Behind The Shield

Ben Timberlake is a former SAS soldier, Contractor, archaeologist and the author of "High Risk". We discuss his early life, joining the British Special Forces, the horrors of war, kindness in combat, his powerful and unique addiction story, his full circle back into archaeology and so much more. High Risk: This is a dark, raw and uncompromising tale of the human condition in extremis, drawing on t...

Thomas Ansu is a former New York EMT, current FDNY Squad firefighter and the founder of The Burn Box. We discuss growing up in New York, the importance of mentorship, his experiences as an EMT, his journey into the Fire service, servant leadership, special operations firefighting, entreprenurship, The Burn Box and so much more. Burn Box was founded in 2020 by Thomas, an active FDNY firefighter wit...

Tom Hewitt MBE, is founder and CEO of Surfers Not Street Children. He has worked in the field with street children in Africa for over 28 years. In 1998 he founded the Durban Street Team which went on to be renamed Surfers Not Street Children in 2012. Tom was awarded and MBE by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 for his work with street children in Africa. Tom is perhaps most well known for his success...

Angela Lee Pucci held the One Championship Atom Weight title for six years. Whilst announcing her retirement, she revealed that she had tried to take her own life a few years prior. In 2022, Angela lost her sister Victoria to suicide. This lead her to create her non-profit Fight Story. In this powerful and important conversation we discuss her journey into the martial arts, the pressure put on you...

Scott Howell is a strength and conditioning coach, podcaster and the founder of Red Dot Fitness. We discuss youth athletics, his journey into personal training, gym management, the entrepreneur's leap of faith, the pandemic's impact on gym owners, training the tactical athlete, weapons training and so much more. Founder of Red Dot Fitness, Scott Howell is a dedicated certified health and fitness p...

Tulsi Gabbard is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, 4-term Congresswoman, 2020 Presidential candidate and author. We discuss addressing the obesity epidemic, mental health and addiction, proactive healthcare, the prison system, the importance of diplomacy, how we can recruit trusted leaders, the military-industrial complex, the first responder professions, the Hawaii wildfires, kindne...

Rick Cheatham spent 24 years as an Anahiem firefighter and was a Special Operations Captain. We discuss his early life, his journey into the fire service, his USAR deployments, sex addiction, mental health, the murder of his son, grief, spirituality, family, the freak accident that paralysed him and so much more.

Rian Ilett is a Royal Marine, author and cancer survivor. We discuss his early life, attending a scared straight programme in Mexico, his journey into the military, his perspective on war, kindess on the battleground, the injury that revealed his brain tumor, his powerful recovery journey and so much more. Former Royal Marine Commando Lance Corporal (LCpl) Rian Ilett, from Portsmouth in Hampshire,...

Daryle Lamont Jenkins is an Air Force veteran, filmaker and the founder of One People's Project. We discuss the power of mentorship, community, the commonalites of Hip Hop and Punk, Neo Nazi groups in America, overcoming division and so much more. Recent movies like “Alt Right- Age of Rage” and the Academy Award-winning short film “Skin” as well as the feature by the same name have shown some of t...

Chuck Liddell is an MMA legend, author and actor. We discuss his early life, overcoming physical challenges, his grandfather's mentorship, altruism, his journey into the martial arts, intrinsic motivation, transitioning out of professional fighting and so much more.

Steve Sakaguchi is a 21 year veteran firefighter and instructor. We discuss the Japanese internment camps of WWII, growing up in the restaurant industry, his journey into the fire service, his leadership failures, finding solutions from outside our profession, the application of leadership, building a training department, firefighter fitness and so much more.

Audra and Chelsi are both married to firefighters and are the women behind the Dear Chiefs Podcast. We discuss their early lives, their partners' journies into the fire service, the impact of mandatory overtime on families, shift work, sleep deprivation, burnout, mental health, healthy transition from work to home and so much more. "Once upon a time in the middle of a pandemic, two fire wives and...

