Behind The Shield

John Vargas is a Los Angeles firefighter, mental health advocate and the man behind the Grab Lives Podcast. We discuss gang culture, the power of mentorship, traumatic brain injury, mindfulness, spirituality, psychedelics, firefighting and so much more.

Dave Castro is a Navy SEAL veteran and the former CEO of Crossfit. We discuss his journey into the military, finding Crossfit, transitioning out of the Navy, tactical athlete fitness testing, law enforcement weapons training, the obesity epidemic, reading, competitive shooting, hunting and much more.

Jason Bitzer is a veteran ocean lifeguard, author and the founder of "Never Off Duty". In this third conversation, we discuss his son's pediatric cancer battle, water safety in schools, the prevelance of shark attacks, fitness standards, bleeding control kits and much more. Jason has been a lifeguard on the beach since 1999--working the last 10 years on Oahu's dangerous North Shore where he was aw...

MSgt (Ret.) Miguel Zeran, aka Z, is a former USMC Force Recon Marine who holds a BS in Health & Wellness, an MS in Kinesiology, and is in his third year of doctoral pursuits in Human & Sport Performance. He is a CSCS, CPT, SFG1, and trained Health Coach who is sitting for the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC) board exam this year. He has spent over 14 years teaching, co...

This week I welcome back two of the most respected first responder Psychologists to upack all things mental health. We discuss psychological recruitment testing, the educational requirements of the different mental health practitioners, the pros and cons of EAP programmes, what a counseling session should look like, how to find a culturally competent clinician, provider red flags, overcoming finan...

Stephen Davis is a former Divison Chief, Entrepreneur and author of "Alone in the Fire". He was terminated by Orange County, FL in 2021 after refusing to enforce erroneous vaccine madate write ups. In this second interview, we revisit the mental and financial cost of the first responder terminations, the fallacies on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and social distancing, the government overre...

On September 11th, 2001, Port Authority Police Officer, William Jimeno, left his home unsuspecting of what the day was about to hold. Just a few hours later he lay crushed beneath the Twin Towers' 220 stories of concrete, steel, and glass. Most of his team had already died. He and his sergeant were helplessly trapped. The pain and anguish had only begun. Many have seen Oliver Stone's World Trade C...

Michael Hawkes served in the British Military for 24 years with 12 years in 22 SAS (Including 6 years Covert operations). He spent 2 years as a military advisor to the British Secret Intelligence Services in London (MI5 for Covert operations). The last 22 years have been spent in corporate security operating out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Sudan, Li...

Gwen Grimes is a former firefighter, paramedic and law enforcement officer as well as the winner of the TV show "Naked and Afraid". We discuss how outdoorsmanship forged resilience as a child, the unique challengers for first responders in remote communties, the proactive nature of policing, the driver who ended her career, her powerful mental health story, competing in reality television, creatin...

Denise Olsen is a nurse, yoga teacher and the widow of Jeff Olsen, one of the 343 firefighters killed on 9/11. We discuss her entry into healthcare, the genesis of their romance, protecting the WTC, the ripple effect of the attacks, grief, healthy coping mechanisms, growing from trauma, the importance of movement and so much more. On the eve of Sept 11, 2001 my husband kissed me goodbye, left for...

Rudy Reyes is an American conservationist, martial arts instructor, actor, and Recon Marine. He is best known for portraying himself in the HBO TV miniseries Generation Kill. In this second conversation we discuss the suicide epidemic, courageous vulnerability, the importance of tribe, hormonal disruption, peptides, emotional TCCC and so much more. Rudy was born in 1971 on Richard’s Gebauer Air Ba...

After eight years interviewing the greatest minds in wellness, I decided to record a live Q&A on how to transition to the 24/72 firefighter shift schedule. In this episode, I discuss the immense physical and mental health costs caused by sleep deprivation, the false economy of breaking our first responders, the cost savings of a shorter work week, how to solve the current recruitment crisis an...

JP McMichael is a law enforcement veteran, professional wrestler, MMA fighter and the man behind "Catalyst of Change". We discuss his journey into policing, responding to the Pentagon on 9/11, the kindness of 9/12, his powerful mental health journey, suicide, Operation Enduring Warrior, the Strugglewell program and so much more. J.P. is a veteran First Responder of 20+ years. A responder to the Pe...

