Nate The Work Out Guy! Nate Harpster

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
All right, welcome back, everybody.
I had the privilege to sit down with Nate Harper.
Lovely. Known in my phone is Nate the
workout guy. He is a family man, two
daughters and a wonderful wife. He's been working for 20 years
on the job in the city of Phoenix.
He was a volunteer for five years in a small town called
Grand Island in New York, where he fell in love with the craft
and profession of firefighting. For the past 13 years he's been

(00:21):
worked, he's worked on the back seat of Engine 2 at a station 1,
the big House downtown Phoenix. Nates also a technical rescue
and a medic. Nates a huge passion for fitness
on the job, which is exactly whywe're sitting down and talking
today. We'll talk about his Instagram a
lot too. And then the work ethic, the
effort, and the commitment to have a long, healthy career, but

(00:42):
more importantly, in Nate's words here, a long and healthy
retirement. So with that said, Nate,
welcome. Thank you for taking time out of
your day. Is there anything I missed in
your bio that you want to add Sir?
It's Harpster, not Harper 'causethere is Harpers on the job.
No, it's good. We have some Harpers too.
Unfortunately, one of them passed Brad Harper.
But yeah, just wanted to make sure people knew.

(01:04):
That's it. I apologize, Harpster.
Yes, absolutely. No worries.
No worries. So hey, good company.
Exactly and a little disclaimer.So I worked all day at The
Academy Is 114° today so my brain is a little fried so deal
with me. So thank God I got Nate here
fresh and cleaned up so he'll carry me through this episode
for chores. You.

(01:24):
Got it. So Nate, so the reason why we
connected, we started talking everything else.
So you are like I said, I have you on my phone as Nate the
workout guy. So you're blasted all over
Instagram right now, but you're doing something different.
So there's a lot of guys out there doing fitness, especially
for the American fire service. So I really want to start
talking about what you're doing right now here in the valley, in

(01:46):
the city of Phoenix for just to help all the brothers out right
now. You're posting a lot of videos.
So what is your kind of modalitywhen it comes down to fitness
and what separates you from the other guys?
Because I have a feeling and andcorrect me if I'm wrong, how you
are separate from the other guysto me is you building these
workouts that for my opinion, very easy to slide in even a

(02:09):
shitty shift at the Firehouse. So but hey Dave, thank you.
The floor is yours. Please let's talk about you
fitness and your modalities my brother.
No, I think you're exactly right, man.
I feel like a lot of times, and I get it a lot that people are
saying, oh, must be nice to be able to work out, you know, tell
me you're at a slow station without telling me you're at

(02:30):
slow station, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Well, that is my whole thing is you can get a workout done 15 to
20 minutes. You don't have to spend 2 hours
in the gym. You don't have to spend an hour
in the gym. You know, it's not Quit making
excuses. Find time in your day.

(02:50):
Do I get interrupted 100%? I get interrupted.
Now, Instagram doesn't really show the interruptions, right?
But I get interrupted. But, and it's not unique to me,
you see guys working out at every single station here,
Phoenix, Glendale, anywhere in the Valley.
Guys have a culture around fitness and it doesn't matter if

(03:13):
they're at a busy house. I recently just worked at 18,
one of the busiest stations and well, it's probably up there in
the country. I mean, right, Those guys get to
work out in every shift. I mean, so my whole thing is
quit the pitching, quit the excuses in order to do this job

(03:34):
to maintain the level of fitnessprofessionalism that we need to
be able to respond, especially here in our environment.
You have to find time to get it in and and it can be done in
1520 minutes and it can be done super effectively in that amount
of time. Right.
So that's dude, that's awesome and that fits us and our

(03:55):
lifestyle a lot. And I think it kind of opens the
door for guys that are scared. They're like, bro, I don't want
to commit an hour, man. I don't know if I can commit an
hour because I'm at the hammer station 18 just getting blasted
every freaking 1015 minutes. So dude, I love it.
So why did you what got you intothe fitness?
Like what was the turning point where you're like, man, I got to

(04:17):
prioritize this. Was it for the job?
Was it for the family? Was a mix like just just wrap
it. Up totally a mix man.
So I, you know, I wasn't always in the shape that I'm in now.
Now when I, when I got in the Academy, I was great shape, you
know, and kind of the I always called myself like a 33% frost
fitter back in the day, like I would only do some workouts on

(04:39):
shift, my days off didn't do anything, ate whatever I want,
blah, blah, blah. And then, you know, my father
actually got diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
He passed in 2008 and a couple years after that going through
the same motions. Like, dude, I saw a picture of
myself and I was fishing at my place.

(05:02):
I have a place in Pennsylvania. I was fishing and I had my shirt
off next to my daughter. I'm holding up this fish and I'm
just like looked at myself and Igo, dude, you look soft.
You're like kind of skinny fat soft.
And, and something kind of clicked in my head and I was
like, you know, your dad passed away from esophageal cancer.

(05:22):
He was by all standards healthy,you know, the American Standard
diet. You know, he was a pro, not a
pro, a semi Pro Football player back in the day, just a guy that
kind of, you know, took care of himself, or at least he thought.
And he didn't have half the exposures we do.
I didn't have the sleep deprivation that we do, didn't

(05:42):
have the stress load that that we do.
And I said something's got to change or else I am just kind of
stack in the deck against myselfif I don't.
And so that is really when I start to really get a hold of my
habits and create some consistency in my fitness and my
mindset that I want to be aroundfor my family longer than my dad

(06:07):
was. I want to be able to get through
this job, do a good job, be fit and then be able to walk out the
door feeling the same way I walked into those doors and be
able to crush it in retirement. That that for me now with, you
know, I have 20 years on, I'm kind of at that point where you

(06:27):
start looking you, you're looking forward to retirement
now, you know, if retirement's way closer than when I got then
then day one. So it's like I'm in the
conversation now of, Hey, what'syour plan?
You know, you get that when you go to the state.
What's your plan, man? Well, OK, I got about 8 years
left. Am I setting myself up to have

(06:48):
an enjoyable retirement? That is really where it it kind
of all began and and where it's been since that time.
That's cool. So what what made you decide,
hey, I'm going to start Instagram page?
Like I need to affect more than just my community, as in like
the boys I work with, my family,my friends.
What What sparked that interest?Yeah, I don't, you know, I, I

(07:10):
always had had a kind of a knackfor like videography,
photography. I like doing that stuff.
I've never afraid to put myself out there, be on camera.
Like some guys hate it, some, you know, or just don't know how
to, I don't know, film or do it,you know, any of that stuff.
And I'm like, dude, this is so easy for me.

(07:31):
So I just started off really with like pictures and then
eventually kind of recorded a workout video and then it just
kind of grew just like fitness through consistency to where it
is now. And the production value kind of
went up as far as the user end point.
Like, you know, music and just all the kind of talents I have

(07:52):
outside of making something lookgood and appealing to the
audience, yet still giving my message of, hey, this can be
done quickly. Here's what you can do, you
know, put in front of a fire truck and everybody's going to
watch it. So, you know, it was it just
kind of worked out that way and it allowed me to spread the
message that this job is dependent on your physicality.

(08:18):
There's no way around it. I don't care.
Male, female, it does not matter.
You have to be fit for this job and and if you aren't, you're a
liability, not just to your crew, your liability to your
family as well. The easiest thing is, like you
said, I want to be in the best shape.
I want to prolong my retirement,prolong my life, prolong my

(08:39):
career, everything else. So that is just part of the
culture, part of who you are, part of your department,
honestly, part of this whole valley.
The crazy thing is the guys thatknow me I started back east.
I had eleven years on the job when I came out here even when I
was testing so I mean we I have connections to Phoenix too.
So when I was testing I was riding at station 18 because I

(08:59):
hooked up with the fire bets They've been on this episode
great freaking Infinity group awesome all the way around yeah,
check them out. They're they're here for the
brothers for sure. But so I remember coming to 18
and I'm looking at the firemen going, these guys are fucking
monsters. Like they're in shape.
Every single one of them. I'm like, they're in shape.
I'm like, all right. And then I go back and forth a

(09:22):
couple times. I ride at 18.
I'm testing with Glendale. We're going through the whole
process and the biggest thing I'm realizing is the firemen out
here are freaking in shape. So back East, it was like a
running joke. And it really wasn't a joke.
It was more of a reality. It was like, hey man, the best
shape of my life was a day I graduated Academy.
And that was 90% of the guys in the departments around that

