TERROR SQUAD (PISTOL PETE)

Why are you a legend?
I’m a legend cause I used to hold the streets down. I’m from the Bronx. I used to hustle for years and was getting a lot of money. I did 17 years in jail, I controlled the jails. Now, I’m just converting the negative into a positive. I’m here training Tony Sunshine. I’m Fat Joe’s brother, we’ve known each other forever. I’m a certified trainer, I got my certificate while I was incarcerated. I’ve got Joe on a diet, he’s lost forty pounds. Once he loses another thirty pounds we’re gonna try and tighten things up a little bit. But he’ll always be Fat Joe, that’s his name. I mostly train celebrities. I’m a good friend of Busta Rhymes, Cam’ron.

How do you motivate someone to exercise?
You’ve gotta let them know it’s a good thing. It makes you strong. Working out is good for you, period. You can’t always be mentally strong, you’ve got to be physically strong as well. A lot of rappers have money and don’t take care of themselves, so they wind up with diabetes and high blood pressure. I just try to motivate them, especially my family. I’m here to support my Terror Squad family. Joe’s my brother, I love Joe. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. He was always there when I was incarcerated, and he’s there now. When I was in the halfway house, Joe was there for me. You’ve got to appreciate those small things. I stay in contact with everybody in jail right now, cause I’ve got a lot of homies doing life. I send them pictures, I do everything I can for them.

Do you think prison can rehabilitate someone?
Only if you want it to. It’s got to come from within your heart. Jail was a terrible place to be. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. It’s not cool at all. Believe me, I know.

How did you pass the time?
Working out. I love weights. I haven’t eaten meat in fifteen years, so I’m strong as hell.

What kind of physical changes did you see when you stopped eating meat?
You lose a little weight, you feel better. Nowadays, the chemicals they use for cows to grow, it’s terrible. I eat a lot of fish and chicken, but I don’t eat red meat. I drink a lot of water and eat vegetables and salads.

If you’re trying to lose weight, what kinds of foods should you avoid?
To lose weight, the most important thing is to decrease your carbs and get on a high-protein diet.

What kind of diet did you put Fat Joe on?
I recommended that he ease off on the carbs, white rice, white bread. If you’re gonna eat, don’t eat after 7 PM. If you’re hungry, don’t even eat fruit because they’re carbs. If you’re hungry, open a can of tuna and put some lemon in it. Feed off the protein in that to feed the muscles. After a certain time, your body stores fat, especially if you’re eating carbs. You should never eat before you go to sleep. The important thing is, if you do get hungry, eat protein. Eat tuna, cause that feeds your muscles.

If you’d had the chance to train Big Pun, do you think he’d still be around today?
I knew Pun. I wanted to train him, but I never got the chance. Two days before he passed, I tried to get in contact with him to give him some health tips, but I never reached him. Only God knows what could have happened.
In his situation, did he have a certain medical condition that caused him to gain weight?
Yeah, probably so. They don’t even realize what they’re doing to themselves until it’s too late. I just try to give the best advice that I can. I’m training Tony, and Tony is difficult to train because he likes to eat and drink. When you’re a celebrity, poppin’ bottles, Moet and Cristal, that’s not healthy. That’s one of the most important things I told Joe: to lose weight, you’ve got to stop drinking. And he did stop. I hate cigarettes. I’ve been on Tony about that, but every man can make their own decisions. It’s his life, he’s the one that wants to smoke a cigarette. It all depends on the individual. The most important thing is that we all get focused. I’m here to train whoever wants to be trained.

It must be hard trying to find weights when you’re on the road. What if you don’t have access to a gym?
We go outside and do a little calisthenics. Push-ups, pull-ups. We take it back to the jail mentality. In jail, you don’t always have the weights and the luxury of a gum. When I was in jail I was a bad guy, so if you’re misbehaving they punish you. I was in a cell all day, so I had to make the best of it. Keep my stomach right. I did a lot of push-ups, crunches, leg raises, and working my abs right. I also used to meditate a lot. I used to sit on my head for half an hour a day.

What’s the advantage of sitting on your head?
I could feel the blood rush from the bottom of my legs all the way to my head. It put me in a zone where I could be at peace. When you’re misbehaving in jail, they put you on diets to try to make you weak. I’d give my neighbor cake, and he’d give me his chicken.

How could someone contact you for training?
They can reach me at 347-234-8834 or 917-703-3903.

TERROR SQUAD (MIZ)

Miz, Tony Sunshine’s “brother from another mother,” is one of the newest additions to the Terror Squad clique. He began rapping while serving six years in prison. “There was a shoot-out and people got hurt,” he says vaguely. “We went to jail for that.” While incarcerated, Miz got focused. “It was a learning experience. I may have deserved it,” he reflects. “It taught me how to manage life, and how to do things without aggression. I handle things with my mind now; I think things through and see if it’s worth it before going to war.” When he was released in 1996, a good friend happened to be managing Rakim. Miz began opening shows for Rakim and recording with artists like Onyx.

Having recently moved to Miami, Miz describes the city as a “vacation of a lifetime.” As he spends more and more time recording, he admits that there’s still plenty of room for growth. “I’m still growing with my talent,” he says. “Living, seeing different things, reading the news and seeing everything that goes on in the world, all those things contribute to my rhymes. You’ve got to be an open book.” Miz makes a conscious effort to be well-rounded, speaking on sensitive topics as well as hardcore street rhymes. His upcoming album features Tony Sunshine, Busta Rhymes, and Fat Joe, as well as production from Scott Storch, Cool & Dre, and Street Runner.

While Miz is confident in his future as a rapper, he still has a backup plan in case the music doesn’t take him where he wants to go. He makes side money by buying houses, fixing them up, and reselling them. When he isn’t in the studio, he’s studying for his real estate license. “Plan A is rap, but it’s a long shot,” he laughs. “Plan B is real estate. Plan C? I can’t talk about that.”