Joseph Di Giulio

Ben BeeriHello, everyone. Welcome to the Authentic Journey. I'm your host, Ben Beeri. Today, we're joined by somebody who knows what it means to perform under pressure, both on and off the court. Joseph Di Giulio grew up in Newport Beach, California and quickly rose to the top of American tennis, earning the number one ranking across multiple age groups and winning some of sports' biggest titles. He went on to play for UCLA, where he became known for his grit, consistency, and ability to deliver in clutch moments, helping lead the Bruins through some of their toughest Pac twelve battles.

Joe's story goes far beyond tennis. After graduating in 2017, he transitioned into a successful career in finance, where he works closely with the tennis community, from coaches and players to academy owners, helping them plan for the future. He's also passionate about mental health advocacy, a mission inspired by personal family experiences that shaped who he is today. From top ranked junior to collegiate standout to financial adviser and mentor, Joe Di Giulio has built a life around resilience, discipline, and giving back.

Joseph Di GiulioWelcome to the authentic journey, Joe. Thanks for having me, Ben. I I wish I could get an introduction like that everywhere I went. Absolutely. Right? It's always fun. Definitely. I know. It's it's funny. Um, looking back at our story, how we connected,

Ben Beeriwhat was it, a year and a half ago through a through a hot yoga studio, and now we're sitting here doing one of your first episodes on your podcast. I think it's just it's crazy how the world works sometimes. It's amazing. It's amazing. And then to see the path that, like, we've both taken in our lives, and it's, like, everything that I've kind of gone through, everything that you've kind of gone through, to be the person that you are today, for me to be the person I am today, and it's just exciting times ahead. 100%.

Joseph Di GiulioI I think that, you know, we met at a time where in our lives, we're both going through a lot of unknowns and a lot of uncomfortable growing experiences and to see both of our past and the direction that we're heading in. It's it's it's something that's super exciting. I I look back the last couple of years and, you know, we can jump more into my story throughout, but the last couple of years, just the relationships that I've been able to make with people like yourself, that's that's what this whole thing's about, and, you know, it makes me just really grateful to be here. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's great having you here. I'm excited for some of this stuff that we're gonna dive deep into.

Ben BeeriAnd So I think that I would like to kind of figure out from you. It's like, what have those last few years been like as far as cultivating those relationships post everything that was going on in your life with your tennis career and stuff like that? Yes. So for me,

Joseph Di Giuliokinda like a lot of athletes, I got to that point where, you know, I I finished college tennis. The whole dream, my entire life was to be a professional. When I was about 12 years old, I was I was number one in the world, uh, for tennis. I was representing America throughout the world, and, um, I was kinda I was kind of at that that monumental point in my tennis career. And from there, I I was still a great player, but, you know, I went through the fourteens, the 16 unders, 18 unders. I was getting to number one in the nation. I was, you know, I was I was still on a good track to play high level college tennis, but it just it wasn't quite the same. We know when you're when you're someone that's been at the top of something that you've been, you know, like yourself in business.

When you've been at the top and you when you've experienced what it's like to be number one, anything that comes short of that can be pretty painful. Um, and you feel like you're just you're lacking. You're not enough. You know, I I kinda grew up in a dysfunctional family, but going to the future, when I first graduated college, I was lost both mentally, emotionally and with what path I was gonna head. And when you have your identity tied to a sport your entire life and you're having to transition out of that now, it's not an easy time for, you know, I think a lot of athletes would say, um, it's it's tough.

Ben BeeriAnd when so so when you were winning and you were younger and you thought the path was going to continue on for you with tennis, What were those days like training and working out? And, like, what was, like I guess, what was the path that you were setting forward for yourself striving to be a professional tennis player? Yeah. So for for I grew up I started playing tennis when I was about four years old.

Joseph Di GiulioI've got two younger brothers that both either played d one college tennis or they're playing now. My youngest brother is a sophomore at UC Davis. My middle brother played college tennis at LMU on a full ride scholarship as well. And so my entire life, it was just always around tennis. My my parents pushed hard on it. My dad was a former college player. Um, and by the time I was around, say, 14 years old, I was playing tennis probably four or five hours a day, hour and a half of fitness a day. I was I was homeschooled doing independent study, so I was not in a traditional classroom setting.

