all those kind of things.

Clay (11:18)
Yeah, so I think you can kind of see the scar here. It's a pretty big scar on my neck. Yeah, when I'm like this, you can't notice, but I was mad because the doctors were like, yeah, it's going to be this big. Like you won't notice it. I come out of surgery and it's like across my whole neck. I'm like, bro. But so in August of 2023, I went up for a header at a home match against Colorado and it just felt like a sore neck and I didn't really think much of it. I remember coming home and

Dom Okus (11:23)
yeah, I didn't have a night to start, Yes.

You

Jamil Roberts (11:32)
Wow.

Clay (11:46)
Talking to my wife saying like, just felt like, you know when you sleep wrong and then you go to move the next morning? It felt like that. So I was like, all right, maybe I just need to move it around, get some mobility back. But then I began to lose feeling in my left side. So like my fingertips and my toes, I couldn't really control where they would go. Then we had a game in Greenville. So I went and played that game and every time I would yell or clinch or head the ball, I would get like this electric shock from here down.

through my whole body that would cause me to go numb for like a second. And then I got kind of worried, played one more game, which that's the one I shouldn't have done. And then after that, I like lost like my gait and walking. couldn't know where my left side was in space. So if I were to close my eyes, my body would just naturally like start tipping this way or like, couldn't really understand where I was. So went into the neurosurgeon, they did the MRIs, all that, and saw that like my spinal cord.

So wherever you get injured on your spinal cord, it affects like everything under it. So it was in my neck, obviously cervical level, so here and everything down was affected. So I began to lose like zipping zippers, eating with a fork, button buttons, like all that stuff. And so they had to go in and do like an emergency surgery so that way I wouldn't lose everything and go paralyzed for good. And it was just kind of like a what if game. Like there was a new surgery. They knew they could alleviate the risk of going paralyzed, but they didn't know how much I would gain back.

because since your spinal cord is your brain, know, like when you have a brain injury, it's always like, well, I hope he gains stuff back or I hope he remembers this and that. So honestly, the structural part of the surgery was like that rehab was pretty easy. It was just getting mobility back. But then the hardest part was like the neurological side of it and remembering how to use my left side again. So the last off season was just trying to get that back. yeah, it was a long journey and frustrating for sure, but that's kind of a long story short, I guess.

Dom Okus (13:12)
Mmmmm

Nah, I appreciate you sharing that man and that must have been super scary for you and your family. So like, just to blab a little bit deeper, like what was kind of going on mentally at that time? Of course, you're probably thinking, are you going to be able to play again? Maybe bigger fish to fry? Are you going to be able to get stuff back on your left side that you were describing, right? So like, what was going on? Kind of what were you thinking at that time?

Clay (13:52)
Yeah.

Yeah, so my wife was nine months pregnant with our youngest. So she was getting ready to go into birth any minute. I went to the doctor's appointment, the first neurosurgeon appointment with my friend because my wife, was so pregnant and we had a, Callum was like one and a half. So our oldest was one and a half. So they stayed home and then I like got on the phone after and I was obviously crying like, cause I told the doctor, I was like, well, can I go home and like hold my kids or do anything? He's like, no, because if I trip or fall or too much pressure, like

Dom Okus (14:10)
Wow.

Clay (14:33)
it will send the disc through the whole spinal cord. And then they were like, there's obviously no coming back from that. So he was kind of like, I was just laying around on the couch, laying around in bed. And then, yeah, it was tough because then my wife gave birth and she was postpartum. And then I'm going into a surgery, which is gonna like leave me bedridden for a few weeks. So it was tough. It took a toll on us, but I mean, my wife is a superstar. She was super understanding and we have a good community around us here, which I'm thankful for.

Dom Okus (14:39)
Well...

Clay (15:03)
But yeah, it was tough. Mentally, it was really hard because you guys know we just want to be active and work out. The way we get our stress out is work out, play, kick the ball around. But to have that all taken away was definitely a learning experience.

Dom Okus (15:19)
Sure man, for sure. just salute to you man for being able to come through that, right? Because it's not even just the fact that you're dealing with your own thing. You've got a young son, you've got another one on the way, you've got a family and everyone to look after and the fact that you've been able to kind of navigate all of that and obviously it must have been super tough, right? Like you're kind of probably playing it down a little bit. It must have been super tough. But the fact you've come back and now you're like fully back, you know, you're captain in the team, you had an amazing season. So just, that's off to you and a lot of respect, man.

Jamil Roberts (15:24)
Yeah.

Clay (15:37)
Yeah, yeah.

No, I appreciate it. I appreciate that.

Jamil Roberts (15:48)
Yeah,

I echo that because obviously, you know, we heard around the league, you know, the kind of severity of what it was. when, when you sort of dive deeper and you think about, you take football out of it and, know, you can't even hold your newborn baby and you can't do things that are like milestones in a, in a human being's life, you know, like that, to having that sort of those first moments sort of not taken away, but certainly

delayed is that's just, I've made that's off to you, man. That's, that's unbelievable. Like that's the biggest, the hugest amount of respect from, from the pair of us for that.

