Our Longest Interview Ever—And One of Our Best
What happens when you sit down with a man who's lived a dozen different lives? You get the conversation of a lifetime.
Meet Ryan Pote—Navy helicopter pilot, special operations veteran, federal investigator, SCUBA instructor, oil company director, bartender, musician, and now thriller author. In this extended interview, we dive deep into the extraordinary experiences that shaped one of the most fascinating people we've ever had on the show.
From countering drug cartels in Central America as part of a joint special operations task force to serving as a search and rescue pilot for the US Navy Experimental Test Wing and NASA, from researching biofuels in Hawaii to investigating prototype military programs as a federal agent—Ryan's life reads like the thriller novels he now writes.
We also dive deep into his highly anticipated debut thriller Blood and Treasure (releasing July 22, 2025)—a mind-bending story that begins with the International Space Station going dark and blood floating in zero gravity, then crashes into the Indian Ocean where a treasure hunter discovers the sole survivor. It's a premise that could only come from someone who's actually been inside classified operations and understands how the unthinkable becomes reality.
This isn't just an author interview—it's a masterclass in adventure, service, and the kind of experiences most of us only read about in books. Ryan's journey from bartender to biofuel researcher to special operations pilot to federal investigator to novelist proves that truth really is stranger than fiction.
Don't miss this one. It's our longest interview to date, and there's a reason we kept the cameras rolling.
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