Marc is a 25 year veteran of the fire service and serves at the rank of Captain for the Alpharetta Fire Department in Georgia as well as working as a paramedic for the last 28 years. Marc is a certified instructor with Yoga For First Responders and an instructor with the Tactical Resiliency Training cadre. He’s also a tremendous advocate for first responder mental health.

In this conversation, we discuss his journey into the fire service, firefighter fitness, the power of yoga in tactical athletes, the Struggle Well program, The SIREN Project, his powerful healing journey and so much more.

Marc is a husband, a father and a grandfather. Marc has been in Public Safety for over 28 years and is currently a Fire Captain / Paramedic. From any early age his parents instilled in him a sense of service and empathy for others. He has been blessed to have many opportunities to serve and grow. He was able to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 13 and the values and lessons learned in scouting created a strong foundation for the life of service that he was called to.

Marc did two years of missionary work in Chile and is fluent in Spanish. After returning from doing mission work, he enrolled in EMT and subsequently paramedic school and has been serving in public safety ever since. After spending a couple of years working on an ambulance, he found his true passion of becoming a firefighter and has been blessed to be a student of the craft for 25+ years. He also served as a tactical medic on the SWAT team for seven years.

One of the most important lessons that he has learned throughout his career is the importance of resiliency and a strong support group. First Responders all too often are exposed to unspeakable traumas and hardships that are only understood by those who have walked similar paths.

He has learned that there is no “magic pill” to overcoming the daily challenges of life and has embraced a holistic approach to post traumatic growth. His own healing journey is based in faith, mindfulness and meditation, yoga and being anxiously engaged in good causes.

Marc is a huge proponent of peer support and has seen how valuable that is when someone may be struggling. He has volunteered with the Florida Firefighter Safety and Health Collaborative as a Co-chair for the Family Caregiver section. He is a certified in Peer Support through the ICISF and the IAFF. He is also active as a squad leader for Yoga For First Responders and travels the country teaching first responders how to use Yoga to enhance performance, build resilience and process stress.

Bas Rutten is a Dutch MMA legend also known as a coach, actor, commentator and innovator. We discuss bullying, Bruce Lee, his MMA career, overcoming extreme injury, his O2 Trainer and much more.

Bas Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He was the UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career with not a single loss in his last 22 fights.

Bas is now a well-recognized color commentator, accredited actor, television host, coach and entrepreneur. He is also a children’s fitness advocate on the Cartoon Network and a participant in the networks highly publicized “anti-bullying” campaign.

https://basrutten.com/

John Reynolds is a Hollywood stuntman, bouncer and life strategist. We discuss his early life in New Zealand, moving to Australia, bodybuilding, violence de-escalation, his journey into the stunt industry, Japan, working with Captain Dale Dye, masculinity, etherial beings and so much more.

Justin Davis is Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Operational Support Team, Langley AFB, VA. We discuss his journey into coaching, training the tactical athlete, the impact of the obesity crisis on military recruitment, minimal effective dose, fitness standards, TeamBuildr and so much more.

Coach Justin Davis was born and raised in York County, VA. Attending Tabb high school, he was a multi-sport athlete playing club & varsity soccer and running indoor track in the winter to maintain fitness for the grueling spring season. Father Keith Davis was an aerospace engineer at NASA and mother Patricia Davis was a chemical and electrical technician also at NASA. Needless to say, education was important in the Davis household! His older brother served time in the US Navy as a "Nuke" aboard a submarine.

He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master's Degree in Exercise Science from The George Washington University where he graduated cum laude, soon after obtaining the prestigious certification of Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach through the NSCA. Having spoken on the national level and state level on work capacity and its importance in tactical strength and conditioning, he continues to push the envelope in the Tactical S&C setting maintaining readiness and lethality using the Tier System and testing work capacity in those under his coaching care.

He has coached all over the world and has coached every branch of the armed forces outside of the Marines, spending time as a Fitness Director at Ft. Eustis, time in Romania supporting the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System, Ft. Campbell, KY as a Strength Coach for the H2F system, and he is currently the Operational Support Team Strength Coach supporting Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA leading their Explosive Ordnance Disposal team full time while also supporting various squadrons in a rotational embedment. Always down for a round of golf and a beer, he plans to continue coaching until retirement.

