The Suffering Podcast

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Denny is a trauma Survivor - physical abuse, Neglect, PTSD from Combat.

Denny Giamazzo, a Worcester MA native, holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UMASS Dartmouth.  He Served for seven years in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Team Leader, including a combat deployment to Ghazni Province Afghanistan in 2010.

Currently, Denny works as a Senior Account Executive in software sales, having built a career with major companies such as Oracle and Workday. He also hosts the podcast “Be The Standard” and is in the process of writing a book. Denny is also a Leadership subject matter expert and engagement speaker in The Forge, owned and operated by Nick Lavery. Driven by a passion for sharing his experiences, Denny aims to inspire others to unlock their full potential.

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Kate Califano, an entrepreneur, founded Seminar Stack with the support of her husband, Pennsylvania State Trooper Eric Smith, to equip first responders and civilians with essential safety and resilience skills. Eric’s dedication stems from his recovery after a near-fatal on-duty crash in 2020, during which he discovered the Adopt A Cop BJJ program. Training together, Kate and Eric saw the immense benefits of BJJ for fitness, mental resilience, and law enforcement.

Motivated by BJJ’s transformative power, they launched Seminar Stack to provide real-world training in gun retention, use of force, trauma response, and de-escalation, alongside practical BJJ instruction. The event goes beyond workshops, featuring keynote speakers, expert-led seminars, and hands-on demonstrations that equip attendees with actionable skills. It also fosters community connections through networking, vendor spaces, and fundraising. Their mission is to enhance officer safety, build trust between first responders and the public, and create a safer, more prepared society.

Seminar Stack Team

Seminar Stack

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@seminarstack

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In 2009, Sean joined the US Marines and served in the infantry. In 2011, Sean deployed to Sangin Valley, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. In 2013, Sean decided to extend his contract of service for the opportunity to go back to Afghanistanwith his unit. This time he served in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. While being tasked to preform aerial and ground interdiction, Sean led his team on numerous operations.  In 2014, he left the Marines and took the civil service test and was fortunate enough to be selected by the Morris County Sheriff’s Office. During that time, he worked with the Morris County Prosecutors Office narcotics division.  

In 2014-2018 Sean started losing guys he was deployed with to suicide. He has now lost more friends to Suicide than he has in Combat. While he searched himself for his new purpose, he dedicated his time to trying to help prevent veteran suicide. In 2015, he started working at a New Jersey Police Department by serving as a Patrolman.   

He has made it his mission and passion to help others, aquality he gained from his family. In 2024, He opened Abrusci’s Coffee in Budd Lake, New Jersey. 

He learned that Coffee is what made all the above possible. It wasn’t just about caffeine to get through long days, but the sense of community provided by gathering around the ritual of serving coffee, and the opportunity it provided to take a moment to brainstorm how to push through obstacles, decompress and talk about what just happened.  

In Law Enforcement he saw how coffee brought everyone together to subtract themselves from what call or operation they just had. Coffee also brings everyone together to discuss future plans or calls. 

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Parrt 2

Conner’s  journey is a powerful testament to resilience, faith, and purpose. Raised by a single mother and told to “change his name” by his struggling, addict father, Conner found his value in football. His Division 1 football career was marked by unrelenting perseverance, enduring seven season-ending injuries and an astonishing 1,646 days between his last high school game and his first collegiate appearance. Beyond the gridiron, Conner’s mission extended globally, traveling to India to confront the horrors of human trafficking and returning to the U.S. to raise awareness about this crisis. His story is one of breaking generational cycles of addiction and mental illness, saving his father’s life, discovering his faith, and transforming pain into purpose.

Today, Conner is a storyteller and advocate whose original writing has inspired hundreds of thousands across social media. Committed to being mission-oriented, he uses his life experiences to speak on the power of resilience, faith, and embracing suffering as a catalyst for growth. Whether sharing hard-earned lessons from the field or his personal battles, Conner’s voice resonates deeply with high school, college, and professional athletes across the country. His message motivates others to find strength in adversity, purpose in pain, and a greater mission in life’s challenges.

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Instagram - Conner Furu 

The Road Less Traveled - Weekly Newsletter 

10Ninety Podcast w/ Mason Sawyer 

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Part 1

Conner’s  journey is a powerful testament to resilience, faith, and purpose. Raised by a single mother and told to “change his name” by his struggling, addict father, Conner found his value in football. His Division 1 football career was marked by unrelenting perseverance, enduring seven season-ending injuries and an astonishing 1,646 days between his last high school game and his first collegiate appearance. Beyond the gridiron, Conner’s mission extended globally, traveling to India to confront the horrors of human trafficking and returning to the U.S. to raise awareness about this crisis. His story is one of breaking generational cycles of addiction and mental illness, saving his father’s life, discovering his faith, and transforming pain into purpose.

