Scott Mann is a retired Green Beret officer who has trained over 15,000 Green Berets, Navy Seals, and FBI Agents.
Since his retirement, he's made it his mission to teach other leaders in both the civilian world and government the "game changing" techniques he applied in combat, while also teaching veterans how to transition into the civilian world.
Scott is a regular contributor as an expert on major news networks, and his books include Game Changers, his treatise on how to defeat violent extremists, and Mission America: Straight Talk About Military Transition.
You can learn more about Scott and all he does at www.mannup.com.
Don Faul is the CEO of Athos, a tech company that makes smart clothing that detects muscle activation for better performance. Don served as a United States Marine Corps infantry and reconnaissance officer and has previously worked for Google, Facebook, and Pinterest.
In this episode, Don gives amazing advice to veterans seeking to make their ways in the civilian world.
- How he made it through a rough transition out of the Marine Corps
- How he secured his first job at Google
- Where he found his greatest source of support in his quest to become a tech executive.
- Leadership tactics he uses as a CEO and what carried over from the Marine Corps.
- His personal practices and daily routine.
- Why veterans should be hopeful as they make their own transitions to civilian life.
You can find Don on Twitter at https://twitter.com/donfaul
You can find Athos at https://www.liveathos.com/
Brian Mackenzie is a human potential specialist. He has spent the last 2 decades in human performance learning about movement and physiology. He is the innovator of the endurance, strength and conditioning paradigm. He has studied performance, movement, hypoxia, breathing mechanics, principles and methods, along with heat and cold exposure. He has spent a lot of his time training and understanding in and around the water, desert and mountain environments. He finished Ironman (Canada 2004), has run the Western States 100 and the Angeles Crest 100 mile endurance runs with success in using methods he developed.
He co-authored the book Power Speed Endurance, NYTimes Best Seller UnBreakable Runner, and UnPlugged. Brian co-founded and created Power Speed Endurance (PSE), which specializes in movement & skill development in sport. He has taken on a quality vs quantity approach for every aspect of the coaching and programming he’s put out. MacKenzie’s programs have taught more than 400 seminars worldwide and provided programming for thousands of athletes from beginner to elite via the PSE platform and private consultation.
MacKenzie and his programs have been featured in Outside Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Health, Competitor Magazine, Runners World, Triathlete Magazine, Men’s Journal, ESPN Rise, The Economist, Tim Ferriss’ New York Times bestsellers “The 4-Hour Body” & “Tools of Titans”, Scott Carney’s best seller “What Doesn’t Kill Us”, Men’s Running UK, LA Sport & Fitness, Muscle & Performance Magazine, and Rivera Magazine. Mackenzie has worked with professionals including Dr. Andy Galpin (CSUF Professor/Researcher & co-author of UnPlugged), Dr. Justin Mager (Health Incite, Marin CA), Dr. Brian Hickey (Florida A&M University Exercise Physiology Professor & PSE BIKE head Coach), and Dr. Andrew Huberman (Stanford Medicine Associate Professor at Huberman Lab). Mackenzie has also worked with athletes, special operators, and MIL/FIRE/LEO with the likes of Laird Hamilton, Jamie Mitchell (10X Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Champion and big wave surfer), Dusty Payne, Kai “Borg” Garcia, Pat Tenore (RVCA creator/founder), Oahu’s North Shore Lifeguards, UFC Light Heavy Champion Jon “Bones” Jones, CrossFit Games athletes including Rich Froning Jr (4X CrossFit Games Champion), and Annie Thorisdottir, James Newbury (2017), Olympic Gold Medalists Erin Cafaro (2X Olympic Gold Medalist in Rowing – W8+, Wife) and Taylor Ritzel (2012 Olympic Gold Medalist –W8+). He has worked with several other professional and elite level athletes in sports spanning from Triathlon, Running, MMA, Swimming, Cycling, Rowing, Surfing, Base Jumping, to invitations to work with Special Operations (US Navy SEALS, Army Rangers) and many other Military and Federal Units, and is working with Stanford Medicine / Huberman Lab on Research surrounding his work.