And, you know, every everyone I came into contact with or was around on a day to day basis was to help grow my my tennis career. Um, and so, you know, at 12, like I said, I was I was one of the top players in the country. And the reason why I say in the world is when you're when you're 12 when you're 12 years old in tennis, there's no international ranking per se, but I won two of the biggest international tournaments at 12. So I won the Orange Bowl, which is hosted in Miami, and then I won Eddie Hur, which is a tournament in Florida as well. And those are kinda considered some of the biggest international tournaments in tennis.

And so I I won those pretty handily at 12. Um, so, you know, as a as a young guy where American tennis is looking at you, you're on a pretty good trajectory. And so when I was 14, I got invited to move to Florida and train at USTA. So it's USA's main training center for tennis, live and train there full time. Um, so I moved out there with eight of my other buddies from around the country that were tennis players. And that was where I spent my years of high school, um, just playing tennis around the clock. We dorm there, did school there, um, and, you know, it was all about trying for USA Tennis to develop the next prodigy.

So that's that's kind of that story. And then obviously, like, I came back to California where I went to UCLA and had my college tennis career there. So but, yeah, going throughout I guess, to summarize it, going throughout junior tennis, You know, I was I was here when I was 12 and I was one of the top guys. And then I when I was 14, I moved out to Florida, but I I was always engulfed in a in a very heavy tennis culture.

Ben BeeriThat's just the way it always was, and that's that's all I knew. Awesome. Awesome. And and your UCLA Bruin, uh, what how did that path go down? Like, why did you end up going with UCLA out of all the other schools? Yeah. That's that's a good quest so UCLA

Joseph Di Giulioas a as a tennis player growing up, UCLA is one of those it's one of those dream schools to end up at. Um, there's been so many legendary players that have come through UCLA, And it's it's one of those schools that kids dream of going to. And so when I was getting closer to figuring out where I was gonna go to college, I was looking at some other schools. University of Texas is where I took my first official visit. Was thinking about San Diego State. They had a good offer on the table for me. And somehow the pieces connected where I got connected with the UCLA coaches later on in the recruiting season, and it was just a great match. And my my dad was super excited about it at the time, and I I was super excited. And some of my buddies that grew up playing tennis locally that are top players, some still today, They were going and recruited as well. So it was just something I was super excited about and I couldn't turn down. Yeah.

Ben BeeriThat's awesome. That's awesome. And then what was it like when you get to UCLA? You're a freshman. You're getting ready to go play tennis. What was that life like as a student athlete?

Joseph Di GiulioYeah. For for me, it was pretty crazy at first because I hadn't gone to traditional school in so long. So I was doing independent study or homeschool since I was in about sixth grade. And that culture shock of being on a large campus now, having parties to go to and just the social life and all the moving pieces. It was a lot at first. Tennis definitely kept me grounded with having a a structure. You know, as a student athlete, it's it's a lot different than just going to a big university because you got practice every day. You've got early morning weights.

You've got academic mentors. So they build a lot of structure around your your life on campus. So that definitely helped me in a lot of ways. But in in many ways, was still very overwhelming for me. And it took some time to adapt to that, especially with the social life, I think. But I I I sort of liken it early on. And, you know, the tennis guys, I some of them I'd known since I was a little kid. So that kind of was, um, my my go to friend group throughout college.

Ben BeeriAwesome. Awesome. What about the social life? It was kind of like a culture shock for you or was different for you? I mean, I didn't I didn't grow up going to

Joseph Di Giuliogoing to parties or drinking much and experiencing that whole aspect. I grew up pretty pretty sheltered in a in a Catholic Catholic based family. You know, I went to Catholic school when I was little. I was taught a lot of disciplines, and I guess tennis kept me sheltered in many ways. So when I got to campus and started learning about Greek life and, you know, just the whole party scene and, um, just being around so many kids, it was it was just something I hadn't experienced beforehand. Um, I never I never really grew up having girlfriends or talking to girls and, you know, just call college, if you aren't if you're someone that was that grew up a little bit sheltered like myself, college can seem a little bit a little bit much at first.

And I think it's that way for for a lot of athletes probably that grew up like myself a little bit more sheltered.

Ben BeeriWas there was there a part of you that while you were there in college where you're like, you know, I don't know if this whole tennis thing is for me. I'd much rather kind of go and experience more of this normal life type of thing.

