Behind The Shield

The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11 is a deeply moving documentary narrated by actor Gary Sinise. Produced by Gier Productions in collaboration with SoldierStrong and directed by Michael Gier, an award-winning director/producer, the film goes beyond the tragedy of September 11 to showcase the incredible acts of bravery, humanity, and resilience that followed. Through the eyes of first responders, s...

For over 45 years, Tony Blauer has been at the forefront of personal defense, fear management, and performance psychology, revolutionizing the way individuals and teams prepare for real-world violence. Since 1977, Blauer has dedicated his life to helping people become safer, sooner, bridging the gap between science, psychology, and combatives. He is the creator of the SPEAR System®, the world’s fi...

Kelly is an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor at Daydream MD, bringing a unique blend of clinical training and lived experience to his work as a therapist. Before beginning his career in counseling, Kelly served as a firefighter/paramedic for 22 years, where he was a peer support team leader and assisted with critical incident stress debriefings. This extensive frontline service gave him a...

I'm reposting this today in memory of Nimsadi Purja, who lost his life on Pakistan's Broad Peak. Nimsdai was a former Ghurka, member of the British SBS, record breaking mountaineer and author. We discussed his powerful journey into the special forces, Project Possible, mountain rescues, his book "Beyond Possible", environmentalism, forging an indomitable spirit and so much more. Born in Nepal, Nim...

Jonathan Sheinberg is a cardiologist, chief medical officer, police officer and Air Force veteran. He has over 30 years of experience in providing advanced cardiovascular care. He is passionate about preventing coronary disease and managing acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions. Jonathan has a strong background in non-invasive imaging and cardiac catheterization, and is nationally known in t...

Ethan Suplee is an actor, athlete and the host of the "American Glutton Podcast". In this second interview we discuss the impact of lockdown on the nation's health, racism, male body dysmorphia, his own mental metamorphosis, overcoming injury, the importance of rest and so much more. Ethan has established himself over the past few decades as an actor of considerable talent and accomplishment. His...

"Burnin' Down the House" is a powerful new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Tommy Jay Dwyer that shines a light on the hidden crisis facing firefighters. Aging stations, chronic underinvestment and the growing health risks associated with the jobs they do every day. Through intimate interviews and unprecedented access inside Massachusetts firehouses, the film reveals the sacrifices firefig...

Brad Mason is a professional negotiator, community leader, and firm believer that strength is built by doing hard things in service of others. He is the founder and head coach of The Give Team, a youth leadership and endurance program built on a simple belief: No matter how little you have, you always have something to give. Brad also serves on the Board of Directors of New Image Youth Center, sup...

Chris Hinshaw is the founder of aerobiccapacity.com , and is widely considered one of the top endurance coaches in the world. Chris is known internationally for his extensive knowledge and practical experience developing aerobic capacity in athletes of all experience levels using his comprehensive, cutting edge approach to training. Hinshaw is a former All American swimmer and world-class professi...

Rob Ramirez is a 24-year fire service veteran with degrees in Fire Science and Public Administration. Since 2005, Rob has been a Technical Rescue Team Manager for the Department of Homeland Security F.E.M.A. U.S.A.R. Task Force in Miami, FL., where he has served on dozens of high-profile national and international disaster deployments. In addition, Rob has been a student of psychology, physiology,...

Mark was born in West-Berlin, Germany, and has lived in the USA, India, and Germany. From an early age he has been fascinated with the spiritual quest of the human soul, which eventually led him to the study of indigenous traditions and native wisdom. Mark has a degree in Theology and a PhD in Clinical Psychology. He is a founding member of Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute, an Advisory board member...

Mike Dugan is a retired FDNY firefighter, podcast host and speaker. We discuss the impact of WWII on his family, his journey into the fire service, the importance of training, fitness, contrasting both of the WTC attacks he responded to, mental health, cancer and so much more. Michael M. Dugan is a 42-year veteran of the fire service and a 27-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY...

