Heroic Stories

Stress, fear, and anxiety are hitting men, families, and young people hard. Brandon Hall shares how his parents’ battles with cancer, his years in medtech, and his renewed Catholic faith led him to help men and students build resilience through prayer, Scripture, stillness, breathing, virtue, and the sacraments. Meet Brandon: https://catholicspeakers.com/profiles/brandon-hall What You’ll Learn ✅...

Matthew Plese: https://catholicspeakers.com/profiles/matthew-plese | What happens when men embrace sacrifice instead of comfort? Matthew Plese joins Dominic from Heroic Men to uncover the forgotten Catholic traditions of fasting, discipline, duty, and heroic living. From construction workers fasting through entire workdays to the spiritual power behind marathon running, this episode explores how a...

Book Deacon Wally: https://catholicspeakers.com/profiles/deacon-wally-calabrese | Catholic men are called to rebuild the domestic church, form stronger families, and help young men hear God’s call with courage. Deacon Wally Calabrese shares his journey from Marine to deacon, why priestly vocations need support at home, how men’s groups can become places of real brotherhood, and why the apostles re...

A father gets the call every parent dreads: His little boy has cancer. He is far from home, alone in a hotel room, powerless to fix it. Chris Mueller talks about what faith looks like when a man cannot solve the problem in front of him. It is a story about fatherhood, suffering, courage, community, and the fierce choice to trust God through years of fear, tears, treatment, and small mercies that s...

What makes a man truly heroic? Bart Schuchts shares how father wounds, false ideas of masculinity, spiritual wilderness, and surrender to Christ reshaped his life and mission. From football culture and broken identity to healing, repentance, and finding his “roar,” this episode explores what it means for men to stop performing strength and start receiving it from God. What You’ll Learn✅ How Bart’...

What does real heroism look like? Olympic gold medalist Curt Tomasevicz shares the story that shaped his life—meeting a 12-year-old boy with a brain tumor whose courage and faith left a deeper impact than any Olympic victory. In this conversation on Heroic Stories, Curt reflects on faith, grit, community, and the surprising lessons he learned from small-town Nebraska, Olympic competition, and the...

He survived a brutal car crash, endured COVID at the height of the pandemic, and came out of both experiences with a deeper hunger for God. In this episode of Heroic Stories, Dan Venezia shares how suffering, his mother’s example, the Rosary, and the Eucharist brought him from lukewarm faith into a life of daily surrender, fatherhood, and bold witness. This is a conversation about heroism, healing...

A Kansas farm boy sets out to become a priest, gets turned away, and thinks the story is over. It isn’t. He meets his wife outside an abortion clinic, adopts four children, and ends up in Congress fighting for faith in public life. Along the way, he finds that the real battle looks a lot like Athanasius against the world. And now, he’s calling other men to step into that same fight. What You’ll Le...

A husband, father, deacon, and hospice chaplain shares the night that changed everything: a workplace robbery, a gunshot to the spine, and three words that came out of his mouth before he even hit the ground — “I forgive you.” On Heroic Stories, Deacon Mike Bellinder reflects on Desmond Doss, faith under pressure, the fatherhood crisis, suffering, forgiveness, hospice ministry, and why so many men...

Caleb Campbell had everything he thought he wanted, crowds cheering, a spot in the NFL, and a life that looked perfect from the outside. But inside, he was falling apart, until one morning he realized he didn’t even know who he was anymore. He walked away from it all and ended up alone in a boiler room, starting over and facing the pain he had spent years running from. Now he tells others that the...

Why are so many fathers missing from family life, and what can ordinary men do about it? Deacon Joe Grote shares the story behind his book 'Where Have All the Fathers Gone?' and opens up about fatherhood, male friendship, resilience, family sacrifice, and the kind of heroism that begins at home. From St. Maximilian Kolbe to a family bakery collapse, this conversation explores what men owe...

What does St. Joseph reveal about courage, fatherhood, truth, and masculine leadership? Jose Miguel Pulido explores St. Joseph’s dream and the power of naming Jesus as an act of love, truth, and leadership. This a passionate, Scripture-filled discussion on why St. Joseph still matters, why men need to find their voice, and why fatherhood remains a gift in the life of the family and the Church. Wha...

