The Vanguard Wall Podcast
The Vanguard Wall is a long-form interview podcast rooted in the world of combat veterans, special operators, and first responders — the people who did the hard things and carry them home. The host — himself an Army and ...
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On the show
- Shawn Ennis1 ep
- Max Krupp1 ep
- Donald "Mac" McAlister1 ep
Also: Chris McCoy, William Kaufman, Seb Lavoie, Hugh Mills, Gary Harrington, Aaron Love, Johnny Raushi
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- 🇨🇦Canada · History#172212 to 1.1K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
212 to 1.1K🎙 Weekly cadence·55 episodes·Last published 4d ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
423 to 2.2K🇺🇸71%🇨🇦29% - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
233 to 1.2K
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
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| 10/23/26 |  He Walked Into 40 to 60 IEDs With the Rangers, Then Got Shot by His Own Side | SFC (Ret.) Jeff Dawson | On the night of 5 October 2013, outside Kandahar, a Ranger strike force walked onto Objective Ares. Somewhere between 40 and 60 IEDs were buried across 100 meters of ground. Army EOD tech Jeff Dawson was the bomb tech on the ground with them.In this episode, SFC (Ret.) Jeff Dawson tells the whole story: growing up, picking EOD, EOD school, deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and going to work with the Ranger Regiment. He walks through the night of Objective Ares, the four who were killed, and the Distinguished Service Cross he says can't bring them back.Then the years after: the TBI he hid, the drinking between deployments, and the 2019 Ghazni deployment where a 5.56 round from his own side left him paralyzed. He talks about Walter Reed, the toe that moved, walking again, the article he asked them to change, and the ketamine and ayahuasca that helped him heal.🎖️ In memory of 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno, Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, Sgt. Joseph M. Peters and Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, killed at Objective Ares, Zhari District, Afghanistan, on 6 October 2013.SFC (Ret.) Jeff Dawson is a U.S. Army EOD technician who supported the 75th Ranger Regiment, earned the Distinguished Service Cross for Objective Ares in 2013, was paralyzed from the chest down by a gunshot in 2019 and walked again. His story:🎖️ Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame: https://goordnance.army.mil/HallOfFame/2020/2022/dawson.html📰 Task & Purpose profile: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-eod-tech-jeffrey-dawson/📸 Jeff on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffreak86/🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9FVi8n_TGgSponsors:Serious supplements "For Those that Run Towards"https://go.thevanguardwall.com/hoplite-dawson-podUse Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off🔗Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🏪Merch: https://go.thevanguardwall.com/merch📰 Free Weekly Intel Brief: https://intel.thevanguardwall.com⚔️Join The Wall → https://youtube.com/channel/UCJ8K3O-n9Mdcxv0mtV4xdCw/join🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall⚔️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] | 6h 55m 09s | ||||||
| 10/12/26 | His Last Words Before Mariupol Fell | Marine Nick Laidlaw on Ukraine | Nick Laidlaw enlisted in the Marine Corps to go to war. The war never came for him. So he spent the years after collecting other men's: over 1,100 first-hand accounts from more than 20 armies, both sides of nearly every war since 1939, including a Taliban fighter who later apologized to him.Then he stopped collecting from a distance and went himself. In 2022 he was talking into encircled Mariupol over Starlink, interviewing a 22-year-old Azov soldier named Anton "Pazman" Krill almost every day until Anton was killed. Nick holds his last words: "When we are relieved from here I will immediately marry my girlfriend and everything will be Ukraine." Two and a half years later, a man Nick was certain had died in Russian captivity messaged him. They met in a tea shop: "Thank you for giving me Anton back."In 2025 he rode into Pokrovsk at one in the morning in a soft-skin pickup, after a brigade deputy commander told him it was 50-50 he'd be hit going in or coming out. He went. Seven hours: the wound that started it, and the work that came out of it.