During his service, Flip participated in more than 75 real-world rescue and medical missions and served as a lead advisor for MEDEVAC operations during the Fukushima disaster response. He also supported large-scale emergency planning initiatives, operational readiness programs, and leadership development efforts across organizations totaling more than 4,000 personnel. Following retirement from mil...

Andrew Prisco is the founder of Jumpstart Mastery, an elected Fire Commissioner, and a nationally recognized authority on human performance, leadership, crisis de-escalation, and organizational culture. For more than 25 years, his career has been dedicated to improving how people and organizations perform when the stakes are highest. Since beginning his behavioral health career in 1999, Andrew has...

Emmy® award winning makeup artist Brian Sipe has been working professionally since 1989 as a freelance artist and through his company, Gamut Studios. Several Hollywood makeup effects companies and production studios have taken advantage of his extensive knowledge and experience as a character effects designer and project manager. Brian has had his professional makeup work featured in films and tel...

Frank Meeink became a skinhead at thirteen. By eighteen, he was roaming the country as a skinhead leader and neo-Nazi recruiter with gangs that would beat people indiscriminately. In Illinois he had his own cable-access TV show, “The Reich.” He was finally arrested and convicted of kidnapping and beating a member of a rival skinhead gang. While in prison he befriended men he used to think he hated...

Dr. Kellie O’Dare is a nationally recognized researcher and educator focused on advancing mental wellness, suicide prevention, and organizational resilience within public safety. In this second conversation we discuss the successes seen by deparments that moved to the 24/72, the corrolation between organisational betrayal, finding accurate fire service suicide statistics and so much more. Kellie s...

Mitch Dryer was a Firefighter for the City of Oneida, NY and also a member of the New York State Air National Guard, 174th Fighter Wing at Hancock Field, Syracuse, NY. His brief career included a 2006 deployment, taking part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On April 22, 2007 he was injured when responding to a structure fire, in which the roof collapsed, causing 3rd & 4th degree burns over 20% of h...

Tara is the Founder of FLAME Natural Decon. She is also a Navy Veteran and the sister of a San Diego firefighter. Tara founded FLAME when she realized there was a need for a product developed specifically for firefighter personal decon. After a year of extensive R&D, Tara launched FLAME in 2020 with their bar of Soap and Shampoo + Body Wash and since then she’s developed decon Hand Soap, Laund...

Tom Beaver is an elite endurance athlete, welder and the founder of BeaverFit. We discuss farm life, bridge building, SAS selection, creating strength and conditioning equipment elite tactical athletes, bringing solutions to strength and conditioning space challenges, his incredible endurance feats, rhinos and so much more. Tom has always had a passion for exercise. He has competed in some of the...

Tyler Grey spent the better part of a decade operating in environments most people will never see. As a member of Delta Force, a US Tier 1 military unit, he deployed multiple times during the War on Terror. On a night raid in Sadr City, Iraq, an IED explosion left him approximately twenty seconds from bleeding out. He survived, by what came after the survival was harder. The recovery involved year...

Justin Eaton was born in Lawrence, MA. After years of Gymnastics and Martial Arts Justin found himself doing live shows out of Southern California and in the early 2000’s got introduced to the idea that “stunts could be a real job”. Since then he has managed to double for some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt to name a few. Spending over half of a 2...

John Nittolo has spent 31 years inside public education proving a thesis most of the field only theorizes about: that healthy bodies and disciplined minds aren’t enrichment — they’re the foundation everything else is built on. He has served at nearly every level of a school system along the way — classroom teacher; Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Director of Personnel and Staf...

Jeffrey L. Schwartz is a University Professor in Criminal Justice. Dr. Schwartz has numerous certifications and ongoing practical experience in the law enforcement and security field. He is a retired police officer, served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, a former Department of Defense contractor as a manager of a guard force and instructor, an approved trainer with the Federal Protective S...

Tim Houweling and Angela Graham-Houweling are two firefighters with almost 40 years of experience combined in emergency services including Fire, EMS, and Search & Rescue. They have witnessed firsthand the growing mental health challenges faced by first responders. Over the years, they have lost several friends and family members to depression and PTSD. After navigating their own mental health...