Team Never Quit

This week’s Team Never Quit guest, Shilo Harris, has an amazing story to tell.  He speaks with Marcus about the details of his second deployment with the U.S Army’s 10th Mountain Division near Baghdad. Shilo’s armored vehicle was struck by an IED, which killed three of his fellow soldiers, injured the driver, and burned a third of his body, causing the loss of his ears, the tip of his nose and three fingers. The explosion also fractured his left collarbone and C-7 vertebrae. As a result, he spent nearly three years recovering and undergoing intensive physical therapy at the burn unit of Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. While there, he was the first soldier to participate in regenerative stem-cell research to regrow his fingers, and later received prosthetic ears, and he has a hilarious story to share about them. Today, Shilo is a motivational speaker, raising awareness for PTSD and serving as an inspiration to fellow soldiers. “Everything in life is a gift. Sometimes it may not be the gift you want, but you realize that your challenges are a new beginning.” In this episode you will hear: • I’ve been extremely blessed. (17:53) • Me being a burn guy, I have a hard time regulating my body temperature, because the scar tissue acts like wearing a jacket all the time. It just doesn’t breathe. (18:50) • [While shopping for a hat, the girl] like a good salesperson, figured she could just size me up. She set that hat on me and popped it down. When she did, both my ears popped off, and hit the floor, bouncing around. (20:06) • I was in a van one day, and there were several wounded warriors, and everybody was missing something. One of the guys looked around and said “Damn, all of us together make like one whole man, maybe two.” (24:47) • My dad, being a veteran, we spent a lot of time at the American Legion. The American Legion out there was kind of like a bar. (25:52) • I knew what I wanted. I wanted combat arms. (33:01) • [In Bagdad] every day, there was an IED that went off in our area somewhere. (39:30) • I could see that my face was charred black, my hair was gone, my ears were gone, my nose was gone, I had blood running out of everything, and I started panicking. (50:29) • I was thinking: “I better get a day off for this.” (51:02) • I spent 48 days in a medically induced coma. (52:51) • [I had given up] and my dad said, “Are you done, soldier?” And it just washed over me, thinking holy crap, I’m a quitter before I even tried to start the fight. Where did my pride go? (55:24) • When he walked out of the room, he [my dad] literally just looked at me and said “Then get your ass up and start doing the work.” And I did. (59:59) • I was actually one of the first individuals to attempt regenerative growth. (66:00) • Faith, regardless of what it is, can get you through your worst days, your darkest moments. (75:17)

In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus gathers up with the legendary Billy "Soupbone" Shelton, of Willis, Texas, an Army Special Forces veteran who, for over 3 decades, has been providing intense physical and mental training for young men, producing Navy SEALS, Army Rangers and other military Special Forces soldiers. Soupbone’s approach is brutal, physically challenging and very successful.  He prepares fighting men for the harsh realities of combat. One of Soupbone’s gems is this podcasts host, Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL awarded the Navy Cross and author of the bestselling book, "Lone Survivor". Billy Shelton does it because He wants to see his “sons” come home alive. (Also joining Marcus and Billy are Morgan Luttrell, Tommy & David Thornberry, who trained with Billy Shelton.)   In this episode you will hear: • Melanie: In the 13 years that we’ve been together we get asked more about you than anybody else. (5:21) • Billy: When I’d pull up and go in the front door [of the gym] they’d run out the back door. (13:07) • Tommy: The new guy’s rite of passage was that they had a harder workout because he [Billy] wanted to put the screws to ‘em to make sure they got it. (25:54) • Tommy: It’s not that we were born that way, it’s that we were made that way. (29:31) • Tommy: Billy looked out his window and this kid [after his workout] was hunched over in his car. Billy asked, “Are you ok?” The kid answered: I feel great. I just can’t lift my arms to drive. (31:02) • Morgan: No matter what shape you were in when you showed up, you’d eventually get us there. • Marcus: You didn’t wanna bring anybody, but if you did, you knew they were gonna get it. (32:55) • Morgan: If one of your buddies came down and they were struggling, it always put you in a position that you had to help them. (33:08) • Morgan: Like in the military, if there’s a weak link, you were forced to get down there and get ‘em. (33:18) • Marcus: To anyone who’s never seen a human being catapult over a wheelbarrow [full of rocks] while running… (40:58] • Billy: I don’t look at em like a Marine or Navy SEAL or a hunter, they’re my kids. I love ‘em. (44:50) • Melanie: No matter what you put Marcus or anyone through, they just wouldn’t quit. (53:09) • Billy: You CANNOT quit. (53:14) • Tommy: If there’s something wrong, you know it. There’s help out there for you. (65:27) • Tommy: I walked in there and there was 8 people. I said “what’s the party for?” They said “sir, we’d like you to have a seat.” I’m like “why? Did you guys find a tumor or something? And they’re like “Oooh” (66:14) • Tommy: Iron therapy is the way I get through stuff. (67:30) • Tommy: One of the docs that was part of the surgical team had Covid, with my skull open. (68:55) • Tommy: We don’t stop – ever. (70:32) • Tommy: Time to get back in the fight. (72:57)