(09:44):
area. It was just a cultural thing.
I mean, they don't even have annual physicals where they're
checking like functional movements and stuff like that.
And they got the guys are askingfor him.
It's like, well, in the world. So when I came out here, it was
such a shock because I had dudesat that point I was thinking I'm
elite in my department in physical activity and these guys

(10:05):
are just running me over. I'm going holy cow.
So cultural wise, I, I feel like, and I really want to take
a dive in with you out. Is that like a West Coast thing?
Because we know you, you came from the East Coast.
Is that, do you think it's a West Coast thing?
Do you think it's a valley? But why is it so instilled in
the Valley? Especially the physical fitness,

(10:26):
gaining your gear and doing these skillies and just this
constant work. Yeah, man, I mean, yeah, I I did
come from the East Coast just outside of Buffalo and, and I
wasn't a paid position there. I was in a volunteer position,
but it was, it was the same. And I work closely with some
departments around and, and got to see how they function.
And today I talked to people allover the country and there's

(10:49):
some heavy hitters that are for sure pushing that agenda of
being fit. And I think that's starting to
transition. But I am also surprised at the
lack of commitment by departments to their fitness and
to their Wellness. As you cross that Mississippi,

(11:09):
as you get further E mad, it does seem to decline.
And it's really the, the fitnesslevel is really done on the
individual, on the individual level, not a department wide
level. It's not necessarily a
department wide culture because I have for sure talked to guys
that say, man, I feel like I'm beating my head against, well,
I'm trying to create a culture of fitness and I'm getting

(11:31):
pushed back from admin and from even guys at the station that
are saying, dude, what's up? You're not going to be able to
perform out of fire if if you'reworking out at work, you know?
So IA 100% agree with that. And I, I'm not 100% sure why
that necessarily is. I don't know if it is a cultural
thing to, to just kind of let itgo and, and, and rely on your

(11:56):
day one, you know, physical level, but that obviously
doesn't, doesn't pan out very well.
And you see super high rates of obesity and, and heart related
issues in general, but especially over there.
And I, I don't, I really don't understand it.
I, I've never understood it, butthat's again, why I created what

(12:19):
I did to spread the word that this is what it takes.
And you're 100% right, dude, when I came here, I came out
here in 2003 and I was like blown away at the culture of
fitness because it, it was, to me, it was awesome.
You know, and I think it's, I think it is just one of those

(12:40):
things like in general, as you go east to West, you start
seeing people outside more, being more physical, doing, you
know, just being way more active.
And I think, I think that just lends itself into the department
and the and the job for. Sure, that and that that does
make sense. It's just it's awkward to me.
Like it's funny because there's like I wish there's that perfect

(13:04):
fire department, right. So like I love the fitness level
and workouts in the gear and everything out here, but then
you go back east. It's like I wish we had the
truck culture and the search culture.
Yes, like it's it's funny. So like why the fuck can't we
merge everything? We bring our fitness to East
East brings the fire culture to the West and then we all are
just these studs that freaking fight fire, freaking push iron

(13:27):
and just have a great time together.
Like that sounds like an amazing.
Awesome. It would be.
It would be. It's like the perfect combo,
man. I, I agree because there is a
lot of things that I love from the East Coast fire culture,
100% the, the aggressiveness. I just, I love a lot of their
tactics And you know, I think we're, we're seeing some of that
and, and I do think we're very aggressive departments.

(13:49):
You know, we, we sometimes get bashed for certain tactics, but
I really do feel like we are aggressive.
We're going to go in and get thejob done, but we also do it
smarter. And I think there is, listen, if
you look at a lot of departmentsthat budget a ton of money
towards funerals and services like that.
And that's just not something that's really talked about here

(14:11):
because I feel like A, we take care of our physical fitness and
B, we're smart about our tacticsand you know, we're not risking
a ton for nothing, you know, that that really has to play
into the culture of the department as well.
So, yeah, man, I, I agree with you there.
There's a lot of things I like about back East, but the

(14:33):
physical fitness side, they're improving.
But I, I really feel like they, they can do a lot more from the
management side of things and, and make that more of a culture
because that's, you know, the groundswell starts from below,
but you need the support from upabove too to make it happen.
And I do remember testing for Buffalo Fire Department.

(14:53):
I, I took their tests, I got puton their list.
I was, I went and did the their C pad and there was breaks in
between. Like you do one event and then
you'd stop. You wait for the next guy and
then do the next event. I remember being on this, that
Jacob's ladder deal. And I'm, I'm doing the ladder.
I'm like, I'm talking to the Proctor.

(15:14):
I'm like, dude, this is probablydidn't help my 'cause I'm like
this is so much easier than Phoenix's like and to me the C
pad's a joke. It's a joke.
Like it is the absolute base level that you could possibly do
when people are struggling with it.
I just like, I'm like, come on man, you have not prepared.
But I remember just saying, man,this is way easier.

(15:37):
I don't know. I, I'm like, can we, can we do
some more shit here? Because this isn't proving
anything besides the fact that I'm not a fat slob.
That's all. It's not proven.
Exactly. So I have a have a interesting
question that I was literally typing as you're talking.
So yes, culturally, let's let's keep on that guys working out in
their gear for the skillies for a second.

(15:57):
So all right, East Coast, West Coast, we're talking about
health, we're talking about exposures, we're talking about
all that stuff all the time. So obviously cancer is a huge
freaking topic in the American fire service.
And I, I know you'd know where I'm going with this probably
already, but this is just something that's been in my
brain as a conspiracy theory. That's it.
This is this is me only. So there's a lot of cancer

(16:20):
deaths back east. I feel like it's and it's
awkward because I kind of feel like there's actually more out
here at West. The only difference that I'm
seeing between is back east actually has worse building
construction when it comes down to exposures with asbestos and
lead paint and stuff like that because it's an older community

(16:41):
than it is out West. But with that said, I honestly
feel like even especially in thevalley, we've had a lot, a lot
of cancer deaths in the last couple years.
We've had three in my departmentwithin the last year and a half,
which is freaking nuts. It do you have any inclination
that has to do with either this is my brain, the gear that we're

(17:03):
wearing during our workouts because we're in it longer and
we're sweating more. Or maybe even are we checking
our air supplies? Like, you know, is it maybe it's
an air thing? Like who knows?
Like I know systems are checked and everything else, but how
much are they really checked andhow important is and everything
else? Like, again, conspiracy,

(17:23):
conspiracy theory Stevo only. But I really want to talk about
the gear because I've seen that you work out in different gear.
Just what do you, how do you feel about that?
Yeah, here's my opinion on it and yeah, I do use the Karna
bunker gear on that blue gear. I get tons of questions on that
every time I wear it and I don'twear it every single time I'm
doing skills course because in my in my mind is it is

(17:45):
mitigation. It is minimizing your exposure
selectively. And I'm not always going to work
out in the blue gear because it's not my real gear.
I want to, I want to work out inmy real shit and I want to have
my tools where they are. I want to have that feeling of
OK, here's my wedges here, my radios here.
My tools are in this pocket. You know, when I'm working on

(18:07):
the blue gear, it's just, it's just empty gear.
And yes, it is P phosphree. It's way freaking hotter.
It's super uncomfortable. And I love, I love the thought
of that being part of my regimento reduce the risk.
But here's what I think, man, I think it's you're on to
something with the air. I think those cylinders maybe

(18:29):
aren't always as clean as we think they are.
I've had some guys on the utility trucks say, dude, when
they when we bleed those things out, they are nasty, nasty.
So 100% it could be that. But here's where the rubber
meets the road for me. It's your diet.
It's what you're doing the rest of those 24 hours, the rest of

(18:51):
those 365 days of the year. How are you eating?
How are you sleeping? Are you heating shit up in the
microwave in plastic containers?Are you cooking on Teflon?
Are you, you know, all these little things that I get so much
blowback from people like, oh, yeah, you're working out in your
gear. Way to go.
Way to up your cancer risk. I'm like, show me your diet.

(19:13):
Show me how you're preparing your meals, show me all these
different things, because if you're pointing at just one
thing that you think is causing you cancer, you are, you're
missing the forest. You know, you're just, you're
hyper focused on one thing. So I, I think it's, I think it
is a culmination of a whole bunch of things that are

(19:33):
creating the, the cancer risk. And, and for us, it is amplified
because of our sleep deprivation, which is now a
Class 1 carcinogen because of all the exposure, the extra
exposures that we have. Yes.
But we cannot just say throw outwork in, in your gear because
that just if, if you're not a fireman, you learn very quickly

(19:58):
when you put on that gear how restrictive, heavy and how much
heat it holds in. And if you're not prepared to do
that, especially here when it's 13° out.
You ain't worth a shit on the fire ground, I can guarantee
you. Yeah, dude.
And I mean, you said it like right now, I just said literally
I, I got off work 1:14 today, right?
We had kids dropping left and right because we're in week 6.

