In this week's Podcast Adam sits down Keith Banks, who is one of Queensland's most decorated police officers, a recipient of the Bravery Medal and twice awarded the prestigious Queensland Police Valour Award medal, among other honours. He is a passionate advocate for changing the way mental health is regarded, discussed, and supported. Keith is the bestselling author of two autobiographical books which document his experiences as a Queensland police officer, firstly as an undercover operative and then as a tactical special weapons cop.

Keith joined the Police Force in 1975 and resigned in 1995. He joined as an idealistic seventeen-year-old and embarked on a career encompassing twenty years of deep undercover work, criminal investigation, special weapons, bomb disposal, counter-terrorism and criminal intelligence. When he resigned, he was emotionally broken and racked with Post Traumatic Stress. The job he loved had almost destroyed him.

After resigning from the job, he loved Keith moved in the corporate world working in a variety of senior executive roles. In 2019 he was formally diagnosed with chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and took this as a positive, now knowing he had not been imagining his mental health struggle.

Keith started writing about his police experiences as part of self-motivated therapy, hoping to give his family an understanding of his mental health challenges to help them comprehend the causes. His first book, Drugs Guns and Lies, was published by Allen and Unwin Publishing in 2020. This motivated Keith to write a second book, Gun to the Head, a raw account of his battle with PTSD and his recovery.

Both books have quickly become best sellers. Keith's aim is to help people build resilience and to recover. Keith is passionate about helping First Responders and Veterans dealing with PTSD and Mental health issues from their service.

Keith is a volunteer peer support officer for Police Veterans Victoria and an advocate for similar organisations to be established throughout Australia.

Keith is married with two children and a lifelong martial artist. He is also a Bruce Springsteen tragic.

Presenter: Adam Blum

Guest: Keith Banks

Editor: Kyle Watkins

Investigative Consultant: Adam Holloway