The Primal Journey

In this episode of The Primal Journey, I sit down with Rocky Marrin, founder of Three Wide Ministries, for an honest conversation about faith, marriage, fatherhood, temptation, personal responsibility, and what it really means to become a better man.

Rocky and I have known each other for nearly two decades, but our conversations have grown much deeper over the past few years as both of our lives have changed. Rocky shares his journey from being a man who felt like he had to control everything and fix everything himself to eventually realizing that approach was leading him in the wrong direction. He talks about the role faith played in changing his life, his marriage, his leadership, and ultimately his calling to help other men through Three Wide Ministries.

We also get very open about some of the things men struggle with but don’t always talk about, including alcohol, pornography, lust, pride, ego, distraction, and the ways we justify behaviors that slowly pull us away from our wives, children, faith, and purpose. Both of us share how removing some of those things created more space for better relationships, greater awareness, and a stronger connection to the people who matter most.

One of the biggest themes of the conversation is the importance of marriage and the influence our wives can have when they are willing to challenge us. Rocky shares the story of telling Leslie years ago, “I don’t know how or when, but I’ll come back to you a better man.” That idea became the foundation for this episode because becoming a better man isn’t something that happens in one big moment. It happens through years of choices, setbacks, honest conversations, faith, and a willingness to keep growing.

We also talk about fatherhood and how much our children learn simply by watching us. They see how we treat their mother, how we manage frustration, what we prioritize, and how we respond when life gets difficult. If we want our sons and daughters to make better choices in their own lives, we have to become more aware of the example we are setting today.

Rocky’s work with Three Wide Ministries is built around that same idea. Men need other men around them who are willing to share their experiences, challenge one another, and provide support when life gets difficult. Sometimes the first step toward change is simply getting into the right room and being willing to listen.

This conversation is about recognizing where you are, taking responsibility for the choices that brought you there, and making better choices moving forward. That’s what The Primal Journey is all about: focusing on what is essential, removing what is pulling us away from it, and continuing to become better versions of ourselves.

Our results will always match our choices so why not choose to "Keep It Primal"!

After nearly a decade in professional baseball, Aaron McGarity is preparing for a season unlike any he has experienced before: becoming a father.

Aaron joins Will Winston to share what it was like playing professional baseball in Mexico, where winning takes priority, job security is never guaranteed, and a player can be traded or released with little warning. He opens up about navigating that uncertainty, returning home earlier than expected, and deciding whether to pursue one final opportunity in professional baseball.

The conversation also explores the nutrition, training, sleep, and recovery practices that have helped Aaron sustain a long career, along with practical advice for young athletes and parents learning how to fuel growing bodies without relying on processed food.

Ultimately, this episode moves beyond baseball. Will and Aaron discuss marriage, faith, family, personal responsibility, and the challenge men face in learning how to provide without losing their presence at home. Aaron also shares the deeply personal meaning behind his son’s name and the lessons he hopes to carry from professional sports into fatherhood.

It is an honest conversation about adapting when life changes, learning from failure, and becoming the person your next season requires.

If weight loss were simply a matter of eating less and moving more, why has that advice failed so many people?

In the relaunch of The Primal Journey Podcast, Will Winston is joined by Primal Health Coach Cameron Trickey and leadership coach, speaker, and author Joshua Cole for a wide-ranging conversation inspired by Dr. Jason Fung’s book The Obesity Code.

Together, they challenge the calorie-only approach to weight loss and explore how food quality, insulin, appetite, fasting, movement, stress, and the surrounding environment influence body composition and metabolic health. Cameron explains why the human body does not process every calorie in the same way and why dietary fat should not automatically be treated as the enemy. Josh shares how fasting has affected his energy and mental clarity while connecting physical transformation to intentionality, self-awareness, family leadership, and personal responsibility.

The conversation also examines why highly refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods are so easy to overconsume, how parents model habits for their children, and why access to nourishing food remains difficult in many communities. Throughout the episode, the three coaches return to one central idea: lasting change begins when we become aware of the signals we repeatedly send our bodies.

The listener challenge is simple: identify one heavily processed food or drink that has become part of your routine, remove it for the next few weeks, and pay attention to what drives the desire for it. Is it genuine hunger, or is it connected to stress, boredom, convenience, or habit?

Our results will always match our choices. Choose what matters, subtract what doesn’t, and keep it primal.

Cortisol isn’t a villain. It’s the hormone that gets you out of bed, powers a tough workout, and helps you handle a real challenge. The trouble starts when modern life keeps cortisol switched on from morning to midnight, and we wonder why we feel wired, tired, hungry, and stuck.

We dig into cortisol as a circadian rhythm hormone and connect the dots between morning light, nighttime blue light, melatonin, and sleep hygiene. If you’ve ever turned on a late-night show and suddenly felt anxious or snacky, we explain the physiology behind it and why the timing of screens and food can matter as much as calories. We also talk growth hormone, deep sleep, and how a late insulin spike from refined carbs or alcohol can steal recovery when your body wants to repair.

