Maine Responder | Leadership. Wellness. Resilience.

Can a simple gratitude exercise actually change the way you think? For 30 days, I committed to answering five questions every night—not because I expected a dramatic transformation, but because I wanted to honestly see if it made a difference. In this episode, I share the five biggest takeaways from that experience. We talk about why we often give one negative moment more weight than an entire day...

Can a beef jerky actually earn a permanent spot in a patrol bag? In this episode of Maine Responder, Billy and I put First2Respond Jerky to the test. We talk flavor, texture, ingredients, and whether we'd actually recommend it to fellow first responders. What makes this company stand out isn't just the jerky—it's their mission to support the first responder community. If you're looking for an hone...

What started as a simple yoga class turned into an unexpected lesson in stress, tension, and self-awareness. In this episode of Maine Responder, Elliott shares his experience attending a Yoga for First Responders session at the York County Regional Training Center. Co-host Billy asks the questions many first responders might have themselves: What's the point? Is it actually useful? And what can yo...

What happens when you stop dismissing ideas and actually give them a real chance? In this solo episode, Elliott reflects on growth, lifelong learning, and the danger of believing we've learned everything there is to know. Inspired by graduation season, learning new podcast equipment, and a return to running, this conversation explores why curiosity matters and how small decisions can create meanin...

Behind every first responder is a spouse, partner, or family member carrying a weight that often goes unseen. In this episode, we sit down with the women behind Project Homefront, a peer support group for first responder spouses, to discuss isolation, communication challenges, hyper-independence, identity, and the realities of supporting someone who works in law enforcement, fire, EMS, dispatch, o...

Gossip feels harmless until it starts destroying trust, morale, and culture from the inside out. In this episode of the Maine Responder Podcast, Elliott and Billy have an honest conversation about gossip in policing, leadership, and everyday life. They discuss how rumors spread, why people are drawn to “juicy” information, and how toxic communication quietly damages teams, wellness, and trust insi...

Burnout gets all the attention, but what if burnout isn't the real problem? In this episode, Elliott Moya and Billy Dries sit down with Wally Fraser and Brad Gallant to discuss first responder wellness, leadership, culture, and what actually helps people thrive in high-stress professions. The conversation explores why some wellness initiatives succeed while others fail, the importance of authentic...

We make a lot of decisions every day—but the ones that cause the most damage usually aren’t the big ones. They’re the small moments in conversation. The ones where something hits you the wrong way… your patience drops… your ego gets involved… and you know whatever you’re about to say isn’t going to help— …and you say it anyway. In this episode, I talk about what I call the FOODA Loop —that cycle w...

This one’s a little different. I sat down with my daughter and her friends—no plan, just let them talk. What starts as a conversation about fidgets and focus turns into something else… trading, distraction, and a “Nee Doh thief” situation at school. It’s funny, it’s real—and honestly a good reminder to slow down and spend some time with your kids. Off shift.

Most officers don’t stay in the job because they want to… They stay because they feel like they have to. After attending a wellness course, this episode opens with a raw reflection on retirement, identity, and what happens when the job is no longer who you are. We’re joined by Mark Roberts, founder of Shift Change , and a first responder, to break down one of the most overlooked stressors in publi...

What happens when a single conversation changes the way you view policing, leadership, and wellness? In this episode, Elliott Moya, Billy Dries, and Ron Lund sit down with Hannah Longley to discuss crisis intervention, peer support, critical incidents, officer wellness, and the cultural shift happening within law enforcement. The conversation explores how peer support teams help first responders n...

This episode of the Maine Responder Podcast takes on something most first responders deal with yet rarely talk about: chronic pain. Not the generic advice. Not the “just stretch it out” version. We get into the real experience—what it feels like to show up to work in pain, how it impacts your mindset, and why the culture often pushes people to ignore it. Trish, a licensed clinical professional cou...

In this episode of the Maine Responder Podcast, Elliott sits down with Ron to talk about how their agency’s wellness journey really began. What started during the uncertainty of COVID and a deeper focus on Crisis Intervention Team training eventually turned inward, leading to bigger conversations about leadership, peer support, physical health, vulnerability, and what it actually means to take car...

This episode is a Short one—but it might be one of the most important. Elliott keeps the momentum going with a solo reflection sparked by last week’s conversation with Matt Leach… and a simple question: What have we gotten wrong about wellness? In a profession where wellness conversations often come from trauma, mistakes, and hard calls, it’s easy to associate the entire movement with something he...

In this episode of the Maine Responder Podcast , we sit down with Matt Leach — firefighter, social worker, and one of the leaders helping shape the wellness mission at the York County Regional Training Center in Southern Maine. What starts with a conversation about retirement, identity, and the strange way first responders seem to measure life by “how much time is left” turns into a deeper discuss...

In this episode, Elliott is joined by his wife Rebecca for a conversation that started during a first responder wellness training and quickly turned into something bigger. They talk about the idea many responders grow up hearing: “We’re a family.” But what happens when that belief collides with reality? From institutional betrayal to burnout, boundaries, and the emotional weight of the job, Elliot...

In this episode, Elliott admits to waking up angry after an infidelity nightmare… and somehow Billy ends up responsible for jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. The conversation moves from stress signals and sleep, to wellness check-ins, cold plunging, and why doing hard things on purpose can actually make you better. Elliott and Billy break down the mental side of cold water exposure, beginner tips,...

Billy & Elliott talk about the things we do outside the job that keep us sane—whether we call them hobbies, habits, or just “how I decompress.” They get into golf frustration and comparison (“golfers are liars”), archery, rucking and walking for miles, and the unexpected hobby that’s bringing real joy lately: podcasting. Somewhere in the middle, a phrase shows up that sums it all up: tactical...

What do rare bourbon “ghost drops,” measured pours, and midnight shifts have in common? Sleep. In this episode Elliott and Billy start with a Ghost drop bourbon rush and end up in a serious conversation about one of the most overlooked topics in public safety: rest. Is restorative rest a weakness? Or is it long overdue? This conversation hits on something bigger: if we’re still pretending sleep do...

Elliott and Billy have an honest, lighthearted conversation about weight, health, habits, and the mental roadblocks. What starts as a candid admission about being “on the fat boy program” turns into a deeper discussion about anxiety, ego, human behavior, and how easily we overthink the very steps that are meant to help us. Elliott shares his experience being referred to a hospital-based weight and...

The conversation delves into the importance of communication and respect in the workplace, highlighting the impact of small actions on workplace culture. It explores the influence of personal and core values, workplace hygiene, teamwork, and responsibility, as well as the negative impact of small annoyances. The discussion emphasizes the role of communication and respect in daily interactions and...

In this episode, Billy shares a personal journey of self-reflection and health assessment after receiving disappointing results from a recent biomarker blood test. He discusses the emotional impact of these results, particularly as someone who is typically seen as a health and wellness advocate. Billy candidly admits to feeling like he has let himself and others down due to a shift in his prioriti...

Rebecca and Elliott delve into the reality of relationships with first responders, highlighting the challenges of celebrating holidays, coping with work schedules, supporting a first responder spouse, and navigating life changes. It also emphasizes the importance of flexibility, understanding the demands of the job, communication, and coping with stress. The discussion concludes with reflections o...