Doctor Kirk Parsley spent years as an enlisted Navy Seal. Then, after briefly leaving the Seal Teams, Doc Parsley decided to go to medical school. Once he graduated, Doctor Parsley returned to the Seal Teams as a Physician where he was the Undersea Medical Officer at Naval Special Warfare Group One.
Doc Parsley knows what it takes to be fit, tough, and to get through any challenge, but unlike most other wellness experts, he argues that the most important factor is sleep. And since he's spent years helping some of the toughest men in the world get through some of the most difficult and trying situations, we believe him. This episode is full of knowledge gems that anyone can use to optimize their health, fitness, wellness, and life. The full show notes can be found under podcasts, episode 51 at www.warriorsoulagoge.com.
Walt Gragg is a US Army Vietnam veteran, retired attorney, and novelist. His first book, The Red Line, is a military thriller that takes the reader through a World War III scenario between a resurgent Russia and the United States.
We get into Walt's experience in the military and his process as a writer. We also discuss Walt's advice for young veterans and veterans who want to become authors.
This episode delves into Andrew's brother's perspective on Andrew's bout with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD. We discuss what to look for in someone affected by these diseases and how veterans can look out for each other. We also discuss the state of the military medical model, obstacles for better treatment, and solutions to better the treatment of veterans affected by these diseases.
You can preorder Andrew's book, Tales from the Blast Factory at: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Blast-Factory-Injured-Special/dp/1683504941/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498365548&sr=8-1&keywords=tales+from+the+blast+factory
Ryan Miller is a medically retired US Army Officer who lost his leg after serving in Iraq. He's also a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Ryan is the founder of Field, a company that puts cannabis growers in touch with reliable labor sources and is a spokesman for CAMO, a non profit that advocates for the availability of medicinal cannabis for veterans to treat service related injuries and illnesses.
Keith Norris is the co-founder of Paleo F(x) and is a veteran entrepreneur in the wellness and fitness industry. Recently, Keith wrote an article titled "A Revolution in Healthcare: You are the Catalyst. In it, he sites the fact that the medical-pharmaceutical industry in this country is concerned with nothing more than managing disease and treating symptoms. They are not interested in the cure or in promoting better living that could prevent the disease in the first place.
As Keith sees it, the truth is that the only way to change things is to vote with our wallets by shunning the system in favor of healthier food and better living. Keith is promoting a revolution in the way we see healthcare, and we are right there with him.
This series chronicles Andrew Marr's journey from Special Forces Green Beret to brain injured veteran, and on to his current life.
You can Pre-Order Tales from the Blast Factory: A Brain Injured Special Forces Green Beret's Journey Back from the Brink from Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Blast-Factory-Injured-Special/dp/1683504941/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498365548&sr=8-1&keywords=tales+from+the+blast+factory
Les Stroud has been the world’s preeminent survival expert for almost 30 years. As the star of Survivorman, a musician, filmmaker, an author and activist Les has long wanted to create a home for all his passions, teaching and experiences, which he has recently done with his new online network SMTV.
SMTVnetwork.com, is an on demand streaming network where you can learn survival from Les by following him on his adventures through his films, music, environmentalism, educational projects, and, of course, Survivorman.
This was a fantastic conversation and we look forward to having Les on again in the near future!
This is the first episode in a series of installments chronicling Andrew Marr's journey from a Special Forces Green Beret to becoming a brain injured veteran. In this episode we cover Andrew's life as an operator and his injuries while serving in Afghanistan. We also get into the start of his civilian life as a brain injured veteran.
The shownotes for this episode are available at https://warriorsoulagoge.com/blogs/podcast/episode-44-tales-from-the-blast-factory-1
Adam La Reau is Co-Founder of O2X Human Performance, a company that trains and educates first responders and tactical organizations on Maximizing Human Performance. As a founder of O2X, Adam runs operations and curriculum development.
Prior to O2X, Adam was a former Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) in the United States Navy. Having left active duty in August 2013, Adam attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and received a Master of Public Administration. Following his passions, he created a non-profit called ‘One Summit’ to help build resilience in children with cancer that has spread to three major cities and being utilized in post-traumatic growth studies.