(20:21):
So they're still in that acclimation period.
And these are obviously kids that never been in gear ever.
So we're not talking about seasoned firemen that have to
acclimate all the time. So talk to the guys that are not
in hell, which is called Arizona, right?
How do you acclimate for temperatures that we see?

(20:41):
Because in all reality, we have summers that do 122 to 125 and
that's a reality. But more importantly, we have
stretches of 30-40, fifty days in a row that are above 110.
So how do you acclimate your body to operating in
temperatures like that? Yeah, you have to, you have to

(21:03):
train in your gear and it's not every shift.
And I and I don't promote every shift doing a skills course.
I don't think that's necessary, honestly.
I don't. And I think that's an
unnecessary risk, cancer risk for you.
I do believe that. That's why I have the blue
turnouts because I can put thosein play.
But you don't have to do every workout in your damp turnouts

(21:24):
either. You know, I see guys bringing
their turnouts home and and doing CrossFit workouts in them
and all sorts of stuff. I'm like, OK, why on your days
off are you, are you taking thatrisk, taking that exposure?
Throw a weight vest on, get a blast mask, go out in the sun,
hit a workout. You can do a rock, you know,

(21:46):
with, put a regular jacket on inthe middle of summer, whatever
you want. You don't have to do the risk.
You can acclimate the heat by pushing yourself in the
environment and you're still going to be having those
beneficial results. Gotcha.
All right, So I'm going to put you on the spot here, Nate, and
you don't have to answer this. You can give me a general age.
How old are you buddy? I'll be 49 next month.

(22:08):
Damn all right, so when you check out his Instagram, you
have no idea he's 49. So I literally guess because I'm
thinking like 39 to probably 40-5 ish.
All right, so I'm 44. I've been doing this for 19
years. You've been doing it for 20.
So we're pretty much about the same age, about the same body
type, right, So my joints hurt like fucking hell all the
goddamn time. Our feet hurt, you know,

(22:30):
especially when you're working out gear and stuff like that.
What do you tell guys like how do you compensate for the joint
pain? The muscle fatigue, all that
kind of stuff, especially when, and don't get me wrong, I'm a
huge component of working out onshift and those guys, they are
the cancer when they say, oh bro, you're going to go down or
whatever, it's like, well, if you're only expecting to get one

(22:51):
job a shift, shame on you. So that means if we get one job,
we all have to go home because we're going to be too spent for
the rest of the shift. Like that's how, that's not how
I want to train my body. But talk to the guys that are
our age, our experience level, like how do you maintain this
level? Because it's beneficial but
understanding that shit we're older and and stuff hurts man

(23:12):
and we don't recover as quick. No, we don't recover as quick.
I, you know, like I did some at 18 yesterday.
I did some heavy kettlebell swings, some goblet squats and
some overhead presses, right? And I woke up this morning and
my neck was jacked up, you know,just like tight.
I'm like, what the hell, you know?
So that's when you know, you're old, you wake up and you're
like, something hurts. I think you have to be active to

(23:33):
mitigate those injuries too. I really don't think if if you
are just laying around hitting the the recliner and thinking
that that's going to keep you uninjured, well, that's only
prepping you for an injury in a real time incident and you're
not preparing your body for the call.
In my opinion. You have to work in the mobility

(23:55):
days, the sauna recovery days, you know, a little bit of cold
plunge and it's not always, I know it seems like it on my
page, maybe it seems like it's ared line all the time.
Like here's a high intensity 2030 minute workout.
Like boom, I'm doing this every single day.
I'm not doing that every single day.
I am taking days where I'm just just that I'll go in my garage,

(24:17):
I'll hit the mats and I'll just do some mobility, some very
light work and then do some sauna work in the evening.
Like that's how you, you know, ebb and flow your body to make
sure that you're getting good recovery and still moving
forward. Because guys think that
consistency is David Goggins 100% of the time.

(24:37):
You know, and it's not, it's notthat just 100% effort all the
time. You're, you're going to kind of
go up and down and have good days, bad days.
But if you're doing something a little 1% every day to get a
little bit better, then you're still maintaining that
consistency for your mind and for your body.

(25:00):
So I'm, I'm a big believer in that.
And especially you and I gettinginto that older range, like we
do have to listen to our bodies a little bit more because when
we're out there hitting a skillscourse and I, you know, with
guys, you know, on my station that are in their 30s, twenties,
like I sometimes have to remind myself, dude, you're not 32

(25:22):
anymore. Like yeah, they're, they're,
they're ripping through the skills course, maybe doing 2
rounds. I'm that kind of like the young
bull, old bull, Like, OK, I'm going to just go through this.
I'm going to do one round. I'm going to get a good sweat
on, then maybe I'll go downstairs gym and hit something
else like so using age and wisdom a little bit as we get

(25:43):
older plays a huge role too. I have to.
It's funny, you said the whole like there's so much younger.
I had that conversation with my old lady the other day because
I'm like, I had to remind myselfthat like the kids in the
Academy grading, they're doing askills course.
We're right there with them. And it's harder for us because
we're coaching and doing the same events at the same time.
And it's funny, I had to remind myself I'm like, I'm fucking

(26:05):
exhausted. But they are 20 plus years
younger than me. Like it's, yeah, if for some
reason, and I know it's our types of personalities as
firemen in general, that type a personality of, and it's hard to
say, hey, I'm getting older. I might not necessarily be the
fastest, biggest, strongest dudeon the crew of the Academy at

(26:27):
the station, in the battalion, whatever it is.
But it's I know it's hard for usto bite off because at one point
all those hard chargers probablywere that the biggest,
strongest, fastest, whatever it was, you know, So and that
that's what I was wondering, because it's hard to stay
motivated. It's hard to keep going when
things hurt. So I'm always curious on like
what you do or where that mindset is.

(26:48):
And it's funny, we just had on acouple episodes ago, the mayday
with Kenny Roman from Tempe fire.
And at the end he talks about he's big into martial arts.
He his words right is motion is lotion.
And it's funny. You like you basically said it.
You're like, bro, you got to move, right?
Yeah, yeah, 100%. And, and, and give yourself some
grace, be able to, you can pivotoff of a workout if you're not

(27:11):
feeling so great. And I've talked about this on my
page like, hey, you get your asskicked and you were planning on
doing a big bad ass workout the next day.
Well, at, at 30 years old, maybeyou could still push through and
do that bad ass workout. But now I'm like, listen, I'm
just going to pivot off of that,do something different, go
through the motions and make sure that I'm recovered and I'll

(27:33):
get after it tomorrow, the next day.
I'm not not doing anything. But I'm still moving forward and
still fulfilling that commitmentthat I made-up here to
continually get better and stay at where I'm at, not lose
ground, you know, and I think a lot of us get off what we're
afraid of that oh, I'm going to lose ground if I miss a day, you

(27:55):
know, and that's just not the case.
Your body does need time to recover.
And so that's been it been a kind of a bigger paradigm shift
for me as I've got a little bit older is to check that ego a
little bit and allow and allow myself to kind of just let the
body repair. I've had a bunch of injuries and
I think a lot of that is is frompushing red line all the time.

(28:19):
Yeah. And it it's hard, like you said,
it's hard for us to kind of pullthe reins back on ourselves,
especially, you know, especiallythe guys.
Those are the guys we want. That's you want people that want
to keep going no matter what. I mean, that's what we look for.
If if that's not you, then maybethis isn't the job for you.
You're absolutely right. And I've mentioned it on on

(28:39):
multiple episodes on this podcast of there is no such
thing as everyone can do everything.
You know, like this job is not for everybody.
And even if you want it so bad and you have the best heart and
the best spirit, you might not be physically capable of doing
this job. And that's OK.
Like society has told us that ifyou put your mind to it, you can
do whatever you want to Bullshit.

(28:59):
You know, there's yeah, there are limitations, period.
The. End 100% agree. 100% agree.
The be nice. I love be nice, I love Bruno,
but that can only go so far. You know, you, you have to be
able to do it. You have to, you know, be
physically ready for this job. Being nice is great, but being
nice doesn't allow you to drag somebody out of a fire.

(29:22):
Yeah, exactly. And in fire scenes are
aggressive and you need to be aggressive and sometimes loud
and sometimes mean, as society would deem it.
But it's it's about doing a job efficiently, effectively and
aggressively. And when we do all those things
together, we deem the scene saferapidly, which is what we all
want for the public and us. So, you know, win, win.

