Angela Lee Pucci held the One Championship Atom Weight title for six years. Whilst announcing her retirement, she revealed that she had tried to take her own life a few years prior. In 2022, Angela lost her sister Victoria to suicide. This lead her to create her non-profit Fight Story. In this powerful and important conversation we discuss her journey into the martial arts, the pressure put on youth athletes, her success in the cage, her powerful mental health story, the healing power of motherh...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 916
Scott Howell is a strength and conditioning coach, podcaster and the founder of Red Dot Fitness. We discuss youth athletics, his journey into personal training, gym management, the entrepreneur's leap of faith, the pandemic's impact on gym owners, training the tactical athlete, weapons training and so much more. Founder of Red Dot Fitness, Scott Howell is a dedicated certified health and fitness professional with over 2 decades of real world, practical, hands-on experience. Following his passion...
Apr 16, 2024•2 hr 15 min•Ep. 915
Tulsi Gabbard is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, 4-term Congresswoman, 2020 Presidential candidate and author. We discuss addressing the obesity epidemic, mental health and addiction, proactive healthcare, the prison system, the importance of diplomacy, how we can recruit trusted leaders, the military-industrial complex, the first responder professions, the Hawaii wildfires, kindness, community and so much more. Tulsi Gabbard is a combat veteran with deployments to the Middle Eas...
Apr 13, 2024•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 914
Rick Cheatham spent 24 years as an Anahiem firefighter and was a Special Operations Captain. We discuss his early life, his journey into the fire service, his USAR deployments, sex addiction, mental health, the murder of his son, grief, spirituality, family, the freak accident that paralysed him and so much more.
Apr 11, 2024•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 913
Rian Ilett is a Royal Marine, author and cancer survivor. We discuss his early life, attending a scared straight programme in Mexico, his journey into the military, his perspective on war, kindess on the battleground, the injury that revealed his brain tumor, his powerful recovery journey and so much more. Former Royal Marine Commando Lance Corporal (LCpl) Rian Ilett, from Portsmouth in Hampshire, was diagnosed with a brain tumour after he was caught in an explosion while on operations in the Mi...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 912
Daryle Lamont Jenkins is an Air Force veteran, filmaker and the founder of One People's Project. We discuss the power of mentorship, community, the commonalites of Hip Hop and Punk, Neo Nazi groups in America, overcoming division and so much more. Recent movies like “Alt Right- Age of Rage” and the Academy Award-winning short film “Skin” as well as the feature by the same name have shown some of the work done by our founder Daryle Lamont Jenkins. Born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in nearby S...
Apr 07, 2024•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 911
Chuck Liddell is an MMA legend, author and actor. We discuss his early life, overcoming physical challenges, his grandfather's mentorship, altruism, his journey into the martial arts, intrinsic motivation, transitioning out of professional fighting and so much more.
Apr 06, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Steve Sakaguchi is a 21 year veteran firefighter and instructor. We discuss the Japanese internment camps of WWII, growing up in the restaurant industry, his journey into the fire service, his leadership failures, finding solutions from outside our profession, the application of leadership, building a training department, firefighter fitness and so much more.
Apr 04, 2024•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 910
Audra and Chelsi are both married to firefighters and are the women behind the Dear Chiefs Podcast. We discuss their early lives, their partners' journies into the fire service, the impact of mandatory overtime on families, shift work, sleep deprivation, burnout, mental health, healthy transition from work to home and so much more. "Once upon a time in the middle of a pandemic, two fire wives and complete strangers met on the internet and decided to start a podcast for first responders and their...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 909
Geoff Speyrer is an Army veteran and athlete. We discuss his early life, his journey into the military, protecting EOD, losing friends, TBIs, his jarring transition, incarceration, overcoming addiction, suffering, hormone therapy and so much more.
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 908
Mark Testa DC is a Chiropractor, Accupuncturist and the Executive Vice President of Regenexx. We discuss his journey into hollistic medicine, the story behind "Quackery", dry needling, stem cell therapy, PRP, the healing power of Bone Marrow Concentrate, tactical athletes, sleep, aging and so much more.
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 907
Kyle O'Neill is a veteran firefighter, cancer survivor and now holds a wellness role where he helps fellow firefighters with their own cancer journeys. We discuss his path into the fire service, some career calls, sleep deprivation, carcinogens, post fire decontamination, PFAS, his own powerful cancer survivor story, building resources for prevention and treatment and so much more.
Mar 26, 2024•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 906
Ken Druck, Ph.D. is a leading mental health expert focused on the areas of civility, relationships, and aging. He writes regularly for the national press and is the author of several books including "How we go on." In this second conversation, we discuss mental health in our children, aging, grief, the psychological impact of war and so much more. Dr. Druck's pioneering work over the past 40 years, has included Executive Coaching/Consulting, Visionary Leadership, The Psychology of Men, Parent Ef...
Mar 24, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 905
Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod lost both legs and an arm after kneeling on an IED on Christmas Eve, 2007. Mark defied all odds, becoming an elite athlete and Invictus Games multiple gold medalist. We discuss the importance of training, trauma medicine, physical and mental resilience and so much more. In the early hours of Christmas Eve 2007, Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod was out on a routine foot patrol in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan when he stepped on and triggered an Improvise...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 50 min
John Wolf is a strength and conditioning coach and the man behind Wolf Pack Coaching and Consulting. We discuss his journey into strength training, kettlebells, mace work, the psychology of coaching, foundation training, his powerful mental health story, growth and much more.