Gary Taubes is the author of The Case Against Sugar, Good Calories Bad Calories, Why We Get Fat, Bad Science, and Nobel Dreams. Gary's work in nutrition explores the many mistakes we've made in nutrition science including the idea that fat causes heart disease and diabetes. Gary's latest work, The Case Against Sugar, examines the role that sugar has played in the onset of death dealing disease and how many scientists worked to protect the sugar industry from the truth.
6:05 What drives Gary and what are his challenges?
21:00 How did we come to think fat is unhealthy?
27:05 The impact of sugar on public health
37:00 Does sugar enhance performance?
47:28 How did we get to this point?
54:15 Is sugar addictive?
57:45 Gary's research methods
1hr 5 minutes: The role of insulin
1hr 12 minutes: Are calories important?
1hr 20 minutes: Is there a paradigm shift coming?
1hr 22 minutes: The VA system
Dr. Martin Polanco, MD is ta physician at Crossroads Ibogaine Treatment Center. Dr. Dan Engle, MD is a board certified expert in Psychiatry and Neurology with a clinical practice in holistic medicine, orthomolecular psychiatry and integrative spirituality. Dr. Engle and Dr. Polanco have been interviewed on the Tim Ferriss Podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, and Bulletproof Radio with Dave Asprey.
Dr. Engle also medically consults with Onnit Labs in Austin, Texas, a company leading the industry in peak performance methods and Total Human Optimization, as well the most visited and regarded ayahuasca healing center in the world – The Temple of the Way of Light Ayahuasca Healing Center in Peru.
Dr. Engle’s new book The Concussion Repair Manual: A Practical Guide to Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries is due out in October of 2017, you can pre-order it here.
You can find out more about Dr. Engle on his website http://www.fullspectrummedicine.com/
Dr. Martin Polanco is the founder and CEO of Crossroads Ibogaine Treatment Center. Dr. Polanco first witnessed the healing power of Ibogaine within his own family. After years of debilitating substance abuse and unsuccessful stints in rehab, it wasn’t until his relative underwent Ibogaine detox–then a very novel, underground treatment–that the addiction ended for good.
The transformation was so immediate and profound that Dr. Martin Polanco, a graduate of Universidad La Salle Medical School who was at the time was doing his residency in ophthalmology, decided to change course and focus entirely on Ibogaine. In 2001, he opened a clinic called the Ibogaine Association, where as medical director he personally supervised hundreds of Ibogaine treatments. A pioneer in the field, he also served as a consultant to Ibogaine clinics in Canada, Colombia, and Russia. In 2011, he founded Crossroads Treatment Center, and set out to provide the safest, most medically-sound Ibogaine detox available anywhere in the world. Dr. Polanco’s mission now is to have Crossroads’ model of best practices in clinical efficacy act as a guiding beacon in the efforts to legalize Ibogaine therapy in the United States.
The standard of care provided to veterans and active duty military members suffering from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries is based on the idea of throwing pharmaceuticals at the issue. Many veterans who suffer from these ailments are on a dozen medications or more. Traditionally, Doctors look at PTSD and TBI as separate issues. PTSD is supposedly a reaction to traumatic events, and TBI is a result of concussion or a traumatic brain event.
Dr. Mark Gordon is an interventional endocrinologist who's dedicated much of his life to studying traumatic brain injury. Dr. Gordon has worked with thousands of cases of TBI, and through his work he's found that both PTSD and TBI may have a common source in chronic inflammation. The problem is that none of the current standard treatments for these issues actually treat inflammation.
Through the Warrior Angels Foundation, Doctor Gordon has helped hundreds of veterans eliminate the symptoms of TBI and PTSD altogether without standard pharmaceuticals by using nutrients and hormone replenishment. Doctor Gordon and Warrior Soul Podcast cohost Andrew Marr have made it their mission, through the Warrior Angels Foundation to make these treatments available to all veterans by bring them to the attention of the powers that be.
Shownotes available at: https://warriorsoulagoge.com/blogs/podcast/episode40veterantbi
Kevin Flike is a medically retired Green Beret and graduate of the Sloan School of Management at MIT and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Kevin enlisted in the US Army in 2006 and volunteered for Special Forces training. In September of 2011, Kevin was shot through the lower abdomen while on deployment in Afghanistan.
