Behind The Shield

Brandon Harding is the man behind the incredibly successful “Veterans in the Wild”, a wilderness program that has been embraced by the US Military. Anthony Droz is a Marine Veteran, Spartan Instructor, and wilderness guide. He aided Brandon in his quest to bring this wilderness program to life, as it was also his goal to provide wellness to Marines and Sailors. We discuss their journeys into unifo...

Angela Graham-Houweling is a former firefighter and co-founder of the SIREN Project. We discuss her early life, her journey into the fire service, some career calls, her powerful mental health story, the psychedelic journey that saved her life, the creation of her non-profit to help first responders find healing with entheogenics and so much more. My name is Angela Graham. I’m a Co-Founder of The...

Shawn Coss is an ER Nurse and the artist behind Any Means Necessary. We discuss his early life in Ohio, his journey into medicine, the opioid epidemic, his love of art, Cyanide and Happiness, working on a Stephen King movie, mental health art, music and so much more. Shawn was born in England whilst his Father was stationed there during his time in the Army, but moved back to America with his fami...

Ruari Fairbairns is a former Oil Broker and the man behind "One Year, No Beer". We discuss his childhood mental health struggles, the letter that changed his life, alcohol and business, introversion, the health impact of alcohol, its impact on sleep, the predatory actions of marketing, the power of peer support, healthy downregulation and so much more. Born on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, from an e...

Robert Burke is an actor and veteran volunteer firefighter. We discuss his early life, his journey into acting, the tragedy that inspired his fire service, portraying General Mattis in Generation Kill, working on Rescue Me, martial arts, altruism, his powerful sobriety story, becoming Robocop and so much more.

Eric Reynolds is a former police officer and the man behind Cops and Campers and Keto Five O. We discuss his mother's capture of Griselda Blanco, his own path into law enforcement, being wounded in an officer involved shooting, his rehabilitation journey, his powerful mental health story, the power of ketosis, creating a non-profit and so much more. As a 54-year-old retired wounded police veteran...

Matthew Harrison and Brian O'Connell are members of the Gainesville Fire Rescue in Florida which will be transitioning to the 24/72 schedule in August. Matt is a SWAT Medic and Brian in the Vice President of the FIrefighter's Union. We discuss their journeys into the fire service, the mental and physical imact of shift work, sleep deprivation, the recruitment crisis, the money saved by this transi...

Bethel Cagan lost her firefighter husband to suicide in 2022. We discuss Frank's journey into the fire service, his love of martial arts, becoming a father, the unwraveling she witnessed, the compounding elements of psychiatric meds and holds, processing grief, improving mental health in the fire service and so much more.

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....