Joseph Di GiulioI I think there was parts of me that that thought that way. I think that my tennis was all I had ever known as in my only goal my entire childhood was to be a professional tennis player. So I I couldn't, I I couldn't see myself doing anything else. For example, when I when I started school, you're starting to figure out majors, what you're gonna study, and I didn't I didn't know what I wanted to study. I I had no idea. I definitely knew I wasn't gonna be doing, um, any of the science majors or econs are really hard major at UCLA. So I probably wasn't gonna be going that route.

Um, a lot of my tennis buddies were in poli sci, political science, which is what I ended up majoring in. But a lot everything outside of seeing myself being a future professional tennis player, even as I got older and that dream kept fading, it was something that I hung to and what made me feel most comfortable still. So I I didn't really let go of that until I graduated, honestly.

Ben BeeriAnd what was that process like realizing, you know, I've strived for this my whole life. This is my dream. I'm gonna go for it until you get to that point where you feel like, hey. It's no longer it. I want something else.

Joseph Di GiulioYeah. Um, so I there was a lot going on for me in college. So I didn't I was I was pretty lost emotionally. My my sophomore year so I I had a really good freshman year on the tennis team. And my my sophomore year, I I came back. And before I started the school year, my mom had an accident and she went into a coma. And so she was in a coma for a couple of weeks. Doctors said she probably wasn't gonna wake up. They said if she does, she's probably not gonna be coherent, maybe brain dead, just not good news. And so I was carrying that tension and just a lot of emotional baggage into my sophomore year.

And my mom came out of it, she survived, got through the coma. She did have a full recovery from that. And overall when I came back my sophomore year, I wasn't the same person. I had a tough sophomore year honestly. My my freshman year, I I think I outperformed what people expected out of me. I was expected to be one of those guys that comes on to the tennis team. They've already got a lot of big names and a lot of big players on there, and maybe I'll play a piece of that. Maybe I won't. I had a there was a few injuries that happened on the team. And so I was able to step in and play in some key big matches delivered early on, um, in that season. And so it kinda just catapulted me with confidence throughout the rest of the year. But my sophomore year was some of the home life stuff with thinking my mom was gonna pass away, with just already being a little bit unconfident with where my tennis game was going. There was just a lot of baggage I was taken into my sophomore year.

And so that that was that was a really tough year for me, honestly.

Ben BeeriAnd looking back at it, is there anything that you feel like could have gone differently or that you could have handled differently to get things going in the direction of getting you towards your dream of going pro? I I think that

Joseph Di Giuliofor for for me, what I what I needed was I I was so lost that I I I just carried I carried a lot of pain for a long time. So so kind of rewinding it all, not to not to get too much into it, into the I mean, we could talk here for a while. But my when I was 12 years old, I'm number one in the world, one of the top guys in tennis. From there, emotionally and just where my where I felt as a person, like deep down, it just there was something missing. And then fast forward to my sophomore year, things started catching up with me, at least how I felt inside.

The anxiety, the pressure, the stresses of life. And then my my junior year, I came out and I had an incredible junior year on the tennis team. It was it was crazy. All of a sudden, had this terrible sophomore year. I come back my junior year, killing it with tennis. Our coach, by the way, had rules on our team where you're not allowed to join fraternities. You know, you gotta you gotta put tennis first always. My my my junior year, for whatever reason, I thought it was a good idea to join a fraternity.

So I joined I joined a frat on campus. I was I was partying more than ever. I was doing a ton of things that weren't even me being the best teammate. And then on the tennis court for whatever reason, it was it was clicking for me. It it was a really good year overall. And then my my senior year, I came back and that's when things just I don't know if for me, I don't know what happened my senior year, but I came back to campus and I had a ton of anxiety. All of a sudden I dealing with depression And I I don't know. I I couldn't I couldn't do it. Like, literally thought, I I don't know how I'm gonna play tennis this year. So I went from having this great junior year where I lost five matches on the team.

You know, our team was top three in the country all year long. We had a chance of winning NCAA's. We didn't, but we had a we had a great run. And I I come back my senior year. I'm trying to keep it together on the outside, but inside, I just have terrible anxiety, depression and home life's not good. And I'm just trying to put on this front. And just like most of my life, I was always trying to put on this outer shell where things are all right. But finally, I reached a point where it was so bad, what I was feeling inside that I hit this breaking point.