Kevin was medically separated from the Army, but did not rest. He immediately began working to get into graduate school at MIT and Harvard. Today, Kevin is a wealth manager for one of the top financial services firms in the world.
In his life, Kevin has been through hardship, near death experience, pain, and giant obstacles, and yet he persisted each time until he accomplished what he set out to do. This is one of the most inspiring episodes we've put out. Regardless of who you are or where you're at in life, you will get a lot out of this episode.
When we think about plagues, we normally think about diseases from viruses or bacteria. We don't think about these diseases coming from medicines. Someone in this country dies from an opiate overdose every 19 minutes. That's pretty startling, but here's something even more startling: 91% of those who survive an opiate overdose end up going right back on the drugs that nearly killed them.
Chris Bell is a documentary film maker who is tackling this issue head on through his work. Initially known for his film on performance enhancing drugs, Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Chris decided to tackle the prescription drug abuse epidemic with the movie Prescription Thugs after being affected by it personally. His brother Mike, who was featured in Bigger, Stronger, Faster, was an addict who died shortly after the film was released.
Chris also had a secret that made it even more personal - he was also an addict. Affected by years of pain from arthritis and hip surgeries, Chris was popping prescription pills like crazy.
Today, Chris is sober, largely because of a plant based product called Kratom. Kratom is a plant grown in Thailand that is used to aid in opiate withdrawal. It's also currently on the target list to be scheduled as a schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Chris is also currently working to ensure that Kratom stays legal and we cover his current project: a documentary on the legal battle to keep the plant legal.
In this episode, Andrew and Chris sit down with biohacker and nutritionist, Matt Cooper of Bluprint Nutrition. Matt has dedicated his life to understanding and maximizing human performance. He specializes in making nutrition plans to help people to become better at everything they do and works with high level executives and professional athletes to increase their mental and physical performance. Matt is also a specialist in working with people who have autoimmune diseases.
This is a fantastic episode and we cover everything from nutrition for active duty service members, to wellness for those of us who may have lived hard in our youth with drinking and tobacco use.
Why we need to stop outsourcing our health to the medical system.
Why we need to stop outsourcing our health to the medical system.
Why we need to stop outsourcing our health to the medical system.
Blayne Smith, Executive Director Bio:
Blayne works closely with Team RWB’s board members, staff, and volunteer leaders
to develop and implement programs that serve veterans across the country. He
provides strategic and operational guidance to the organization while building and
managing key partnerships. Blayne is a West Point graduate and former Special
Forces officer with combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Upon leaving the
military, he worked at Quest Diagnostics while earning his MBA at the University of
Florida. Blayne currently resides in Tampa with his two boys and leads the Team
RWB Tampa chapter.
Team RWB Mission: Enrichment is defined as creating quality relationships and experiences that contribute to life satisfaction and overall wellbeing. The concept of enrichment consists of three core components—health, people, and purpose—that define a rich life.
Enrichment Equation: Enrichment = Health + People + Purpose
People: Creating authentic connections (defined as genuine, quality, supportive relationships that generate mutual trust and accountability), reflected in an increased number of close relationships and improvements in teammates’ sense of belonging, purpose, and community engagement.
Health: Creating frequent opportunities for team members to connect through fitness, sports, and recreation to improve physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Purpose: Engaging members in meaningful team and community-based experiences such as leadership and service that, beyond physical and social activities, renew self-identity and purpose in life.
We accomplish our mission via our two core programs: our Chapter and Community Program (CCP) and our Leadership Development Program (LDP).
Keith is one of those few lucky souls who has been able to completely transition out of corporate America and dive headlong into his passion for bettering lives by teaching the art and science of physical culture. He not only “walks the walk” on a day-to-day basis, but his economic well-being hinges on his precepts of “proper exercise, stellar diet and lifestyle, and intelligent “hacks” and supplementation” forming the bedrock foundation for a long, healthy and prosperous life.