Clay (16:19)
Yeah.

I appreciate it. I'll

give you the lowest moment of it. It's kind of funny to look back on. So keep in mind, obviously, when a woman gives birth, obviously they go through the recovery phase too. And I'm going through the phase where I'm bedridden and stuff with the spinal cord, like anytime you clench down, so if you cough, sneeze, pee or anything like that, you have to be careful because too much of it when it's fresh and new can slip stuff out in the spine. So I was like, the lowest of the lowest, I was like...

My wife helped like carry me to the bathroom. I can like barely move and then she has to like help me go to the bathroom. I'm just sitting there like we are never gonna get out of this like she's recovering from she's recovering from birth like in the adult diapers. You're probably killing me for saying that but then I'm over here like yo can I borrow some of your adult diapers?

Jamil Roberts (17:06)
no.

What?

Clay (17:20)
So it's like, like looking back on it, definitely like we grew so much from it, so I'm super thankful for it, but it was hilarious. No, never, never.

Jamil Roberts (17:21)
You're doing a bulk order.

Dom Okus (17:21)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (17:28)
mate, you were probably never closer.

Dom Okus (17:36)
It's good

you can find the funny parts of it though, know, like you seem like you've just got that good spirit about you and that's probably what's helped you recover and come back, right? Is that you're just taking that life as it comes and kind of, you know, it's shit but we get on with it kind of thing, you know?

Clay (17:38)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (17:39)
Yeah.

Clay (17:49)
Yeah,

for sure.

Jamil Roberts (17:51)
Yeah,

yeah, man. I think, obviously, the biggest blessing that comes out of it is obviously you're able to interact with your family again in a normal way. Those are the things that obviously mean the most to you, obviously your wife and your kids and the rest of your family. But in addition to that, to be able to get back on the pitch, and it's a testament to yourself and your character and quality, to then go and quite literally play every minute of every game.

Like that's just that whole journey to me is like, it's unbelievable. And at any level you could be playing at Sunday league and you play every minute of every game, but to step back into professional football and do it, like that's to me, mate, like that, if anyone else won that award, then it'd be ridiculous.

Clay (18:37)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (18:41)
Question I did have is how did the club support you through all of that, right? Because this is probably a new thing for them, right? Even getting you back on the pitch, so whoever was helping you with the rehabilitation and like you say, getting back to using your left side and stuff. So what was the club's involvement in getting you back on the pitch, but also just dealing with the medical stuff too?

Clay (18:46)
Yeah.

Yeah, so at the beginning, it was just like you guys said, like the severity of it came kind of came out of nowhere. It just was like one like bad news led to more bad news, which led to more bad news. And it kept like going down and down. Like, dang, like when is the severity of this going to stop? So when everybody figured out how severe it was, our owner, Dan D'Amico, he's a great guy. He's like family to my family and I. But he everybody knew it was like an emergency surgery and the doctor said like we need to do something fast. And you know, like if you do the paperwork and go through the

all like the claims and stuff and insurance and all that could take a little bit. So the neurosurgeon, long story short is I'm the first professional athlete with this exact surgery. There's one other professional athlete in the NHL and a rugby player. I think they have like one level, but mine is two levels. So there's like two places that were injured. So there's like only a few doctors that do this surgery. And one of the guys is here in Charlotte. He like spearheaded the research for this type of surgery. And he was like, look, I can get you in next week.

But if not, like the closest will be December. So this was in September. So Dan, like honestly, he just called me said, like, what will it take to get you in next week? And he pulled the strings and got me in next week. so the players union had reached out and stuff. Yeah, it was a huge blessing. The players union had reached out and stuff. But honestly, with Dan and Mike and the club here, I just handled it in house and they paid for the surgery and stuff because it was obviously at work where I got injured. And then after that,

Jamil Roberts (20:15)
Amazing.

Clay (20:32)
The spinal cord specialist was a family friend. It was one of our closest family friends and she's in Charlotte. And so everything went through them and the club, everything that I had to go through in terms of like doctors and medical visits, the club stepped up and paid for. all of that was just, yeah, it was a testament to them and like the relationship we built here in Charlotte. then, yeah, Mike was awesome, like giving me some grace getting back onto the field. He would speak to me in the off season and say like, where are you at with things? Like, do think you're gonna be able to play?

Dom Okus (20:45)
Amazing.

Clay (21:00)
I told him, yeah, my goal is to come back. And he was like, okay, so you have my support. And I think that was huge. Like that gave me some, like a mental confidence almost just to think like he hasn't lost his trust in me. Cause obviously it's a big injury and stuff and him and the rest of the staff were really good. And obviously the players were really good. So I couldn't have asked for anything else. I don't know if I was at a new team or somewhere else. I don't think I would have came back the same way. But having everyone behind me was definitely a huge part of it.

