Behind The Shield

Dany Cotton spent over three decades serving with the London Fire Brigade, retiring as Commissioner. We discuss her journey into the fire service, forging diversity through mentoring, the impact of budget cuts on service and health, violence on first responders, heroism at the Grenfell Tower fire, dirty politics and much more.

Ricky Nuttall is a veteran of the London Fire Brigade and was one of the firefighters at the Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 72 lives. We discuss his journey into the fire service, physical fitness, budget cuts, building construction, the inability to save, PTSD, addiction, suicide, community, poetry and much more.

Rashad Evans is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Hall of Famer and co-founder of Umbo. We discuss his turbulent childhood, mentorship through wrestling, his journey into MMA, his powerful mental health story, psychedlic therapy, functional mushrooms, entrepreneurship and so much more. Retired professional MMA fighter, UFC Hall of Famer, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Ultimate...

Nick Hall is a veteran Police Officer and speaker. In 2000, an armed intruder held Nick and his family hostage. Through a tragic miscommunication, an Orlando PD sniper shot Nick's mother, Andrea. After struggling through both grief and aner, Nick decided to become a law enforcement officer and thus part of the solution. In this second conversation we discuss fatherhood, vascectomies, post traumati...

Marcos Orozco is a veteran firefighter and the man behind Hard Knox Sunday. We discuss his journey into the fire service, chasing his dream department, firefighter fitness, his powerful sobriety story, organisational stress, Hard Knox Hitters and much more. I have been passionate about fitness since the age of 12 when my Dad bought me my first gym membership. Growing up I played football, baseball...

Sean Spencer is a filmakerm whose work includes 'Nguen', 'Grunt' and 'Ranger'. David Waterhouse is the subject of 'Ranger', which tells an essential story of the wars we sent our young men and women to for twenty years and the ripple effect of trauma. We discuss thir journeys into their respective careers, David's path into the Ranger Regiment, retrieving the fallen from Operation Red Wings II, lo...

Ed Monroe is a veteran firefighter, speaker and soon to be author. He was first on scene after the horrific Murder/Suicide at LA County's Station 81 in 2021. We discuss his journey into the fire service, mentorship programs, inmate wildland crews, the horrendous events at station 81, the physical and mental health ripple effects, post traumatic growth, warning signs and so much more. I am a 53-yea...

In her new hour standup special Big Guy , which premieres on Netflix May 21st, Comedian and Actor Rachel Feinstein invites us into her delightfully chaotic life as the wife of a firefighter, a mother, and a comedian. In the words of her 3-year-old daughter, “my daddy’s a hero and my mommy’s sarcastic.” Rachel explores her marriage to a first responder who is also married to his firehouse family an...

Darren Pallatina is a British Military Veteran seving in both the Army and Navy. He deployed on multiple tours during the GWOT. We discuss his journey into the military, the role of a Combat Engineer, the trauma of war, his powerful mental health journey, his Decision of Power project and so much more.

After marrying her high school sweetheart turned Air Force hubby, Monica Fullerton quickly learned that the military community was ripe with creators, makers and entrepreneurs. Many of her fellow spouses were pursuing their passions in between deployments and even as full-time businesses, but there wasn’t a central location to shop and support these deserving entrepreneurs within the military comm...

Frank Wright was one of the original Marine Raiders who fought on both Guam and Iwo Jima in WWII. We discuss his journey into the Marines, special forces selection, hand to hand combat, facing banzai attacks, his powerful mental health story, writing his book and so much more. I fought like mad as the Japanese stormed down the hill yelling "Malians you die, Malians you die." I emptied my rifle mag...

Mark Pfeifer is a former Canadian soldier, firefighter and the founder of Ronin Rescue. We discuss his journey into the military, his exposure to rope rescue, firefighter fitness, rope redundency, cancer, mental health, chasing innovation, the importance of humility, knowledge sharing and so much more.

For years as an award-winning war reporter, Sebastian Junger traveled to many front lines and frequently put his life at risk. And yet the closest he ever came to death was the summer of 2020 while spending a quiet afternoon at the New England home he shared with his wife and two young children. Crippled by abdominal pain, Junger was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Once there, he began slippi...

