Fighting Matters

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jeff Shaw and Jesse Walker are joined by Jose Fernandez, a health economist and purple belt who chairs the economics department at the University of Louisville. He explains who pays for tariffs, why 70% of the world's gis coming out of one country matters for your gear budget, and what gym owners should do about prices and leases while their students are getting squeezed.

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👥 Featuring:
- Jeff Shaw — https://bellinghambjj.com
- Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com
- Jose Fernandez — https://louisville.edu/faculty/jmfern02

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🧠 To...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting pull up a screenshot of the UFC BJJ 10 mat and read the sponsors out loud: the Air National Guard, the AI drone company Anduril, and Turning Point USA. Dana White has spent years insisting the UFC is not political, and you can read the rebuttal off his own mat. They argue the money is there to launder reputations and buy the silence of athletes who do not have many other options.

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👥 Featuring:
- Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
- Stephan Kesting — https://grapplear...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jesse Walker and Stephan Kesting (just back from thirty days in the Arctic wilderness) are joined by Dr. Clayton Green, a board certified dermatologist with a PhD in microbiology who worked face to face with patients through the whole pandemic. Clayton and Stephan take apart the conspiracies the pandemic left behind (nanobot tracking chips, the lab leak, RFK Jr.'s claims about Lyme disease) and explain why frightened people reached for them in the first place. Jesse's question runs underneath the whole thing: how did a community built on evidence-based martial arts end...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jesse Walker and Mike Mahaffey catch up on a run of recent news where powerful people did awful things and faced no real consequences: Andrew Tate arrested on 42 charges he may never answer for, ICE killings at traffic stops with the FBI reportedly stepping back, an FDA food-safety scare that ended in an apology to a Trump donor, and a Kentucky senator who has vanished while still collecting his seat. What ties it together is a question that hits close to home for two jiu-jitsu coaches: what happens to a country, or a...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ to talk about Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate whose campaign has come apart under a run of scandals: a Nazi-associated tattoo, credible sexual assault allegations, and more. They use his collapse to get at a harder question that runs through both politics and jiu-jitsu: why we keep excusing disqualifying behavior from people we want to believe in, and what it costs us when we do.

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👥 Featuring:
- Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
- Jesse Walker — https://r...

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ and Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ on the eve of America's 250th Fourth of July. They open with whether there's anything left to celebrate and end up somewhere harder: the same instinct to look away that got the country here is alive in jiu-jitsu too. The clearest example is Izaak Michell, invited to ADCC while wanted in Texas on sexual assault warrants, and the string of accused and convicted men the sport keeps platforming anyway.

🔗 Links Mentioned:

In this episode of Fighting Matters, co-hosts Jesse Walker and Mike Mahaffey take on Conor McGregor's UFC comeback and the media tour selling it: a man found civilly liable for sexual assault, platformed on Jimmy Fallon like none of it happened, with no apology and no amends. They get into what redemption actually requires, why comedians stopped holding power to account, and the jiu-jitsu community's own habit of looking the other way when the person on the podium has hurt people.

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🔗 Links Mentioned:
- Old Bastard BJJ on Patreon — https://patreon.com/oldbastardbjj
- Old B...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker of Rough Hands BJJ to talk about the fallout from UFC Freedom 250, the fight card staged on the White House lawn for America's 250th anniversary. Neither of them watched it, because the fights were never the issue. They get into the corruption, the crypto payouts, the comment aimed at Michelle Obama, and why "keeping politics out of fighting" was never a real argument once the President turned the country's 250th birthday into his own fight night.

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👥 Featuring:
- Steve Kwan — https://bjjment...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Jeff Shaw is joined by Jesse Walker, Mike Mahaffey, and Stephan Kesting to take apart UFC Freedom 250, the card being staged on the White House South Lawn on June 14th. Four martial artists who spent decades loving this sport walk through why an event at the people's house, held on the president's birthday and billed as a celebration of America's 250th, leaves them cold. They get into the spectacle, the money, the sportswashing angle, and the version of this card that could have meant something.

