The Plant Medicine For PTSD Podcast

Healing from trauma isn’t about fixing the past - it’s about learning how to stay present while you heal in real time. In this episode, Alice shares her story from the middle, not the finish line. She grew up in Russia in an abusive home, immigrated to the U.S. without speaking English, and learned early how to survive by pushing forward. That survival mode carried her into adulthood… into service...

This episode was never actually meant to see the light of day as a regular podcast, but it turned out to be too good to keep under wraps.  I’m joined by active-duty police officer Allen Heaton , who originally hopped on just to record a few quick snippets about his experience at last year’s Operation FlowState retreat, his upcoming role as head instructor at the 2026 retreat, and his new role as a...

How much time have you spent reflecting on a single word? Tim Pachasa —aka “Chachi” —has spent 13 years on one: expectations . Expectations shape how we communicate, how we lead, and how we navigate healing from PTSD and moral injury. I don’t think anyone has unpacked this concept more than Chachi.  He has spent 20+ years in leadership positions in the military, runs his own leadership consultancy...

This is the first installment in a new series we're testing out where we highlight stories and inspirational (or painful) snippets we hear from our clients and mentors inside of our coaching program.  This one brings you a tale of 2 dads - one hopeful, one devastating but both inspiring stories to hear. (Okay, plus one more story completely unrelated to dads but I still wanted to share it and...

This episode dives into psychedelic retreats & psychedelic integration through the story of Dr. Charlie Powell —a veteran and physician with multiple board certifications and medical patents.  He appeared to be crushing life by all external metrics, having built and sold a thriving medical practice, but severe burnout was eroding his wellbeing under the surface. Traditional medicine had nothin...

PTSD and TBI often get framed as purely psychological issues, but hormone levels can tell a different story - one that often gets overlooked entirely, or is severely mismanaged.  In this episode, Green Beret and double-board-certified physician Dr. Taylor Bosley breaks down how repeated brain stress can disrupt the HPA axis, why symptoms get misread, and why “ just take testosterone bro ” is compl...

Psychedelic integration sits at the center of this episode—a clear, grounded look at how real life changes after profound experiences. Paul Nootbaar shares an incredibly raw story: he lost his mother due to domestic violence as an infant, years of foster-care chaos followed, and later, becoming a dad brought a surge of buried memories and suicidal thoughts. What saved him was MDMA-assisted therapy...

In this episode, I’m joined by Mark Herrmann — retired firefighter, ketamine clinic staffer, psychedelic advocate, and someone who’s clearly done the work. Mark’s path started like a lot of ours do - with childhood wounds that never really healed, but were covered over to allow him to function in his high-stress job. From the loss of his dad at a young age to decades of trauma absorbed on the job...

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Mike Legregni — retired Marine, former cop, founder of Veteran Wood Co., and a man who’s been through some serious shit in life and keeps on trucking.  In this episode, we pick up where we left off and finally dive into the healing side of Mike’s story — including his powerful experiences with psychedelics through The Mission Within and his journey with MDMA-...

I'm joined today by Mike Legregni, retired Marine & former police officer, current psychonaut, woodworker, and all-around good dude. Mike came from a pretty messed up background which launched him into the Marine Corps — a path that seemed like a solid way forward until an unfortunate turn of events derailed his career, led to his first brush with suicidal ideation, and left him essential...

Retired Marine Corpsman Billy Evans grew up witnessing drug and alcohol addiction in his parents - and later found himself facing the same darkness when his own life began to unravel. Billy was forced into medical retirement when he began to experience seizures secondary to his TBI sustained from multiple blast injuries overseas, only to come home to a tumultuous marriage which compounded his pain...

I'm joined in this one by certified savage Seb Lavoie — he retired from working as an ERT Team Leader (think Canada's equivalent to SWAT) with the rank of Sgt. Major and he now works in private security (even holding a Master's degree in International Security & Global Counter-Terrorism) and helps us out as the head instructor for our Operation Flowstate BJJ Healing Retreats. Se...

