Behind The Shield

Brandon Evans is a Canadian firefighter and the man behind "Fire to Light". We discuss the journey to India that led him to studying mindfulness under the Dalai Lama, his journey into the fire service, his own powerful mental health story, the power of compassion, meditation, living in Costa Rica, education and much more.

Ken Rideout is a former prison guard, investor and elite endurance athlete. We discuss growing up in Boston, his road into corrections, entering finance, overcoming his opiate addiction, finding running, the genesis of his athletic success, the power of the growth mindset, leadership, discipline, his podcast with Teddy Atlas and so much more.

Dave Sanders joined the police in 2001. He retired in January 2023 having spent his career in London in a variety of posts from foot patrol to public order units, serving the last ten years on Armed Response Vehicles as a team sergeant, operational firearms commander and firearms tactical advisor. In this second conversation, we discuss his personal experience of the Pandemic, fitness in law enforcement, the knife crime epidemic, firearms and the UK, domestic terrorism and so much more.

John Spera and Corey Sutton are both Colorado firefighters and the men behind Respond Wellness. We discuss Corey's journey into professional football, traumatic brain injury, his road into the fire service, sleep deprivation, the tactical athlete, shift work, the healing power of CBD, the genesis of their company and so much more.

Javeno McClean is a former professional cricket player, champion powerlifter and the man behind the J7 Health Centre. We discuss his early life in England, playing cricket in India, his journey into coaching, training the adaptive community, the importance of physical touch, some of the incredible athletes he's coached, seeing humanity in everyone and so much more.

Derek Woodske is a former world champion hammer thrower, revered strength and conditioning coach, and law enforcement officer. We discuss his early life in rural Canada, his journey into athletics, performance vs wellness in young athletes, overcoming injury, studying under Charles Poliquin, the power of sleep, his path into law enforcement, supplementation and so much more.

Alex Jabr is a Paramedic, EMS Coordinator and the woman behind Emergency Resilience. In this second conversation we discuss the impact of loss of life during the pandemic, her PhD on Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy in the Fire Service, Ketamine myths, the successes Ketamine has had in PTSD, her own experience with this therapy and so much more.

Joe DiBernardo is a retired FDNY Deputy Chief and the President of the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation. We discuss his early life, serving as Army Reconnaissance in Vietnam, his road into the fire service, some of his many career calls, his son Joseph's path into the FDNY, the "Black Sunday Fire", losing his son in 2011, the importance of bail out equipment, the foundation and so much more.

Nicholas Seedsman is a former Australian SAS operator and the founder of the Warrior Refit Foundation. We discuss his early life in Australia, his journey into the Special Forces, his perception of war, traumatic brain injury, the crippling effects of autoimmune disease, mental health, the power of stem cell therapy, psychedelics, his non-profit and so much more.

Jason Bitzer is a Hawaii Ocean Lifeguard, author and the founder of "Never Off Duty". In this second conversation, we discuss the pandemic's impact on Oahu's beaches, tourism, understaffing, wave parks, proactive lifeguarding and his powerful perspective on his son's pediatric cancer diagnosis.