The HeadRush Podcast with Paul Frase and Corey Berry

What if the future of treating brain injuries isn't another medication—but light? Former BYU Hall of Fame linebacker Dr. Larry Carr shares how brain trauma nearly destroyed his life before an experimental light therapy changed everything. Today, he's helping lead groundbreaking research showing measurable improvements in brain inflammation, cognition, mood, and athletic performance. From football...

When former NFL player Aldon Smith passed away, public conversation quickly shifted toward his past struggles.  But is that the complete story? In this episode of the HeadRush Podcast, Paul Frase, Corey Berry, and former Oregon State linebacker Rico Petrini explore the growing tendency to blame character before considering brain health. Together they discuss repeated head impacts (RHI), CTE, addic...

What happens when memory loss, depression, brain fog, impulsive behavior, balance problems, and even suicidal thoughts start becoming part of everyday life? In this episode, Paul Frase and Corey Berry break down the symptoms commonly associated with CTE, TES, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and repeated head impacts (RHI). Drawing from their own experiences and current research, they discuss how t...

For the first time, Paul Frase and Corey Berry sit down to openly discuss what's changed over the last six months. From the Brain Well Program and hormone testing to photobiomodulation, supplements, nutrition, and brain injury recovery, they share the therapies they're using, the progress they've seen, and the challenges they still face every day. If you've ever wondered whether healing is possibl...

A year after rodeo legend Pete Kennedy's death, his family finally received answers. His brain was donated to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, where scientists searched for evidence of CTE and the lasting effects of repeated head impacts. What they discovered brought validation, new questions, and a deeper understanding of the invisible struggles Pete faced. When rodeo cowboy Pete Kenn...

A champion rodeo cowboy. A loving father. A man of faith. Then the memory loss, rage, depression, confusion, and suicidal thoughts began to take over. In one of the most emotional episodes of The HeadRush Podcast, the family of rodeo athlete Pete Kennedy shares the heartbreaking reality of repetitive head trauma, suspected CTE/TES, and the devastating impact brain injuries can have long after the...

What if depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts aren’t “mental health issues”… —but signs of a damaged brain that can actually heal? This might be one of the most important conversations we’ve had. In this episode of The HeadRush Podcast, we sit down with world-renowned psychiatrist and brain health pioneer Dr. Daniel Amen —a physician who has analyzed over 300,000 brain scans across 155 c...

What if the signs were there… and everyone missed them? In this powerful episode, families who lost loved ones to brain trauma share the moments they now recognize as early warnings—and why awareness alone isn’t enough. This episode of The HeadRush Podcast comes from the M. Parkman Foundation Summit on Repeated Head Impacts—where conversations go beyond headlines and into real-life consequences. F...

What if depression, PTSD, and brain fog aren’t psychological… but biological—and measurable? For decades, brain trauma has been misunderstood. Veterans, athletes, and everyday people have been told their symptoms—depression, anxiety, brain fog—are psychological… or worse, dismissed entirely. But what if the real issue is neuroinflammation—and we’ve just never had the tools to measure it? In this e...

CTE, TBI, TES, repeated head impacts, and blast exposure aren’t just sports problems—they’re life problems. In this episode, Paul Frase and Corey Berry break down the foundations leading the fight for awareness, treatment, and real hope. Brain trauma doesn’t end when the game is over. In this powerful episode of The HeadRush Podcast, former NFL player Paul Frase and former professional rodeo athle...

What if the symptoms you’ve been told to “just live with” — brain fog, PTSD, depression, addiction, and repeated head trauma — could actually be reversed? Can ibogaine help heal traumatic brain injury, PTSD, addiction, and even symptoms linked to CTE? In this powerful episode of The HeadRush Podcast, Paul Frase and Corey Berry sit down with Trevor Millar, co-founder of Ambio Life Sciences, to brea...

A single executive order just cracked open decades of restriction on psychedelic medicine—could this finally change the future of PTSD, addiction, and brain trauma? A major shift just hit the medical and mental health world. In this episode of The HeadRush Podcast , Paul Frase and Corey Berry react in real time to a newly signed executive order from Donald Trump directing the U.S. Food and Drug Ad...

Most mental health treatments fail—not because patients are broken, but because the root cause is being missed. Dr. Mizyl Damayo, Medical Director of Paradise Behavioral Health, returns to The HeadRush Podcast to break down why traditional psychiatry often fails—and what it actually takes to create lasting healing. After a decade in conventional practice, Dr. Damayo saw the same pattern over and o...