John Brunacini retired as a Fire Captain from the Phoenix Fire Dept Oct. 2006, where he served 26 years in the positions of Firefighter, Engineer and his last 14 years as a Captain. As a Captain on the department he developed and managed the Phoenix Fire Network, he worked in the field as the Company Officer on Ladder 11 B-shift for 10 years, and his last 3 years on the job he managed the department's Command Training Center.

After retiring, John became one the major co-founders of the Blue Card Incident Commander Training and Certification Program (for Type 4 & 5 Incident types) that was released in 2008. The end of 2020, after 14 years of managing Blue Card, John retired from Blue Card, where he has since written and published the textbook "Managing a Fire Company". John is currently in the process of developing a corresponding Company Officer training and certification program that is based on and is supported by his new textbook.

Will Chesney is a Navy SEAL, author and the handler of elite warrior dog, Cairo. We discuss his journey into the military, fighting an unseen enemy, chasing excellence, becoming a dog handler, Cairo's near fatal heroism, the Osama Bin Laden raid, PTSD, TBIs, canine therapy and so much more.

Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is Cairo's story, and that of his handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL Team Operator whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo's. Starting in 2008, when Will was introduced to the SEAL canine program, he and Cairo worked side by side, depending on each other for survival on hundreds of critical operations in the war on terrorism. But their bond transcended their service.

Then, in 2011, the call came: Pick up your dog and get back to Virginia. Now. What followed were several weeks of training for a secret mission. It soon became clear that this was no ordinary operation. Cairo was among the first members of the U.S. military on the ground in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the successful elimination of bin Laden.

As Cairo settled into a role as a reliable “spare dog,” Will went back to his job as a DEVGRU operator, until a grenade blast in 2013 left him with a brain injury and PTSD. Unable to participate in further missions, he suffered from crippling migraines, chronic pain, memory issues, and depression. Modern medicine provided only modest relief. Instead, it was up to Cairo to save Will's life once more—and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most.

Erik Usher has nearly 30 years of widespread clinical trauma experience and currently serves as a rotor-wing flight nurse/paramedic for Bayflite in Tampa, FL. Erik began his trauma career in 1988 in Connecticut working for a busy hospital-based EMS agency. While continuing to work EMS, Erik obtained his nursing degree at St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing, where he trained in the emergency department of one of Connecticut’s largest and busiest Level I trauma centers.

In 1998, Erik began working for the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. In concert with working in the trauma center, Erik started flight nursing for Mercy Air in 1998, when he became manager and helped establish the current Las Vegas medevac flight program. Erik also worked in the trauma center and in EMS as a Las Vegas street paramedic.

Erik is an active speaker at national conventions and a lead instructor/dissector for advanced procedural cadaver labs throughout the country. Erik is an instructor for the Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) and the American Heart Association’s pediatric advanced life support (PALS). He has also published many textbooks and medical journals throughout his career.

Erik is also the author of multiple children's books, helping first responder families with both service and Line of Duty Deaths.

Betsy Thibaut Stephenson lost her son Charlie to suicide in 2022. We discuss her work in communications, ethics in public relations, losing her son, her grief journey, writing Blackbird and so much more.

Blackbird: A Mother’s Reflections on Grief, Loss, and Life After Suicide, by Betsy Thibaut Stephenson, is a concise and brutally honest memoir about the emotional, physical, and spiritual impact of deep despair. By unflinchingly pulling back the curtain of fear and shame, Betsy’s story inspires important conversations about mental health, grief resilience, and creating a path toward healing.

Betsy Stephenson wrote Blackbird after her son Charlie’s death. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and Labrador retrievers. When she isn’t visiting her grown daughters in North Carolina and South Carolina, she is helping public affairs clients tell their story to policymakers and the mediahe emotional, physical, and interpersonal toll of grief; and the steps I’ve taken to retrain my body and brain to heal and re-emerge. I will also share resources, musings, and inspiration about life and growth.

https://www.blackbirdbetsy.com/

Jeff Morefield is 26 year law enforcement veteran and the man behind The On Call Project. We discuss his journey into policing, tornadoes, military service, dive rescue, transitioning out of the first responder professions and so much more.