Mar 21, 2024•2 hr•Ep. 904
John Womak was seven years old when his mother's intoxicated boyfriend crashed, ejecting John, leaving him with life long scars. He became a police officer and by a twist of fate, headed up his department's DUI division. We discuss his healing form the physical and emotional injuries as a child, his journey into law enforcement, traffic deaths, improving road safety, school education, smart phones and accidents, alcohol, his work with MADD and much more.
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 903
Gerard Devine is an award-winning Irish poet who lives a life less ordinary. The former carpenter is a full-time firefighter in Dublin City. We discuss his early life, building houses in Ireland and America, hurling, dispatch, mental health, fitness, his poetry and much more. Prior to joining the fire brigade, Gerard spent many years working on the building sites of Dublin, Boston and San Francisco. He still plies his building skills by volunteering to work in third-world countries such as Afric...
Mar 17, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 902
Jay Dobyns is a retired 27 year veteran of the ATF agent who spent two years undercover infiltrating the Hell's Angels. We discuss his early life, courage, bullies, the price of service, the Columbine massacre, slapdicks, organizational failure and much more. Jay Dobyns is a retired federal agent having served for twenty-seven years at ATF.He achieved worldwide notoriety as one of history's most daring undercover operators during high-octane missions targeting America's violent crime while playi...
Mar 16, 2024•1 hr 49 min
Dr Jonathan Edwards is an anesthesiologist and the author of multiple books including "The Revolutionary Ketamine." We discuss the suicide that sent him into medicine, riding motocross, anaesthesiology, his lens on COVID, the healing power of Ketamine, pain, post traumatic growth, first responder and military mental health, percutaneous hydrotomy and much more.
Mar 14, 2024•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 901
David Hughes is a retired North Carolina State Trooper and father to Drew Hughes, who died after a series of medical errors at only 13 years old. David tells Drew's powerful story to try and educate the medical community and prevent a tragedy like his son's death from occurring again. Do not miss this powerful and tragic story. https://www.doitfordrew.org/
Mar 13, 2024•2 hr 20 min
Professor Alan Shebaro earned his Black Belt from Carlos Machado in 2004 and is currently ranked as a 4th degree Black Belt under Professor Chris Haueter. He was 1 of only 4 Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the U.S. Army and is the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt in Special Forces Regiment. He is also the founder of the Veteran non-profit We Defy Foundation. We discuss his early life, his path into the martial arts, his journey ito the military, how 9/11 was the catalyst for his specia...
Mar 12, 2024•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 900
Eric Tung is is a 16 year Law Enforcement officer and the man behind Blue Grit Wellness. We discuss his family's immigration story, his journey into policing, the emotional cost of officer involved shootings, the power of humility, social media, mentorship, schood safety and so much more. Eric Tung has been a police officer in Washington state for 16 years. He currently serves as a patrol operations commander in Kent, WA. He also oversees peer support and wellness programs at his department and ...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 899
Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish author, educator and speaker. He has spent his entire life around education, living in both the US and Australia. We discuss his early life, the Finnish education model, standardised testing, supporting schools in low income areas, the importance of play, mental health in children and much more. Pasi Sahlberg is Finnish educator, teacher, and author. He has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator, academic, and policymaker in Finland, and he has advised schools and...
Mar 09, 2024•1 hr 48 min
Brian Hillard is a 25 year veteran special effects artist and CEO of Metasphere industries. We discuss his early life, his journey into movie make up, zombie auditions, moulage and training, veteran and first responder mental health, using his special effects skillset as therapy for trauma and so much more.
Mar 08, 2024•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 898
Nick Hall was 8 years old when a murderer invaded his family's home. Through a tragic miscommunication, his mother shot by a police sniper after being mistaken for the attacker. Despite this trauma, Nick followed a career in law enforcement, choosing to be part of the solution. We discuss his early life, living through a hostage situation, his journey to overcome trauma, his journey into policing, fitness, nutrition and so much more.
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 31 min
Mickey Farrell is a Lieutenant in the New York City Fire Department, a third-generation firefighter with 29 years of experience, the last 23 years being with the FDNY. Also a team instructor at the New York City Fire Academy, founder and author of Top Floor Tactics, and host of A View From the Top Floor Podcast. We discuss his journey into the fire service, his powerful 9/11 story, truck company operations, his thoughts on primary search, lithium ion battery fire, firefighter fitness, cancer and...
Mar 06, 2024•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 897
Eric Potterat, Ph.D. is a Clinical, Performance and Sport Psychologist who is considered one of the leading experts in high performance psychology, performance optimization, decision-making and teamwork under pressure, mental skills training, and individual and organizational resilience. He retired as a Commander in the Navy after 20 years of service, the last 10 of which he served as the Head Psychologist for the US Navy SEALs and was responsible for all the psychological Assessment, Selection,...
Mar 03, 2024•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 896
1SG (Ret) Matt Eversmann was one of the Army Rangers portrayed in the movie "Black Hawk Down", chronicling the courageous actions of Task Force Ranger, during the Battle of Mogadishu. We discuss the importance of training, setting the bar high, complacency, ownership and much more. First Sergeant (ret) Matt Eversmann personifies the importance of duty, courage and selfless service to succeed when ordinary circumstances become extraordinary challenges. On October 3, 1993, Matt was placed in charg...
Mar 02, 2024•1 hr 19 min
Mike Jolly is a former College Football player, actor, stuntman, coach and the inventor of "The Iron Neck". We discuss his athletic journey, concussion and youth athletes, neck strength and brain health, acting, professional wrestling, firefighter helmets, aviation, traumatic brain injuries and much more.
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 895
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 ...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 49 min
