Episode Description

In this powerful episode of Kitchen Table Talk, Michael Long and Nick Robben sit down with longtime friend and fellow first responder advocate Mark Hanek for an honest conversation about PTSD, vulnerability, healing, and the reality of mental health in the first responder community.

Mark shares his journey through trauma, the lessons he learned through the Warrior’s Ascent program, and why being “raw, authentic, and genuine” has become the foundation of his healing. The conversation dives into self-care, faith, resilience, mentorship, and the importance of planting seeds for others who may still be struggling in silence.

This episode is real, unfiltered, emotional, and filled with the kind of conversations first responders need more of.

Topics include:

• PTSD and cumulative trauma
• First responder mental health
• Warrior’s Ascent program
• Vulnerability and openness
• Self-care without guilt
• Brotherhood, healing, and mentorship
• Breaking the stigma surrounding mental health

If you’re a firefighter, paramedic, police officer, dispatcher, veteran, corrections officer, healthcare worker—or someone who loves one—this conversation is for you.