Jeff grew up as an Air Force brat where he graduated high school in Rammstein, Germany. He then attended the University of Central Oklahoma and Air Force ROTC at Oklahoma University. Due to previous medical issues, he was not able to pursue his Air Force dream, but began his career path as a Law Enforcement Officer at the University of Central Oklahoma. He began this journey as a junior in college, specifically Aug 1st, 1997. He spent approximately one year at UCO, before being hired by Yukon Police Department on Jan 19th, 1999. He spent almost 3 years there, before being hired by Edmond Police Department on November 16th of 2001.

SGT Morefield found his home and began getting involved heavily within the PD. He served on EPD’s SWAT team for 12 years, EPD’s Under Water Search and Recovery for 14 years, was a Field Training Officer, Crisis Intervention Officer, Honor Guard member, served on the Oklahoma Gang Investigator Executive Board as the Central Director, Lead Intelligence Officer and several others.

He is highly decorated as being the recipient of the

-2003 State of Oklahoma Police Officer of the Year

– Two Life Saving Medals

– Two Medal of Valor Medals

– Seven Officer of the Month

– The Tony Calvert award winner from the Committee of 100

He is very active in the Special Olympics Torch Run, Folds of Honor, Tunnel 2 Towers, Baker 2 Vegas Race and many other outside the agency entities.

He is a committed member to his family and community and continues to do so currently!

Our perpetual appreciation goes to the individual who, with valor, empathy, and courage, serves as the Director of OCP.

He is married to his lovely wife, Emily and they have one daughter, Olivia.

Paul De Gelder is and Australian Army veteran, former Navy bomb disposal diver, shark attack survivor and television personality. We discuss bullying, martial arts, rapping, his journey through the military, making peace with death, the adaptive athlete community, plant based diets and much more.

Paul de Gelder chased adventure wherever he could find it, from his wild ride as a hoodlum teen and his whirlwind lifestyle working in the music industry & in strip clubs as a bouncer, to hauling his way up to the elite echelons of the Australian Defence Forces as an Army paratrooper and then a Navy bomb disposal diver.

But trouble hunted him down in the form of a 9ft bull shark in February 2009 while diving for the Navy. Paul lost two limbs, and his career as a daredevil diver was flung into jeopardy.

Drawing on everything his eventful life had taught him, Paul left nothing to chance in his recovery. He fought through excruciating pain, smashing challenge after challenge whilst amazing the medical staff and the Australian public with his will to succeed. His inspiring story as detailed in his autobiography “No Time for Fear” takes the saying “never say die” to a whole new level.

In the years since the shark attack, Paul’s life has changed in every aspect.

Having left full time Navy Service in August 2012, after continuing to instruct Navy Divers for a further three and a half years, Paul has travelled the world as a top motivational speaker, passionate environmentalist, adventurer and mentor to school kids. He has spoken at venues across the globe, from the United Nations in New York and the US Navy in San Diego to Military celebrations in front of thousands and keynotes for multimillion dollar corporations and charity organisations around Australia and Asia.

Paul speaks candidly and humorously about overcoming adversity, embracing change and turning fears into your greatest strengths to create an amazing life personally and professionally.

He has also been a guest on every major Australian TV talk show and many in the U.S. He starred as a guest trainer on the Biggest Loser Australia, and has hosted 12 documentaries for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Where he learnt to hand feed Bull Sharks, Hammerheads, Blue Sharks, dive with tiger sharks and even Great Whites without the protection of a cage.

Mega star Will Smith Featured Paul in his Facebook series “Bucket List” as his shark diving mentor and UFC hall of famer and now WWE start Ronda Rousey was taught how to hand feed bull sharks by Paul for a Shark Week special.

Paul also became part of an anti-poaching team in Africa to hunt poachers and film the amazing work done by the Rangers there for “FEARLESS”, aired on NatGeo.

Paul has been touted as one of the top 15 inspirational Australians and top 10 speakers and now based in Los Angeles he is preparing to film yet more documentaries and even completed an acting role for a 6 part mini series on Australia’s largest cable network.

An incredible life and an incredible story.

https://www.pauldegelder.com/