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🔗 Links Mentioned:
- Old B...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan talks with Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ about the trans hate pouring out of combat sports, and the fighters who have figured out it pays. They start with Sean Strickland's AI video of himself beating up a trans woman, then get into why guys like Strickland and Jake Shields keep posting this stuff: it riles up a certain kind of fan, and that attention is the product. Recorded during Pride Month, it is also about what the jiu-jitsu community owes its trans members, who take the brunt of this.
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In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, Steve Kwan is joined by Jeff Shaw of Bellingham BJJ, Mike Mahaffey of Old Bastard BJJ, and Dr. Clayton Green, a board-certified dermatologist and BJJ practitioner. They get into what happened at UFC BJJ when Mikey Musumeci defended his title against Kevin Dantzler with an active staph infection, went back to the hospital right after the match, and defended the decision by saying he had covered the infection with spats. The conversation covers why staph is more dangerous than people realize, how the UFC has stopped fights like this before but...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined again by Dr. David Riedman: 17-year jiu-jitsu practitioner, MIT-trained data analyst, and PhD researcher whose dissertation focused on measuring the accuracy of large language model outputs. David is also the author of the Riedman Report, one of the most popular Substacks on risk, AI, education, and security. The conversation is broken into three parts. Part one is a broad explanation of what modern AI actually is and how it works. Part two covers the cultural and social impact of AI on public life. Part three is about how AI...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Andrea Tang: novelist, brown belt at District Martial Arts, and host of BJJ Today on the BJJ Mental Models Premium Network. Three years ago, a serial home invader broke into Andrea's apartment at 4am and tried to sexually assault her in bed. She fought him off using day-one white belt basics. This is a conversation about that night, the years of court proceedings that followed, and what watching the BJJ community treat survivors has taught her about who actually has the courage to speak up.

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After yet another sexual abuse case in the BJJ community, the Fighting Matters crew works through a question every grappler eventually has to answer: "What can I, as just a student, actually do about this?" They get into voting with your wallet, the black belt blackmail trap, why we're great at sweating into each other's eyeballs but terrible at conversations, and Mike's framework for delivering hard feedback without lighting the gym on fire.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Magic BJJ — https://magicbjj.com
• Rough Hands BJJ — https://roughhandsbjj.com
• BJJ Mental Models — https://bjjmentalmodels.com

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👥 Featur...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Jesse Walker (Rough Hands BJJ), Mike Mahaffey (Old Bastard BJJ), and Niamh Bryn (Snowblind BJJ) for a recap of the recent Rough Hands spring camp in Louisville. The four of them argue that the best jiu-jitsu camps are not the ones that cram the most jiu-jitsu in, and that the celebrity instructor model has quietly priced out and burned out the people the sport depends on.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
- Gi to Sea (Jeff Shaw, Bernardo Faria, Dominyka Obelenyte) — https://bjjmentalmodels.com/events

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In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who has tracked white nationalist and neo-Nazi movements since 2016 and also trains jiu-jitsu. They get into how active clubs and far-right groups use combat sports gyms as recruitment grounds, why most practitioners don't see it happening, and what coaches and gym owners can actually do about it.

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🔗 Links Mentioned:
- Southern Poverty Law Center — https://splcenter.org
- Hannah Gais on Bluesky — https://bsky.app/profile/hannahgais.bsky.social
- Louis T...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting sit down with Eric Lowe, a 13-year HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) instructor and school founder. HEMA had a serious white supremacist problem, and they actually did something about it. Eric walks through what worked, what didn't, and what BJJ and MMA can steal from the playbook.

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👥 Featuring:
- Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
- Stephan Kesting — https://grapplearts.com
- Eric Lowe — https://crossroadsswords.com

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
- How HEMA's early days were dominated by a near-Nazi gate...

Today, Jesse, Mike and Stephan discuss the impact of war on everyday life, particularly how the ongoing war in Iran could affect gas prices and essential goods if it continues. Conflicts in the Middle East can turn luxury activities into financial burdens, forcing people to prioritise their spending and making jiu-jitsu training and other leisure activities unaffordable as the cost of everyday living rises.

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan is joined by Matt Tansey and Daniel Millstein: two licensed mental health professionals who also train jiu-jitsu. They attack one of the most repeated claims in the sport ("jiu-jitsu is my therapy"), what's actually true about it, what isn't, and why the distinction matters more than most people think.

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👥 Featuring:
• Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
• Matt Tansey — https://matthewtansey.com
• Daniel Millstein — https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/daniel-millstein-boston-ma/1239597

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
• What therapists actually do (and how they differ from coaches)
• Why...

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, host Steve Kwan sits down with Valerie Worthington: BJJ black belt, professor of educational psychology, and one of the sport's most thoughtful voices on culture and ethics. They dig into why the people doing the most good in jiu-jitsu are also the least visible, what it would actually take to fix BJJ's culture problems, and why opening a gym means signing up for a job nobody prepared you for. This is a conversation about leadership, accountability, and the quiet work of making the sport better.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Gracie Phill...

Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw explore the terrifying consequences of MAGA coopting Christianity and using misinterpretations of biblical ideas like the rapture, the apocalypse, and end times theology as justification for going to war with Iran. We also look into Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's religious denomination and find some truly disturbing details.

School violence researcher and Homeland Security expert David Riedman joins Steve and Jesse to break down the radicalization pipeline feeding modern school shootings. David covers how isolated kids get pulled into nihilistic violence through deregulated social media, grooming on Roblox, and private Discord servers, and why your BJJ gym might be one of the most powerful interventions available.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Riedman Report (Substack) — https://riedmanreport.substack.com
• K-12 School Shooting Database — https://k12ssdb.org
• Difference Between Political Violence, Mass Shootings, and Terrorism — https://riedmanreport.substack.com/p/difference-between-political-violence
• Rise of Purposeless, Non-Ideological Gun Violence by Y...