And so my senior year, I tore ligament in my right elbow. So I needed to get Tommy John surgery. And I went to the athletic department, I wanted a red shirt. They said, hey, you'd played like two too many matches. So I couldn't red shirt. And I'm like, hey, you know what? I'm gonna take the pain and I'm gonna play. And so I decide I'm gonna play out my senior year. Meanwhile, like I'm saying, I'm going through all this emotional stuff. I go and see a psychiatrist here in Newport. He puts me on Klonopin and Xanax.

So now a few months fast forward, I'm addicted to prescription medication. I've got a torn ligament and I'm playing decent tennis. I'm I'm you know, I gotta put on the outside still. Right? That's just the way I was wired. So I'm playing pretty solid actually for a little bit. It's crazy. All week long, I'm in so much pain in my elbow that I can't serve. So I would go the entire week of practice, hit some ground strokes. I'd only take a couple serves in practice. The team's practicing a couple hours. I maybe hit a half hour. And then I'd show up for match days on Saturdays or Sundays, and I'd play the match.

And while I was playing the match, I was was addicted to prescription medication. I was taking painkillers to be able to manage the pain. And that was something I was probably abusing. And it was just and that's just the life I lived my senior year. So talking about it now, sounds like just so much, but I don't know. What happened was it was this cultivation I think of being someone that at 12 years old already was feeling a lot of pain, but was looked at by my family and a lot of other people as this this idea of what was good with, you know, our family and what could be, you know, this prodigy in tennis. Whatever it was, I I learned to put on an outside front.

And I learned that through enough success in sports, you could kinda maintain that. So when the injury came, when family life wasn't good, when internally I was in a ton of pain, it it it all broke. And that's when the addiction started. And I had no other way of coping. I didn't learn anything else. And so I I leave my senior year. So I finished up UCLA in 2017. I leave my senior year and I am addicted to prescription medication. I've got a torn ligament. There's no chance. I already was not gonna be good enough to play professional tennis, but I'm definitely not gonna be in the right place to even think about playing pro tennis being a a drug addict.

And I've got crippling anxiety and depression. And so that's that's what I left college with. I came into college someone that was excited about joining an incredible team. I was given a great opportunity, and I left college addicted to drugs, a torn ligament in my right elbow, and no hope of playing professional tennis. So to say, you know, looking back at it, it's it's crazy, but I I kinda I have a mixed relationship with with my experience at UCLA. And it's not anyone else, but just from what I went through, I had some early on highs with our team doing well and getting some early wins, so many great relationships.

But, you know, like a lot of people that go through emotional baggage, deal with addiction and don't have healthy coping mechanisms, I burned a lot of relationships as well. And so I left UCLA with not too many genuine friendships either. And so now you got this guy that's completely broken, moving back here to Newport, moving back into my home. My mom's about to pass away. She's dealing with her own personal stuff. She's, you know, she had been someone that had dealt with alcoholism throughout her life.

It just, I didn't know what to do. I really didn't. And I saw people starting their careers now. I saw friends of mine that were going on to play professional tennis that were killing it. And meanwhile, I'm this guy that is someone that I never wanted to become, which is a drug addict. And I didn't know how to cope. So what happened was, is for the next couple the next about year to two years, I started coaching some tennis. My prescription drug abuse, it kept increasing year after year. No good relationships.

I would get in relationships with females and would end badly, just not healthy, organic, genuine ways of connecting with people. Just because I was putting on this front. I had a lot of pain. I didn't want you to see what I was going through. So on the outside, people didn't necessarily know the pain that I felt. So then in my early twenties, around 23, my mom passed away from, like I was saying, she dealt a lot with her alcoholism. So that got the best of her. My dad was in a lot of pain from that and I've got two younger brothers.

So as someone that in my family had grown up being as someone in my family that had grown up being the oldest brother and someone that was looked up to, I was a shell of myself, you know, and and I and I had no way of imagining a life at this point without debilitating, you know, addiction and anxiety issues. I I just I couldn't see it for myself. And so fast forward a couple of more years, I I somehow entered the financial world because everyone had I'd seen other people. You know, if tennis doesn't work out, you gotta get the big corporate job.

So I had gone that route. Um, started at a small firm here in Newport Beach, the boutique firm as a financial and insurance services professional, started doing that thing. But the addiction, man, it just it kept growing. It kept growing. I was taking enough Xanax alone, for example, on a day to day basis that would kill most people. You know, every everything you could think of I was doing. And so don't it was a painful time. I can relate with people going through loss. I can relate with people going through rough addiction.