Today, Conner is a storyteller and advocate whose original writing has inspired hundreds of thousands across social media. Committed to being mission-oriented, he uses his life experiences to speak on the power of resilience, faith, and embracing suffering as a catalyst for growth. Whether sharing hard-earned lessons from the field or his personal battles, Conner’s voice resonates deeply with high school, college, and professional athletes across the country. His message motivates others to find strength in adversity, purpose in pain, and a greater mission in life’s challenges.

Find Connor Furu

Instagram - Conner Furu 

The Road Less Traveled - Weekly Newsletter 

10Ninety Podcast w/ Mason Sawyer 

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Adam Burt (born January 15, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the second round, 39th overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

Adam played four seasons for the Ontario Hockey League's North Bay Centennials before joining the Whalers organization. He made his NHL debut for Hartford in the 1988–89 season, and he remained with the franchise through its transformation into the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. Burt parted ways with the Hurricanes on March 6, 1999, when he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Burt played his final NHL season with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2000–01

Adam is now the senior Pastor for Every Nation NJ and a chaplain for the NY Jets.  Adam has lived his life by his faith and now shares answers to life's most pressing questions in his new book "The Longest Game: Winning In Life" 

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The Longest Game Book

Every Nation NJ Church

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Tom began his distinguished career with the NYPD in 1990, following his graduation from the Academy. He was assigned to the 30th Precinct in West Harlem, one of the busiest precincts in the department at the time. 

From 1996 to 1999, Tom served in the Bronx Narcotics Unit, where he was involved in multiple large-scale narcotics operations. One of his most notable cases was a joint operation with the DEA, which led to the seizure of 125 kilos of cocaine from Venezuela—still the largest cocaine bust in the history of the Bronx Narcotics Unit. The operation also resulted in the arrest of several members of a Venezuelan drug cartel.

In 1999, Tom was transferred to the Bronx Gang Unit, where he worked on a high-profile investigation that led to the federal arrest of "OG Mac," the leader of the East Coast Bloods Street Gang. His team also arrested the leaders of the United Bloods Nation and the Nieta’s Street Gang, crippling their operations in the area.

In 2003, Tom was assigned to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, following the Terrorist attacks of 9/11, where he worked on numerous international and domestic terrorism cases. His role included briefing the highest levels of government on critical matters of national security. Tom traveled to 18 countries, leading investigations that ranged from anti-terrorism operations to high-profile kidnapping cases. One of his most notable achievements was leading a three-month deployment to Afghanistan, where he oversaw the successful resolution of a kidnapping case involving a New York Times reporter.
Tom's vigilance and expertise also led to the prevention of a planned school shooting, which was thwarted just six days before the attack. During the arrest, law enforcement recovered a hit list, a diagram of the school, and materials used to make pipe bombs.Throughout his career, Tom held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance and briefed some of the highest-ranking members of the U.S. government. After 30 years of exemplary service, Tom retired in 2020 as a Second Grade Detective.

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Corporal Salvatore Oldrati from Mantua Township Police Department, Gloucester County, New Jersey, who has fully dedicated his life to protecting and serving the residents of his community. During the early morning hours of September 14, 2021, Mantua Township Police arrived first on the scene and were confronted with a man armed with a gun. Shortly after the shooting, an investigation was completed by the New Jersey State Police Shooting Response Team along with the Attorney General’s Office.Once the investigation was completed, Corporal Oldrati was cleared to return to work in October 2021. According to the Mantua Township Use of Force Policy, Volume 1 Chapter 12, pages 7 through 10 states. In May of 2023, twenty months after returning to full patrol duty, Corporal Oldrati was wrongfully indicted and accused of 2nd Degree Reckless Manslaughter by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). Corporal Oldrati’s family, friends and law enforcement communities, are rallying together in support requesting senators, congressmen/women, law makers and all legislators to stand up and rectify these egregious abuses by the OPIA.               

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Nick Ricciotti is a former law enforcement officer and served in the state of NJ for 6 years. After losing his job to substance abuse, he became an advocate for mental health and substance abuse awareness within the first responder community. Nick holds a masters degree in mental health and is a Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC). He is also a Behavioral Change Specialist and is certified  through NASM. In addition to his full time job as a therapist, Nick works with Reps for Responders, a non-profit 501C3 organization, and is part of Team Machine/Precision Components, a leadership consulting company founded by Nick Lavery. 

Nick provides peer support for first responders, manages external and fundraising events for RFR, and raises mental health and substance abuse awareness in the first responder community through public speaking engagements at various law enforcement training and agencies. In his spare time you can find him in the gym, at the beach, or spending time with his family and friends.

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As we travel along this journey to find stories of strength and resilience, it’s easy to get caught up in the sad sadness. Every once in a while, we need to bring ourselves back and show that life is beautiful and full of joy. There are no better people on the planet that exemplify the meaning of friendship then Mike DePalma, and Tom Flynn.  

On this episode, we gather together just to have a little bit of fun and show what makes life worth living.

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