Behind The Shield

WildFitLife805 is a family-run business owned by Justin and Jenny Mahaffey. They have five kids and are passionate about challenging themselves to grow. As the driving force behind this Southern California company, Justin has been a wildland firefighter for 15 years. WildFitLife805 was born out of his commitment to growing stronger and building a community. Anyone is welcome — firefighters, athletes, wellness enthusiasts, and fitne...

Thomas Newman is a coach, Sports Scientist and the Chief Innovation Officer at Hawkin Dynamics. We discuss his journey into sports, the power of Sports Science data analysis, tactical athlete selection, fostering longevity, sleep and recovery, his own physical and mental recovery journey following a brain tumor, his non-profit and so much more.

Spanning nearly two decades, Thomas Newman's career in sports performance is a testament ...

Dr. Dave Rabin MD, PhD is a board-certified psychiatrist, translational neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and inventor who has studied resilience and the impact of chronic stress on our lives for over 15 years. Dr. Rabin and his team collaborate with clients at the Apollo Clinic, empowering clients to take control of their mental and physical health by tapping into our abilities to adapt and heal ourselves.

In addition to focusing on in...

Marcy Levy Shankman, Ph.D. is a Leadership Development Professional and the founder of MLS Counsulting. We discuss philanthropy in leadership, the cost savings of investing in your people, moral courage, revolutionising American education, learning from the Amish, non- profits, reigniting the fire service and so much more.

Marcy is a leadership development professional with over 20 years of experience working with individuals, group...

Pat Byrne is a leader in sleep and fatigue management and the author of Inconvenient Sleep. We discuss his early work in Occupational Health and Safety, the tragedy that led him into sleep research, working with NHL athletes, the pros and cons of wearables, first responder sleep deprivation, AI in medicine and so much more.

Pat has changed the way professional sports teams and 24/7 workplaces manage their sleep and fatigue to optimi...

Ash Alexander-Cooper is a former specialist military unit commander, combat helicopter pilot, wounded veteran, international athlete, musician, leadership and resilience expert. In this second conversation, we discuss the potential healing and damaging potential of drone technology, his new book Mindful Soldier, forging human performance, growing from childhood trauma, the healing power of altruism and so much more.

Ash became one o...

Lisa Mason is a Canadian CPA who works as a Chief Financial Officer for a healthcare technology company. In 2021, her life was changed forever when her brother Sgt. John R Little, CD died by suicide after serving two tours in Afghanistan. Through her grief journey she co-founded Operation: Talk 2 Me Johnny, a family run non-profit that aims to encourage loud conversations about mental wellness for veterans & first responders. U...

Jason Kubiak is a serving Leading fire fighter with over 27 years in the UK Fire and Rescue Service, having worked across multiple brigades including Buckinghamshire and London Fire Brigade. We discuss his journey into firefighting, mixed martial arts, career calls, the Grenfell fire, his powerful mental health journey, prioritising family, the UK knife crime epidemic and much more.

Jason is open about his experiences with mental h...

Dr Rangan Chatterjee is a British physician, author, podcaster and television personality. We discuss his powerful journey into progressive medicine, vitamin D, the importance of sleep, gut health, the four pillars of health, creating healthy habits through small victories and much more.

Dr Chatterjee's mission is to empower 100 million people to become the architect of their own health and to help them feel fantastic with simple, ...

Byron Branch is a veteran law enforcement officer, amputee and fencing paralympian. In this second conversation, we discuss the unlearned lessons from the pandemic, marksmanship in law enforcement, the opioid crisis, homelessness, fitness in policing, wheelchair fencing and so much more.

Byron first began fencing in high school. As an indoor sport, fencing worked well for the frigid winters in Ohio where Byron grew up. As an extra b...

Dr Nick Detrick is a Physical Therapist, US Air Force Reservist and the founder of Tactical Athlete Performance & Physical Therapy Specialists. We discuss his journey into medicine, injury screening in the tactical professions, rehab, fitness standards, working with elite units, the power of sleep and so much more.

Nick has a history working in collegiate athletics as a student athletic trainer with the University of Southern C...

Lieutenant Colonel Chris “Robie” Robishaw is a 33-year veteran of the U.S. Army . He recently retired and started his own consulting firm, Odyssey Special Operations Consulting, where he specializes in support to special operations exercises, military advisory roles in the film industry, and support to benevolent organizations around the world. His career began with an age waiver signed by his parents, at the age of 17 when he join...

Kellon Walch is an elite off road racer and career firefighter. We discuss his journey into extreme sports, overcoming fear, his near death experiences, the Dakar Rally, traumatic brain injury, therapeutic Ketamine, the Vegas terrror attack, the importance of sleep for performance and so much more.

Kellon's Accolades:

13 Time Dakar Rally participant first one being Dakar 2005 for Red Bull KTM to present 2025 with the the Red Bull M-S...

Marc Mero was a WWE wrestler, who became a motivational speaker, touring schools around the country. We talk about his early life, career, journey through substance abuse, mental health and his transition to teaching children about bullying and suicide.

Marc Mero, who found global fame as Johnny B. Badd in WCW and alongside then-wife Rena ‘Sable’ Mero in World Wrestling Entertainment, played an instrumental role during wrestling’s ...

Jonathan Wilson is a Navy SEAL veteran and the founder and CEO of INVI MindHealth, a mental health tech company whose mission is to save lives by making the invisible, visible. Prior to launching INVI, Jonathan worked at Capital Group and before that he was an equity trader at Goldman Sachs in New York City.

Jonathan also co-founded and led the SEAL Future Foundation (SFF), a 501.c.3, in 2012, which has helped thousands of Navy SEAL...

Peter Van Dorpe is a retired fire chief of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District in Illinois. Chief Van Dorpe began his Fire Service career in April of 1980 as a Firefighter on Truck Co. #22 for the City of Chicago Fire Department; where he rose through the ranks including engineer, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, eventually retiring in October of 2013 as a district chief for the Division of Training.

Among...

Patrick Pianezza is a paramedic, actor and the writer of the film Code 3. We discuss his journey into EMS, the volunteer fire service, some career calls, the US healthcare crisis, universal healthcare, screenwriting, bringing his story to the screen and so much more.

Patrick was born in central Illinois. He has an associates degree in Biology from Lincoln Land Community College and a certificate of completion for his Paramedic licen...