(29:42):
But that's just a personality trait that it it I honest my
opinion feel like that is a a need and a desire for the people
that we do hire. I couldn't agree more with you.
All right, brother. Well, before we kind of start
transitioning off of fitness, I do want to talk about
supplementation a little bit because that's huge in the fire
service. You know, every, I feel like

(30:04):
every station I've been to, depending on the time of the
year and then depending on what Netflix documentary came out
like it's what we're doing collectively as a group.
And yeah, I'll use this as an example when I think it was
called Game Changers on Netflix,the whole vegan diet thing.
OK, so I remember when that happened, there was like in at

(30:26):
the station I was assigned to atthe time, there's an entire shit
that was like, we're going vegan.
Fuck it, right? And that lasted for about a week
or two, I think one guy tore A bicep, one guy, like, whatever.
And then everyone else is sick of doing it.
And then there is already back. But that is.
And, you know, the guys that areon the job know that is the
American Fire Service. So hell yeah.

(30:50):
So for Nate, what do you prefer?Why do you prefer it?
You know, just kind of take us down what you do for
supplementation or actually evenbetter.
Let me back that up. What would you recommend for the
general fire department population for the guys that are
just, you know, trying to stay in it?
Everything else what like? What's your personal opinion on

(31:13):
Subs for the job? Well, I would say first and
foremost, before any sort of supplementation, it's it's food.
I mean, you know, walking in theFirehouse, we don't always have
the healthiest meals on the table cooking, you know, deep
frying stuff, like they're really good, but they're not
really good for you, you know what I'm saying?

(31:34):
So I do bring my food a lot. I do bring my own food and, and
kind of grab from what we're cooking if it's not what I, what
I want to eat. And my diet is really just like
real Whole Foods. That's, that's really it.
I, I don't like fried stuff. I'm not big on pasta.
I'm not afraid of carbs, but I, I just don't like those kind of

(31:54):
refined carbohydrates and stuff like that.
Rather fruit, vegetables and, and just protein, high protein
diet to the diet aspect of everything.
That's kind of where I go. So that's number one because
supplements are just, they're the supplement what you're
doing, what you're eating and how you want to perform.
So for supplementation, you know, I work with ex endurance.

(32:17):
I'm, I don't know if you're familiar with them.
They're based out of the valley here.
Jason St. Clair, he's a Gilbert fireman.
He's one of the owners. They're extreme endurance is and
and we can put a link in the show notes for it, but.
Absolutely. We sure will.
Yeah, it's, it's one of my top supplements that I recommend.
It's a lactic acid buffer and that is well among other things,

(32:38):
but that's going to reduce that muscle soreness that the Dom's
delayed onset muscle soreness help you be able to recover
faster, be able to, you know, get into the gym more frequently
with less soreness. It also helps fight against
rhabdomyolysis by by dumping, helping you reduce the creatine
kinase levels. And you know, Rabdo's kind of a

(32:59):
big issue, especially here with the heat and with guys pushing
each other, a lot of, a lot of challenges.
Let's do like a push or pull upsafter every, you know, call and
you're running a ton of calls and next thing you know, a guy
can't move his friggin arms. You know, so it it, it helps
with that, but in my mind, the reason why I like that
supplement so much is it helps your VO2 Max, which is equals

(33:22):
performance on the fire ground, longer time on air, and it helps
fight free radical damage, whichwe all need in here because that
is a leading contributor to the degenerative diseases to cancer.
So I just, I love that that supplement.
That's my #1 #2 for me is creatine a good creatine

(33:44):
product? X Endurance has a great one.
You got to find whatever you want.
I do like like that, but there'sso many benefits to it beyond
muscle synthesis and recovery. We're talking like cognition and
sleep. And there's more and more
studies coming out all the time on creatine, and guys are so
scared of it because they think they're going to start cramping

(34:04):
up and having all these issues. Well, you know what?
We're in the desert, man. Drink enough water, get some
good hydration. A good hydration multiplier
would probably be #3 and make sure you're staying on top of
that shit because your muscle needs that hydration.
Otherwise you're going to cramp up.
Otherwise you're going to start tearing muscles.

(34:25):
You're going to have injuries. You have to be smart about your,
your supplementation. And for me, those, those three
are really my tops. And you know, you can go down
the list of multivitamins and omegas.
And Kate, I have a whole, a whole supplement.
We could spend a whole podcast or whole routine.
We'd spend a whole pot podcast talking about supplementation

(34:46):
for sure. And it's not all X endurance.
I don't want people to think I'mhere just saying it's, it's only
that I use a whole bunch of different companies that I feel
fit me very well. So my message is to do your
research and find out what you like, what's going to work for
you, and experiment a little bit.
But for sure check out the extreme, get on some creatine,

(35:08):
get a good hydration multiplier.I think if you have those three
in play, you're setting yourselfup pretty good.
Now what do you, what do you mean by a?
And this is my ignorance, what'sa hydration multiplier you
talking about? Like liquid IV or something like
that? Yeah, Liquid IV, something like
that, Redmond read again. I'm a stickler for clean
ingredients. Like I'm always reading labels

(35:31):
again, that that just goes back to eating clean.
Like if I am eating something that is processed in a wrapper,
like I am looking at it going, which one has the least
ingredients and has the less BS in it, the less sugar in it.
Like I, I do not like having a ton of added sugars in my stuff.
So I'm, I'm always reading labels.

(35:51):
So for me, like I like Redmond relight exodermis has a has a
hydration powder that I really like.
And here's 1 little tidbit. We're all so big on 0 sugar in
the hydration drinks, but we actually want a little bit sugar
in there because that is going to help shuttle it into your

(36:12):
muscles into where it needs to go.
So I'm not talking like 40 gramsof sugar.
I'm talking, you know, 10 or less is really ideal to help
that that supplement work to rehydrate you appropriately.
Yeah, and I, it's funny you saidthat.
I was literally talking today. We're talking.
I was talking to another guy that's just a good old meathead

(36:33):
like I am, and we were talking about old school supplements and
we started talking about cell tech.
I don't know if you remember that.
Like wait, I remember. It I never took it but I I
remember it. It, it has officially ruined the
taste of fruit punch for me because the only one I was able
to get was fruit punch and I can't taste fruit punch anymore.
It's just it makes me nauseous. But it was funny because that

(36:53):
was sending guys into like kidney failure and shit like
that because of the granted theywere right.
They had a great idea. So they put sugar in there to
drive into your bloodstream, right?
But it was like 75 fucking gramsof sugar like every serving and
they were telling you to take like 4 servings a day.
You were like, you're making like these pre diabetics.
It was crazy. But.

(37:14):
Well, and that's that's a huge problem in the fire services is
pre diabetes and and you see guyand I look just like at some of
the supplements sitting on the table, like, you know, the face
melting freeze and all these different things.
I'm like looking at them. I'm like, dude, you see first of
all, this has like 350 grams of or whatever milligrams of

(37:36):
caffeine here. Yeah yeah, like it's 4:00 bro.
Like caffeine's the the half life is like 8 hours.
So you're going to bed with like150 something grams of protein,
milligrams of protein stealing system.
Plus it has all these other things I can't even pronounce
and you have to look some a ton of sugar in here.

(37:57):
You just had a bowl of fruit. You had the the added sugar
yogurt you had. Now you're and I see you in the
dinner after dinner grabbing some little treats and all these
I'm like, dude, you don't realize how much sugar you've
had today. So yeah, but burning it off, I'm
like, I don't know about that man.
You're not burning that much sugar off.
That's just not healthy. So, you know, just, I tell

(38:18):
people, just pay attention a little bit to what you're
putting in your body because it makes a huge difference.
We microdose ourselves with horrible shit our entire career,
and if we're not paying attention to it, it's going to
catch up and make retirement miserable, not just for us, but
for our families. So it's really important for me

(38:39):
to to pay attention to those things.
No, dude, I I absolutely love it.
And you know, I'm, I'm thank youfor kind of going down that,
that area with me. But just one last question
because you had mentioned it, the face melting prees and
everything else. Yeah, let's let's take away the
face melting ones because I knowthe ones you're talking about.
But yeah, and I'm asking this for my for me.

(39:01):
Actually, let me just say I'm going to ask it for me.
Do you recommend a pre workout prior to a skilly?
Because that's been a hot topic for us lately.
It's going, should we pre beforeskilly or was that a negative
thing? Because, you know, are we
constricting our blood vessels and are we reducing blood flow?
Are we increasing it too much and we're vasodilating and we're
I, I don't know, I, I don't know.
So that's why I'm asking. Yeah.