In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus brings to the table Special Forces Officer Bryan Ray, who has both a lengthy, positive military career as well as a “dark side” military experience that shook him to his core. Bryan & Marcus take a deep dive into Bryan’s experiences which include serving in the war in Afghanistan and running the Mountain Warfare School in Colorado. It took a friend’s similar mental struggles and professional help to finally get past the emotional impact of his horrific experience. His healing journey includes working with a health and wellness company – Health Via Modern Nutrition (HVMN) – who developed a ketone supplement, Keytone IQ, which is proven to improve cognitive and physical performance to soldiers. Bryan brings hope to veterans who have kept their mental struggles to themselves, and reveals the benefits of getting help without embarrassment or shame.   In this episode you will hear: • One of the most rewarding parts of war is seeing the culture of the people who live there. • People have it a lot harder than we do in this country. • Even in places torn by war, you can still be happy with what minimal things you have. • I’m finding myself driving around in a Toyota Corolla - man jammies on, with a freaking gun and a backpack, hoping I don’t get killed by a U.S. Army guy. • [War] is like taking an Oxford grad, and taking him to the deepest swamp in Louisiana and having a conversation. That was what my formal Arabic training was like. • I’ve now been to two combat zones where our President is on TV saying we have now stopped and all combat troops are going home - right before we go out to do a hit. • Have I seen an MRack Turbo turned into a jet for a hot tub? Yes, I have. • Mountain shit is stressful. • [With Keytone IQ] You can dual fuel now. You can take the most efficient fuel which is ketones and you can also have carbs on board for when you need it. So you get the mental clarity - all the stuff you need from the keytones, and you don’t have to have a restrictive diet. • [It’s a] Super application for the ground guys. • I want people to try it [Keytone IQ]. I want people to say it’s the real deal. • You only buy Oakley’s for so long before they show up in the supply room. • The man behind the weapons systems is always gonna be more important, and the more effective he is, the better. • Stop wasting money on shit that works a little bit and phases out immediately and invest a tenth of that into the man – make a better soldier. • There’s a lot more guys that have [mental] issues than are willing to say they have issues. • I had an event in Afghanistan that challenged me morally. I was directly responsible for the deaths of young children. Of all the things I’ve done overseas – that was really rough. • It wasn’t until somebody I trusted that told me they were feeling what I was feeling that I was willing to go get help. Links: Partner link: https://hvmn.com/TNQ  20% OFF code: TNQ 

In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus welcomes his guest, Trevor Millar, who has a unique, proven addiction-treating specialty. Trevor details the anti-additive properties of Ibogaine, a powerful African psychedelic with a high success rate for treating heroin and opiate addiction, Parkinson’s disease, and other psychological processes and neurological disorders. Trevor discusses significant acceptance of Ibogaine in Canada, which could result in the legitimization of this medicine, and other psychedelic medicines globally. In this episode you will hear: • [I had an] un-traumatic childhood. Kudos to my parents. (13:48) • I never have to worry about what I’m going to do in life because I could always fall back to waiting tables and love it. (21:50) • The first time I ever consumed LSD I was 14 years old. (39:26) • This is what adults have forgotten that has made the world so screwed up. (42:26) • The first person I ever gave Ibogaine to was a 72 year old man who wanted to quit smoking. (47:00) • Getting addicted to opiates is not like getting addicted to other substances. A lot of other substances, it’s a psychological addiction. With opiates, it’s actually a physical addiction. (50:26) • The only true cause of death is birth. (53:53) • [Ibogaine] has this amazing quality of “reset”. (63:47) • As we live life, were seeing life through a plane of glass. Like a filter. As our hearts get broken, as we suffer traumas, that glass gets dirty. And it gets so dirty, we don’t even recognize that it’s dirty anymore. And what these psychedelic substances seem to be able to do is clean that glass from the inside out. (65:23) • Ibogaine has the potential to keep working on you and with you. (70:26) • There will be a prescription within 2-4 years within the states. (85:32) • It’s something that it does that enables you to say “Life is awesome. My purpose is everywhere. I can just be happy for no reason again.” (92:58) • It brings out the best in people. (98:32)

