H3 Podcast #13 - Boogie 2988 (Steven Williams)

English subtitles by Precious Torres and Alen Alic - Ethan: Welcome everyone to the H3

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with a very, very special guest. In town for Vidcon is your boy: Boogie. Boogie: Well, to be honest with you, I'm actually here for this

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. VidCon is this other... Ethan: Haha, yeah! Boogie: I'll be honest with you, when we were planning Vidcon this year, you mentioned the podcast to me like six months ago and said, "Do you want to be on it?" and I'm like, "Next time I'm in Los Angeles." But that's all I thought the whole time. And I was afraid to get close to you.

I was like, "I'll text him and just demand to be on it!" But I'm like, "I know he's busy, I know he's like..." Ethan: No! Boogie: You have SoFlo this Friday, right? Hila: Steve-O. Ethan: Steve-O this Friday, SoFlo next Friday. Boogie: Sure, so you've got a tight schedule anyway... Ethan: We can accommodate you! Whenever! Boogie: Well, not many people can do it. I'm a big guy. Ethan and Hila: (laughing) I don't know if your listeners know that. But it turns out I'm a little wider. Ethan: We've got all the space you need, buddy. Hila: Yeah. Ethan: Well, for me it's like, I know you don't... you don't get to come to Los Angeles often.

Although lately you've been traveling more. Boogie: Well, we've been trying. Ethan: Yeah. Boogie: But this body doesn't like it much anymore. Boogie: It's started to... you know... (sigh) It's been a downhill battle. I would like to say uphill battle. But in recent years the battle has been downhill. Uh, with the diabetes getting worse, the blood pressure and everything else, so... it's hard to even leave the house anymore. This thing with the broken back, those broken knees and things like that. Hila: Wow. Boogie: Um, but we take it to the absolute limit and try to come to Los Angeles at least twice a year.

Ethan: Hmm. Boogie: At least for the in-game awards and at least for VidCon. Boogie: I think... I don't know if your listeners know, but I'm scheduled for a gastric bypass on July 25th. Ethan: Yes! Ethan: Yeah, I... Boogie: And it was a three-year process to qualify. Ethan: Shit! Hila: Wow. Boogie: Yeah, we had to lose a lot of weight. Hila: Wow. Boogie: uh, to get down to an ideal weight. Ethan: So when you decided you wanted gastric bypass surgery... Boogie: Yeah? Ethan: How much weight did you need to lose since then? Boogie: Well, okay... well, the same... when I found out I was going...

When I finally accepted the fact that I would need a gastric bypass, that was thirteen years ago. Hila: Wow. Ethan: Oh shit. Boogie: But I couldn't financially afford it to begin with. Ethan: How much is it? Boogie: Um, well, thirteen years ago, you're talking about $50 or $60,000, you know? Ethan: Pfff! / Hila: Oh my god. Boogie: Right? And that's just absurd and I couldn't get insurance. The only job I could get was part-time, and usually that's through nepotism, through friends and stuff. Ethan: Yeah. Boogie: Because people don't want to put me on their health insurance. Boogie: That's crazy, right?

Ethan: Right. Hila: Mmmm. Boogie: So I knew that was the first step: finally getting enough money in the bank to pay for it. So the doctor I'm working with...if he lives in the Northwest Arkansas region, Dr. Purner is an amazing doctor. Ethan: Shout! Boogie: Um, he managed to get me a really good deal. Boogie: Costs just under $20,000. And it's out of pocket, you know, but... Ethan: Do you have health insurance? Boogie: Yes. We purchased the best possible package that Arkansas offers. But they don't want to pay for that surgery. Ethan: Interesting. Boogie: They consider it cosmetic surgery.

Hila: Really? Boogie: Which I think is crazy because it will save them millions. Boogie: You know, if I had that surgery, I'd pay $18,000 to prevent me from having a stroke or a heart attack. Hila: Yes. Boogie: How much is that going to cost you? But, you know, politics aside... Uh, so I