(39:23):
You know, I don't think we should need it to do a skills
course. I don't, I don't.
I mean, we certainly aren't blowing down a pre right before
fire. You know, I, I think mentally
it's, it's a crutch for some people.
Like I took this, now I'm ready to go.
I don't necessarily like to, to rely on that for a skills

(39:43):
course. Now if I know I'm doing a high
intensity workout that's going to last, you know, 20-30 minutes
where I'm really hitting it hard, then I will use a little
carbohydrate blend from Axe Endurance called Fuel 5.
It has some fast burning carbs, some slow burning carbs and I'm

(40:04):
positioning those carbs around activity so that it is giving my
body what it needs to be fueled during that that exertion time.
And so that's what I really recommend is feeling your body
the right way. Like, hey, if you're going to go
out and you know you're going tokick some ass for about 20-30
minutes on a skills course, maybe just get a little bit of

(40:26):
carbohydrates on board. Maybe just have a pre hydrate
with something that has a littlebit of sugar in it right before.
I don't feel like you necessarily need those pres long
sessions in the gym where you'redoing, you know, a split of some
sort and what you want it. OK, but just get a cleaner one.
I got you all right. So yeah, no face melting, just a

(40:46):
a light one. Yeah, I don't like that.
And and and I'll say this man, Ifeel like I'm I'm pushing next
endurance too much, but they have one called feel fight.
Well, because we have an energy drink problem too.
And this, this is one that really chaps my ass is I see
guys just having energy drinks all the time.
And then there's memos that comeout about, you know, heart
palpitations and all this stuff going on.

(41:08):
You're seeing young guys, more young guys with that.
And, and I look at what's on ourtables when you walk in any time
of day and there's always an energy drink or 10 sitting on
the table and guys are just having them throughout the day
like they're water. And that is 100% creating havoc.

(41:28):
So I I use focus from them and that is 130 milligrams of
caffeine. It has alpha GPC which is
actually nootropic. So it help helps you focus on
things. It has beetroot powder which
gives you your vasodilation and its natural green tea extract.
So it's a real clean way to get that little bit of a boost.

(41:51):
And if if you really want to ampit, put some of that feel 5 in
there too. And now you're giving yourself
the real feel it needs to work out.
Plus that little bit of stimulation and it's a clean
version. That's what I tell guys when
they're when they're really blowing down all these crazy pre
workouts got you, you know, being being smarter about it.
I'm not against them. I just don't why I am against

(42:14):
like a lot of the pre workouts. I guess I want people to have a
healthier option. You know, and I, I understand
what you're saying about the mental crutch.
I mean, I used to be like that where it was like, man, if I
forgot to take my pre workout orI didn't have any left, right
when I'm getting ready to hit the gym, it was automatically
going to be a bad gym session. And it is.

(42:35):
I had already decided it was because mentally I'm like, oh
bro, I'm tired and I'm exhaustedand there's no way I can push
through. And I just stopped taking it for
a while and realized that my workouts did not change.
And I'm like, oh holy cow. So I really don't need all that
stuff. But lately we've been talking a
lot, especially being taxed more.
Like a lot of us are being askedto do more stuff.

(42:57):
So either we're getting mandoed at work, we're getting held over
the Academy for multiple classes.
Like we need to pick up overtimebecause of life happening.
So it's like, where is that balance of we're exhausted.
We're getting across the country, getting our asses
kicked, right? So and then now we're being
forced to work more. So it's like, what is the answer

(43:17):
to to help us just survive for another 24 hours?
You know, I don't, I don't know.I don't know.
And you're right, we are. But when you say survive, I
always think about surviving after two and how am I showing
up for my family and how am I going to show up for my family?
So I like to take some of those poisons away as best I can and

(43:38):
make it as clean as possible. You know, that's just the way I
I look at it. I'm not saying it's right.
I feel like it's on the right path for sure.
Gotcha. All right.
Well, as we kind of transition out of the fitness aspect of it
here, is there anything that we didn't talk about fitness wise
and that you want to leave the audience with?
No, I mean just create that culture in your own mind.

(44:02):
Like keep the commitment. I talk about keeping the
commitment to yourself. Like you got on this job.
Like you said, the fittest day was day one.
Like I honestly don't feel that anymore.
I feel like I'm I'm in better shape now than I was when I came
on the job and I am not the strongest.
I'm not the biggest. Dude you suffer the same body

(44:24):
type. You look like you're much
bigger. Probably stronger than me for
sure. Like I'm 160 lbs.
I'm 5 foot 8. I don't yeah, I'm not I'm not
you know, dead lifting some crazy numbers.
I'm not benching some crazy numbers and you play to your
strengths, improve on your weaknesses and you know, there
there is places for all the different body types on this

(44:45):
job. I feel like you got the big
strong guys. I try to be right in between be
that be that kind of hybrid person where I am strong.
I got the lungs and I got the mindset that I'm going to keep
going. Just keep that commitment.
Make sure you're in this game, in this profession, doing it the
way it should be done and being in the best physical shape that

(45:07):
you possibly can be. And it takes work, so make sure
you're putting in the. Work.
I got you. No, I love it.
You're right, it takes work. So put in the work, right?
It's what what you put in is what you get out of SO.
Absolutely. So first of all, thank you again
for kind of just going to deep dive on the fitness and then
your passion with it. Something that we've been doing

(45:27):
over the last couple episodes ofthe guys have been like him.
So I know how this works, but talk to me like I'm not from
this area. So you're you work for Phoenix
fire. We talk about the 95% house
fire. So the bread and butter.
This is a one line fire. No big deal in your system.
How does that work? So how many engines, how many
trucks? How does it arrive?

(45:49):
Are you SOP driven? Talk to the audience about how
you guys in Phoenix fire run a normal house fire.
I'm trying not to use any verbiage.
Any verbiage I was, I was going to start ripping some verbiage
out. No, go, no, go ahead.
I'm saying I'm trying not to myself calling like a three in
one and everything else like so just March down the audience how

(46:10):
you guys run your bread and butter house fire the tactics,
quick little dive on that because people really enjoy
that. You got your 3 engines and your
ladder is going to be your basicresponse, right?
And that's what we're talking about.
You know, the three in one and 1st engines coming in, sometimes
taking a hydrant or plug, depending on what part of the

(46:30):
world you're in, sometimes not. And again, why I feel like we're
an aggressive department. So if we make the determination
that, hey, we don't need to takea plug right away, we have a
solid engineer, he's going to beable to hand Jack, which means
he's going to pull the line off.He's going to make the
connections. We're going to run off tank
water and start making an impacton this fire as soon as possible

(46:52):
with the water we have on our truck.
That's really and then saying, hey, guys, we didn't lay a line
the second truck in, hey, lay into us, take a second line off
our truck. You know, that's our, that's the
culture. I really feel like we set
ourselves up for being aggressive right off the bat and
we are 100% going to, you know, just impact that fire fast.

(47:19):
I see some, you know, videos of guys and it seems like it takes
a long time for lines to come off the truck and everybody's,
you know, just it seems slow. I don't know.
I really feel like when when we get knocked out on a fire, we
are turning out, we're ready to go as soon as we step off that

(47:41):
truck. Yes, our packs are not on.
Just like you guys. The packs aren't in the truck.
We have to go throw our pack. That always creates a bit of
confusion for departments back east that have their packs in
their truck. And I don't think that slows us
down at all. I think it it actually allows us
to have an opportunity, if you have the experience to listen to
the radio, listen for your assignment and get a little

(48:03):
personal size up on that fire and and be ready to go.
So I don't know if that answers your question, but I feel like,
you know, first truck in is justgetting after as soon as they
can making a good size up. The captain's given that report
on the other guys are listening.He's making the assignments
based off of that. In our department, they really
let the captain's run the run those fires.

(48:26):
Very rarely will you have a chief take over bread and butter
house fire. They may ask, hey, do you want
me to take this note? I got it.
I've sectorized this. We're good to go.
They really give us a lot of leniency for managing our own
our own scenes and I think we doit really, really well.
Right. So you said, you said a three in

(48:46):
one. So what's a truck culture like
in Phoenix? So what are they typically
doing? And then are you a search heavy
culture? Do you guys search through
windows like breakdown truck culture in Phoenix for the
listeners please? So try, I always say the truck
thing because when we talk East Coast, West Coast, we say truck.
It's a ladder, you know a truck is a ladder.

