Behind The Shield

Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish author, educator and speaker. He has spent his entire life around education, living in both the US and Australia. We discuss his early life, the Finnish education model, standardised testing, supporting schools in low income areas, the importance of play, mental health in children and much more. Pasi Sahlberg is Finnish educator, teacher, and author. He has worked as a s...

Brian Hillard is a 25 year veteran special effects artist and CEO of Metasphere industries. We discuss his early life, his journey into movie make up, zombie auditions, moulage and training, veteran and first responder mental health, using his special effects skillset as therapy for trauma and so much more.

Nick Hall was 8 years old when a murderer invaded his family's home. Through a tragic miscommunication, his mother shot by a police sniper after being mistaken for the attacker. Despite this trauma, Nick followed a career in law enforcement, choosing to be part of the solution. We discuss his early life, living through a hostage situation, his journey to overcome trauma, his journey into policing,...

Mickey Farrell is a Lieutenant in the New York City Fire Department, a third-generation firefighter with 29 years of experience, the last 23 years being with the FDNY. Also a team instructor at the New York City Fire Academy, founder and author of Top Floor Tactics, and host of A View From the Top Floor Podcast. We discuss his journey into the fire service, his powerful 9/11 story, truck company o...

Eric Potterat, Ph. D. is a Clinical, Performance and Sport Psychologist who is considered one of the leading experts in high performance psychology, performance optimization, decision-making and teamwork under pressure, mental skills training, and individual and organizational resilience. He retired as a Commander in the Navy after 20 years of service, the last 10 of which he served as the Head Ps...

1SG (Ret) Matt Eversmann was one of the Army Rangers portrayed in the movie "Black Hawk Down", chronicling the courageous actions of Task Force Ranger, during the Battle of Mogadishu. We discuss the importance of training, setting the bar high, complacency, ownership and much more. First Sergeant (ret) Matt Eversmann personifies the importance of duty, courage and selfless service to succeed when...

Mike Jolly is a former College Football player, actor, stuntman, coach and the inventor of "The Iron Neck". We discuss his athletic journey, concussion and youth athletes, neck strength and brain health, acting, professional wrestling, firefighter helmets, aviation, traumatic brain injuries and much more.

Buck Brannaman is a a world renowned horseman, author and subject of the documentary "Buck". We discuss his traumatic childhood, the healing power of kindness, mentoring, equine therapy, prisons and much more. For over 30 years, Buck Brannaman has been working with horses and their owners and today is one of the world’s leading practitioners of handling horses based on classical concepts from the...

Ted Stern is a former law enforcement officer, coach and the co-founder of Fit Responder. We discuss his early life, his journey into policing, training the tactical athlete, fitness standards, his own weight loss story, creating a more resilient workforce, building a business and much more.

Ryan Allen is a veteran firefighter, international rope rescue competitor and member of the Orange County climb team. We discuss his journey into the fire service, California vs Florida training, the recruitment crisis, his path into special operations, some notable water rescues, firefighter fitness, knowledge sharing with international agencies, the nuances of the Orlando Wheel training, The Cen...

Joel Salatin, 64, calls himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Others who like him call him the most famous farmer in the world, the high priest of the pasture, and the most eclectic thinker from Virginia since Thomas Jefferson. Those who don’t like him call him a bio-terrorist, Typhoid Mary, charlatan, and starvation advocate. We discuss the devolution of fami...

Thaer Ahmad, MD is a board certified emergency medicine physician in Chicago. Dr. Ahmad is the assistant program director for the emergency medicine residency program at Advocate Christ Medical Center. He also serves as the global health director and medical ethics director for the emergency department at Advocate Christ. Dr. Ahmad is a clinical assistant professor at the university of Illinois at...

Dr Andrew Lock is a world record holding strength athlete, bodybuilding judge and physiotherapist. We discuss his early life in Australia, training the youth athlete, body dysmorphia, the anatomy of shoulder pain, the power of corrective exercise, the evolution of the spine, healing back pain, MMA, the tactical athlete and so much more.

Jim Lydon is a former firefighter, dispatcher, fire chief, city manager and current member of the All American Leadership team. We discuss starting volunteer firefighting at a very young age, the evolution of dispatching, his journey through the ranks, how he overcame losing sight in one eye, his powerful mental health story, his cancer battle, leadership in the fire service and so much more.

Tori Gonzalez was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when a former student murdered 17 schoolchildren and staff in 2018, including her boyfriend Joaquin Oliver. Anthony Gonzalez is Tori's father and was one of the responding firefighters to the attack. We discuss their early lives, Tori and Joaquin's romance, the aftermath of the massacre, grief, tactical medicine, the media, mental health and...

Tommy Aceto is a former Navy SEAL and a member of the Veteran's Mental Health Leadership Coalition, We discuss his early life, his journey into the Navy, Special Operations, his perspective on war, his transition story, how psychedelic therapy saved his life, the power of plant medicine, Robert Kennedy Jr and so much more.

Jocko Willink is a Retired US Navy SEAL officer, author and co-founder of Echelon Front. We discuss the impact of the pandemic, overcoming fear, efficiency in business, building a resilient population, mental health, the evolution of Echelon Front and much more.

Bruce Schutter is a former volunteer rescue squad member, EMT and the man behind "Becoming a Mental Health Warrior. We discuss volunteering at a very early age, the impact of trauma on a young mind, some career calls as an EMT, his battle with alcoholism, consumerism, his post traumatic growth story, the tools he shares to overcome addiction and so much more.

Jonathan Levitt is an athlete, podcaster and the Senior Sales Executive for InsideTracker. We discuss youth athletics, his experience as a camp counselor, the importance of comprehensive bloodwork, sleep, hormone disruption, their First Responder Panel, his passion for running, podcasting and much more.

Ron Stallworth is a Colorado Springs PD Veteran and the subject of the movie Blackkklansman. As a young black undercover officer, Ron was able to infiltrate the local KKK chapter. We discuss his journey into law enforcement, white supremacy in America, dirty cops (and firefighters), unorthodox policing, courage, community and much more.

Greg Grogan is a Marine veteran, Coast Guard Reserve, Law Enforcement officer and co-founder of The Overwatch Collective. We discuss his journey into the military, policing our waterways, first responder mental health, finding culturally competant clinicians and much more.

Chris Lytle was one of the top UFC welterweight fighters whilst serving as a full time firefighter. Since then, Chris continues to serve his community as a firefighter and advocate through his project "The Chris Lytle Foundation". We talk training, fighting, setting the bar high in the fire service, why he entered politics, his foundation and much more.

Pat Kenny is a retired Illinois Fire Chief and the Author of "Taking the Cape Off". In this third conversation, we discuss the house fire that affected his own family, his powerful trip to Ireland, multi generational trauma, the hiring crisis and much more.

Captain Dale Dye is a Marine veteran, author, actor and renowned Hollywood military technical advisor. We discuss his latest project Masters of the Air, the unique military bootcamp he put the cast through, a behind the scenes glimpse at the technology involved, Band of Brothers stories, his powerful perspective on mental health, the Afghanistan withdrawal and much more.

Jim Wendler is a world renowned strength coach, powerlifter and the creator of the 5/3/1 system. We discuss Jim's early life, his journey into strength training, collegiate football, powerlifting, training the tactical athlete, mentorship, his own near death experience and much more.