Dom Okus (21:28)
Amazing. Good to hear, man. Sick. Sick. Because I know when other players get injured... I was just going to say quickly, I know when other players get injured, sometimes that's not their experience, right? You know, sometimes they get shunned or they're told whatever. So, sorry, Jam, I'm still your funder there.

Jamil Roberts (21:30)
Yeah, it is because like...

Clay (21:37)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (21:41)
Yeah, no, no, no. I was going to

say the same thing because listen, I've played for teams that would not even, you know, would not go that extra mile and certainly would write you off after such a serious injury as well. So like to keep faith and I've heard nothing but good things about Mike as well as a coach, but as a person as well. that doesn't surprise me from kind of the testaments that I've had. So that's, mean, I guess

Clay (22:02)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (22:11)
you touched on it there, it's a testament to the support network and the relationships that you've built in Charlotte. is that, obviously you've been at the club for a while, so is that just kind of built up since you moved to the club or is that kind of, you know, pre-existing in the area? You know, how like, how did that sort of come about?

Clay (22:32)
Yeah, so my wife and I met in school here in Charlotte, like 20, 30 minutes away from the city. So my wife's family is from a place called Fort Mill, which is probably 35 minutes from the city. So she had some relationships and some community in the area, but we're heavily involved in our church down here where we got married. So we just have a really good community that's basically like family to us. Her family moved away and mine doesn't live in Charlotte. So we just had people who really became like family to us and we can call them.

with anything and they'll be over, we'll go help them out. So you add that on top of a club that I've been with for seven years now and it just feels like one big family in Charlotte. it'd be tough to move us away, but yeah, we love it here.

Jamil Roberts (23:12)
Yeah, wow, yeah, yeah, that's... Yeah, I can see why you're not looking to go anywhere else, I tell you, I can't say on the air, but you know, if I was a free agent, then I'd be saying, listen, Clay, get us in.

Dom Okus (23:12)
Sick.

Hehehehehe

Clay (23:19)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dom Okus (23:29)
Hahaha

Clay (23:31)
Hey, I've had, was talking to somebody about this the other day. This is the most DMs I've had from guys saying like, hey, like, could you put in the word? like, I wish I could, but it's, you know, it doesn't work like that. But it sounds like I'm happy to bring your name up or whoever it is. Like I'm happy to bring your name up, but I wish I had more pool because that'd be good.

Jamil Roberts (23:41)
Yeah, it never works like that. It never works.

Dom Okus (23:42)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (23:50)
Yeah, literally everyone would love to have a team full of their boys, right? Yeah, I I'm still getting calls, people are asking me if they can put a word in at Chattanooga and I'm like, lads, I'm not even there anymore.

Dom Okus (23:50)
Thanks.

Clay (23:52)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (23:55)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Clay (23:56)
This

Hahaha

Dom Okus (24:03)
Hehehehehe

Clay (24:07)
man.

Jamil Roberts (24:10)
And trust me, I wouldn't want to send you there anyway.

Clay (24:12)
Hahaha

Dom Okus (24:15)
no, no.

Jamil Roberts (24:18)
Okay, not to talk,

not to talk here with my former employer, but that's a good time for us to move on.

Dom Okus (24:25)
Yes. Yes.

Jamil Roberts (24:30)
Alright, yeah, so yeah, we kind of we kind of glossed over there quick touch on how long you've been in the area, but I just want to kind of talk about the football now and obviously 124 appearances for the club and counting So firstly kind of talk about Talk us through the early years, right? Like when you first signed for the club and kind of what's changed in that time Obviously the club was in were they in the championship when you first signed?

Clay (25:00)
Yeah, my first three years were in the championship.

Jamil Roberts (25:02)
Yeah, so like how has that dynamic of the club changed from obviously you sign in you play years in the championship and then you know the the drop down to league one is it is anything kind of changed in the Infrastructure or the way the club's running that time, you know, just talk a little bit about that

Clay (25:17)
Yeah, so when I signed my rookie year in 2019, we actually had the craziest, I think that one was probably the, oh, no, 2021, I'll get to that, but 2019 and 2021 were probably the most stacked rosters that I've ever played with. We had two guys on loan from Celtic. We had like five or six guys straight from MLS. We had a guy from, I forget the club in Belgium, but he came over from a, on loan from a club in Belgium.

So the roster was stacked and I just remember thinking like the other college rookie was the guy Andrew Gutmund who was on loan from Celtic who won the Mac Herman. So I was thinking like, geez, I'm never gonna see the field. So I just remember trying to soak up all the knowledge I could from all these guys like Thalmodoro who was in MLS for a long time. He has a couple of caps for Ghana.

Jamil Roberts (25:58)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, I remember.

Dom Okus (26:03)
You

Jamil Roberts (26:03)
Hahaha!