From enduring her husband’s life-changing, horrific war injuries to becoming a National Advocate for wounded Veterans and their Caregivers, Sarah Verardo’s relentless never quit attitude has driven her to the forefront of two separate organizations who see the needs of Veterans and Allies, which have given her the opportunity to steward resources and support where and when they are most crucially needed. Sarah’s husband, Sgt. Michael Verardo was catastrophically wounded in Afghanistan in two separate IED attacks that took his left leg, much of his left arm, and left him with polytraumatic conditions that have required over one hundred surgeries and years of speech, visual, physical, and occupational therapies. Nevertheless, Sarah speaks with Marcus about the everyday challenges she and her daughters face in the care of her husband, her involvement as the CEO of The Independence Fund, and being at the forefront of Afghan Ally inclusion within the Veteran community. In August 2021, the collapse of Afghanistan led her and three others to co-found the direct-response rescue and aid organization - Save Our Allies, who evacuated more than 17,000 US citizens, SIV holders, and wartime Allies from the country and assisted in medical and humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.  In this episode you will hear: • [Michael Verardo] was injured the first time.  He was riding as a gunner and hit a roadside IED. He was ejected out. (12:54) • On his very first foot patrol back in - It was 14 days to the day of the first IED, there was an old Russian land mine that had been hooked up to 2 – 15gallon drums of homemade explosives, and it was game over. His left leg was immediately blown off. Most of his left arm was blown off. They actually ended up sewing it to his back on his medical flight. He burned over 30% of his body. He had damage to his airway, his eardrums were blown out. It was significant poly trauma. (13:29) • Marcus: “He got banged up and then you all got married?” (17:02) • Marcus: You know the odds of that happening? That’s when you know you’re not behind the wheel. (17:46) • That sense of patriotism calling – That’s all he wanted to do. (18:02) • It’s been horrific. More than my worst nightmare. (18:26) • He actually handed me a Bible before he handed me an engagement ring. (20:18) • He said holiness needs to be more important than happiness. (20:37) • His only prosthetic leg broke, and I duct taped it for 57 days while I waited for someone at the VA to sign a piece of paper. (33:18) • The Navy and the Navy hospital took care of him as if he was one of their own while we waited for VA to kick in. (24:23) • I think there needs to be permanent designations for certain conditions. (26:24) • It seems that some people – not all - at VA would rather fail by following the process, than succeed by deviating from it. (27:21) • Independence Fund started out in the halls of Water Reed, wanting to give independence back to those who sacrificed theirs for us. (34:39) • If someone did not care about Afghanistan at that time, it told me everything I needed to know about them. (41:47) • I think the White House wants us to move on from Afghanistan. They’re not only not helping – I think they’re actively in the way of groups that want to do good. (52:36) • Reach out to the wounded veterans in your community and help these families. (59:15)

From Navy SEAL sniper with Special Operations and Intelligence Community experience to Co-Founder of Caim Technology, a counter human trafficking organization. That’s this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast guest, Jeremy Mahugh. Marcus and Jeremy get in the weeds regarding Jeremy’s involvement in the development of cell phone app technology capable of identifying potential human trafficking risks as a preventive measure against being victimized.   Caim Technology www.caim.tech In this episode you will hear: • [While in a float tank] I thought, “I wonder what it’d feel like if I just rolled over?”. I got the salt in my nose, and eyes, and ears, and the rest of the hour was shot. (8:41) • Everybody has the ability to travel now, but some people still don’t. (15:24) • [My grandfather] was in the Army Air Corps and was shot down over Yugoslavia in World War II. He was a POW. (22:44) • I’m still not sure if they know what soccer is in Texas. (24:03) • I just wanted to be part of a team – I wanted to part of something that was gonna push me to be better. (27:26) • [Caim Technology] is focused on collecting any kind of data on human trafficking or exploitation. (57:39) • One of the things that’s been missing is having a tool to put in the hands of the consumer. So we have a mobile app that will tell you if you’re interacting with someone in the [human trafficking] database. (58:02) • You can connect a consumer with a product via smart phone. That’s also happening in the human trafficking world. (59:51) • Q: Is the app available? A: We’re probably a month or two away from being launched. We’re collecting data from a multitude of websites. (66:11) • It will go to the app store soon, and has to go through beta testing. (66:30) • Technology has gotten to the point that it is everything to us. (70:22) • It’s the Wild West. There’s never been good parameters on how [AI] can be used. (75:16) • Everybody has a need to deal with this [Caim App] and has a need for good information. (78:04) • What I love about what we’re doing now is we’re here to support all of you. Our for-profit is there to make money, but provide tools and prevention and have a huge hammer in the fight against human trafficking. (82:15) 