▶ Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=JNZvkcO3fsECHAPTERS0:00:00 Cold open0:04:04 Eight months in the making0:09:51 Adopted at birth, and the half of his life he knew nothing about0:19:21 He found his biological family in six days0:37:13 Growing up on the GWOT, and why the Marine Corps0:47:10 Boot camp, SOI, and FAST company0:58:07 He enlisted to have his metal tested. The war never came.1:03:43 Getting out, and the transition nobody prepares you for1:08:29 A Glock in the car door, and the song that stopped him1:16:02 Battles and Beers begins1:28:06 Kabul falls, and the people he tried to get out1:39:14 "You are the target audience" - how propaganda really works1:46:32 He interviewed a member of the Taliban2:03:43 Maidan, Crimea and the Donbas: how this war started2:27:14 What Azov actually is2:33:02 Russia's justification, and what he says is the truth2:53:22 Into encircled Mariupol on Starlink2:59:01 Anton "Pazman" Krill, 22 years old3:15:52 Standing at Anton's memorial wall with his brother3:26:36 "What right do you have to take these stories?"3:30:37 Bucha, from a man who lived through it3:40:26 The Coke can in the Walmart parking lot3:56:27 Artillery down the road. The waiter offered a refill.4:08:51 Why he calls himself a coward4:13:02 Ukraine's prison-release soldiers4:41:13 The third trip: full access with the 25th Airborne5:01:56 How an FPV strike actually happens5:03:29 Mercy kills, and the wounded nobody comes for5:15:14 Pokrovsk: 110,000 Russians5:17:33 Hearing became survival5:30:47 A mine went off next door5:40:17 He strained drinking water through his underwear5:58:01 The truck he was supposed to be in6:00:29 From atheist to something else6:27:23 American aid to Ukraine6:52:20 What years of this has done to him6:59:01 CloseFollow Nick: Battles and Beers battlesandbeers.org · IG @nicklaidthelaw · @battles_and_beers · @zero.line.dispatch⚔️ Hoplite Nutrition — serious supplements for those that run towards: go.thevanguardwall.com/hoplite-ep46-audio — code VANGUARD15📰 Free Weekly Intel Brief: intel.thevanguardwall.com🏪 Merch: go.thevanguardwall.com/merch · 📸 IG: @thevanguardwallpodcast · 🎥 YouTube: @TheVanguardWall | 6h 53m 48s | ||||||
| 9/28/26 | The Calls He Can't Forget — Firefighter to IFBB Pro | Steve Kuclo | Ten years on the busiest ambulance in the City of Dallas. A downtown building that came down behind him with a mayday on the radio, and the smoke that dropped him to his knees. A New Year's Eve call in a barbershop where the crowd turned on the medics. A full cardiac code run on the floor of an airplane at 35,000 feet — the night he flew home from winning the Arnold Classic Brazil. Steve Kuclo is the first firefighter-paramedic in 45 episodes of this show. He quit automotive engineering when ... | 5h 19m 41s | ||||||
| 9/9/26 |  He Survived the Battle of Wanat — 9 of His Brothers Didn't | 1SG(r) Jesse Queck | Eleven days from going home. Fourteen months in eastern Afghanistan already behind them, bags half packed — and the order came down to build a brand-new combat outpost on the valley floor, in the low ground, in the middle of fighting season, surrounded by high ground they were forbidden to occupy. Three days later, at dawn on 13 July 2008, roughly 160 fighters hit Combat Outpost Kahler from every direction at once. Nine American paratroopers did not come home. 1SG(r) Jesse Queck was an 11 Cha... | 6h 32m 56s | ||||||
| 8/31/26 | 25 Years in Tech, a Dozen Patents — and He Says You've Been Told Two Lies About AI | Shawn Ennis✨ | AItechnology+4 | Shawn Ennis | Oracle | Auburn | AItechnology+5 | — | 3h 36m 20s | |
| 8/12/26 | The Kid Nobody Bet On Who Became a Green Beret Colonel | Max Krupp✨ | military historypersonal stories+3 | Max Krupp | Texas Army National Guardsman | Kandahar ProvinceTexas | Green Beretmilitary service+5 | — | 6h 48m 58s | |
| 8/3/26 | military servicepersonal journey+4 | Donald "Mac" McAlister | Marine CorpsArlington | Hammond, Louisiana | Marine Corpscombat tours+6 | — | 7h 46m 13s | ||
| 7/16/26 | military servicewar stories+4 | Chris McCoy | 75th Ranger Regiment | PentagonBering Sea+1 | Chris McCoyPat Tillman+5 | — | 6h 49m 25s | ||
| 7/10/26 | military actionUkraine invasion+3 | William Kaufman | Man of War | UkraineKharkiv | William KaufmanLaMonica Garrett+4 | — | 53m 16s | ||
| 7/2/26 | Inside Canada's SWAT: An RCMP Tactical Leader & Sergeant Major | Seb Lavoie✨ | SWATtactical operations+3 | Seb Lavoie | RCMP | — | SWATRCMP+6 | — | 6h 40m 42s | |
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| 6/19/26 | The Most Dangerous Flying Job in Vietnam | LTC(r) Hugh Mills | Hugh Mills flew the OH-6 “Loach” as a low-level aeroscout in Vietnam — statistically the most dangerous flying job of the war. Shot down 16 times, three Silver Stars, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Purple Hearts. Author of the classic memoir Low Level Hell.