Behind The Shield

Buck Brannaman is a a world renowned horseman, author and subject of the documentary "Buck". We discuss his traumatic childhood, the healing power of kindness, mentoring, equine therapy, prisons and much more.For over 30 years, Buck Brannaman has been working with horses and their owners and today is one of the world’s leading practitioners of handling horses based on classical concepts from the California vaquero tradition; working with the horse's nature, using an understanding of how horses think and communicate to train the horse to accept humans and work confidently and responsively with them. One of his stated goals is to make the animal feel safe and secure around humans so that the horse and rider can achieve a true union. Buck travels most of the year doing horsemanship clinics in the United States, Europe and Australia & New Zealand. When not on the road, he lives with his wife Mary and their horses in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Ted Stern is a former law enforcement officer, coach and the co-founder of Fit Responder. We discuss his early life, his journey into policing, training the tactical athlete, fitness standards, his own weight loss story, creating a more resilient workforce, building a business and much more.

Ryan Allen is a veteran firefighter, international rope rescue competitor and member of the Orange County climb team.We discuss his journey into the fire service, California vs Florida training, the recruitment crisis, his path into special operations, some notable water rescues, firefighter fitness, knowledge sharing with international agencies, the nuances of the Orlando Wheel training, The Central Florida Rope Rescue Challenge and much more.

Joel Salatin, 64, calls himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Others who like him call him the most famous farmer in the world, the high priest of the pasture, and the most eclectic thinker from Virginia since Thomas Jefferson. Those who don’t like him call him a bio-terrorist, Typhoid Mary, charlatan, and starvation advocate.We discuss the devolution of faming, the carcinogens in our food, repairing our farm land through regenerative farming, the obesity and cancer crisis, plant medicine and so much more.

Thaer Ahmad, MD is a board certified emergency medicine physician in Chicago. Dr. Ahmad is the assistant program director for the emergency medicine residency program at Advocate Christ Medical Center. He also serves as the global health director and medical ethics director for the emergency department at Advocate Christ. Dr. Ahmad is a clinical assistant professor at the university of Illinois at Chicago and a board member for MedGlobal, a medical humanitarian NGO that works at building healthcare capacity at reducing health inequities globally.Thaer just returned from a humanitarian medical aid mission in Gaza. We discuss his parents' immigration story, the Israeli doctor that saved his father's life, the community in Jerusalem, violence and addiction in Chicago, the impact of poverty in America, October 7, the immense civilian death toll in Gaza, the lifeline UNRWA is for the Palestinian people, how we can help and much more.

Dr Andrew Lock is a world record holding strength athlete, bodybuilding judge and physiotherapist.We discuss his early life in Australia, training the youth athlete, body dysmorphia, the anatomy of shoulder pain, the power of corrective exercise, the evolution of the spine, healing back pain, MMA, the tactical athlete and so much more.

Jim Lydon is a former firefighter, dispatcher, fire chief, city manager and current member of the All American Leadership team.We discuss starting volunteer firefighting at a very young age, the evolution of dispatching, his journey through the ranks, how he overcame losing sight in one eye, his powerful mental health story, his cancer battle, leadership in the fire service and so much more.

Tori Gonzalez was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when a former student murdered 17 schoolchildren and staff in 2018, including her boyfriend Joaquin Oliver. Anthony Gonzalez is Tori's father and was one of the responding firefighters to the attack. We discuss their early lives, Tori and Joaquin's romance, the aftermath of the massacre, grief, tactical medicine, the media, mental health and so much more.

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 community, Operation Enduring Warrior and much more.

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 occupation cancer that is killing his firefighters, the financial savings of a progressive work week, how this positively impacted recruitment, their progressive decontamination program and much more.

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 innate immune response, breath and mental health, thermoregulation, inflammation and so much more.wimhoftheicemanwimhofmethodbreathiceicebathcoldshowermentalhealthimmunity

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 and much more.

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, weight cutting , combatives in law enforcement and much more.

Sam Brawley is a firefighter, podcaster and flight paramedic. We discuss her journey into the volunteer fire service, his road into EMS, some of her career calls, paramedicine in the ER, proactive medicine, her podcast Nine One One Nonsense and so much more.

Chris Moore is a 31 year veteran of the fire service and peaks nationally on first responder mental health.We discuss growing up in a law enforcement family, his journey into volunteer firefighting, fitness, the special operations community, career calls, his powerful mental health story, post traumatic growth, marriage and so much more.