Corey Berry and Paul Frase pull back the curtain on the mission behind the HeadRush Foundation and why this work matters so deeply to them. In this episode of The HeadRush Podcast , they talk openly about repeated head impacts, TBI , TES , suspected CTE , the long-term effects of brain trauma, and the very real challenges facing athletes, veterans, first responders, and others living with neurolog...

25+ concussions. Years of silence. Then everything collapsed—this is how Rico Petrini fought his way back. What happens when decades of repeated head impacts finally catch up—and your brain starts to break down? In this episode of The HeadRush Podcast, Paul Frase (11-year NFL veteran) and Corey Berry (former professional rodeo athlete) sit down with Rico Petrini, a former Oregon State linebacker w...

What if the gear parents trust most is giving them a false sense of safety? Not every product marketed to “protect” athletes is solving the real problem. In this episode of The HeadRush Podcast , Paul Frase and Corey Berry break down the hard truth about brain trauma in contact sports, including football, rodeo, wrestling, hockey, and other activities involving repeated head impacts. They challeng...

Brain injury can isolate people fast. Tyler Ambrose explains why support, community, and hope can change everything. When brain injury makes people feel isolated, support can become survival. In this episode of The HeadRush Podcast , Paul Frase and Corey Berry sit down with Tyler Ambrose , Peer Support Coordinator at the Concussion & CTE Foundation , to talk about the real impact of peer suppo...

A 9/11 survivor with a fractured skull and years of concussion fallout, Mike Dempsey shares the real cost of trauma—and the tools, people, and hope that helped him rebuild his life. Mike Dempsey’s life is the definition of resilience. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he chased elite athletics—football, baseball, even boxing—before building a successful corporate career. Then September 11, 2001 changed...

This week, HeadRush goes across the pond with Roy Heaney and Rich Coates from the UK’s Marshalling CTE Foundation—former rugby players turned advocates confronting the realities of repeated head impacts (RHI), TBI, TES, and probable CTE. Roy and Rich share what happens when elite and grassroots athletes hit a breaking point and are told it’s “just anxiety” or “just depression,” despite years of co...

Welcome to the HeadRush Podcast Year-End Review — a full recap of 2025 and a look ahead to what’s coming in 2026. In this episode, Cristal Clark, MA, LPC-S, NBCC, CEAP, SAP (MC Wellness) joins Paul Frase and Corey Barry to reflect on a year of growth in awareness, hope, and community building around brain health — including: 🔹 TBI, concussions, and repeated head impacts 🔹 Brain health effects of...

What do professional cowboys and an NFL player have in common? More than you might think. In this episode of the HeadRush Podcast, Nick LaDuke, Corey Berry, and Paul Frase sit down for a wide-ranging, honest conversation that connects brain health, regenerative agriculture, neurodiversity, and faith — and why all of it matters for families, communities, and future generations. This discussion expl...

In this powerful episode of the HeadRush Podcast, we sit down with Trip Harlan, CEO of the Bio Optimization Institute in Tampa, Florida, to explore groundbreaking approaches to brain injury recovery and high-performance optimization. Trip breaks down how the Bio Optimization Institute uses five clinically proven modalities—including one that earned a 2019 Nobel Prize—to enhance neurological recove...

Can we win the battle against demyelinating diseases? In this episode of the HeadRush Podcast, we sit down with Helen McCormack, Founder and CEO of Viotheia Biosciences, to explore the rapidly evolving world of precision medicine. Helen shares groundbreaking insights into diagnostic innovations and re-myelination techniques that could transform how demyelination diseases are detected and treated....

In this powerful episode of the HeadRush Podcast, we sit down with Brandi Winans, wife of former NFL player Jeff Winans, and Susan Berry, wife of former professional Bareback Bronc rider Corey Berry, as they open up about the emotional, physical, and daily realities of being caregivers to loved ones living with brain injuries, CTE, TES, chronic pain, and the long-term effects of repeated head impa...

Tatyana McCall Wimberley joins the HeadRush Podcast for one of our most powerful episodes yet, sharing the life and legacy of her son Ray Lewis III, who tragically passed away and was later diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). As the mother of Ray Ray and former partner of NFL Hall-of-Famer Ray Lewis, Tatyana provides an unfiltered, emotional look into football culture, warning s...