📖 Low Level Hell: https://a.co/d/0glrcnwwCHAPTERS00:00:00 Introduction — how Greg Coker connected them + “Low Level Hell”00:02:59 Growing up across the street from Bill Clinton00:29:49 Officer Candidate School — marching inside a dumpster00:49:50 He promoted himself with drugstore mercury00:52:00 Stepping off the plane — what Vietnam smelled like01:20:23 His first mission at 20 — adjusting live artillery01:35:49 The minigun and the grease-pencil gunsight01:47:48 “That’s not Mr. Jones” — the burned pilot02:07:59 Thunder Road — “orange basketballs” and getting shot down02:14:36 The “dead” NVA officer and the map case02:42:48 Capturing an NVA major — the tax collector (Bronze Star)02:58:25 The Silver Star mission — an AK-47 between his pedals03:06:00 “Bad Day for the ARPs” — 28 men vs a regiment03:19:39 Three Purple Hearts — shot through both cheeks03:31:43 Losing Jim Amy and Jimmy Slater03:43:43 He landed his helicopter on a sinking plane’s wing03:55:42 Margaret — the love he found and lost04:26:44 The A Shau Valley — “the worst place I’ve ever been”04:51:32 His own rocket blows off his tail rotor05:10:31 “Where’s your hat?” — “Somewhere in Laos”05:16:04 The rescue — the blind PJ, “I’m 701”05:28:32 Third tour and the general — “check your grid”05:32:51 He attacked an NVA flag from inside North Vietnam05:46:03 Pony One Six — the name he hid for 30 years06:03:17 His wife of 52 years06:15:31 Why none of his pilots ever took their own life06:21:24 My Lai — the real hero nobody remembers06:24:54 The OSS medic who saved Ho Chi Minh06:40:18 “The way I fought a war is gone”⚔️ Hoplite Nutrition — serious supplements for those that run towards: go.thevanguardwall.com/hoplite — code VANGUARD15📰 Free Weekly Intel Brief: intel.thevanguardwall.com🏪 Merch: go.thevanguardwall.com/merch · 📸 IG: @thevanguardwallpodcast · 🎥 YouTube: @TheVanguardWall | 7h 02m 18s | ||||||
| 6/19/26 | Vietnam Waraviation+3 | Hugh Mills | Low Level Hell | — | VietnamOH-6 Loach+5 | — | 7h 04m 42s | ||
| 6/7/26 | military operationsintelligence+4 | Gary Harrington | CIAMarine Corps | Tora Bora | Gary HarringtonCIA+5 | — | 7h 47m 15s | ||
| 5/22/26 | militaryspecial operations+3 | Aaron Love | Air ForceThe Vanguard Wall | — | Air ForcePararescueman+3 | — | 8h 16m 20s | ||
| 5/8/26 | military serviceentrepreneurship+3 | Johnny Raushi | Johnny Slicks | North Carolina | Marine vetentrepreneur+5 | — | 7h 07m 03s | ||
| 4/27/26 |  The Last Plane Out of Kabul: Air Mission Commander Reveals What Really Happened | Col(r) Alex Pelbath | The last C-17 lifted off Kabul's runway at 11:59 PM on August 30, 2021. The man who gave the order — and made the radio call "Math Safe" that officially ended America's longest war — tells the full story for the first time.Colonel Alex Pelbath (USAF, Ret.) commanded SOUL-2, the only C-17 Special Operations unit in the world, and served as Air Mission Commander for the final flight out of Afghanistan. In this episode, he reveals the moment the Abbey Gate bomb went off, the suspected suicide bomber on his own aircraft, the Taliban press conference that Biden then agreed to, General Milley's coin he handed right back, and the bureaucratic fight that nearly grounded the last flight before it ever left the ground.Born to a first-generation American family — his grandparents fled communist Hungary through a minefield in 1956, survived a Russian soldier's mercy, and spent a year in an Austrian refugee camp before an airlift brought them to America — Pelbath's story is a 65-year generational arc that ends with him commanding the largest airlift evacuation in modern history.Over nearly 7 hours, he covers his entire career: growing up with a blind mother on a construction worker's wages, earning a last-minute wrestling scholarship to the Air Force Academy, flying 22 years of C-17 combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, a near-fatal black hole effect landing on NVGs that almost killed his crew, being hand-selected to brief the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, shaping two national defense budgets inside the Pentagon — and the full firsthand account of Kabul: the chaos, the failures of leadership, and the men and women who held it together when the generals couldn't.Now running for Congress in South Carolina's 1st District, Pelbath explains why the same broken thinking that produced Kabul is still inside the building — and what he intends to do about it.Follow Alex Pelbath📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ap_alexpelbath📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pelbathforsc/🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0utyp0-5TzeLBWoRTTgtHw📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Pelbath-for-Congress/61579768019800/🌐 Website: https://pelbathforcongress.comSerious supplements “For Those that Run Towards”www.hoplitenutrition.comUse Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off🔗Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🏪Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 6h 45m 22s | ||||||