Clay (26:14)
Kevon George who was in the MLS with Columbus crew for a while. Nicky Jackson, Zion Jones, Andrew Grumman, Jake Armand, all these guys like a lot of quality. And I was like, I just got to soak up all the knowledge. So in training was just like, let me get as much experience as I can here in training. So like when my debut does come and then my debut came and after that I actually went on like a run of like 10 games starting and it went really well and they picked up my option going into the following year. 2020 was COVID year so that was a little odd.

And then 2021, our last year in championship is when we had Gabby come. So Gabby Oberton, Christian Fuchs, the left back from Leicester went to play as Charles FC. Brant Bronico, Charles FC center mid. Sylvain Marvaux. Are you familiar with that name? Sylvain Marvaux. played at Newcastle. Yeah. He, bro, he is so good. Like so good. was, Gabby's a really good player too, but Sylvain.

Jamil Roberts (26:53)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (26:54)
Next up.

Jamil Roberts (27:02)
New costo as well

Clay (27:12)
on the ball and he's left footed. you know, always looks a little better. that right? So. Yeah, I was gonna say that's why I hesitated saying I knew you would say something, but we yeah, the roster was just it was crazy and we lost in the Eastern. Semifinals to Louisville away in their new stadium that year. But yeah, I mean, the level was super high in championship and then going into 2022.

Jamil Roberts (27:17)
Yeah, I mean, I would say I'm not biased, but...

Dom Okus (27:17)
Thanks.

Clay (27:41)
My wife and I had our first kid at the end of 2021. So I was like, I don't want to drop down. I want to stay in championship. I won't name the club, but had a couple other offers and that was when the vaccine stuff was going around and I didn't have the vaccine. they like, everything was signed like to the point where my wife had the upstairs of our house in boxes and we were going to move and the U-Haul and everything. Everything was agreed on the U-Haul, the moving, the flights for my wife and kids, everything.

Dom Okus (28:05)
Wow.

Clay (28:10)
And then the day, the, you know how like the offer sheet comes first? So that offer sheet came first, sent it back, everything was signed. Then the contract came, or the contract was going to come. And my agent texted me randomly that morning, he's like, hey, by the way, like what, where are you at with the vaccine? And I was like, oh no, I still don't have it. Like I already sent in the religious exemption, blah, blah, blah. Then their coach texted me, hey, any chance you can get the vaccine today? I'm like, what? What do mean the vaccine today? And like, is this gonna,

Jamil Roberts (28:14)
Mm-hmm.

Clay (28:37)
play any part in this. it was, so I'm calling my wife who's the, have a newborn at home. Like, Hey, I don't know what's going to happen, but like this is on hold right now. And keep in mind, like I haven't really reached out to Mike yet because I didn't want to drop to league one. But then at the same time, thinking like, dang, is this a sign that I'm supposed to stay here in Charlotte? Cause we have a new kid and family and blah, Anyways, the president, they, the president of the club over there says like, we have to take back your offer. We can't go through with it. because you don't have the vaccine and we're not hiring anybody new to the organization that doesn't have the vaccine.

And this is before, this is like, yeah, it was wild. And this is, you know how like the players union is like pretty strong now? It's like, this was when they were kind of getting up and running. So I called them and I was like, hey, like, you know, this is what happened. Like, there's not really much we can do because you didn't actually sign the real contract yet. So I just remember like going, I WhatsApp the coach and I was like, this is the most messed up thing I've ever been a part of. Like, wouldn't probably never speak again. So then, and he was like, yeah, bro.

Dom Okus (29:08)
Wow.

Jamil Roberts (29:14)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah.

Clay (29:37)
So anyways, Mike throws a good offer on the table. Yeah, yeah. It was wild. So Mike throws it, and not a lot of people know that because obviously like on outside looking in, I just stayed in Charlotte. so then Mike throws a good offer on the table and I was like, you know what? Like this is a sign to come back and lead this team now. Even though it's League One, like I'm sure the level is high. Coming back, we were at the same facilities. We're at the same stadium in Uptown, like great view. Same coach, awesome coach, same staff.

Jamil Roberts (29:39)
Don't blame you mate, this is ridiculous. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Dom Okus (29:50)
No.

Clay (30:07)
And like our training facilities are amazing. So, and the owners are great, like I said. And I was like, you know what, I'm supposed to be here. Like I'm happy to be here. I'm the captain now. Like it's really good. That's a huge blessing. And so not much has changed. Maybe in terms of like, there's a, there's a few more younger players and less experience here and there, but overall the setup and the day-to-day, what I see daily is pretty much the same facility wise.

Jamil Roberts (30:33)
That's awesome, mate. And obviously the club will remain unnamed. But it's funny that you say that because the exact same thing happened to, and I won't name the player out of respect for him for obviously the same reasons as yourself, but the same thing happened when I signed for Tormenta in 22 and the said player had signed and we were expecting him to come in.

Dom Okus (30:42)
Okay.