Josh Brolin is an author, former firefighter and actor, starring in such movies as "Only The Brave and "No Country For Old Men". We talk about growing up on farm, how he got the part in "The Goonies", his time as a volunteer wildland firefighter, honouring the Prescott 19, portraying Superintendant Eric Marsh and much more.

Retired from the Navy in 2016 after serving 20 years in the Special Operations community with several combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Technician with the SEAL Teams. After retiring, he spent nearly two years training Special Operations personnel in advanced parachute flight. Nick has approximately 8200 jumps and is the Owner of Deland High Performance LLC.We discuss his journey into the military, the world of SWCC, his transition into EOD, traumatic brain injuries, compassion in war, his powerful mental health story, skydiving, 7 x 7 and so much more.

John Travolta starred in one of the few movies about our profession that is truly respected. We talk about his early career, Ladder 49, training with Baltimore FD and the charitable projects he now champions.

Ben Close is a British Army Veteran, former Contractor and the author of "When War Follows You Home".We discuss his turbulent childhood, his journey into the miltary, his deployments, the horrors of war, compassion on a battlefield, the world of contracting, Somalian pirates, his transition story, mental health and so much more.

John Knox is a veteran firefighter, arson investigator, dispatcher and former law enforcement seach and rescue technician.One month ago, after 21 years of service with LAFD, John was terminated over a COVID vaccine mandate. We discuss his journey into policing, some of his rescue stories, his unique role during 9/11, his journey into the fire service, chasing arsonists, organisational betrayal, mental health and much more.

Justen Keating is the Founder of Keating Global Risks, and has over 20 years of experience in the National Security, and Intelligence Community.He is a veteran of the US Marine Corps with multiple combat tours in the Middle East and is a former Independent Contractor for CIA, where he ran clandestine protective operations in Central Asia and the Middle East for over a decade.We discuss his journey into the military, his 9/11 story, close protection, the Afghanistan withdrawal, his powerful mental health story, jiujitsu and much more.

Jonny Lee Miller is a veteran actor, jiujitusu player and volunteer firefighter. We discuss his Grandfather's work in James Bond, Jonny's journey into acting as a child, Trainspotting, addiction, celebrity, his powerful recovery story, the healing power of martial arts, entering the fire service, volunteerism and much more.

The Honorable Rob Wilkins is a retired US Air Force Master Sergeant, a fitness expert, and a former member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition (PCSFN) appointed under President Trump and President Biden. In this episode, we discuss his journey into the military, hiring standards, the obesity epidemic, training the tactical athlete, the Weider brothers, bodybuilding, school nutrition, physical education, the military and first responder recruitment crisis, the Transcend Foundation and much more.

Da Rulk is a strength and conditioning coach and the creator of RFT. In this second conversation we discuss the important wellness lessons from the pandemic, cold water immerson and resilience, training the fire service, ocean lifeguarding, the Iron Neck, his partnership with 5.11 and much more.

Allan Chiasson a Navy Corpsman veteran and active duty firefighter/paramedic. Ed Ford is a Marine veteran and former contractor. We discuss their journey's into the military, tactical medicine, the world of contracting, protecting the military's mail, losing brothers in combat, mental health, organisation betrayal, transition and so much more.

Suzanne Stein is a social documentary/street photographer known for her raw and truthful lens. We discuss her own turbulent childhood, her mental health story, finding photography, homelessness in America, how "Tranq" is destroying lives, censorship, art, and so much more.

Anthony "Staz" Stazicker is a former British Special Operations soldier and the co-founder of ThruDark. In this second conversation we discuss the impact the pandemic had personally and for his business, community through jiu jitsu, the impact of the Afghanistan withdrawal, mental health, his new book "The Hard Road Will Take You Home, 7x and much more.

Aaron Zamzow is a veteran firefighter, personal trainer and the man behind Fire Rescue Fitness. In this conversation, we take the gloves off and address some unpopular topics regarding firefighter performance and longevity. These include annual fitness standards, training in bunker gear, the firefighter work week, functional training, leadership and much more.

Cameron Strouss is a Clinical/Functional Herbalist, Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild, Certified Aromatherapist, Master Gardener, medicine maker extraordinaire, forager of 14 years and clinician of 9 years. We discuss the physical and psyhological childhood trauma that modern medicine was unable to help, her journey into the world of Herbalism, the power of Kava, healing the nervous system, pain management, foraging and much more.

Tip Cullen was born in Northern Ireland and served 37 years in the Royal Marines before transitioning out to pursue acting. We discuss his childhood during the troubles, the commonality of man, his journey into the British Military, protecting his country in uniform, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, mental health, his journey into Drama, his new film Sunray and much more.