Timea Nagy is Human Trafficking survivor turned author and victim advocate. We discuss her early life in Hungary, human trafficking myths, how predators target the vulnerable, using fear as a restraint, DeliverFund and much more. Human trafficking survivor, author, speaker, and social advocate Timea Nagy immigrated to Canada in 1998. Her nightmare unfolded in Toronto that same year after arriving...

Craig Weller is a former USN SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant Crewman) and the co-founder of "Building the Elite". We discuss his journey into the military, fighting extremism in the Phillippines, his transition story, training the tactical athete, sleep and performance, injury prevention, his incredible book and so much more. He is also certified under the Department of State’s Worldwide Personal...

Robb Milano is 30 year veteran of the Fire Service. He is currently the Division Chief of EMS for the Vancouver (WA) Fire Department. We discuss his journey into the fire service, the impact addiction had on his family, the progressive solutions his department has in place to combat the opiod crisis, the innovative 911 Telehealth integration they've employed to reduce non-emergent calls, leadershi...

Travis Gribble is a 24 year veteran of Law Enforcement, SWAT commander and the man behind "My Arena" We discuss his journey into policing, fitness standards, his officer involved shooting, the child abuse call that almost broke him, the damage a mismatched counselor can do, his healing journey, the Strugglewell program and so much more. My name is Travis Gribble and I am a retired 24 year law enfo...

Tom Eberhardt is a Senior Adviser for the Norwegian Correctional Service (KDI) and Amend Norwegian Director. He was educated at the Correctional Service of Norway Staff Academy as a prison officer and has higher education in economics and crisis management. Tom worked 26 years in different prisons in Norway and held several management positions. Tom was the Warden at Bastøy Prison for six years. S...

Dr. Casas is a Clinical and Police and Public Safety Psychologist in the State of Nevada. She also holds a PSYPACT Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Psychology license that allows for the practice of virtual practice in 32 additional states. We discuss her experience in EMT school, clinical psychology, first responder mental health, entrance testing, dispatchers, retirees and so much more....

Ryan Munsey is the author of best selling book F*ck Your Feelings and co-founder of The Better Human Project, Ryan Munsey is a sought-after thought leader who specializes in high performance and the development of both individuals and organizations. An athlete and avid outdoorsman, Ryan personally coaches Olympic and professional athletes, Special Forces Operators, Hollywood celebrities, and leadi...

Rob Cefoli is a 20 year veteran of FDNY, their Director of Health and Fitness and the Co-Founder of FYR Tribe. We discuss his journey into the fire service, training the tactical athlete, sleep deprivation, some notable calls, his powerful mental health story, releasing trauma from the body, his non-profit and so much more. Robert Cefoli Director of Health and Fitness FDNY I’m a married father of...

Pete began his career in Search and Rescue for San Miguel County in 2009. He joined San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office in Corrections and Communications/Dispatch in 2013, then Patrol in 2014. He transferred to Garfield County Sheriff’s Office in 2016 where he worked in Patrol, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Field Training Officer and Firearms Instructor. Pete left law enforcement in 2020, aft...

Jules and Gédéon Naudet are the French brothers behind the documentaries 9/11, November 13 and Notre Dame to name a few. We discuss their childhood in Paris, studying film in NYU, what took them to the FDNY, their accounts of September 11, the heroism at the 2015 Paris attacks, saving Paris' most treasured landmark and so much more.

Sonya McVay is a movement therapist and the woman behind The Six. We discuss childhood trauma, her journey into pilates, trauma release, woking with Formula 1 Drivers, performance vs pain, injury rehabilitation, manual therapy in the first responder communites and so much more. Sonya McVay-Straub, MP, is a certified ART (Active Release Techniques), NKT (NeuroKinetic Therapy), AiM (Anatomy in Motio...

Frank Larkin is a former Navy SEAL, police officer, flight medic, Secret Service Agent and current firefighter. Frank lost his son, Ryan to suicide and has been a powerful voice in the military and first responders mental health and TBI conversation. We discuss his journey into the military, pre 9/11 SEAL training, some career calls, CTE and suicide, working though grief, sleep deprivation, instit...