Jamil Roberts (30:59)
And we got told literally like maybe two weeks before the season started, like, yeah, that one's off the table. He refused to get the vaccine. And so I wonder how many times that had happened during that sort of COVID period, how many players

Clay (31:10)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (31:11)
that maybe deals fell through or whatever, because at the end of the day, like whatever your views are on the vaccine or, you know, COVID and that whole time period, was a crazy time for the whole world, let's be honest. But to...

Clay (31:25)
Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (31:27)
to drop someone's employment like that. And especially when you factor in, know, not every player has responsibilities. You've got a wife and kid at home who you have to think about as well. Like you said, you've booked all of these things. And sometimes football clubs just don't understand all those other things going on. And you're well within your rights to be absolutely fuming with it.

Clay (31:39)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

No, 100%.

Dom Okus (31:54)
And just

think about where we are today, right?

Is anyone going to ask you if you have the vaccine today in 2024? Alright.

Clay (31:59)
I know that's what I was thinking the

whole time. I'm like, I'm not about to cave and get this because in a year from now, nobody's even care about it. So I was like, yeah, that's so true. It's so true.

Dom Okus (32:06)
And he was right. And he was right.

Jamil Roberts (32:07)
Yeah.

Yeah, lich-ar, mate. That actually pisses me off a little bit.

Dom Okus (32:11)
so

Clay (32:12)
I actually I

Know I know I know and I remember when I was going through it There was like three other people in the league that I knew that was growing through similar situations in League one and championships So I might know you're talking about but I just remember reaching out and out Like to the different guys and I was like, yeah, this is insane. Like this should be illegal. But who cares it's done now

Jamil Roberts (32:38)
I mean, at the end of the day, mate, like you said, you saw it as a sign, know, seven years in Charlotte now. And I think just going back to the family side of it, you you saw it as a sign for you, not just you, but you and your family to raise your family in Charlotte now, which obviously, you know, hindsight's a wonderful thing and it's paid off in your favor in this case, because obviously, you know, you've got wonderful family now and, you know, kind of...

Dom Okus (32:38)
Yeah, madness.

Jamil Roberts (33:06)
Relating it all back to what we were talking about before with the injury and everything, you know Maybe if that had happened somewhere else or at this said club that you maybe were to move to You know, you might not have come through some of the challenges you face So it's a it's a testament to that and obviously, you know from contracts falling through we can move on to obviously your new deal so congrats on that mate and

Clay (33:14)
Yeah.

Thank you.

Jamil Roberts (33:34)
You know, just kind of looking forward now, obviously to me and I would say to... All of my, not all, but majority of my friends around the league and whatever, Charlotte Independence has always been viewed as a team from the outside that has so much talent. And on any given day when all of those pieces come together, they could be the best team in the league. They could beat anyone. And I mean...

Clay (34:01)
Yeah. Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (34:03)
An example, that was the game we played this season. You know, we were 2-0 up inside of 10 minutes and then you lot just decided to flip the switch and you won 4-2. that's so, but it's never got over the line, right? So when you're looking forward, you know, the captain leading the team obviously into like the next phase of the independence, what do you think success looks like for you and the club? you know, you must be desperate to lift the trophy now.

Clay (34:29)
Yeah, so desperate to lift the trophy. Because you think about it, we lost in the semifinals of the Cup, the Jägermeister Cup away in Madison. Then we went back up there. Well, we were in a good spot, like in the league. We were first in the league for a little bit, then we were second. So we were thinking maybe we'll get a home field. Then we just slipped and slide and went down to sixth and had to go to Madison again first round. So obviously, like the big picture is simple.

Jamil Roberts (34:37)
Mm-hmm.

Clay (34:58)
to lift a trophy as a captain here in Charlotte. But what I've learned as a captain and like been being here for so long is like every single day there's stuff that's gonna add up to that. And it sounds cliche and stuff, but like the standards and the overall day in and day out and the standards we put on training and team meals or team lifts and what everybody's wearing, like, yeah, it may not look like much, but are we all on the same page? Because we, on paper, we have the most talent. Like we have Mike builds crazy rosters.

But now we all have to get on the same page of like, hey, the little stuff matters. Like whether these guys rock up to training two minutes late every single day, or if they're stepping out of training at the end just because they are tired or whatever it is, like we need to have a winner's mentality and that goes into everything we do. So I think that's an honest conversation I had with the club and the staff at the end of the year. And I said, like, I think we're all in this position because we want to win. We want to lift the trophy, but it's not going to be as easy as that. Like we're going to have to be.

assholes at time and say like, it's not good enough for me. It's not good enough to show up one minute late. Like that adds up. So I think like just getting the culture and the standard to be bought in completely from every player, no matter who it is, big name, small name. So I think it's a challenge for me and the staff, but I think we're all on board. So.

Jamil Roberts (36:16)
Yeah, maybe 100 % and obviously...

don't want to sort of say, you know, I've won it or blah, blah. But that was a theme in my Tormentor team in 22 that won it, right? Like everyone was bought in and I know we've kind of touched on it before on the pod haven't we Dom? But I think that goes such a long way. Like every single person, you know, in that Tormentor team, we had a lot of talent up across the changing room, but it wasn't just the guys in the 18 that were bought in.