And I can also relate with people that lose their identity once they come out of tennis. But around 27 years old, I'm 30 years old now, around around 26, 27 years old, my dad passed away. So my dad passed away, he was diagnosed with stage four cancer and he passed away within a few months really fast. It was a painful disease to watch him go through. And so it was just me, my two brothers. And I remember we spent the last few months of my dad's life in Mexico. Me and my brother Austin. Austin was really great through that time because I I was not that great. I was I was addicted to drugs. I mean, how much can you be present in someone's life in their toughest days if you're not even present for yourself? Right?

So when I came home from my dad's passing in Mexico, I swear I'm sitting in my room. I'm sitting in my room. I feel like I've lost everything. And it finally occurred to me that maybe it's all right if you ask for help. Like, maybe you can finally drop the ego enough that it's okay for you to get a little bit of help. And it's it sounds crazy. You know? I I whatever reason, I needed almost like the excuse of like, hey, guys. I I lost both my parents. You know, you you you sure could understand now if I need a little bit of help. But I I for whatever reason, I needed that. So I, you know, I went downstairs. I remember one morning, it was 03/24/2023, went downstairs, went on my computer, I'm just looking up rehabs.

And I start calling up numbers, some lady contacts me. There's some rehab open in the middle of nowhere in Illinois. And she's like, we can get you on a flight in a couple hours. I'm like, let's book it. Like didn't even need to think about it. Like first place that can take me, let's go. And so I hop on that plane, I'm on the way to the airport, I call my brothers, hey guys, I'm gonna be gone for some time. Need to get right. And that started this journey for me. I went there for seventy five days. So I I came back home with a little bit of sobriety, most sobriety I've ever had in my twenties.

And, you know, I got plugged in with Alcoholics Anonymous, which has saved my life. It's a massive 12 step program throughout the world here in Newport. I mean, just so many great people I've met through that. And dude, I I I just started doing the deal. I I got a sponsor, started going to meetings every day, and I decided to just live a completely different life. And at first it was like, dude, this is something that you just, you at least owe to your brothers, right? Like I used to always live most of my life as the victim, Right? Like, you know, I I always think, man, people, they don't understand I'm I'm dealing with this at home.

You know, gosh, I've I've got it so bad. I I was always living this this self this self selfish life where I was the victim. If you had what I had, you'd understand. And I would just play that card. And there's no good that comes from that. And I realized too, my brothers had gone through losing both of their parents as well. And my youngest brother, when I was 23, he was 13. So that's not fair to him. So when I came back home, was ready to start on a new path, but there was a lot of work that needed to be put in.

And so, you know, I'm I'm getting plugged in with AA. You know, I'm getting month after month of sobriety. I've got a sponsor. Somehow, one of my friends, Landry, he got me plugged in at Mariners. You know, I I grew up Catholic, but I heading on to church in years, and now I'm going back to a mega mega campus Christian church in Irvine, Mariners. And dude, just life started getting a lot better. I started forming genuine relationships again. At ten months sober, I met my now fiance, Gianna. And, you know, she was a strong Christian. We connected well quick.

There was a lot of really genuine strong conversations we had early on. Some things I had never had before my entire life. And then we got engaged month and a half ago. You're talking about a guy a few years ago before that was addicted to to drugs to the point that would kill most people, you know, the amount of Xanax I was taking daily. I I I thought my anxiety and depression was so debilitating that I'm never gonna form genuine relationships again. And I really just lived in this this victim mentality where I'd probably never gonna get engaged. I'm never gonna get married.

And I'm just gonna live this victim life until, you know, maybe I I don't know. Life's probably not gonna head the right healthy direction for me. And so seeing where it is now, meeting people like yourself, I've got a cluster of other really solid friends I can call daily. And my you know, I play some tennis again. You know, I I I love I have a much different relationship with tennis now. I'm not I'm not a pro. That didn't work out for me. But I I love getting out there on the court. You know, I had resentment towards tennis for a while, I think, because it's hard. It's hard to go from like that guy at a young age and then kind of my experience throughout college and then finding a new healthy relationship with it, that took time. I didn't touch a racket for about five, six years in my early twenties to when I got sober.