Keith, together with partner Mark Alexander, have molded Austin-based Efficient Exercise into one of the most highly regarded fitness venues in the nation. Keith’s mix of intelligent and highly effective exercise programming, coupled with Mark’s business savvy and proprietary equipment genius have made Efficient Exercise the preeminent wellness authority.
The very essence of Paleo f(x)™ is rooted in the idea of putting theory to practice; an idea that Keith is heavily invested in, having been blogging about these issues since early 2007. And his “30-thousand-foot view” for the Paleo f(x)™ enterprise serves as the movement’s guiding, north star.
And with a belief that intelligent “hacks” can help bridge the gap between our elegant evolutionary programming and sub-par environmental surroundings, Keith is continually ferreting out and backing the most promising of technological enhancements. As a founding partner of ID Life, Keith is helping to usher-in 21st century, optimal supplement dosing.
It might be said that Keith lives by the credo written by the Greek poet and soldier, Archilochus, over 2,600 years ago – “We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training”. And his vision for Paleo f(x)™ is that of a battle-tested warrior, preserving the right of everyone to fully, actively and enthusiastically engage in the human experience.
Veteran Resource Podcast was created to introduce veterans to Veteran Service Organizations. There are literally thousands of VSO’s out there, each with a different mission. The one thing that they have in common is that they want to help veterans in their own way. Some might help financially, some might help emotionally, some might help with homelessness, and others might help by providing the opportunity for veterans to serve their community and help others in need. Each week Jeremy will interview a different VSO to find out what their mission is, what projects they have going on, what challenges they face, and the type of veteran that is in their wheelhouse. With thousands of VSO’s there has to be something out there for every veteran.
Jeremy Paris was born in Buffalo, NY and joined the US Army immediately after graduating from high school. After ten years as a Personnel Administration Sergeant he left the military to become a government contractor performing computer support to the Department of Defense. Although the initial plan was to be a contractor for two years and then split, he spent the next 16 years supporting the same customer within different rolls. Jeremy has been on the staff of Veteran Artist Program (VAP), a non-profit Veteran Service Organization since 2010. While at an event in Washington DC with VAP Jeremy shook hands with people representing so many veteran-focused organizations that he was blown away. It was the realization that most veterans had no idea that these organizations existed that prompted Jeremy to start this podcast. The new mission of the Veteran Resource Podcast is that every single one of the 20,000 veterans transitioning out of the military each month will have the opportunity to learn about the veteran organizations that are available to them.
http://veteranresourcepodcast.com
https://www.facebook.com/VeteranResourcePodcast/
https://www.instagram.com/jeremysparis/
http://veteranartistprogram.org
Veteran Resource Podcast was created to introduce veterans to Veteran Service Organizations. There are literally thousands of VSO’s out there, each with a different mission. The one thing that they have in common is that they want to help veterans in their own way. Some might help financially, some might help emotionally, some might help with homelessness, and others might help by providing the opportunity for veterans to serve their community and help others in need. Each week Jeremy will interview a different VSO to find out what their mission is, what projects they have going on, what challenges they face, and the type of veteran that is in their wheelhouse. With thousands of VSO’s there has to be something out there for every veteran.
Jeremy Paris was born in Buffalo, NY and joined the US Army immediately after graduating from high school. After ten years as a Personnel Administration Sergeant he left the military to become a government contractor performing computer support to the Department of Defense. Although the initial plan was to be a contractor for two years and then split, he spent the next 16 years supporting the same customer within different rolls. Jeremy has been on the staff of Veteran Artist Program (VAP), a non-profit Veteran Service Organization since 2010. While at an event in Washington DC with VAP Jeremy shook hands with people representing so many veteran-focused organizations that he was blown away. It was the realization that most veterans had no idea that these organizations existed that prompted Jeremy to start this podcast. The new mission of the Veteran Resource Podcast is that every single one of the 20,000 veterans transitioning out of the military each month will have the opportunity to learn about the veteran organizations that are available to them.
http://veteranresourcepodcast.com
https://www.facebook.com/VeteranResourcePodcast/
https://www.instagram.com/jeremysparis/
http://veteranartistprogram.org