Like it was the guys that were fighting to get into the 18. And all of a sudden when you get 22, 23 guys singing from the same hymn sheet, it's so powerful. it just, it's like, you know, my college coach, and I hate that I'm quoting him on this, but my college coach always used to, he always used to say that when it feels right, it's like you're on a train going downhill and nobody can get in the way of it.

Clay (36:50)
Yeah.

Dom Okus (37:07)
Hehehehehe

Hmm.

Jamil Roberts (37:18)
You know, when everyone's on and I love that

Clay (37:18)
Yeah, yeah.

Dom Okus (37:19)
No.

Jamil Roberts (37:21)
analogy. You know, Chris, I hate that I've just quoted you on it, but no, like it really is important. And that's what a lot of people, sometimes fans, sometimes just spectators, they forget that it's not just putting on a on a Saturday and doing a bit of tactics throughout the week. Like there's so much that goes into building a title winning team.

Dom Okus (37:26)
Hehehehe

Clay (37:36)
Yeah.

So much.

Yeah. Like the everyday and like if those fans that were complaining when there's a bad loss and I get it, they feel it, which is cool because they want us to do our best. But like if they saw the everyday and the stuff that goes in and the stuff that you put up with every single day, like you would see like, okay, this is why they didn't win this week or wow, they're in good form. Like look at them every single day.

Jamil Roberts (38:05)
100 % 100 % Yeah I think Do you know what? gonna throw my hat in the ring just before you do Dom I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring here

Dom Okus (38:05)
percent

Just quick.

Yeah.

Go for it.

Jamil Roberts (38:21)
And I'm going to predict on the pod right now that the Independence will win the playoffs next season.

Dom Okus (38:28)
Guess what?

Clay (38:33)
hey, I'm all for it.

Jamil Roberts (38:36)
I'm throwing my hat in the ring, man. I think Omaha had their time. think, you know, all due respect to Madison, they always seem to find a way to not get over the line. I think this is your time, mate. I think this is about time that the Independents win it.

Dom Okus (38:39)
Yes.

Clay (38:48)
Hey,

I love the sound of it.

Dom Okus (38:53)
Clay,

obviously you've signed your new contract for 2025. So you must think similarly, right? You must think that you've got a good chance going into the next season. Obviously you don't want to jinx anything, but you think you've really got a shot for next season.

Clay (38:56)
Hmm?

Yeah, I mean, like I said earlier, Mike always builds a good roster. So it's just about seeing the roster that he builds because there's gonna be a lot of turnover, but I don't think that's a bad thing. But yeah, he always builds a good roster. So it's kind of a lot on me as a leader to get everybody to buy in. But I think it's gonna be different this year in a good way.

Dom Okus (39:25)
Alright, Jem, we're gonna see. You've made a big bold prediction there, so we'll see at the end of the season if you're right.

Jamil Roberts (39:31)
Yeah, man,

I'm backing my boy here, man. I'm backing him. yeah. man, I love it. I love it. yeah, I guess, I guess, well, with that bold prediction, I think that's a good time for us to sort of to wrap up that section of the show. So, yeah, I guess whoever's in charge of engraving the trophy, just get it warmed up now. But I think, like I said, it's a good time for us to move on there.

Clay (39:33)
Yeah, I love it. I love it.

Dom Okus (39:34)
hahahaha

Thank you.

Clay (39:53)
Yeah

Dom Okus (39:54)
Yeah

Jamil Roberts (40:00)
And Clay, I don't know how familiar you are with the show and how many episodes you've watched or listened to up to this point, but you know what? I won't even introduce it. I'm just gonna hand it over to Dom and he's gonna take you through extra time on the Backstic podcast.

Dom Okus (40:18)
Look,

I was just stretching there, getting loose, but I don't even need to because right now I'm in a groove when it comes to hosting this section. So right now, Mr. Clay, I'm going to take you through extra time where I'll ask each of our guests four questions. Now, I've been so good at hosting this section that you won't even hear anything from Jam for the next five minutes. You're just going to hear him laughing and vibing over here because right now they're calling me Steve Harvey with a skin fade. Obviously, Steve Harvey is bald.

Clay (40:38)
All right.

Hahaha

Jamil Roberts (40:46)
you

Dom Okus (40:47)
So that's why they be calling me on the YouTube and Instagram. So first up, who is the best player you've played with?

Clay (40:55)
Gabrielle Overton, Sylvain Marvone, Christian Fuchs. I'll go those top three.

Dom Okus (41:01)
and it cannot push you for one.

Jamil Roberts (41:04)
Oooooh, that is a tough three, you know.

Clay (41:07)
I would say...

Dom Okus (41:07)
I

know, tough.

Clay (41:10)
Maybe, I think Fuchs takes the cake because he won the Premier League, right? So I think I'll go, yeah, he won the Prim, so I'll go with him.