What a privilege it is to have the top graduate of the Air Force Top Gun School and retired U.S. Air Force F-22 and F-15 fighter pilot and squadron commander, Rob “Cujo” Teschner in the studio with Marcus for this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast. Listen in for an inspiring conversation with Cujo, whose life is an amazing success story, and whose life mission is to teach and inspire others, bridging the gap between the principles of high performance combat veterans and high performance business. His fight with Colorectal Cancer is what prompted Cujo to retire from the Air Force early. Yet his ambition led to his path of entrepreneurship, leadership and team development. Cujo is the founder and CEO of VMax Group, an international leadership training company and he has authored several books, two of which went to #1 on the Amazon bestseller list. In this episode you will hear: • I loved being part of the Air Force family. We lived all over the place. (7:57) • 1977 when Luke Skywalker wants to join some academy and then join the rebellion. That resonated with me. (9:49) • As a kid, I felt like the military was my family. It’s what I knew. (10:50) • I thought it was always cool to hop on an airplane to go someplace new. To meet new people along the way. (13:00) • My letter – the one that says “thanks for applying” never said “try again”. (18:26) • The more people told me it wasn’t gonna happen the more committed I was to proving them wrong. (20:47) • I had never flown an airplane before I went to the Air Force Academy. (23:32) • Isn’t that stunning how fast we accelerate leadership – how fast we accelerate somebody to realize their potential?  (27:07) • If there was a time period I could freeze it would be First Lieutenant to Captain, because that’s when I was out there doing the mission. (28:28) • What we need is a constant stream of warriors who are ready to go forth and do. (35:18) • The biggest honor of my military career was being called to be an instructor at our Fighter Weapons School, basically it’s the Air Force Top Gun Program. (36:49) • You can beat people up and tell them how much they suck and they can learn from that, but another alternative might be Hey Cujo, we were 2 decisions from victory today. (43:55) • I try to apply that to my kids. (44:46) • One of the huge blessings of my life was being a part of teams that mattered. (48:09) • Our family team got a whole heck of a lot better as a result of my failure with cancer. That caused us to focus where we needed to. I’m eternally grateful for it. (52:32) • One of the best 4-star bosses I ever worked for would come in every month and ask us “Hey what are you doing for the home team?” (55:33)

In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, we bring you Part 2 of this episode featuring Drago Dzieran. A real American – born in Poland. Drago Dzieran is a former political prisoner for his activism against Communism. After arriving in the United States unable to speak English, Drago eventually became a US citizen, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained to serve as a Navy SEAL for 20 years. In Iraq, he fought in over 100 combat missions as the Naval Special Warfare Lead Breacher. Drago was awarded Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor, in addition to other various awards and decorations. Following his honorable retirement after twenty years in the Navy, Dzieran began a successful career as a software engineer. Drago founded the Navy SEALs Fund, a nonprofit with the mission of providing support for all generations of current, retired, and former UDT/SEAL teammates, their immediate dependents as well as Gold Star Families. Listen in as Drago shares his amazing life journey from Poland to living life as a real American in service to others.  In this episode you will hear: • Once they take away your freedom of speech, they censor you, they put out fake news… you have no defenses. (4:08) • The law was created in the socialist state to penalize free thinking. To criminalize opposition. (4:29) • America was built on the idea of personal freedom. (7:10) • [In the Ukraine] freedom is being taken away from them slowly. (8:37) • These people [Ukranians] are fighting for their lives now - freedom. (10:16) • We have former Generals saying that the Russians – “these poor souls don’t know they’re at war. They think they are on exercises.” You have to be an imbecile to repeat something like this. You have to be an idiot. (11:32) • [Ukranians] They want to be free, and our media is lying about it. (12:53) • Ukranians were always very patriotic. (13:10) • [Navy SEALS Fund] The way we operate is different than most charities. We don’t have paid positions. The fund is run by SEALS only. (35:57) • We help the Gold Start families: the spouse, the children, parents and siblings. (43:19) • We need to do something right then. We don’t need to send it through this board of “Lets talk about it when we meet next month. (44:27) There would be no Drago if not for people like Marcus, Morgan, Rob, Tage, Taco, & Jocco. (48:09) • For the Navy SEAL fund we don’t have forms and check the box. (61:08) • [Drago’s Book} The Pledge to America. (64:44) • I’m a better American today than I was yesterday, and I want to be a better American tomorrow than I am today. (64:50) • My biggest accomplishment is becoming a U.S. citizen. (65:05)