And so it's just been an incredible journey and I'm so grateful. Um, I I think that, you know, I I personally I owe all of all of my blessings to to Jesus and, you know, God. It's it's been one one hell of a ride, And I don't know where my path's heading now. I had when I got sober and I I came back home after about a year of sobriety, had an opportunity to get back into the financial and insurance services industry. I've got an office in Newport. Now I'm growing out of team. You know, I'm getting married in the new year. And I I've got no idea how I have the life I have already or or where it's heading.

But I do know that without without my faith and without, you know, kind of what I've been able to go through, I I wouldn't be where I'm at. So I wouldn't change a thing. And, you know, I I'm not sure even what your last question was, but that's that's kinda where where where I'm adding all this. And that's that's it's totally my tennis story as well. Because my tennis story, my emotional story, my personal story, they're all intertwined. Because from a young age, my family's identity and my identity, it was tennis.

And so I've never been able to do a good job separating them,

Ben Beerium, in in any way. But there there you go for that piece. That's amazing. And the person that you've become today is somebody that I'm incredibly proud of, you can be incredibly proud of, your brothers can look up to you. Gianna's got a great fiance on the other side of things. Uh, so it's amazing to see the person that you've become over this amount of time. What do you think for you was the turning point of, hey. I'm a victim. I can't do this. My parents have passed away. I'm not gonna play tennis.

Drug addict. I cannot have a normal life to I'm not a victim. Anything is possible for me. I'm gonna go out and seek what's truly meant for me.

Joseph Di GiulioI I think first, I needed to get to a a level I needed to get to a stage where I was in enough pain to come to the conclusion that my ideas and my way of living aren't aren't working and they're not gonna work going forward. Right? No matter I've tried I've tried many different ways at this point to figure out my life. It's it's clearly not working, and I'm in enough pain to take direction from someone else. So asking for for help, asking for direction, I needed to get to a very low place, a rock bottom to to realize that. And then from there, I mean, I was just I was blessed to get the right people to come into my life at the right moments and the right times to show me what it was like and what it meant to be an actual man.

You know, as in from the simple things of when you wake up in the morning, you make your bed to, right, when you've got issues going on in your life, don't hold on, do it, Talk to another guy about it. Right? To, you know, it's it's not it's it's not it's just because we live in a society where oftentimes guys will hold on to our emotions and we're closed off and we don't talk about feelings and stuff. Dude, get it out with another guy and and show up in the relationships you're in. Because otherwise, you know, really what are you doing? Because I I I don't know. I I've learned that relation good relationships with family and close friends are everything.

That's what makes me feel whole. And then also too, you gotta be my my relationship with with God, it's a daily thing. I I used to always I grew up Catholic, so I used to always think that there was just some people that they just got to a place in their life where all of a sudden God entered and they were just had this spiritual experience and their lives changed forever. I always thought there had to be these these fire, know, these light bulb moments where all of a sudden it's like God appears and you you turn your life over to him and and your life's just made whole again. And I I didn't realize that I could have all these miracles of God showing up in my life.

But even with all the gifts I've been given, even though I'm still lucky to be alive, every day when I wake up, I have to remind myself of that. I have to plug back into that relationship. And I have to, you know, practice gratitude, all these things because otherwise, over time, I'll forget again. And I think that, you know, just knowing that all of these things in my life that are great is amazing as my life's gone in many ways. I can't forget where I came from. I can't forget, you know, the pains and the things that I went through and the rock bottom and what that felt like.

And I also am really grateful that I get to share that experience with other men because there's a lot of guys out there and I've seen it firsthand in my couple of years of sobriety that have gone through much worse than me. And if my story can give them a little bit of courage in their journey, dude, that's what it's all about. So I guess I'm uniquely qualified to be of service to many men out there that have struggled, and in many cases, worse than myself.

Ben BeeriThat's amazing. And it it really it really is amazing. You sit there and you think about being in your twenties and struggling and struggling with yourself and who you are and putting on a front with other people, struggling to ask for help. Asking for help is such a difficult thing to do. There's millions of men out there in their twenties right now that are struggling to ask for help. They've got something going on in their life. They're just going on with things on a daily basis. They're not really paying too much attention to their mental health.

They're really struggling, and they'll do anything but ask for help. I know that. I was one of them. What is your message to those men who are out there in their twenties that could use help but are too proud to ask for it?