(49:08):
So for us in Phoenix, first, theladder companies, they are not
doing off the line searches going in like a lot of East
Coast truck companies do. Specifically they're either roof
ladders or setting up, not on a house fire, hopefully setting up
the bucket, but putting putting ground ladders up, getting on
and waiting for interior to say,hey, you guys ready for us to

(49:30):
ventilate? We do ventilate the roof.
And I think it makes a huge difference on fires being being
on the job for as long as I havewhen it's very hot in there,
when conditions are shitty and it's a coordinated Hey guys,
yeah, we're ready for a whole let's go cut the the environment
changes tremendously and allows us to do our search.
So yes, we do engine. We're going to go find that see

(49:52):
the fire guys will as we're making progress in towards the
fire, doing searches along the way.
If there's reports of victims, you know, we really pay
attention to things like cars inthe parking lot.
What reports do we have? What time of day is it?
You know, what are the fire conditions when we show up?
I've had a couple videos where people are saying stuff like,

(50:15):
oh, you guys don't look like you're ready to go.
Well, it's a commercial buildingand there's fire blowing out of
every single orifice of this building and they're talking
about making grabs. I'm like, I don't know what
department you're from, but there's no grabs to be made in
that building right there because it is blowing out of
every single door, window, roll up that you can see.

(50:35):
So yeah, I mean, we're definitely search culture and
putting and taking the fire awayfrom the victim culture, I would
say. And I and I, there is a big
change on the search tactics andhow we're removing victims right
now. I'm talking with and you've
probably seen him. I don't know if you've had him
on the cats with priority fire. He was on several episodes ago.

(50:57):
Awesome. I love his training, his
forcible entry training. And now he's going into search
and tactics and you know, how are we removing victims out now
is a huge thing. Are we?
It's not like backdraft or we'rethrowing them over our shoulders
anymore and exposing people to all these the heat and the smoke
keeping them low. Yeah, that's that's definitely

(51:20):
come into our culture a lot moreas of I don't know about the
past 3-4 years. And I agree and I've, I have a
personal relationship with, you know, Captain Noah Katz and they
said he is super aggressive. But the best thing about him is
he's introducing to our region alot of things that were taken
for granted or just introducing the science of it.

(51:40):
It's like, hey, if we, if we canlock their legs and be able to
grab our pack with our bicep, wecan do a dirty drag very
effectively. And then he even brings out like
the, the, the measurements, likeon the temperature on, yeah, the
stick on where you can keep thembelow for survivability, which
is again, it used to be an afterthought.
And then guys like him, the hardchargers are bringing that to

(52:02):
the forefront. And collectively all of us are
benefiting from it. So yeah, amazing stuff.
So again, the cool thing about your culture too, like you were
saying, especially on the fire ground, which is different than
I just had a Battalion Chief from the Baltimore region on not
too long ago. And she had stated they will

(52:23):
always assume command no matter who has it.
And that would be, they work in a combination system.
So it was at a volunteer chief, a volunteer officer, but the
career officers, they will take it 100% of the time.
So it's, it's funny, like the cultural differences between
where you're saying it, you know, on a bread and butter
house fire, unless something goes crazy wrong, the captain's

(52:44):
probably going to run the whole scene.
Is that right? Yeah, that is 100% right.
And and I think any captain should be able to do that,
manage, manage that. A single house fire is pretty
easy to manage unless something goes sideways, unless there's a
surprise, unless you know, you know, we get a victim, maybe
then the chief takes it over. Obviously Mayday, yeah, Chief

(53:05):
takes it over, but you know, we should be able to handle those
and even if really anybody on the truck should be able to
handle that if you're moved up be able to manage that scene.
Yeah man, I looking at tactics and and everything I I feel
really good about where we're atand stuff we're introducing as
well. You know, I there's, there's
been so much talk about changingthe environment and, you know,

(53:29):
if fires blowing out, you know, popping some, popping some water
in that window, knocking a little bit of fire down and then
making your way in. I don't disagree with that.
Some people don't like it. But hey, if I can change the
conditions a little bit, if there's a victim in there that's
going to make a big difference. Will they maybe get a little
steam? Yeah, maybe.

(53:50):
But if we don't change somethingreally quick, what is the
outcome going to be? And that doesn't mean you can't
give a little. So a little hit in from the
exterior, boom, real quick, makeyour entry go in and now have
success in your search and have success in putting out the rest
of that fire. So there's definitely been been
a shift for me and my career where I, you know, I don't think

(54:13):
we were ever taught like, hey, hit it, hit it from outside real
quick and then go interior. Now it's kind of like, hey, at
least think about it. At least think about it, can you
make some progress that way? So I think that's smart as well
and that's something tactically that we're we're doing a little
bit more. Yeah.
And, and like I said, and I agree and I know your system,
but I love the idea that that isan option because there was, I

(54:37):
know there was a time like when that came around, the slicers
hit it hard from the yard, whatever you want to call it,
depending on what part of the country you were in when it came
out. I was back east when it came
out. We had gone through a transition
where we for a very, very short period of time was like, we're
going to hit every fire from theexterior, right initially and
then realized rapidly, guess what fucking happens when you

(55:00):
darken down the fire? You limit your search
tremendously because now you've limited your visibility.
Like fire blowing is not necessarily bad.
Sometimes. Like, it's true, that's an
awkward thing to hear, but. It's a free every free burning
is you're not you're Yeah, yeah.Yeah, but it's funny because
like the tactics and everything else, but that's why I love to

(55:20):
talk to every guest because, yeah, I'm from your region.
I know exactly how because we run the same exact way you guys
do with maybe a couple small little nuances between the
valley departments. But like it's so dramatically
different, no matter what's the the state, the coast, whatever
it is, but we're all doing the same job.
So it's I, you know, thank you for kind of marching out there.

(55:42):
So let's start kind of transition to the end of the
episode. Let's let's talk about the why.
We talk about why a lot. Like we'll ask brand new
recruits. Hey, why do you want the job?
We'll ask guys on the job. Why do you want to promote the
why even different positions within the department we work
for. But this why is for Nate right
now. Why did Nate want to become a

(56:02):
fireman? When was a little kid thing?
Did the bug bite you? Let's March out why you even got
in this profession, brother. Yeah, well, it was kind of from
when I was a kid and being in that, that smaller town with the
volunteer department and seeing them, you know, run around and
going to, you know, is a small enough town.
Well, when you heard the sirens going, like you go and see what

(56:23):
was going on, you know, so I waswatching guys on accident scenes
at fires and being like, this isfreaking cool.
You know, like I would, I wanted, I want to be a volunteer
firefighter when I get bigger. And, and I was as soon as I
could, you know, and, and then it kind of settled in for me.
I remember going to a training specifically and and this was

(56:47):
it's kind of crazy because we don't have any of these anymore,
but it's an open cap truck in the back and we were driving
along the river and I was going to training and I was sitting
there. I was like just looking at
things and I'm like, dude, I'm in school right now.
I'm going to college, I'm getting my degree.
I don't want to do anything withthat.
I want to do this like this, This is way better.

(57:10):
This is way cooler. I get to, I get to work with my
hands. I got to do some pretty cool
stuff, make an impact, you know,help people out.
I mean, you have to have that little bit of AI want to help
people out. I want I want to fight fire.
I want to I want to do The Dirtywork, man.
And that is, you know, I want tobe the calm in the storm like

(57:31):
that because I watched these guys just walking into
situations where, you know, people are just freaking out and
and they're like calm. And I'm like, that is dope as
hell. And that is that's what I would
like to do. And that's when that bug bit me.
And when I started, just even after I graduated college, it

(57:52):
was still a volunteer. I said, do you know what?
This isn't working for me. I want to make this a career.
I want to go from paid or from volunteer to paid.
And I always say that too, because I know a lot of
volunteers listen to this. And it is as a volunteer
firefighter, is your duty to be professional no matter what,

(58:13):
even if you aren't getting paid,it doesn't matter.
We should all be professionals. Some people just get a paycheck
and others don't. So when I left my department, I
wrote a letter. So I'm moving on to Phoenix to
pursue my dream of being a paid firefighter, not a professional
firefighter. So that's a really important

(58:35):
thing. I always, I always like to drive
home on this like professionalism is in here.
It's not with a with a title anda paycheck.
I absolutely love that's you're the first person I've heard
break it down that way and I I love it and for the volleys out
there, fuck yeah like you're doing it.
I, I tell the kids, because our region, it doesn't understand
the volunteer system because it,it's almost non existent.

