Bulletproof Veteran Podcast

This week we welcome Alexa Modero, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Backpacks For Life.  Backpacks For Life’s mission is to provide a unique and personalized support system for homeless and at-risk veterans who are struggling to reintegrate into civilian life.  Through their two main programs, backpack distribution and coaching/mentoring, they are able to effectively support and empower ve...

This week we welcome Joseph Zoleta, founder of the Black 6 Project and Black 6 Coffee Trading Company.  Joseph takes us on an amazing adventure that started in the early 80's in the Philippines.  At just five years old Joseph immigrated to the United States, and settled in Queens, NY.  Under the shadow of the City That Never Sleeps, he assimilated into his new culture, and, along with his fam...

This week we welcome Theresa Petruna and Steve Kelnhofer, the Co-Founders of Elev8 Veterans.  Elev8 Veterans officially started in 2019 to bring awareness, education, rehabilitation and re-acclimation of veterans and their families to society using alternative methods.  Theresa, an Army veteran and former member of the 82nd Airborne, teamed up with Steve, a glassblower with over 15 years of experi...

This week we welcome Major Tom Schueman, founder of Patrol Base Abbate.  Maj. Schueman shares a story of brotherhood and commitment, personified by the acts of heroic veterans during the drawdown and exit from Afghanistan.  Like so many veterans, Maj. Schueman's mission to rescue his interpreter, Zak, was an example of an American servicemember's promise to his allies.  Zak, and his fami...

This week we welcome back to the show SEAC (R) John Wayne Troxell.  We sit down and discuss his perspective on Afghanistan, through the lense of 38 years of service and leadership.  Having served a year-long combat tour in Afghanistan and returning 10 times as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, John Troxell has intimate knowledge of the mission being carried...

This week we welcome Mike Legregni, founder and owner of Veteran Wood Co.  Mike walks us through transitioning from the Marines, to law enforcement, to creating a full sized woodworking shop specializing in custom 3D signs and wooden décor.  Veteran Wood Co. has taken on projects big and small, with the aim of providing their customers unique items that blend art and military, and law enforcement,...

This week we welcome Justin Matejcek, founder and President of Veteran’s Adventure Group.  Justin has set out to build teams of veterans, equip, and train them to tackle team based extreme sports goals, and help them execute their new missions.  Veteran’s Adventure Group identified a need for energetic, nonprofit work in this area.  Justin formed the organization to provide sensible solutions to h...

This week we hit 50 episodes!  Thanks to information provided by the Foxhole Podcast, and our stellar Bulletproof Veteran Podcast research team, we revisit the topic of foreign interpreters...this time focusing on those interpreters who served alongside the US military in Afghanistan.  We talk about the true cost of the Afghan War, and how the interpreters that were embedded with forward units con...

This week we welcome Caleb Masoner, Executive Director of Balanced Veterans.  Caleb was also the first Executive Director of Operation 1620, an organization providing support for veteran cannabis users.  In 2020, Operation 1620 merged with Balanced Veterans, and became the cannabis initiative of the Balanced Veterans Network.  Caleb, the Balanced Veterans Network, and Operation 1620 work with vete...

This week we welcome Adam Poe, founder of ProVet Leadership Academy.  ProVet is the first and only leadership training program that empowers veterans with the skills they need to succeed in the corporate workplace.   Developed by veterans and organizational psychologists, this unique leadership program uses advanced psychometric analysis and assessments to help veterans not only find employment, b...

This week we welcome Stephen Machuga, the founder and CEO of Stack Up.  Stack Up helps US and Allied military service members get through combat deployments and recover from traumatic physical and emotional injuries with the power of video gaming.  Stack Up utilizes the strength of community to help veterans at home and abroad.  Seventy percent of video games are played with others, either in the...

This week we welcome Judy Weaver, founder of Connected Warriors.  In 2007, Judy met Beau MacVane, an Army Ranger that after five tours in Iraq was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  Beau asked Judy to teach him yoga so he could stay as strong and connected to his body as humanly possible as he fought his terminal illness.  Over the next several years Judy watched as Beau battled his disea...

This week we welcome Dr. Tiffany Tajiri, board certified psychologist and author of Peace After Combat:  Healing the Spiritual and Psychological Wounds of War.  For so many science and faith are held at arm's length from one another, but Dr. Tajiri combines the two worlds in what she calls "Rhythm Restoration".  This method is a combination of RHYTHM for soothing, BILATERAL STIMULAT...

