Behind The Shield

Tommy Aceto is a former Navy SEAL and a member of the Veteran's Mental Health Leadership Coalition, We discuss his early life, his journey into the Navy, Special Operations, his perspective on war, his transition story, how psychedelic therapy saved his life, the power of plant medicine, Robert Kennedy Jr and so much more.

Jocko Willink is a Retired US Navy SEAL officer, author and co-founder of Echelon Front. We discuss the impact of the pandemic, overcoming fear, efficiency in business, building a resilient population, mental health, the evolution of Echelon Front and much more.

Bruce Schutter is a former volunteer rescue squad member, EMT and the man behind "Becoming a Mental Health Warrior. We discuss volunteering at a very early age, the impact of trauma on a young mind, some career calls as an EMT, his battle with alcoholism, consumerism, his post traumatic growth story, the tools he shares to overcome addiction and so much more.

Jonathan Levitt is an athlete, podcaster and the Senior Sales Executive for InsideTracker. We discuss youth athletics, his experience as a camp counselor, the importance of comprehensive bloodwork, sleep, hormone disruption, their First Responder Panel, his passion for running, podcasting and much more.

Ron Stallworth is a Colorado Springs PD Veteran and the subject of the movie Blackkklansman. As a young black undercover officer, Ron was able to infiltrate the local KKK chapter. We discuss his journey into law enforcement, white supremacy in America, dirty cops (and firefighters), unorthodox policing, courage, community and much more.

Greg Grogan is a Marine veteran, Coast Guard Reserve, Law Enforcement officer and co-founder of The Overwatch Collective. We discuss his journey into the military, policing our waterways, first responder mental health, finding culturally competant clinicians and much more.

Chris Lytle was one of the top UFC welterweight fighters whilst serving as a full time firefighter. Since then, Chris continues to serve his community as a firefighter and advocate through his project "The Chris Lytle Foundation". We talk training, fighting, setting the bar high in the fire service, why he entered politics, his foundation and much more.

Pat Kenny is a retired Illinois Fire Chief and the Author of "Taking the Cape Off". In this third conversation, we discuss the house fire that affected his own family, his powerful trip to Ireland, multi generational trauma, the hiring crisis and much more.

Captain Dale Dye is a Marine veteran, author, actor and renowned Hollywood military technical advisor. We discuss his latest project Masters of the Air, the unique military bootcamp he put the cast through, a behind the scenes glimpse at the technology involved, Band of Brothers stories, his powerful perspective on mental health, the Afghanistan withdrawal and much more.

Jim Wendler is a world renowned strength coach, powerlifter and the creator of the 5/3/1 system. We discuss Jim's early life, his journey into strength training, collegiate football, powerlifting, training the tactical athlete, mentorship, his own near death experience and much more.

Lisalee Loew is a Natural Healing Practitioner, breathwork coach and part of the team at the Shatterproof program for military and first responders. We discuss her early life, her powerful story overcoming alcoholism, the 12 step program's incredible success rate, the hollistic therapies she gleaned along her healing journey, using breath to combat trauma and so much more.

Pat Kenny is the Fire Chief of Western Springs, Illinois and published author in the fire safety and mental health arena. We discuss childhood trauma, mental health, his son's battle with depression, suicide, cancer, messages from heaven, resiliency and much more.

Jason Gilbert is a Human Performance Optimization Specialist, author and a World Surf League Sports Practitioner. We discuss his childhood back pain that led him into Chiropractic, heavy metal poisoning, functional medicine, prevention through nutrition, Foundation Training the surf athlete, the power of sleep and much more.

Nicole Angemi is a Pathology Assistant, author and the woman hehind "The Gross Room". We discuss becoming a mother at a young age, her journey into medicine, finding pathology, using her work to educate, obesity, cancer, pregnancy, firefigher marriage and so much more.

Dr Edith Eger is a psychologist, author and Auschwitz survivor. We discuss her early life in Hungary, living through ballet, seeing kindness amongst immense cruelty, her own journey of healing, counselling veterans, finding the bigot within yourself, the first responder community and so much more.

Jeremy Scharlow is a public speaker, advocate for military and law enforcement veterans, and author of the book, “My Brother’s Keeper: Relearning to Live with PTSD.” We discuss his journey into policing, the world of dispatch, the shooting that left him with physcial and psychological wounds, his powerful mental health story, the tools he used for post traumatic growth, the healing power of commun...

Capt. Dale Dye revolutionized Hollywood war movies by putting the actors through a military style boot camp. We talk about his career in the Marines, the horrors of war, mental health, his transition into the film industry, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and his latest project "No Better Place To Die".

Dixon Phillips is a former collegiate athlete, Pasco County firefighter and union board member. In 2026, after realising both the financial savings and the improvement in physical and mental health, his fire department will transition into a 24/72 work week. We discuss playing football for FSU, his journey into the fire service, strenghtening relationships between unions and employers, the occupat...

Harry Turner is a British military veteran, conservationist and the co-founder of the non-profit Emerald Arch. We discuss his early life, his journey into the Army, the horrors of war, his powerful homecoming story, how he found healing working with animals in Peru, the love and loss with two Ocelots, his post traumatic growth and much more.

Bethany Hamilton is one of the world's most elite surfers, despite losing an arm at age 13. She is an author and the subject of the documentary "Unstoppable". We discuss discovering her passion, overcoming physical and mental trauma, pregnancy, motherhood, chasing excellence and much more.

Charles Harriott is a lifelong martial artist, jiu-jitsu black belt and international instructor. We discuss his parents' immigration from Jamaica, his introduction to the martial arts, American Kempo, kick boxing, head trauma, his journey into jiu-jitsu, his leap of faith into travelling and teaching, the world of leg locks and so much more.

Wim Hof is an extreme endurance athlete, teacher, author and speaker. Using breath work and cold exposure, Wim was able to demonstrate his ability to control his autonomic nervous system. Through the Wim Hof Method, he was then able to teach others to develop control within themselves. We discuss his early life, his first cold water experience, losing his wife to suicide, dealing with grief, the i...

Justin Mahaffey is a veteran wildland firefighter, fitness trainer and the man behind Wild Fit Life. We discuss his early life, growing up in a Mexican community, what we can learn from Hispanic culture, his journey into the fire service, mentorship, training the tactical athlete, community and much more.

Kevin Heffernan is an American actor, writer, producer, and director, and member of the Broken Lizard comedy group. We discuss his early life, finding comedy, pursuing law, the creation of Broken Lizard, the origin story of Super Troopers, how a trip to Australia inspired Beerfest, Quasi, his family connection to the Fire Service, the creation of Tacoma FD, the importance of technical direction an...

Royce Gracie is the son of Helio Gracie; founder of Gracie Jujitsu. Royce fought in the original UFCs, winning multiple times in an age before weight divisions and few rules. I was fortunate to be able to sit down with him in person. We discuss the birth of Gracie Jujitsu, martial arts and bullying, striking in jiu jiitsu, competition versus self defense, firearms, the importance of fitness, weigh...