On 3rd July 2011, Mark Smith's life changed forever. After surviving tours of Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan Mark returned home unscathed. However on this day whilst on a training exercise in Canada, Mark was shot 7 times from a general purpose machine gun. 6 bullets destroyed his femeral artery in his groin and a 7th entered his shoulder. He was bleeding out. Mark died for a full 5 minutes on the evac helicopter, before eventually being brought back to life by medics. But is leg could not be saved and was amputated high above the knee.

Determined to make the most and focus on what he still had and not we he lost, Mark fell in love with the gym. Building his body to incredible size and strength winning several international bodybuilding and strongman competitions. However Mark's fight to survive was far from over and he is here to tell his full story.

Though Mark's achievements are formidable, it is his mental resilience which shines through. Honest, down to earth and moving this reflects on the importance of determination, compassion and positivity, brimming with humility and laughter.

Mark Smith has chosen to write a book detailing his life so far. All profits go to the children's cancer charity "Aidens Charity". The book can be purchased from Amazon titled Strength Of Mind by Mark Smith.

Welcome back to the Remember Resilience Podcast. Today I am joined by Gerard Burns. A world renowned portrait, contemporary and Realism artist, Gerard paintings grace the walls of owners all over the world. His customer base include collectors, business people, celebrities and members of several Royal Families.

However Gerard's road to success has not been easily achieved. From his humble beginnings in Cumbernauld where at just 18 he mourned the death of his younger 14 year old sister Elaine.

Gerard threw himself into a career in art, becoming principal of Art at the prestigious St Aloysius in Glasgow at only age 29. However Gerard was soon to be a victim of his own success resulting in him turning to alcohol.

This was the beginning of his spiral into a battle with alcohol abuse which culminated in an major nervous breakdown and the subsequent onset of alopecia.

Gerard knew something had to change, he vowed never to touch alcohol again, force by alopecia Gerard presented a new image to the world both physically and mentally. He left the toxic teaching environment which had been his downfall and embarked on a journey which would make Gerard one of the most successful artists of his generation.

Welcome back to the Remember Resilience Podcast. Todays guest is 2 x Paralympian and world record holder Ben Rowlings. Ben Rowlings is one of the worlds leading wheelchair racers, and is currently the fastest T34 athlete ever in Britain, in the 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 5000m races. Holding a world record in the 5000m.

Ben has had to fight since the second he was born. During birth the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck several times cutting off the oxygen supply to Ben's brain resulting in the development of cerebral palsy leaving the mobility in both legs severely restricted.

However this was never going to define Ben. Driven by the desire to live the life he deserved and craved, he threw himself into sport alongside his able bodied friends and team mates.

Then one day he was introduced to wheelchair racing. He was hooked. Ben soon became obsessed with his craft, committing himself unconditionally. His hard work was paying off, Ben competed in competitions all over the world including the Rio and Tokyo Paralympics. Ben is the holder of several winner's medals and record. Today, he is here to tell his story.

This week's guest is Anne Marie Hirdman, a domestic abuse survivor who faced nearly 6 years of abuse at the hands of a serving police officer. Annie tells us of her terriying ordeal, of how she believes she was targeted, of the night she thought she was going to die, of her continued fight for justice and what she is doing to help other victims who are experiencing domestic abuse.

Today's guest is Paul McCaffery, a former mental health nurse who after dealing with so many cases of trauma, self harm and sucicide found himself in a position where his own mental health hit rock bottom. Whilst battling with his demons, he was then shocked to learn that he had developed testicular cancer. Paul was only 30. He had a family to raise and a whole life ahead of him. We hear how he rose up against both, learned to love himself again and fight cancer with all he had.