From a fat loss and body recomposition angle, we unpack how chronic stress can blunt insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and push energy toward visceral fat storage. Then we get practical: exercise as a glucose-clearing tool through GLUT4, building metabolic flexibility, choosing acute stress on purpose, and recovering hard. We close with the missing piece many plans ignore: thoughts, perception, breathwork, gratitude, and controlling the narrative so your nervous system can finally downshift.

If this helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who lives in fight or flight, and leave a quick review with your biggest cortisol trigger so we can cover it next.

Will Winston and Cameron Tricky discuss the importance of glucagon, a hormone that mobilizes stored energy, in contrast to insulin, which stores energy. They emphasize the benefits of intermittent fasting, particularly a 14-16 hour fast, for glucagon activation. They highlight the role of diet, especially low-carb, high-protein meals, in regulating insulin and glucagon levels. The conversation also covers the impact of sleep, morning light exposure, and exercise on hormone balance. They stress the importance of making informed dietary choices and the role of gratitude and community support in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Most people try to lose fat by pushing harder in the gym and eating less. Will and Cameron Trickey show you a different path: work with your biology, not against it.

They unpack:

• Why oxygen and walking are your most underrated fat-loss tools
• How to eat so insulin stops trapping you in storage mode
• The role of glucagon, fasting, and whole foods in unlocking stored body fat
• How sunlight, sleep, and circadian rhythm quietly make or break your results

This is lived experience, not theory—from alcohol-free, metabolically healthy dads who rebuilt their lives and want to show you how to start.

In this episode of The Primal Journey Podcast, host Will Winston dismantles the modern myth that fat loss is about discipline and suffering. Instead, he reframes transformation as a hormonal and metabolic process—one that begins when you live in alignment with your biology, not against it.

Will is joined by Thomas Bonham, a devoted husband and father who lost 40 pounds in just four months by returning to the fundamentals of human design. By eliminating processed foods, prioritizing animal-based protein, and embracing a high-protein, low-carbohydrate way of eating, Thomas rebuilt his health from the inside out. Steak became a staple—not a cheat—and food once again served its true purpose: nourishment.

Beyond nutrition, Thomas layered in daily walking and hard, intentional training at Burn Boot Camp—mirroring the natural rhythm of ancestral movement: frequent low-level activity punctuated by brief, intense effort. The result wasn’t just fat loss, but clarity, energy, and presence that spilled into his family, work, and community.

Will and Thomas also confront the modern environment head-on—from constant junk-food advertising to cultural normalization of metabolic dysfunction—arguing that small, consistent choices with real food create outsized results. True change doesn’t come from willpower or punishment, but from aligning with the DNA that carried humans through hundreds of thousands of years.

The episode closes with gratitude, momentum, and an open invitation: step off the modern treadmill, return to what works, and begin your own primal journey.

A stage-four cancer diagnosis didn’t break Dr. Adam Maclauchlan—

it awakened him!

In this powerful episode of The Primal Journey Podcast, Primal Health Coach Will Winston sits down with the one doctor he trusts with his own health—a physician, husband, father of three boys, and warrior who lives out the truth that the body is a God-given temple.

Dr. Maclauchlan’s fight against metastatic lung cancer has forged a philosophy that mirrors the heart of the Primal lifestyle:

Faith first, real food over pharmaceuticals, self-responsibility over comfort, movement over stagnation, and resilience over resignation.

Together, Will and Dr. Maclauchlan explore:

• The exact moment a life-threatening diagnosis pushed him deeper into faith, fasting, whole foods, and ancestral principles
• How prayer, family, and a tribe of believers provide the strongest medicine
• Why modern medicine treats symptoms—but primal living builds unbreakable foundations
• The truth about cholesterol, sugar, metabolic disease, and why the Standard American Diet keeps men sick
• What fathers must embody to lead their homes with strength, presence, and intention
• Why being uncomfortable on purpose may be the most important discipline of your life

If you’re ready to confront complacency, reclaim ownership of your health, and hear the testimony of a man who is living proof that mindset and lifestyle matter—this episode will hit you straight in the soul.

From the relentless chase of that first euphoric hit of cocaine to the secret, exhausting battle with alcohol and porn, this conversation pulls no punches: Chip Richardson’s raw account reveals how addiction destroyed his life in the 1980s, leading him to steal from his own mother before hitting rock bottom, while Will Winston shares how quitting alcohol unexpectedly silenced another compulsion, porn, exposing the tangled web of dopamine driven habits. Their honest stories show that lasting transformation is not just about quitting drugs or drink; it is about tearing up old pleasure pathways and fiercely rebuilding a purpose filled life from the ground up.

Will Winston hosts the Primal Journey podcast, featuring Brad Dey, a 51-year-old entrepreneur and father of two who has been sober for 15 years. Brad discusses his journey from alcohol addiction to sobriety, highlighting the mental and physical transformations he experienced. He emphasizes the importance of discipline, mental health, and community support. Brad shares a pivotal moment when a DUI led him to deep prayer and a commitment to sobriety. He also recounts a challenging swim in La Jolla Cove with Navy SEALS, illustrating his growth and resilience. Will and Brad discuss the impact of alcohol on health, relationships, and personal growth, encouraging listeners to make conscious choices for a better life.