In this episode, I'm honored to sit down with Matthew “Whiz” Buckley — former Navy fighter pilot, Wall Street trader, and founder of the No Fallen Heroes Foundation . From launching off aircraft carriers to launching into the spirit world with ibogaine , Whiz’s path has been anything but conventional. Whiz’s first plant medicine journey began with The Mission Within — an ibogaine and 5-MeO-DM...

Jake is a USMC veteran who found the route for healing his TBI and PTSD through plant medicine, and has now evolved to actually be helping to facilitate these ceremonies by working with the Heroic Hearts Project .  I was lucky enough to have Jake come to one of our Operation Flowstate Healing Retreats, and he even participated in our MIndful Microdosing Program (partially to have the experience hi...

In this episode, I talk with Dave Morrow - veteran, podcast host, coach, published author, and BJJ white belt (at the time of this recording…) - about what what led him down the path of joining the Canadian Armed Forces, the factors that caused him to get out, and the all-too-common struggles he faced as a “disabled veteran” trying to navigate life with no support. We pause this saga just short of...

In this episode, I sit down with Damian Robertson — a former Canadian soldier and world-renowned tattoo artist — to talk about the long road from survival to healing. Damian shares the compelling story of surviving a catastrophic train accident as a young soldier — a moment that left deep scars of PTSD he carried for decades. We talk about how trauma shaped his life, how it showed up in his relati...

When Toby was introduced to us by mutual friend Seb Lavioe, he was struggling. Though to be fair, he was struggling less than he had been in previous years. Toby was sexually abused as a kid which led him down a path to join the Canadian Army and ultimately the Canadian Special Operations Regiment... which ultimately led him to a hillside in Afghanistan where an IED changed the trajectory of his l...

Most of the time when someone is engaging in a destructive behavior like excessive drinking or cannabis use, scrolling TikTok for 8 hours a day or impulsively watching porn, they did not set out to actively destroy their own life. Rather, they engage in these things because it actually provides some kind of solution to a deeper problem. It helps numb them to the pain they feel, or soothe the sense...

How does a seasoned law enforcement officer, with 23 years under his belt, grapple with the unseen wounds of PTSD and anxiety? Join us on Plant Medicine for PTSD as we welcome Nic, a former SWAT officer, who shares his harrowing journey through trauma and the unconventional paths he took toward healing. Discover the raw and emotional stories behind high-stress tactical operations and child sex cri...

This episode serves to explain why I am changing gears, and changing the name of this podcast, to be more aligned with the current direction of my business and my life.  I hope that you choose to keep listening and stay engaged with this new, more focused path & thank you so much for your interest, for listening, and for following my journey.  Thanks again for listening! Enrollment is open rig...

Alright let's kick things off on this new podcast venture with a little introduction to what this is and what to expect moving forward The Plant Medicine for PTSD Podcast is here to bring you valuable information on how you can start or deepen your journey using plant medicine to help you to heal your trauma and overcome anxiety or depression. As always, you can find more info on our programs...

This is part one of a multipart series I mapped out while sitting in the Pucallpa airport waiting to start my 24 hour journey out of the jungle and back into civilization. I recently led a group of pasajeros into the jungle to sit with Mother Ayahuasca, and this trip exceeded all expectations in every way. It was my first time leading a group like this solo, and it was quite an experience.  Stay t...

William Tovar is an air force veteran, jiu jitsu practitioner, father, and psychonaut. He went from an aimless, criminal youth to doing cool shit in the Air Force overseas, only to realize he didn't love getting shot at, and decided to get out. Upon coming home he drifted for some time, going from cooking in restaurants around California to working as a realtor for his veteran friends, during...

Brian Liu is a "business solutions architect" which I discovered today just means he's really good at solving problems for people. He spent much of his career working in technology systems solutions, but it turns out his true passions lie in cannabis, jiu jitsu and being a great dad. Brian is doing some awesome work in the Austin, Tx area to both lobby for changes in regulations gov...

Adam is a Doctor of Musical Arts, symphony conductor, jiu jitsu blue belt, and professor at SUNY New Paltz with a 100% rating on ratemyprofessors.com Adam is tremendously dedicated to jiu jitsu, driving several hours just to be able to train and take lessons with the best instructors possible. This has led to him making remarkable progress, going from me armbarring him multiple times a day to achi...