Dom Okus (41:14)
Okay.

Christian Fuchs, that's good. of a left foot by the way. Absolute wand. Who is the best player you've played against?

Clay (41:20)
Yeah. Yeah.

Probably this past year when we played Atlanta in the US Open Cup before he left down to, was it Brazil or Argentina, but Tiago Almada.

Jamil Roberts (41:46)
my god, what a player.

Clay (41:47)
The Argentine.

Dom Okus (41:47)
Tell us... Yeah, yeah.

Clay (41:49)
I

mean, he won the World Cup with Argentina. was on the roster and everything. He played in some games there, but yeah, he was there 10, the little number 10. was, no, mean, there's just a different class to it. It just looks different.

Dom Okus (42:01)
Right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel that. I feel that. I feel that. Okay. The next question. Obviously, you know, you're married, you've got children now, so this is probably from maybe some of your younger days. But I'm going to ask you to pick three teammates past or present to go on a night out with and tell me why.

Clay (42:13)
Yeah

man.

Jamil Roberts (42:28)
Just while you're thinking, I love the reaction.

Clay (42:29)
Alright, I'll go. Wait, you might know. I know you. I know we agree on one, Jam.

Dom Okus (42:30)
He's thinking of the political correct answer.

Clay (42:36)
Jamil, I know

we agree on one.

Jamil Roberts (42:38)
Let's hear it.

Clay (42:40)
Carlton Belmar, you been out with him? At Sporting KC?

Jamil Roberts (42:45)
do you know, think he was before my time. But do know what? I've heard, I swear I've heard that he's a good time.

Clay (42:50)
Okay, okay, okay,

Wild, bro.

Dom Okus (42:57)
You

Jamil Roberts (42:58)
Hahaha

Clay (43:00)
He's hilarious, bro. I love that guy. a bitch. He's hilarious, bro. I'd probably say him, Brant Bronico. It was actually funny because this is a wild one. But anyways, it got to the point where a coach would keep rooming us together because he realized we both had a special respect for beer. I'll leave it at that.

Dom Okus (43:23)
Okay.

Clay (43:29)
Yeah, nothing bad, nothing bad, just respect, you know what I mean? And then I'll go. Yeah, so Brand and then I'll add one more in there. Let's see.

Dom Okus (43:29)
special respect great way of putting it great way of putting it yeah i like that yeah

Jamil Roberts (43:30)
That's amazing!

That's a captain's answer right there

Clay (43:48)
Nicky Jackson. He's Nicky Jackson and Jay Garman. Nicky Jackson and Jay Garman. Yeah, both. That's an all-star crew right there.

Dom Okus (43:56)
I like it, I like it, like it. Shout out to the boys. Paul, and then to finish us off, what is your biggest achievement on the pitch so far?

Jamil Roberts (43:57)
Love it, love it.

Clay (44:08)
So far, would say coming back from that injury and winning Comeback Player of Year is big, the thing I'm most proud of is captaining a club in a city that I call home. So that's probably the thing I'm most proud of and that I'm the biggest honor in my career so far.

Dom Okus (44:18)
Mmm.

6666 Super Wholesome. That wraps up Extra Time and I'll pass you back to my illustrious co-host Jam to close us out.

Jamil Roberts (44:33)
mate, I love it. I love it. I'll tell you what, that might be the tagline of the episode, you know, I've got a sweet, we had a special respect for beer.

Clay (44:41)
No!

Dom Okus (44:41)
I'm at the end.

Clay (44:44)
Yeah,

just bleep Brant's name out and it's all good.

Dom Okus (44:47)
Yes.

Jamil Roberts (44:51)
Unbelievable unbelievable. Yeah, that was I've never heard that expression and I love it. I'm gonna start using it

Clay (44:51)
Oh, it's so funny, I'll never forget it. the night

Dom Okus (44:54)
medicine never

Clay (44:57)
after after the away trip that found their special respect, the next away trip, giving out hotel keys. Boom, I know you guys. Blah, blah. So here you go. With the hotel key, we just like I tell you like for four twelve room and yeah, four twelve.

Dom Okus (45:08)
Hahahaha

Hahaha!

Sensational. Sensational.

Jamil Roberts (45:20)
mate, unbelievable,

unbelievable. Yeah, that's it. That's on the YouTube thumbnail right there. I love it, I love it. Nah, mate, Dom, Dom, I'm loving these extra times, mate. I'm loving these extra times, honestly. Yeah, yeah, like it's, you know, we can talk all we want about the careers, but you know, my favorite part of most shows is when you ask the question about the nights out and you just see...

Clay (45:26)
Yeah

Dom Okus (45:27)
Yeah.

They're so good at now, so good.

Clay (45:48)
Oh, it's so funny.

Jamil Roberts (45:50)
like you like you're getting flashbacks

Dom Okus (45:54)
Yeah, exactly. The reminiscent.