In this Presidents Day episode, Fighting Matters connects two explosive stories: Gordon Ryan’s inappropriate DMs and the growing fallout from the Epstein file releases. We debate accountability, conspiracy culture, institutional corruption, and whether justice can survive political power. The conversation turns to Jiu-Jitsu’s own culture, red flags in gyms, and what responsibility communities have when systems fail.

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👥 Featuring:
• Stephan Kesting — @stephankesting (Host)
• Mike Mahaffey — @oldbastardbjj (Host)
• Jesse Walker — @roughhandsbjj (Host)

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
• Gordon Ryan DM controversy
• The Epstein file releases and redactions
• Conspiracy culture vs. evidence
• Civil...

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, hosts Steve Kwan and Jesse Walker are joined by Joshua Peters: martial arts instructor, former school teacher, and current candidate for Anne Arundel County Council. They explore why local politics matters, how martial arts and civic duty intersect, and why “keeping politics out of Jiu-Jitsu” is a myth. This is a conversation about courage, participation, and standing up for your community.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Joshua Peters Campaign — https://friendsofjoshuapeters.com
• Combat Principles MMA — https://combatprinciplesmma.com
• Run for Something — https://runforsomething.net

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👥 Featuring:
• Steve Kwan — https...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, hosts Stephan Kesting and Jeff Shaw are joined by Tyson LaRone (The Warrior Philosopher) to unpack the renewed push for Alberta separatism, its connections to Trump and MAGA, and the growing influence of U.S. political forces in Canadian domestic affairs.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktree.com/fightingmatters

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👥 Featuring:
• Stephan Kesting — https://www.grapplearts.com
• Jeff Shaw — https://bellinghambjj.com
• Tyson Larone — https://www.tiktok.com/@thewarriorphilosopher

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
• The Alberta Prosperity Project and separatist rhetoric
• U.S. political influence...

This interview is an excerpt from Dark Martial Arts History, an 8-part audio documentary chronicling the history and rise of extremism in martial arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. The rest of the documentary is available on BJJ Mental Models Premium, but this piece is relevant to current events, so we're publishing it here for free.

In the sixth episode of Dark Martial Arts History, hosts Ben Van Doren and Eva Schubert are joined by longtime Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu educator and commentator Stephan Kesting. The conversation explores how conspiracy thinking, social-media incentives...

The allegations against Andre Galvao, and subsequent collapse of Atos, have sent shockwaves through the Jiu-Jitsu world. In this episode, Steve Kwan and Jesse Walker unpack the allegations against Atos leadership, the victim statements that triggered a mass exodus, and why this moment feels different from past scandals. We explore abuse of power in martial arts, why competition success can’t excuse ethical failure, and what real accountability could look like, beyond statements and social media posts.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktr.ee/fightingmatters
• Fighting Matters Substack — https://fightingmatters.substack.com
• "You’re Picking Your J...

The idea of “keeping politics out” is no longer tenable, especially in Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts communities. Against the backdrop of escalating political violence, institutional breakdowns, and global instability, we explore the civic responsibility of gym owners, coaches, and athletes, and why silence increasingly amounts to complicity.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktree.com/fightingmatters
• Fighting Matters Substack — https://fightingmatters.substack.com
• This Is Why We Fight (Jeff Shaw course) — https://bjjmentalmodels.com/fight

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👥 Featuring:
Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Stephan Kesting — https://www.grapplearts.com
Jeff Shaw — https://bellingh...

Mother, poet, and US citizen Renée Good was shot by ICE on January 7, closely followed by the shooting of ICU Nurse and US citizen Alex Pretti on January 24th, apparently by members of the Border Patrol. Both Renée and Alex were immediately denounced as "domestic terrorists" by the US administration and an army of bots has been circulating a deluge of easily debunkable falsehood about the two victims.

In this episode of Fighting Matters BJJ black belt Stephan Kesting is joined Tyson Larone, the Warrior Philosopher, to explore why this is all happening, who benefits fr...

Racism, extremism, and exclusion aren’t abstract problems in martial arts. They show up in real gyms, affect real people, and shape who feels safe on the mats. In this episode of Fighting Matters, hosts Mike Mahaffey and Jesse Walker are joined by Deon Thompson and Stephen Hall for a candid, deeply personal conversation about how racism and hate groups intersect with Jiu-Jitsu culture, why “staying neutral” is not an option, and what responsibility coaches carry when they teach people how to fight.

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🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktr.ee/fightingmatters
• Ohio Brasa Jiu-Jitsu...

