Summary

In this episode, we interview Denny Girardi, a former Army Infantry Team leader and co-host of the Be The Standard podcast. We discuss Denny's deployments to Afghanistan, the challenges of stop loss and surge deployments, and the differences in op tempo between the National Guard and special operations units. They also talk about working with SEALs and ODA teams, the reputation of Jocko Willink, and their experiences with CrossFit and MMA.

Denny shares his journey from studying political science to pursuing a career in sales, and how he and Mike Burns decided to start their podcast. The conversation covers topics such as podcast production and scheduling, breaking the stigma around mental health, the goals of the podcast, the importance of consistency and building an audience, and the impact of exercise and cutting back on alcohol for mental health.

We also talk about the importance of promoting the podcast on social media and expanding to different platforms and share our future plans for the podcast and the impact we hope to make. And an overarching theme for the entire podcast is the need for accountability and setting standards to create a better version of oneself.

Show Links

Denny's Links

Denny's LinkedIn

Be the Standard Podcast

Be the Standard LinkedIn

Be the Standard Instagram

Be the Standard TikTok

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

01:00 Deployments and Missions

04:40 Training Cycles and Team Assignments

06:13 Meeting Jocko Willink

08:06 Jocko's Reputation and Physicality

09:16 CrossFit and MMA

11:43 Interest in Politics and Law School

12:12 Legalese and Concealed Carry Laws

13:02 Difficulties in Obtaining Concealed Carry Permits

14:07 Deployments in Afghanistan

16:08 Working with SEALs and ODA Teams

21:47 Transitioning to Entrepreneurship

25:18 Combining Forces and Building a Network

26:00 Meeting and collaborating through LinkedIn

27:01 The challenges of remote collaboration

29:21 The importance of flexibility in podcast scheduling

30:11 The significance of mental health in the podcast

31:19 The importance of discussing mental health

32:16 Breaking the stigma around mental health

33:28 The goals of the podcast

35:11 The core principles of the podcast: setting standards, creating habits, execution, and accountability

36:37 The importance of having a focused theme for the podcast

38:08 Choosing the name of the podcast

39:06 The importance of sticking to the podcast's core values

40:08 The importance of consistency and building an audience

44:07 The impact of exercise and cutting back on alcohol for mental health

48:51 The love for golf and breaking stereotypes

54:13 The acceptance of tattoos in society

57:04 Tattoos and Personal Style

58:00 Surfing in the SEAL Teams

59:08 Challenges of Surf Passage

1:00:18 Overcoming Swimming Challenges

1:02:06 Respecting the Power of the Ocean

1:03:17 Future Plans for the Podcast

1:04:56 Promoting the Podcast on Social Media

1:07:46 Expanding to Other Social Media Platforms

1:09:09 The Demographics of Different Social Media Platforms

1:12:06 The Time and Effort Required for Podcasting

1:14:36 Creating a Better Version of Yourself

1:16:30 The Importance of Accountability and Standards

1:18:31 Future Guests and Potential Arguments

1:20:35 Closing Thoughts and Gratitude