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We trace how corrections changed from the late 80s to today, why experience beats fast promotions, and how respect and clear boundaries prevent needless violence. Jimmy shares a yard assault, lessons on de-escalation, lawful force, and the life costs of a high-stress career—and how to build resilience and a future beyond the gate.

• generational shifts in staff mindset and promotions 
• politics, “cars,” and misaligned incentives 
• GP yard dynamics, influence, and why riots hurt profits 
• de-escalation through respect, not ego 
• reading cues, acting first when violence is imminent 
• fitness and preparation over performative toughness 
• staff-on-staff accountability to stop escalation 
• lawful force, Mini-14 use, and policy drift 
• the toll: divorce, DUIs, suicides, and coping that works 
• side hustles, investing, and planning for retirement 
• who should wear the badge and academy gaps

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We trace Alex’s rise from a 1,400 sq ft kettlebell studio to a 29,000 sq ft destination gym built on functional strength, community, and calculated risk. Setbacks, a failed partnership, and COVID became fuel for a smarter system and a stronger culture.

• roots in Chula Vista and family fitness influence
• kettlebells as a turning point and RKC rigor
• first brick-and-mortar launch and word-of-mouth growth
• partnership collapse, park workouts, and rebuilding mindset
• COVID pivot with open-air turf and renewed momentum
• programming shift to all-around strength and conditioning
• funding a calculated leap without investors
• securing a massive warehouse and pre-sale hustle
• rapid membership growth and community-first culture
• solving parking and planning scalable operations
• art wall symbolism, identity, and leadership values
• practical advice on risk, resilience, and purpose

We are in San Diego, specifically East Lake Chula Vista area. Address: 2390 Boswell Road, Suite 400, Chula Vista, CA 91914. More info at www.extremefitnesscv.com. Follow @extremefitnesscv and @alexverdugojr. See you at the gym. If you guys like what you saw, make sure you hit the subscribe button. Love you, keep pushing forward.

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We confront how SB 132, collapsing accountability, and politicized leadership have eroded safety in California’s women’s prisons. We map concrete fixes: restore real classifications, rebuild discipline, fix toxic water, and protect people who speak up.

• SB 132’s impact on women’s safety and housing
• Misclassification, overrides, and lost security structure
• Drugs, Suboxone incentives, and failed harm reduction
• Retaliation against grievances and parole consequences
• The CCWF riot as a leadership and planning failure
• Toxic water at Chowchilla and health neglect
• Budgets, unions, NGOs, and perverse incentives
• Rebuilding consequences, searches, and drug testing
• Elder parole, rehabilitation, and PTSD in custody
• Training gaps, acting roles, and culture drift
• Practical steps to restore fairness and order

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We trace Mike’s path from South San Diego to SDPD, through three shootings in 18 months, an escalating private spiral, and the intervention that led to real recovery. Hard truths about adrenaline, alcohol, nightmares, and EMDR meet practical advice on communication, ego, and respect.

• paying it forward after a counselor’s nudge to Hawaii
• hospital security shaping command presence and de‑escalation
• nine years of disqualifications before getting hired
• first OIS: knife suspect, time distortion, aftermath process
• second OIS: trailer park active shooter with an AK
• third OIS: pursuit, split‑second decision under duress
• media, community pressure, and the homicide procedure
• alcohol as a faulty fix for headaches, insomnia, and numbness
• hypervigilance, nightmares, and the cost of no REM sleep
• intervention, inpatient treatment, EMDR, and group therapy
• cumulative trauma across careers and home life
• advice for rookies on reps, critique, and humility
• guidance for OGs on mentoring across generations
• why respect, reputation, and ego control keep you safer

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We trace Tasha’s path from academy to maximum custody and unpack the widening gap between policy and reality inside Idaho prisons. Gangs, mental health crises, staffing failures, and a hospital ambush reveal how leadership and language shifts can’t replace basic security.

• why she chose corrections as a path to law enforcement
• academy training limits and POST-certified expectations
• pro-social language shift and blurred boundaries
• staffing shortages, broken schedules, and safety risks
• prison layout, death row protocols, and the bubble
• gangs in Idaho and assaults on staff as initiation
• C Block dynamics, self-harm, and suicide attempts
• death row fence incident and delayed clearances
• hospital ambush, manhunt timeline, and injuries
• retaliation after reporting PREA and medical issues
• turnover, weak leadership, and messy log controls
• contraband, overtime strain, and culture problems
• resignation in lieu, POST investigation, and fallout
• practical advice for new officers on policy and documentation

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A hidden birth, a one-way flight to LAX, and a badge that taught him how fast life can vanish. Alex—host of Purpose Over Pleasure and former LAPD and Santa Monica officer—opens up about being adopted in Uzbekistan, nearly dying as an infant, discovering the truth at 13, and why that shock wired him to choose purpose over comfort. We walk through the realities of big-city policing: academy highs and lows, how debriefs build better tactics, what dispatch and air support get right, and the quiet ways standards slipped after 2020—even as the job got harder.