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting unpack the political chaos of early 2026 and its real-world consequences for martial artists. From international instability and economic shocks to propaganda, media capture, and rising authoritarianism, they discuss why “keeping politics out of jiu-jitsu” is no longer possible... and what individuals can actually do in moments like this.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktr.ee/fightingmatters
• BJJ Mental Models — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
• Grapplearts — https://grapplearts.com

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👥 Featuring:
• Steve Kwan — @bjjmentalmodels
• Stephan Kesting — @stephankesting

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
• Why...

This episode of Fighting Matters closes out the year with a no-holds-barred look at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2025. The hosts break down the biggest wins, deepest disappointments, and most important moments that shaped the sport—on and off the mats. From cultural flashpoints to genuine bright spots, this is BJJ’s year in review, warts and all.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktr.ee/fightingmatters
• Fighting Matters Substack — https://fightingmatters.substack.com

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👥 Featuring:
Steve Kwan — @bjjmentalmodels
Mike Mahaffey — @oldbastardbjj
Jesse Walker — @roughhandsbjj

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
• The biggest controversies...

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, hosts Steve Kwan, Mike Mahaffey, and Jesse Walker confront the relentless bullying and scapegoating of transgender athletes, especially within combat sports. They unpack how bad-faith arguments, misinformation, and moral panic have turned a tiny minority into a political and cultural punching bag, and discuss what gym owners, coaches, and training partners can do to create safer, more inclusive spaces.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktree.com/fightingmatters
• BJJ Mental Models (Steve Kwan) — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
• Old Bastard BJJ (Mike Mahaffey) — https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj
• Rough Hands BJJ...

The Fighting Matters crew is joined by Shaun Benson from The Boys to talk about about the show and how it relates to the state of the world right now.  Along the way we explore the blurring of lines between credible information and disinformation, the rise of Fascism, and the real bad guy responsible for evil in both The Boys and the real world.

Follow Shaun on Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@shaunybenso and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shaunmbenson/

In this episode of Fighting Matters, Steve Kwan and Jesse Walker talk with writer Adrian Nathan West about his New York Times piece on Craig Jones, exploring how trolling, politics, and culture collide in modern Jiu-Jitsu.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• The NYT Article — https://nyti.ms/3Y1N6oz
• Nate West’s Website — https://anathanwest.com
• The Baffler — https://thebaffler.com

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👥 Featuring:
Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Jesse Walker — https://roughhandsbjj.com
Adrian Nathan West — https://anathanwest.com

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🧠 Topics Discussed:
• Why Craig Jones is a uniquely effective internet troll...

In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, hosts Steve Kwan, Stephan Kesting, and Jesse Walker break down how bad BJJ coaches trap students with rank. They explore how belt pressure becomes a tool for fear and control, why some gyms drift into cult-like behavior, and how to spot red flags before you get stuck.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Grapplearts Black Friday Sale — https://www.grapplearts.com
• BJJ Mental Models Premium — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
• Rough Hands BJJ — https://roughhandsbjj.com

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👥 Featuring:
Steve Kwan — @bjjmentalmodels 
Stephan Kesting — @StephanKesting 
Jesse Walker — @roughhandsbjj 

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In this episode of the Fighting Matters podcast, hosts Steve Kwan, Mike Mahaffey, and Jesse Walker talk about the recent political shift of Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) and her public apology regarding her past rhetoric and actions. They explore the implications of her apology, the need for accountability, and the potential for redemption in politics.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Linktree — https://linktree.com/fightingmatters
• Fighting Matters Food Drive (direct link) — https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7625
• Fighting Matters Substack — https://fightingmatters.substack.com

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👥 Featuring:
Steve Kwan — https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Mike Mahaffey — http...

MMA analyst Luke Thomas joins the Fighting Matters crew to discuss fixing fights in the UFC in particular, and MMA in general.  We look at which specific type of fighter is being targeted, who might be behind it, and the role of the FBI in investigating the UFC.

More Luke Thomas MMA analysis on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/lukethomas

Luke Thomas gets political: https://www.youtube.com/@LukeThomasGetsPolitical

Follow Luke Thomas on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukethomasnews

Luke Thomas on Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/

In this episode, Steve Kwan, Jeff Shaw, and Jesse Walker break down how the ongoing SNAP and ACA shutdown could devastate working-class Americans, and why Jiu-Jitsu gyms will be hit especially hard. They unpack how food assistance and healthcare subsidies keep communities afloat, why cutting them is both illegal and economically disastrous, and how martial artists can take action through solidarity, food drives, and conscious spending.

🔗 Links Mentioned:
• Fighting Matters Food Drive — https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7625
• Fighting Matters Substack — https://fightingmatters.substack.com
• BJJ Mental Models — https://bjjmentalmodels.com

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👥 Featuring:
Steve...