(58:57):
Well, it is non existent, but it's 70% of the American fire
service is a volunteer. So like I tell you kids, I'm
like, hey, this is the only job that I know of, right?
I'm sure there's others that people willingly do it for free
and you're here collecting a paycheck.
So enjoy it and respect the profession you know.
Yeah, yeah, 100%, man. And there's some great dudes in

(59:17):
the volunteer service too. I mean, some great leaders,
there's great volunteer departments.
I'm so I, I don't like when people bash on them.
Yes, a lot of bad things do happen to them.
Yes, you see a lot of real smalltowns with guys way out of
shape, but you also see that some big departments too.
So I spent a lot of time away from my family when I was
volunteer leaving dinners while I was sitting at home leaving

(59:40):
Christmas, when I mean, imagine sitting in your own home at
Christmas or at Thanksgiving dinner and your little pager
goes off and you're leaving frombeing there with your family.
Like there's a lot of sacrifice that happens there too.
So so there is some for sure respect for those volunteers for
me. Yeah, absolutely.

(01:00:01):
And like you said, it fucking there's there's rock stars out
there everywhere, even if they're not collecting a
paycheck. And I know there's a good
portion of guys back East. I'll, I'll call out Kentland 33.
They're badass motherfucking volunteer guys, right?
Most of those motherfuckers are paid dudes somewhere else.
And they love the job so much that they come back and
volunteer. But you want to watch, you want
to watch fucking engine work, like fast deployment lines, look

(01:00:24):
up Kentland 33. Those guys are killing it,
right? And it, like I said, it's a fire
service. Like I love aggressive dudes
like that. Like hell yeah.
I do and I love I love that. I love watching all the videos
of all the different hose lot, you know, hose deployments and
when it comes, you know, it goesout smooth.
We're typically running the two,the 2 four.

(01:00:45):
You know, it's cross lay pull really easy, but you see some
pretty sexy lays out there and guys are pulling lines and man,
when I when I see that and I seeit done so well, I am I'm just
like, that is what it's about, right?
There is professionalism efficient.
No one looks panicked. And that's really to circle

(01:01:05):
back. I feel like on our department,
when we show up and you're firston scene, the captain's given
that on scene report, you know, and especially in our truck, he
doesn't have to look over his left shoulder and say, guys, I
need you to do this, this and this.
Like he knows we know what the hell we're going to do.
We're going to do it well. We step off the truck and I'll

(01:01:26):
say this about our region. I really feel like it.
We step off the truck with a sense of purpose.
We know what line we're going topull and we get after it and we
make a direct impact as fast as possible on that, on that fire
scene. And that is what being
professional is about. Man, I just, I can't say about
enough about having that part ofyour craft down, being able to

(01:01:48):
force a damn door efficiently and not fumble, fuck around and
be dropping 2 rolls and just be a bucket of mess at the front
door. Like have stuff.
I feel like we get there, we have our stuff laid out, we're
ready to roll. And, and again, professionalism
is, is just, it's a title and it's something that you have to
have in here. And I think we do it real well

(01:02:10):
and you guys do it real well. Yeah, absolutely.
And you hit the key, the professionalism, and that
doesn't, that doesn't guarantee that paycheck.
It's all about the attitude, theeffort, right?
Like we talk about that all the time.
So dude, solid. Real quick before we transition
to the next question, you had mentioned like when you're
watching the volleys when you'rea little kid and that's like

(01:02:30):
what sparked the interest and you're like, man, it's fucking
chaos. And these dudes are calm.
Just curious because I kind of feel like this and again,
personal opinion stuff, today's day and age, I kind of feel like
when we arrive and we're very calm, people relate that as like
we don't care, which is not fucking true.
What do you do you feel the sameway?

(01:02:51):
Do you have any idea on that? I'm just it sparked an interest
when you said it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I do feel like that. We have so many eyes on us now
and and I feel like people look at us when we're walking up.
Say someone's coded in the middle of downtown and there's
1000 people around because it's at the Convention Center and we
walk up. We're not running or moving with

(01:03:15):
purpose and we're setting stuff up, you know, show up on a fire.
I mean, that's how we're supposed to react to it.
Well, yes and no. I mean, physiologically, that's
not, that's not normal. That's not normal.
And that's maybe why, you know, we have other issues with mental
health and, and, and stress and cortisol levels and all that.

(01:03:38):
But that's our job to maintain that level of calmness in those
situations of chaos. Because if we walk in like the
public would walk in, that scenewould go to shit and nothing
would get done efficiently. We that's yeah, exactly.
I mean, that's, that's what we do and that's how we should be

(01:04:00):
reacting to that scene. So I do agree with you that
people might think that, but that's how we have to be.
Yeah, I was like I said, I was just curious because I mean, we
all, we all survived COVID together in the American Fire
Service running calls and everything else.
And there was a, there's a lot of fucking flak, man, that we
were getting in the valleys general from freaking like

(01:04:20):
doorbell Ring cameras and everything else, like portraying
like we didn't give a fuck, which was the complete opposite.
It was just like we were trying to be reasonable with
unreasonable people at the time.You know, like I literally
posted on my Instagram today, which obviously this episode's
going to air way, way later, butit was it was a funny thing.
It was like, remember shopping in 2020?

(01:04:42):
It was like people in grocery stores with like water bottles
on their face and like, it was chaos.
Like fit or socially it was chaos.
But like I said, it literally sparked that question.
So I'm like, well, let me ask. But yeah, it was just
interesting. So anyway, let's talk about
tradition. So we are huge on traditions
with the fools. This podcast is for the fools.

(01:05:03):
So I'm curious, what is Nate's favorite American fire service
tradition? So it doesn't have to be from
Phoenix, doesn't have to be froma region, but I'm just curious
what's a favorite tradition? But more importantly, why?
Why do you love it so much? Man, that, that's, and you, you
preempted me with this question.I've been kind of marinating on
it and it's tough because we have a lot of a lot of
traditions, but I, I'll, I'll say this is 1 I'd never want to

(01:05:27):
see go away. Even with people bringing in
their own food is sitting down and eating together and busting
each other's balls around the table.
There is nothing that is more welcoming and it's funny to say
than getting your ass razzed at the dinner table, hanging out
with guys that have become your best friends and cooking

(01:05:49):
together, preparing meals together.
That is just something in the culture of the fire service.
That is where brotherhood is bred, and I would never want to
see that get displaced by guys just bringing in their own food
or ordering out food all the time and going out and eating
out all the time. Like take that time, go to the

(01:06:13):
store together, shop, bring it back, cook together.
I mean, there, there's so much of the world's problems that are
solved at those at those tables.That is something that I think
once all of us retire and move on, it's the one thing we miss
is that moment right there everyshift at the Firehouse.

(01:06:36):
And yeah, I would say that's theone tradition that I absolutely
love. I never want to see you go away,
and I don't think it ever will. But I would say to guys to, to
cherish that time and to the young guys, if you're getting
your balls busted a little bit, that's a good thing.
And, and you're beyond the otherside of that very, very soon,

(01:06:57):
you should be saying thank you to those guys because they are,
they're, they're, that's, that'syour christening, your baptism
into the Brotherhood. You hit the fucking nail on the
head, dude. Like I tell guys all the time,
I'm like, if we're razzing you up and busting your balls, it's
because we fucking like you a lot.
It's when we're we don't talk toyou anymore.

(01:07:18):
That's when there's an issue. But it's it's funny.
I would say more than half the guests on this podcast have
answered that question with the same thing kitchen table, but
every single dude's answer is different.
That's why I love it. You know, it's like some guys
have been like, man, I won't askthat question because everyone's
going to say the kitchen table. I'm like, dude, I love it
though, because everyone has a different version of that

(01:07:39):
kitchen table and they're all amazing.
That's that's why it's so fucking good.
Like there's so many good reasons.
Totally. And you know, because like I
said, I've had a few injuries. And when do I come back to visit
the station? It's around child time.
Yeah, it's around child time, man.
Because I want to, I want to be there.
I want to just talk shit about me being off the truck.