Clay (45:55)
Yeah, when you're picking when you're picking the guys who you choose, you're like, dang, like, wow, that night. Oh.

Jamil Roberts (46:01)
Yeah, yeah.

Dom Okus (46:01)
Yeah, exactly,

exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jamil Roberts (46:06)
I love it, I love

it, I love it. Now, mate, think, wow, say, do you know what? I'm saying this every episode, mate, but these are just rolling off the tongue now. Mate, I've really enjoyed this one, like, big tongue, and I know, like...

Dom Okus (46:21)
soon.

Jamil Roberts (46:25)
I never know what to expect sometimes, you know, because sometimes I get my boys on, sometimes, you know, Dom's got people that he knows better on the show. And, you know, sometimes we've had people that are new to both of us. So we never know quite what to expect, but I was confident in this one, to say the least. One thing we didn't touch on, and I wanna just kind of, before we wrap up, is Dom, did you?

Clay (46:41)
I appreciate it.

Dom Okus (46:41)
Be sure.

Jamil Roberts (46:51)
I don't know if I mentioned this to you before, but Clay had a little experience playing for West Virginia Alliance.

Dom Okus (46:57)
Oh did you? Did you? So that's actually how me and John May trouble is that we played for West Virginia United at the time. So this must have been what 2019? I think I also played for them in 2017 when it was Alliance.

Clay (46:58)
yeah, yeah, yeah.

I

was in 2016 when it was chaos, West Virginia chaos.

Dom Okus (47:18)
Oh was it, no was it chaos? Was it, no it was chaos. Yeah no it wasn't chaos in 2017.

Clay (47:20)
It was like a red tornado thing. Wait, did you play with, did you play

with Janer? A guy named Janer?

Dom Okus (47:26)
No, no, no, no, no, no, I didn't. But Joe... No. But Joe John was the owner. Was he the owner when you was... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, No, I was...

Clay (47:29)
A guy named Pat, Pat Kibler.

Yeah, yeah.

Jamil Roberts (47:38)
Yeah, I completely

forgot to bring up that link at the beginning of the show.

Dom Okus (47:42)
Oh

yeah, there we go. So we've all been to Charleston, West Virginia. What an interesting place.

Clay (47:43)
bro.

Jamil Roberts (47:47)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Clay (47:48)
Yo, that was, yeah, that's... What is that place right downtown that most people would go out to?

Dom Okus (47:55)
A copper pint?

Clay (47:57)
I don't know. remember we went on like a Saturday and then on the next morning, like we woke up and there was like a stabbing there. Did that happen when we were in there? Yeah, Charleston.

Jamil Roberts (48:03)
Wait, are you talking about Charleston or Huntington?

Dom Okus (48:05)
I believe it.

Jamil Roberts (48:09)
Yeah. Both notorious to be honest. I love them places, but...

Dom Okus (48:11)
I it would be cop- probably copper pint. Copper pint. I'll give

you the place next to it. V knows. Maybe V knows. Venus? Yeah, Venus. V knows, V knows.

Clay (48:18)
V knows. I think it was V knows. it was one name. One word.

Jamil Roberts (48:22)
Yeah,

I've never been Venus.

Clay (48:27)
Hahaha

Jamil Roberts (48:33)
lads

Dom Okus (48:33)
Yeah Charleston was interesting.

Obviously I went to school in West Virginia, obviously saw the Jews out there but West Virginia are very interesting part of the world. Very interesting part of the world.

Clay (48:41)
Yeah. Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (48:42)
Yeah, that I

always call it. That's my home state, man. I love that place with all my heart. it's just yeah, I'm West Virginian at heart, man. 304. But anyway, I think I think it's about time where now we've we've sort of touched on that that we think it's a good time for us to wrap up really, because, you know, we don't want to overdo things, but.

Clay (48:47)
That's hilarious.

Dom Okus (48:48)
yeah.

Yeah.

Jamil Roberts (49:11)
As I said before, mate, I've really enjoyed that. I've really enjoyed that. I think that's one that we've got to push out, shall we say. But anyway, from myself and Dom, Clay, thanks ever so much for coming on, mate. It's been brilliant. We've really enjoyed it. We hope you have as well.

Dom Okus (49:22)
100 %

Clay (49:31)
Yeah, I appreciate it. was fun. Good laugh for sure.

Dom Okus (49:34)
100%.

Jamil Roberts (49:34)
Yeah,

yeah. And yeah, like I said, it's about time for us to wrap up. So one thing that I ask the listeners and I wanna ask the viewers on the YouTube is you're here. So why haven't you subscribed? At the backstick pod on all socials, subscribe on YouTube, follow on all the socials. We're not going anywhere. We're here to stay. So.

Get on and come with us. Don't know where I was going with that, but it sounded cool at the time. Anyway. Like I said, Clay, thanks ever so much for coming on the show. To all the listeners, thanks ever so much for getting this far. And yeah, I guess all that's left to be said is I'll see you next week.

Dom Okus (50:26)
See next time, peace.