What happens when a man faces the deepest wound of his life… and chooses forgiveness? Bob Kroll shares his story of growing up in an abusive home, carrying explosive anger into his own family, and the moment everything changed at a retreat that forced him to confront the “father wound.” His story exposes a hidden pattern affecting millions of men—and what it actually takes to break it. CatholicSpe...

A filmmaker who nearly lost everything to addiction explains why real masculinity isn’t flexing harder—it’s surrender, service, and choosing the unseen daily fight. Andrew Peloso ( VEK Labs ) shares how David’s story hits him now: God calls the “wrong fit,” forms him in ordinary days, and turns weakness into courage. Plus what recovery taught him about humility, connection, and becoming a husband...

For Garrett Hines, heroism isn’t bravado, but obedience. From the little-known story of Beninus walking into fire, to the brutal realities faced by Saint Patrick in pagan Ireland. He recounts his own collapse as a missionary overseas, the complete loss of prayer that followed, and how Catholic traditions rebuilt his interior life. Hines maps a handful of heroes — saints, statesmen, warriors, and f...

What if the most powerful kind of heroism isn’t loud, celebrated, or even noticed—but lived quietly every single day? In The Quiet Heroism of Fatherhood, Rob Astorino shares what it really means to be a man, a father, and a leader when no one’s watching. From the pressures of public life and politics to the deeply personal moments of raising children, he reveals why showing up consistently matters...

What happens when a professional hockey enforcer—known for fighting on the ice—walks away from fame, money, and identity to pursue something deeper? In this powerful episode of Heroic Stories, former NHL enforcer John Scott shares the surprising journey that transformed his life. From the intense world of professional hockey to becoming a father of eight and a man deeply rooted in faith, John open...

What happens when a single phone call sends your life in a completely different direction? In The Call That Sent Him to Iraq (And Changed His Faith), Tom Pazili shares the moment he was asked to deploy to Iraq as a civilian advisor immediately after the war—and the prayer, fear, and faith that followed. This conversation explores what it means to live a mission-focused life when everything in you...

One Prayer Changed His Life began with what looked like panic attacks during Mass… but turned into a spiritual battle he never saw coming. He thought he was a “good Catholic.” Married 27 years. Successful business. Two daughters. But he hadn’t been to confession in decades. No real prayer life. Lukewarm. Comfortable. Until week after week, something gripped him in the pew — racing heart, overwhelm...

Joe Halsell runs a construction company, and drank hard to handle life. Then Exodus 90 forced him to face what was actually enslaving him. AA made it real by dropping him into a “barrier free” room of men offering unconditional help — “24-7, here’s my cell phone number.” It taught him to shut off the spotlight, strip away ego, and live by a hard rule: “Your very life depends upon the degree to whi...

Jeff Schiefelbein believes that real heroism isn’t a viral moment. It’s a dad who jumps into the sewage tank or sits by the NICU bed and refuses to stop praying when he’s out of options. In the end, he says he wants to be a brother to dads in the trenches and build dignified work for his ice cream crew, the kind of man who is always ready — whether that means jumping into the tank or dropping ever...

From atheist to Catholic. From undercover agent to spiritual mentor. What does it take for a hardened lawman to drop to his knees and finally say yes to God? In this powerful conversation, Dominic from Heroic Stories sits down with Dr. Curry Myers—America’s Criminologist—who opens up about the dangerous missions, moral scars, and quiet moments that ultimately led him to faith. He shares how a self...

What makes a man heroic in today's world? In this raw and powerful episode of Heroic Stories, Nathan Crankfield—Army veteran, Catholic convert, and founder of Seeking Excellence—dives deep into that question. Raised amid chaos, formed by faith, and sharpened through military grit, Nathan shares the moments that shaped his definition of modern heroism. From the martyrdom of St. Thomas More to t...

Matthew Christoff’s new book says happiness for Catholic men starts with taking the Sunday Gospel seriously. He frames Jesus as the “lion of Judah,” and reads the Gospels as a sustained campaign to overthrow “the kingdom of Satan,” marked by constant threats, confrontation, and Christ’s refusal to back down. Christoff traces his own decade-long devotion project to helping his father through a slow...

How does a man rise to the top—only to feel completely empty? In this powerful true story, Bill Moyer, a leadership coach and president of the Catholic Men's Leadership Alliance, shares the moment that changed everything: a midnight conversation with a homeless man on the streets of Austin. At the height of his career, after winning a world-class award, Bill was haunted by the hollowness of su...