(01:07:59):
I want to hear that. I want to, you know, I want to
see what's going on with my buddies.
You know, it's, it's, it's such a unique thing.
And there's a great FDNY video about it floating out there.
It's been, it's been going around, but it's just such a
unique thing that doesn't happenin other in, in any other
profession that that I know of. You're working in an office.
You're sitting in a cubicle, youmight go out to lunch with one

(01:08:21):
person, but your whole office ain't eating lunch together.
It's it's just such an amazing experience.
And when when people come in forholidays and we open the doors
up and the families come together, I mean, that's another
one. Like Christmas is at the at the
fire station. Probably some of my favorite
Christmases, man. Everybody's families, wives

(01:08:43):
talking to each other, kids running around playing like that
is just, it's just brotherhood. That's what this job's about,
man. It's about the the person
sitting next to you and your commitment to them, their
commitment to you. And that's something that never
leaves you. And I love that about this job.
I love it. And I just want to harp on
Christmas for a second because you spawned such a good memory

(01:09:04):
in my brain. So like, my kids obviously grew
up in the fire service. It was funny.
I worked for some reason I seem to always work Christmas or
what? I don't know why, but my kids
loved it because they got to do family Christmas the day before.
So they got a day early presentsand then they got to go to the
Firehouse and hang out with all the cool guys, right?
I'm not one of them, but all, all daddy's friends that are way

(01:09:27):
cooler for the day, you know, and it's just like, but that's
awesome. Like, like who else has that
besides us? Nobody.
The only thing I can think of islike that kitchen table that's
sitting down. That camaraderie is maybe like a
foxhole in like a combat zone, like how close those guys would
get. But that's it, right?
And that's not a norm And they don't want it right where we, we

(01:09:48):
desire that. And it's funny, like you talk to
retirees, that's what they always say they miss is the
boys. Not, not the jobs, not the
calls, not the house. It's a table and the camaraderie
that comes with it. Yeah, and it's not even
sometimes the fires guys will say, I don't care about the
fire. I want to hang out with the
fellows. I want to hang out with the
fellows. And that's we do that over 30
years, man, and we build such good rapport and such good

(01:10:11):
relationships and, and it's it'ssomething I value a ton.
And I and, and that when you talk to recruits and they're
talking about interview, this issomething for people getting on
the job. Like man, talk about that, that
brotherhood, that relationship, that station life, that
experience that you are wanting to have and that, that you will

(01:10:33):
fit into and how you're fit intoit.
Because guys want to know, can Iwork with this motherfucker for
30 years? That's what they want to know.
What I can train you to pull a hose line off that truck.
I can train you to start an IVI,can train you to do all these
other things, force a door, but I can't train you to people, and
I can't train you to want to be with your brothers for a damn

(01:10:56):
near half of your life. You hit the nail on the head.
I mean, fucking great. So let's go to the last
question. Favorite question, right?
So if you could snap your fingers, king of the day, right,
you could change anything in theAmerican fire service.
What would it be and why? And this is instant
gratification, right? No sweat equity at all.
It is happening right now. What is it?

(01:11:17):
But more importantly, why? That every single department has
a higher standard or has a higher standard test than the C
pat something you have to do a skills course.
I'm talking the legit skills course every single year for you
to stay on the fire truck. I've just seen so many people in

(01:11:38):
all departments, you know, even even in our department, your
guys department throughout the valley that I look at them and I
go, I don't think they can make it through a skills course.
I don't think that, you know, and that should not be the
culture that we have. We should not allow that and the
public should not allow that either, honestly, and shouldn't

(01:11:58):
want that. So if, if we could, if I could
do this and say, hey, here you are, here's your you have to be
on air in your turnouts. These are the events you have to
do and this is the time you haveto complete it in.
I would snap my fingers and havethat done.
Yeah, and if not, bro, you got ayear to get back into shape

(01:12:18):
because you're not going to be on the truck and we'll help you,
right? That would be perfect world.
Yeah, yeah. And I'm not saying like, hey,
you're off the job, we're going to fire you.
Like let's let's help you get back to where you are.
And if you truly want it, you will do that.
But it's the physical aspect of this job is, is so important to
myself, to, to us here in the Valley.

(01:12:38):
I think that would that would bea tremendous impact, not just on
the performance of the fire service, but on the health and
longevity of the fire service. Because they would kick guys
into that mode of I need to be prepared throughout the whole
year to be able to do that damn thing, not just get ready to go
on a damn treadmill for two minutes two weeks before which,

(01:13:00):
you know, it happens quite a bit.
And like you said, a long, healthy retirement, because
unless the numbers have changed recently, which I don't believe
they have, they say on average we last five to seven years
after retirement. We're fucking dead.
That's horrible, you know, and. How bullshit is that?
Yeah, like we do 3035 years serving the public, we should be
able to drain the retirement system, you know, and enjoy.

(01:13:21):
Say that all the time, yeah. Enjoy yourselves.
I want those, that pension board, like, whatever it is,
like looking at goes, when's this son of a bitch going to
die? Like he's still fucking alive.
We're still paying him. Like, yeah, you're still paying
me, dude. Hell yeah.
Yeah, that should be all of our goals.
Freaking just Drake. We pay into it.
Let's get our freaking money back and enjoy our retirement

(01:13:44):
for all the here's a service that we provided for everybody
else. You know, that's fair in my
book. So, and it's sad.
Like I said, I'm I'm sick of seeing all these fucking not
very old firemen that retire dievery rapidly.
It fucking sucks. So yeah, I do great freaking
answer all the way around. So dude, again, thank you for
your time. How can guys find you?

(01:14:05):
So like they've listened to the episode they're in.
What's your Instagram handle? How can they contact you?
E-mail whatever you want to release to the audience,
brother. Yeah, dude, just Nader Vision
will will get you to me on Instagram, TikTok.
I'm trying to get that going. I don't know if it's going to be
banned or not, but whatever, we'll see.
But Nader vision on all platforms.
I do have YouTube too. I'm trying to work out, but and,

(01:14:29):
and, and ask me questions, guys,I answer, I get back to to
people all the time and I'm an open book really.
And if I don't have an answer, if I don't have a specific
people ask me about programs andwhat not all the time, I will, I
will give you the answer. Say, hey, go to this person.
Go to this person. Here's where it's at.
Please reach out. I am definitely not

(01:14:51):
unapproachable by any means. And and I love hearing from
people, too. It actually keeps me going
because there's times where I'm like, that's this, man.
I don't feel like doing this anymore.
And and then I'm at a grocery store and someone says, dude,
you're the guy that throws his head at the camera.
I follow you. Super cool, man.
Thank you. Yeah, dude, Awesome.
All right, You know, And just little things like that make me

(01:15:11):
happy. You guys do help keep me
accountable too, which is, whichis again, it's part, it's part
of our job by keeping each otheraccountable.
So yeah, reach out. Native vision all around.
You can find me. Cool, awesome.
So yeah, reach out. And like I said, he's a brother.
He's got fucking 20 years on thejob, Phoenix Fire super fucking
busy, and he's 49. He looks like he's freaking 29.

(01:15:32):
So the guy knows what the hell he's talking about right now.
But again, Nate, dude, seriously, thank you so much.
Again, this whole podcast existsbecause we're trying to keep the
traditions alive, but more importantly, spread the word of
the guys doing good work around and trying to make the American
fire service better. That's what it's all about.
We say it all the time. Let's leave this job better than

(01:15:53):
we found it. But more importantly, let's make
the guys below us right, the brand new guys better than we
are, right? Let's leave it better.
Let's leave it better than we found it.
So the only way we can do is train them up, right?
Give the information out like Nate's doing, you know, with the
workout stuff and everything else.
It's it's all part of the job. Fitness is part of the job.
If you like it or not, you got to be good at it.

(01:16:15):
So Nate's a man. Reach out to him.
Like I said, he's approachable. You just listen to his podcast.
He's one of the brothers. So please do.
And again, Nate, brother, thank you so much for your time to sit
down and I'm preach to the guys.So is there anything you want to
leave the audience with before we sign off?
No, it's, man, I, I, I appreciate it.
Yeah. I always value talking to
another brother, especially one that's right next door.

(01:16:36):
And it's it's awesome. And I know you have a lot of
reach. Yeah, it's, it's just so cool to
have the impact that you're having, the messages that you're
spreading. And I'm humbled to be on and and
be part of it. And I, I feel the same way about
you, my brother. So again, thank you for being
on. By the way, a little shameless
plug here to my buddy Mike Goldstein.

(01:16:57):
He's been on that the can report.
So check him out on that podcast, our podcast here.
So all the way around, Nate's doing the freaking good work.
So again, thank you brother, andthank you guys for tuning in.
We'll see you in another two weeks.
We'll catch you later. Thanks for listening.
We'll be back in another two weeks.
Remember to like, share, review if you can.

(01:17:20):
Helps drive traffic to our podcast.
Remember, let's leave our ego out of the fire service.
It's amazing what we can accomplish when no one's looking
for credit. Much love.
Let's stop eating our own. Become better firemen.
Catch you next time.

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