Joseph Di GiulioYeah. I mean, great great question. I I think everyone's journey is obviously different. I mean, if if you're if you're like myself, you kinda just gotta unfortunately, you have to experience enough pain to know that there's a change that's needed. But I I also would say that there is this wrong, there's this wrong societal understanding of what asking for help is as in it means you're weak. It means that you're not good enough. It means that you're just not enough or that you're a failure. And I think what I've learned is some of the most successful people I know, they ask for help all the time. It makes you stronger.

It shows that you actually are an emotionally stronger person. You know, that you realize that, hey, you know what, as as much as I am maybe doing great stuff in my life, my ego's not big enough. Remember, my ego is small enough to know that there's other people out there that have good ideas too. And there's probably things that I can learn from them. Right? So for for me, it's it's a humbling of the ego to know that if I wanna be my best version of myself and I wanna get to that next stage in my life of where I think I can be and be my authentic self, I have to lower that ego enough to let other people and to let other ideas in.

Because on my own, it's just not enough dude. On my own without the value of having other people's opinions and their knowledge and their value in wanting to help me. If without letting that into my life, I'm gonna take myself down a dark path and it's gonna end badly. So I've learned that. And I think that for other guys out there, a weak it doesn't mean you're weak to let other people in. It doesn't mean you're weak to ask for help. It shows strength. And, you know, and that's another thing I've learned too is things that are uncomfortable to do, they're probably good for you.

Right? We gotta take we gotta take contrary action oftentimes in life to see that growth.

Ben BeeriAbsolutely. Yep. No. And then so many so many people can take from that message and, like, learn to understand that we don't have all the answers within us, that there are certain things that go on in our lives where somebody else may be more qualified or have an idea that can kind of get things going on the right track for us. One thing that I was really kind of I know you've got so many great things going on in your life nowadays. I know you're excited about a lot of things that are going on. I'm excited about a lot of things that are going on for you.

I really thought it was very, like, wholesome and amazing and, like, just a really, like, leadership type of thing of you to do, uh, recently to start coaching high school boys tennis Mhmm. And just having an imprint on these young men. Can you tell me more about that experience?

Joseph Di GiulioYeah. So this this last this last tennis season, I coached the the Newport Harbor boys varsity tennis team and as well as the girls off season team. And so I led the first time ever coaching high school tennis. I hadn't coached in quite some time and it was a great experience. I mean, any way to step in and be a mentor for young guys and it was a program there at Newport Harbor where they had recently let go their last coach. They hadn't seemed like they had anyone care about their program in many years.

And being here from Newport, I mean, most of our tennis programs are are legendary. We've got so much talent around the area. And so stepping in there, giving it my all for a season, it wasn't perfect. We didn't have the best season, but there was a lot of growth with guys. Guys that were newer to competing, they stepped up and I connected really well with the guys. Don't get me wrong, coaching high school tennis is tough. I mean, at least nowadays the way high schools work, there's a lot of politics.

And so dealing with off the court stuff wasn't wasn't as straightforward as I thought. But just the but the relationship with the guys on the court and, you know, with a lot of my experiences, just being able to show up for them and be a leader, I thought it was I thought it was really cool. It was I'm glad I did it. I'm not I'm not going back for this next year. Didn't work out. But, dude, it was it was a great experience,

Ben Beeriand I wouldn't change it. Yeah. That's amazing. That's amazing. And getting to spend time around people who are in their teenage years or maybe striving for some of the same dreams and goals that you were once striving for. It must have been a very, like, it must have been a very enlightening and, like, elevating experience for you Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And help impart some of your wisdom and some of your knowledge on them. Looking back at things, when you were that high school boy, that high school kid that was striving for that dream, 14 year old, 15 year old, 16 year old Joe, what would you today, 30 year old Joe, tell that 14, 15, 16 year old Joe as to, hey. You've got this life ahead of you. Here's how you navigate kind of what advice would you give to your teenage self? Yeah. Man, that's a tough one

Joseph Di Giuliobecause the maturity at that age is so much different. Would if I was able instill anything back in my 15 year old self, it would have been to do with my faith. So never was not a believer, but I never was practicing. I never I never had a personal relationship with God, who I call Jesus. So I guess it would have been, you know, it would have been about that. Because I think that by having that personal relationship in your faith with God, it just it allows you to it allows you to, no matter what's going on in the outside with parents, family, this or that, you're able to, you know, be guided, um, for the years to come. So that that's that's a great question. I probably would've would've gone with that though. Joe, your story is so inspiring.