Ben Jenkin is a Parkour champion, stuntman and most recently one of Ryan Gosling's stunt doubles in 'The Fall Guy'. We discuss the daredevil influences in his childhood, finding Parkour, his journey into the stunt industry, recognising the stunt community, set safety, MMA, some behind the scenes stories and so much more. Ben Jenkin was born in Germany, raised in Blackburn, England, Ben spent his e...

Sara Jahnke is one of the most respected researchers in firefighter health. In this third conversation we focused solely on the acute and chronic impact of sleep deprivation and how more rest is imperative for our firefighters. We discuss the alarming rise in childhood diseases amongst first responder parents, hormonal disruption, sleep deprivation and mental health, weight gain, how shift work is...

MIck Southall was only 16 years old when he joined the Junior Paratrooper programme in the British Army. In 1982, at the age of 17, Mick volunteered to fight alongside his fellow Paras against the Argentinians in the Falklands war. We discuss his early life, the mentors he found in the military, the courage of the Falklands, taking Mount Longdon, his homecoming story, Northern Ireland, Sudan, his...

Summer of 2022 is one we will never forget. We received a call that our 16-year-old daughter, Layla, was being trauma hawked after an ATV crash. We didn’t know much about brain injury then, but we were about to get a firsthand look. Layla was in a coma. She had multiple brain bleeds, a dissected carotid artery and a broken jaw. They explained her type of injury was typically fatal, a grade 3 DAI....

Jim Burneka is a firefighter, podcaster and the author of 'Overcoming Tuesday. In this second conversation, we discuss his powerful mental health story, the Save a Warrior program, his time in the IAFF's Center of Excellence, catharsis through writing, his conference 'Brothers helping Brothers' and so much more. As a first responder, firefighter paramedic Jim Burneka encounters traumatic events th...

Johann Hari is the author of Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs. We discuss the weight struggle that led him to explore pharmceuticals, the psychology of obesity, processed food and disease, Japan's food philosophy, the importance of sleep and so much more. Johann Hari is the author of three New York Times best-selling books, and the Executive...

Shaun "Bish" Bishop is a former 22 SAS Air Troop Sergeant with 24 years of military experience and over 14 combat deployments worldwide. A Sniper Instructor for the elite 22 SAS CT Wing, 22 SAS CQB Instructor and SAS Patrol Medic. He is a subject matter expert on firearms training, tactics and planning. He is also a liaison to local police forces while conducting high risk arrests, SIA licensed cl...

Kyle and Emily, married in 2016, have been a husband and wife coach/athlete team for the past 8 years. In addition to Kyle’s full time job in law enforcement, he programs and coaches his wife, Emily, who is in her quest this year to qualify for her sixth consecutive CrossFit Games. Emilys best finish at the games was last year in 2023 when she placed 12th, a successful comeback after her season en...

Mike Nasti is a 21 year veteran of the fire service and the man behind the 'Tip of the Spear Leadership Podcast'. We discuss his early life, volunteer firefighting, his 9/11 story, entering the career fire service, his leadership mistakes, mental health, firefighter fitness, his podcast and much more. Lieutenant Mike Nasti is a seasoned firefighter with 17 years of dedicated service in a major met...

Vin is a master mindset & Executive coach. He's a licensed psychotherapist, full-time entrepreneur and angel investor. Also Vin is a former FDNY firefighter who served during the C-19 pandemic. He has spent over 12 years learning techniques, skills and tools to help people create lasting change. Vin has worked in virtually every setting imaginable in mental-health, he has worked in hospitals,...

Major James Capers is one of the most decorated Marine Recon veterans who operated on over 50 classified missions in Vietnam. We discuss his challenging childhood, racism in the South, his indominable marriage, the impact of losing men, coming home, PTSD and so much more.

Tony Long and Mark Williams are former British Armed Police Officers. Tony is the author of the book Lethal Force which documents his career. Mark now serves as the CEO of the Police Firearms Officer Association. We discuss their journeys into policing, the power of mentorship, armed unit tactics, organisational betrayal, the media, fitness standards, Britain's knife crime epidemic, the support th...