Geoff Speyrer is an Army veteran and athlete. We discuss his early life, his journey into the military, protecting EOD, losing friends, TBIs, his jarring transition, incarceration, overcoming addiction, suffering, hormone therapy and so much more.

Mark Testa DC is a Chiropractor, Accupuncturist and the Executive Vice President of Regenexx. We discuss his journey into hollistic medicine, the story behind "Quackery", dry needling, stem cell therapy, PRP, the healing power of Bone Marrow Concentrate, tactical athletes, sleep, aging and so much more.

Kyle O'Neill is a veteran firefighter, cancer survivor and now holds a wellness role where he helps fellow firefighters with their own cancer journeys. We discuss his path into the fire service, some career calls, sleep deprivation, carcinogens, post fire decontamination, PFAS, his own powerful cancer survivor story, building resources for prevention and treatment and so much more.

Ken Druck, Ph. D. is a leading mental health expert focused on the areas of civility, relationships, and aging. He writes regularly for the national press and is the author of several books including "How we go on." In this second conversation, we discuss mental health in our children, aging, grief, the psychological impact of war and so much more. Dr. Druck's pioneering work over the past 40 year...

Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod lost both legs and an arm after kneeling on an IED on Christmas Eve, 2007. Mark defied all odds, becoming an elite athlete and Invictus Games multiple gold medalist. We discuss the importance of training, trauma medicine, physical and mental resilience and so much more. In the early hours of Christmas Eve 2007, Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod was out on a rout...

John Wolf is a strength and conditioning coach and the man behind Wolf Pack Coaching and Consulting. We discuss his journey into strength training, kettlebells, mace work, the psychology of coaching, foundation training, his powerful mental health story, growth and much more.

John Womak was seven years old when his mother's intoxicated boyfriend crashed, ejecting John, leaving him with life long scars. He became a police officer and by a twist of fate, headed up his department's DUI division. We discuss his healing form the physical and emotional injuries as a child, his journey into law enforcement, traffic deaths, improving road safety, school education, smart phones...

Gerard Devine is an award-winning Irish poet who lives a life less ordinary. The former carpenter is a full-time firefighter in Dublin City. We discuss his early life, building houses in Ireland and America, hurling, dispatch, mental health, fitness, his poetry and much more. Prior to joining the fire brigade, Gerard spent many years working on the building sites of Dublin, Boston and San Francisc...

Jay Dobyns is a retired 27 year veteran of the ATF agent who spent two years undercover infiltrating the Hell's Angels. We discuss his early life, courage, bullies, the price of service, the Columbine massacre, slapdicks, organizational failure and much more. Jay Dobyns is a retired federal agent having served for twenty-seven years at ATF.He achieved worldwide notoriety as one of history's most d...

Dr Jonathan Edwards is an anesthesiologist and the author of multiple books including "The Revolutionary Ketamine." We discuss the suicide that sent him into medicine, riding motocross, anaesthesiology, his lens on COVID, the healing power of Ketamine, pain, post traumatic growth, first responder and military mental health, percutaneous hydrotomy and much more.

David Hughes is a retired North Carolina State Trooper and father to Drew Hughes, who died after a series of medical errors at only 13 years old. David tells Drew's powerful story to try and educate the medical community and prevent a tragedy like his son's death from occurring again. Do not miss this powerful and tragic story. https://www.doitfordrew.org/

Professor Alan Shebaro earned his Black Belt from Carlos Machado in 2004 and is currently ranked as a 4th degree Black Belt under Professor Chris Haueter. He was 1 of only 4 Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the U.S. Army and is the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt in Special Forces Regiment. He is also the founder of the Veteran non-profit We Defy Foundation. We discuss his early life, hi...

Eric Tung is is a 16 year Law Enforcement officer and the man behind Blue Grit Wellness. We discuss his family's immigration story, his journey into policing, the emotional cost of officer involved shootings, the power of humility, social media, mentorship, schood safety and so much more. Eric Tung has been a police officer in Washington state for 16 years.  He currently serves as a patrol op...