Ben BeeriI mean, you've just become a person over these years that has taken the time, has had a certain level of self awareness. Um, you've obviously gone through your trials and tribulations, and it's amazing to see how strong you've remained throughout. You've become a role model for these young kids that you're coaching. You've become a role model for your brothers, your incredible friend, your incredible fiance. What do you have going today that's kind of like what else is really exciting for you in your life, and where can our viewers and our listeners, where can they connect with you further?

Joseph Di GiulioYep. I know that thank you for having me on. It's it's been great. I mean, I'm at a point right now, like I was saying earlier, where I'm getting to that next chapter. I'm getting married in the new year. You know, in the the in the recovery world, I'm still an infant. I'm a little over two and a half years sober. And so that's a daily ongoing journey of growing in my recovery and my faith and my relationship with my fiance. There's so many areas where as you know with businesses or anything you do, where it's it's you never reach that that finish line.

You know, you have to just learn to love the process. And I'm I'm in my infant stages of this process, I'm in, I think. And so I'm just I'm excited to be to be here with you and also to see maybe where this conversation might be a year from now. Right? In terms of where people can reach me, I mean, I, you know, I we can share my direct cell, my Instagram handle. I think it's my name Joseph P, then my last name DeGiulio. It's my Instagram. Find me on LinkedIn. We'll we'll put we'll put that stuff in the description for you. Yeah. So all my socials, you know, feel free to reach out to me even on the recovery stuff. I think that's a huge place where I mean, have a lot of passion now. There's nothing there's nothing better than being able to help people through my my experience and my story.

I I know how hard it is, especially just getting started with asking for help, like I was saying. But dude, I I'm I'm just in a place in my life right now where trying to live in today, trying to be present, it's not always easy, still not perfect. And, you know, my my business is is growing. I've been in the financials insurance industry for almost a decade, but this new journey with my new company, I've been in it for coming up on about a year and a half. And so growing that out, I I was actually just up in Big Bear.

I have a vacation house up there. Was meeting with a client. So, you know, just really cool experiences. I mean, the relationships I have even in business are so much different today. You know, I'm sitting down with people, helping them talk about their retirement plans or, you know, talking about building out wealth, but it's a lot different. It's not as much about the numbers today, and it's genuine good connections with other people that end up being clients. Most of my clients now, they're good friends or they're a close, genuine acquaintance that we're probably gonna be hanging out personally throughout the year as well.

And if not, we're, you know, we've got that next layer of connection that goes well beyond a transaction. And so I've been able to incorporate a lot more of that in my business. Mean, so if in our industry, just like a lot of sales industries, it can get so transactional And I totally get it as well because we need to make money. You know, we got families to feed. There's all these stresses and pushes and pulls of life, but there's nothing better than good quality connections with other people where you're meeting them where they're at.

You know, you can connect through the brokenness. Right? I've never I've never connected better than with someone that tells me their weak spots and their flaws. Not necessarily about how great they are and how they're this perfect person. So, yeah, it's it's been quite the ride. And, yeah, feel free to contact me in any way, share my information, and love to talk with anyone, whether it's professionally or personally.

Ben BeeriAwesome. Thank you, Joe. Yeah. It's amazing. And it's amazing to have that level of self awareness and that level of desire to want to help people and have people reach out to you and have people really get on their growth path and get them help and get them to be themselves and get them to be heading in a direction where they can experience life the way it's meant to be experienced. 100%. You for that. That was incredible. And, I mean, this conversation has been so good. And, I mean, I can't wait to do it again with you sometime.

Joseph Di GiulioThanks for having me on, man. Absolutely. It was awesome. It was awesome.

Ben BeeriAnd thanks to everybody for logging on, checking out our episode, listening to us here on the Authentic Journey podcast. So excited to have Joe Di Giulio on today. He was great, such a great guest, and we're looking forward to bringing you many more great guests. And if anything today resonated with you, please like our content, subscribe to our content, leave a comment, let everybody know what you think. Please share this with your friends. If there's anybody that can hear a message from Joe or from myself or from us or from any of our future guests, uh, you can connect with us on Instagram at the authentic journey pod.

I'm your host, Ben Beeri. I'm on Instagram at benbeeri, b e n b e e r I, and I'm excited to see you on the next episode of the Authentic Journey podcast. Thank you.