Behind The Shield

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.

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.

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 families. First responders provide safety to our country, and our world, but their safety whether it be mental or physical is severely lacking. Families of these brave and selfless first responders witness the impact of answering the call every day." Through this podcast, we hope to help families understand, support, and build stronger relationships with their first responders, while also finding community and appreciation for themsevles.

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.

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.

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.

ABOUT KEN DRUCKKen 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 Effectiveness, Healing After Loss, Resilience and, most recently, Courageous Aging.Recipient of the "Distinguished Contribution to Psychology" and "Visionary Leadership" awards for his community service and lifetime achievements, Dr. Druck is widely recognized as a lifeline to the countless thousands of individuals, families, communities and organizations he's helped. His body of work, including the founding of The Jenna Druck Center to honor the life and spirit of his daughter, Jenna, set a new standard of

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 Improvised Explosive Device. Thanks to the swift action of the men around him and the intervention of the Medical Emergency Response Team he was airlifted via helicopter to an emergency field hospital in a desperate attempt to try and save his life. An innovative and dangerous procedure carried out onboard a Chinook helicopter en route to the hospital did save his life. He woke up three days later in the UK in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham: Both legs amputated above the knee and his right arm amputated above the elbow. He was t

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.

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.

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 Africa. An animal and nature lover Gerard recently moved up into the inspiring Wicklow mountains where he lives in harmony with nature with wife Stephanie and their rescue dog Saoirse.While his favourite poet is the wonderful WB Yeats much of Gerard’s poetry is inspired by Irish ballads and singers like Shane McGowan and Christy Moore.Gerard was recently invited back to his old school O Connell’s where ex-pupils include Thomas Kinsella, James Joyce, and Luke Kelly.Gerard’s poetry is now being studied there which is a gr

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 playing a shrewdly-calculating hitman, mob debt collector, and gunrunner. He is best known for his landmark infiltration of the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle gang.Jay has been featured in over a dozen film and television shows and is the author of two best-selling books, No Angel, My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels, and, Catching Hell, A True Story of Abandonment and Betrayal. A criminal defense attorney once described Jay as: "...a government-trained ‘Predator’ repeate

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.

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/

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 special forces career, his invaluable perpective on Gaza, healing through jiu jitsu and much more.

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 collaborates regionally with other police wellness leaders.His experiences and those of his teammates, colleagues and best friends have shaped his focus and desire to guide and mentor in forms that support mental and physical health and resilience.  As an officer, he worked in Patrol, as a Field Trainer, K9 Officer and in the Civil Disturbance Unit (riot response).  After promoting to sergeant, he supervised various patrol squads and was a team leader and trainer in the Civil Disturbance Unit.After

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 education system leaders around the world. He served as a senior education specialist at the World Bank (Washington, DC), lead education specialist at the European Training Foundation (Torino, Italy), director general at the Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture (CIMO), and visiting professor of Practice at Harvard University. He is a recipient of several awards for his lifelong service in education, including the 2012 Education Award (Finland), the 2014 Robert Owen Award (Scotland), the 2016 Lego Prize (Denmark)

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.

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.

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 much more.