Alex breaks down the moments that shape a cop’s judgment: pulling a gun when you see the bulge but keeping your voice calm; spotting a quality witness on a chaotic murder scene; flipping to a TAC channel while your partner calls positions; and knowing when the spirit of the law beats writing another citation. His rule is simple: heal first, then train relentlessly. Mindset before muzzle. Fitness, diet, dry fire, grappling, and sleep are not extras—they’re survival tools. He’s blunt about leadership too: managers count forms, leaders carry people. The best bosses protect their teams in public and fix problems in private.

We zoom out to faith, fatherhood, and entrepreneurship. Why did he leave LAPD? Pay, politics, and the choice to bet on himself. How did a former felon become his business partner? Shared survival mindset and accountability. From patrol cars to boardrooms, the code doesn’t change: control your ego, speak clearly, set standards, and do the work daily. Be a good cop, not a perfect one. If you care about law enforcement, mindset, masculinity, or building a life on your own terms, this conversation hits hard and stays useful long after the credits roll.

If this episode resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and drop a review—then tell us the one mindset shift you’re committing to this week.

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We sit down with retired California CO Jimmy Johnston, who activated New Folsom, survived riots, mixed yards, and a preventable stabbing, and lays out how leadership, training, and ego shape what happens when the door pops. The talk blends history, fieldcraft, and blunt advice for young officers who want to endure and lead.

• Sacramento upbringing and hard labor foundation
• Hiring wave and activation of New Folsom in the 80s
• Academy lessons on fair, firm, consistent enforcement
• Chow hall schemes, early mistakes, learning tier craft
• SHU yard mechanics, Mini-14 to HK transition
• Working without vests or spray, relying on judgment
• Phones, fraud, and exposing dirty staff pipelines
• Weapon-making, riot pieces versus killing pieces
• 1989 B Yard riot context and gang dynamics
• Cortez stabbing as a failure of supervision and process
• Trauma readiness gaps and need for blowout kits
• Step-down era, Hugo Pinell, and yard stability tradeoffs
• Leadership versus ego, manufactured risk, and accountability
• Career advice: promote, listen, influence training and policy

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We follow Goldie from a San Bernardino childhood to a disciplined career that starts in juvenile hall, grinds through a tough sheriff’s academy, and faces violence and addiction inside county jails. The throughline is simple: respect people, master details, and talk first.

• latchkey upbringing shaping discipline and empathy
• football injury redirecting purpose toward service
• juvenile hall training in prevention and care
• academy culture of precision and character
• jail intake revealing addiction as a driver of crime
• dorm riots, less lethal tools, and ad seg process
• reading cells and routines to assess risk
• de-escalation, respectful requests, and compliance
• humility over ego across SWAT and patrol

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Imagine swearing an oath to serve, only to discover that the rules you enforce don’t fully protect you. We sit down with attorney Mila Aretunian to unpack the hidden tradeoffs of a badge: administrative interviews where silence means termination, social media policies that muzzle speech, and a workplace culture that too often rewards popularity over process. Mila brings hard-earned clarity on the difference between “wrong” and “illegal,” why vicarious liability matters when leadership decisions cause harm, and how to translate lived frustrations into documented claims that courts can actually weigh.

We dig into the split between criminal and administrative investigations, where Miranda protections often vanish and compelled statements can be used against officers. Mila explains how departments litigate aggressively with public money while plaintiff firms absorb steep costs up front, and why single verdicts rarely change entrenched incentives. Real reform, she argues, comes when legislation lifts accountability from aspiration to obligation—think pension consequences for proven misconduct, stronger accommodation duties, and fewer avenues for quiet resignations that bury the truth.

There’s hope in practical protections too. Under California’s FEHA, officers with PTSD, anxiety, or even chronic insomnia can request accommodations without disclosing diagnoses. Seeking treatment for substance abuse is protected when you ask for rehab; your job must be held. We outline how to document requests, involve HR, and protect your health while building a defensible record. We also tackle public employee speech doctrine—why officers face narrower First Amendment protections than private citizens—and how to navigate that reality with strategy, networks, and behind-the-scenes legal guidance.

If you or someone you know is weighing whether to stay and fight or step back to protect mental health, this conversation offers a roadmap: document everything, get help early, know your rights, and push for laws that realign incentives from cover-ups to consequences. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review telling us which protection you think most officers don’t know they have.

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