A real American – born in Poland. In this week’s Team Never Quit Podcast, Marcus meets with Drago Dzieran, a former political prisoner for his activism against Communism. After arriving in the United States unable to speak English, Drago eventually became a US citizen, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained to serve as a Navy SEAL. In Iraq, he fought in over 100 combat missions as the Naval Special Warfare Lead Breacher. Drago was awarded Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor, in addition to other various awards and decorations. Following his honorable retirement after twenty years in the Navy, Dzieran began a successful career as a software engineer. Drago founded the Navy SEALs Fund, a nonprofit with the mission of providing support for all generations of current, retired, and former UDT/SEAL teammates, their immediate dependents as well as Gold Star Families. Listen in as Drago shares his amazing life journey from Poland to living life as a real American in service to others. In this episode you will hear: • I was born in communist Poland. It was actually a socialist state run by communists. My father was part of the evil system. (7:13) • When the first Persian Gulf war broke out, I thought it was my moral obligation to support my country (8:35) • I’m not Polish-American; I am not “Something”-American. There is no hyphen. I’m just American. (8:50) • I could not build a job for my fellow citizens, but I could defend them. (8:56) • I spent 20 years as a Navy SEAL. (9:22) • For my father, it was first to obey the government. (10:28) • [My grandmother] taught me how to pray, and what to pray for. (11:25) • [My grandmother told me] “[The communists] kill people and imprison people for their beliefs. (11:52) • I still remember her [grandmother’s] words: “Poland is not free. It will not be free until we get rid of these people. (12:01) • [When my father found out] I was not allowed to pray with my grandmother alone. (12:45). • Pre-war Poland had one of the strongest Navy’s in the Baltic Sea. (16:55) • Prison time for me was education. A huge education about Polish history. (27:36) • [My father] believed that we need to convince people to socialism, because it offers such great things, but if we can’t, we have the power to eliminate these people. We call them enemies of the state. (30:47) • Even today, while Poland is free, some of them are being prosecuted. (38:17) • I’ll be the best US citizen America can have. (42:11) • American is built on goodness. (47:32) • You can live in the United States without being a citizen, but I wanted to be American. (56:02) 

NOTE: Today’s TNQP episode is a rebroadcast of our episode featuring Navy SEAL Mike Day. We bring it you in his honor and memory. Navy SEALS Mike Day and Marcus Luttrell engage in the graphic details of an unbelievable event that Mike, against all odds, survived. He took 27 rounds of an AK-47 pounding while on a mission in Fallujah, and lived to tell about it. When Mike shares his unparalleled true story, you won’t stop listening till the end. It’s a totally captivating series of events, told by the man who lived it. In this episode you will hear: • Fear’s either gonna lock you up, or it’s gonna tighten you up. I’m not saying go  out and do ridiculous shit every day, but its good to do stuff that scares you,  because if its good, it’s a tiny bit past what your comfort level is, and that’s how  you build resilience, you just get out of your comfort level. • I humbly submit myself as an example. (17:00)  • The only reason anybody knows me is because I got shot too many times. (17:20) • I would make sure people were asleep before I went out; it was a lot safer. (21:54) • The worst part about being over there is not actually doing the op, it’s getting to  and from. That’s where you get all messed up. (25:50) • A door in a room means something. (26:50) • When you blow stuff up, people wake up and they want to start shooting at  you. (27:09) • It’s really hard to kill a dog with one shot. (27:40) • I’ve walked through suburban areas in Iraq, with forty dogs barking at me, and  nobody wakes up. (27:49) • It’s amazing that twenty people can see the same thing, and see something  totally different. (30:41) • Literally from the time I dropped my right foot in that room, to the time I hit the  ground, to the first guy that I killed, might have been five seconds – it seemed   like minutes to me. (31:41) • A round went through the of the foot of the magazine – blew the hand grips off  the magazine. I could feel the springs in the palms of my hands, and I cleared the malfunction and I killed those two dudes. (37:25) • I was a way better social worker than I was a SEAL. (44:25)