This week we welcome Stefan and Jenny Hespeler, founders of Operation Vest and creators of the Dog Tag Run.  Together this husband and wife team have set out to combat military and veteran suicide.  What started as a Facebook challenge has turned into almost 1900 straight days of hammering out 22 push-ups, and the creation of their own non-profit and run event.  The Dog Tag Run is a 2.2 mile run/w...

This week we welcome Tim Cruickshank, founder and CEO of Bonefrog Cellars and Bonefrog Coffee Company.   After serving 25 years in the U.S. Navy, Tim created Bonefrog Cellars and Bonefrog Coffee Company as a tribute to the “Brotherhood” of U.S. Navy SEAL’s, the Naval Special Warfare community, and to all Americans who bravely served, or who are currently serving, in our United States Armed Forces....

This week we welcome Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson, authors of the International Bestselling Tier One Series.  Jeff and Brian are at it again with a new military thriller, Sons of Valor.   Navy SEAL Keith ”Chunk” Redman has been one of the military’s top doorkickers since the day he pinned on his trident: loyal, single-minded, lethal. Tasked to lead a new, covert team of Tier One SEALs—the most...

This week we welcome fellow Long Islander Col. Steve Miska, author of Baghdad Underground Railroad.  Steve served as an officer in the United States Army for 25 years before retiring in 2015.  During his second of three combat tours in Iraq, Steve led a team that established an underground railroad from Baghdad to Amman to the United States for dozens of foreign military interpreters who supported...

This week we welcome Chris Fuentes, the founder of Ranger Ready Repellents.  Look out your window, that shiny thing in the sky...that's the Sun!  That means beautiful weather is upon us.  It's time for hiking, fishing, gardening, and just enjoying everything nature has to offer. It also means that ticks and mosquitos are enjoying that warm weather as well.  Ranger Ready Repellent's...

Not many people can say they have risen from the DEAD!!!  But for Carmelo Rodriguez, this is his story.  Carmelo is an author, filmmaker, life coach, and motivational speaker.  He also has one of the craziest post-military stories you will ever hear.  He had the unique experience of being declared dead by the VA...and managed to come back to tell the world about it.  Carmelo shares his life alteri...

This week we welcome SgtMaj (Ret.) Marty Kenny the Founder and President of The Weekly Fight.  The Weekly Fight was created to help promote a healthy lifestyle through camaraderie, mission, and purpose. They are determined to reduce veteran suicide by teaching veterans how to transition and turn Post Traumatic Stress into Post Traumatic Growth.  The Weekly Fight provides free workouts to veterans,...

This week we welcome singer-songwriter Brandon Mills.  Brandon is a Recon Marine whose music combines earnest lyrical themes with grappling melodies to create emotionally charged storytelling.  He provides an honest look at the struggle between war-fighter and poet, and the life long search for peace.  Brandon’s music is all about keeping people connected through positive vibes, conscious living,...

This week we welcome Dr. Thomas Moorman, Provost and School Director at the Perfect Technician Academy.  Perfect Technician Academy (also known as PTA) is a fast-track HVAC School, combining technical coursework with hands-on experiences to create a program that ensures career success.  Dr. Moorman discusses the opportunity PTA provides military members separating from the Armed Forces, and also v...

This week we welcome Victor Morales, inventor of the Musclevator.  Victor turned adversity (and the inspiration of a safety brief!) into an invention that is changing the way people attack their workouts.  The Musclevator increases activation of muscle groups typically not stressed during a given exercise.  By adding the element of compression, or extension, to traditional exercises, the Musclevat...

This week we welcome Phil Myers, former Navy EOD technician.  Phil tells his story of his recent separation from the military, and the transition from the SOF community to civilian life.  He has dedicated this portion of his life to promoting alternative therapies; such as yoga, fitness, nature immersion, ice baths, and psychedelics.  To bolster his own mental health, Phil will be stepping off to...

This week we welcome Chelsey Poisson and Keith Dow of Hunter Seven Foundation.  Hunter Seven is known for embracing research on difficult topics, educating and empowering veterans, and continuing to lead the dynamic military and veteran healthcare delivery system locally, nationally and globally.  They strive to help veterans understand their exposures and facilitate the proper care for those in n...