Behind The Shield

Jay Smith is a strength and conditioning coach and the president of the first responder testing and wellness company FitForce. We discuss his journey into coaching, entering the law enforcement community, the ADA and entry testing, wellness and injury prevention, forging longevity and much more.

Beth Bowersox is a former firefighter and resident of Paradise CA who was on duty as a dispatcher when the Camp Fire destroyed her community. We discuss her journey into the fire service, physical fitness, sleep deprivation, guilt from the inability to save, mental heath in dispatchers and so much more.

Dr Ellen Kirschman is an author and clinical psychologist who has spent her career working with the first responder professions. In this second interview, we discuss psychological testing, mental health in the wildland community, the importance of rituals, first responder families and so much more.

Richard Rice is one of the founding members of Delta Force with a career spanning Vietnam to Mogadishu. Jason McCarthy is a Green Beret veteran who served in Iraq. Emily McCarthy is a retired CIA case manager, serving in West Africa. In this unique episode, I sat down with all three to get their unique perspectives on recent events. We discuss the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the importance of trust in diplomacy, the courage of our indigenous allies, the mental health toll of combat, the power of community and so much more.

Zar Horton is a retired Battalion Chief and a StrongFirst Master Kettlebell trainer. We discuss his transition out of the fire service, BMX racing, glycolytic training, exercise and the nervous system, fostering longevity, the importance of sleep and so much more.

Byron Branch is a law enforcement officer, elite fencer and amputee. We discuss his multifaceted childhood, the importance of mentorship, his journey into fencing, the traffic accident that took his leg, the incredible physical and mental road back to full duty, wheelchair fencing and so much more.

Jeremiah Wilber is a Green Beret combat veteran, cowboy and self described mountain man. We discuss his early life on the reservation, the dark side of the Indigenous Residential School program, profiteering from war, the mental health toll of the Afghanistan withdrawal, the vulnerability of those left behind and so much more.

Dr Chris Colvin is a Veteran, ER Physician, EMS Medical Director and author. In this important third conversation, Chris takes two hours to fully explain the truths and myths surrounding this pandemic. We discuss the demographic being hit in this second wave, the pros and cons of vaccination, the second pandemic of misinformation and so much more.

Dr Edith Eger is a psychologist, author and survived Auschwitz. 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.

Brooke Ames is a Wisconsin firefighter, bodybuilder, powerlifter and coach. We discuss growing up in rural America, her childhood obesity, becoming a volunteer firefighter, her incredible weight loss and fitness journey, learning from the corporate world, mentorship, personality diversity and so much more.