| 4/8/26 |  They Said "We've Been Fine Without You." He Proved Them Wrong. | Dr. Nick Barringer | If this episode brought you value, drop a comment below — we'd love to know what you're implementing.What does it take to fuel the most elite light infantry unit in the U.S. Army — and earn their respect doing it? Dr. Nick Barringer didn't just study performance nutrition, he built the standard for it inside the 75th Ranger Regiment.Dr. Nick Barringer is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, Bronze Star and Legion of Merit recipient, Ranger-tabbed, airborne-qualified combat veteran, and one of the foremost authorities on tactical performance nutrition in the United States. He holds a PhD in Kinesiology from Texas A&M, co-authored the International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand on Tactical Athlete Nutrition, and spent years embedded with the 75th Ranger Regiment as part of the Ranger Athlete Warrior (RAW) Program — one of the first human performance programs in all of Special Operations. He later served as Program Director for the Army Baylor Graduate Program in Nutrition and as an Assistant Professor at West Point. Most recently, he founded Salvo Gum, a precision-dosed performance caffeinated gum engineered for controlled alertness under pressure.In this conversation, you'll hear:Whether you're a tactical athlete, a serious lifter, a first responder, or someone who simply wants to perform at a higher level — this episode will change how you think about fueling your body and protecting your mind.Follow Nick Barringer:📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/nickbarringer.PhD.rdn📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/SALVOgum use code VANGUARD15 for 15% offWebsites: 🌐 www.DrNickBarringer.com🌐 www.SALVOgum.com use code VANGUARD15 for 15% off🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWallThe Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected]:00 Introduction & Welcome0:03 Salvo Gum First Impression0:05 Wrestling, Football & His First Nutrition Hack0:07 The Clemson Strength Coach Who Changed Everything0:09 9/11 and the Decision to Join the Military0:19 The Army Dietician Pipeline & Getting Branched Wrong0:21 The Paperwork Error That Changed His Life0:28 First Deployment: Baghdad — Managing Media & Interpreters0:30 How Rangers Recruited Him From a Combat Hospital0:33 Airborne School to RASP in One Weekend0:35 The Sergeant Major's Challenge: "We've Been Fine Without You"0:36 First Days at Ranger Regiment — No Computer, No Desk0:47 How He Earned Trust Inside the Regiment0:49 Ranger School — The Graduation Reality Check0:50 The RAW Program — Origin Story & Vision1:03 What Supplements He Actually Pushed to Rangers1:09 First Deployment With the Rangers — Baghdad Round Two1:28 Texas A&M PhD — How the Creatine Obsession Started1:32 Omega-3, DHA, and the Suicide Prevention Research1:37 Vitamin D, Depression, and the Study He Built at A&M1:53 Afghanistan Food Study — What He Discovered Shocked Him1:59 Creatine & Sleep Deprivation — The Cognitive Research2:06 Creatine Timing, Dosing & the Monohydrate vs HCL Debate2:07 Creatine Myths — Kidneys, Cramping & What Science Says2:13 Why He Put His 77-Year-Old Mom on Creatine2:14 His Personal Supplement Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 4h 31m 31s | ||||||
| 3/30/26 |  MACV-SOG | How One Man Built the Most Dangerous Training Program in Vietnam | Travis Mills | In August of 1968, Travis W. Mills was shot five times in a single engagement at FOB 4 — the deadliest night in the history of U.S. Army Special Forces. He survived. And then he went back to Vietnam.A Green Beret who served with one of the most classified units in American military history, Travis Mills sat down with The Vanguard Wall Podcast to document a story that couldn't be told for nearly three decades.Assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group and then to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam — Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG), Travis led small recon teams deep into denied territory along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, conducting cross-border operations into Laos and Cambodia during the most dangerous years of the Vietnam War. After surviving the FOB 4 sapper attack that left 16 Special Forces soldiers dead and over 30 wounded in a single night, he recovered aboard the USS Sanctuary — then returned to Vietnam, not as a patient, but as a leader. He was tasked with building the next generation of warriors, founding and commanding the MACV-SOG Recon Leader School, known as the One-Zero School.MACV-SOG's existence stayed classified for nearly 29 years. Travis carried that history quietly until 2001, when the unit was finally awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.In this conversation, viewers will hear:What it was like to serve in a unit whose missions "officially weren't happening"A first-person account of the FOB 4 sapper attack — 16 SF killed in one nightWhy Travis chose to return to Vietnam after being wounded rather than rotate homeThe operational structure of MACV-SOG recon teams and the Hatchet ForceWhat Travis witnessed in Vietnam that still shapes how he thinks about service todayHow he and his wife Bobby have stayed married for 62 yearsHis message to the next generation considering military serviceWatch the full episode and subscribe to The Vanguard Wall Podcast to hear more conversations that preserve the history of those who served.🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWallThe Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected]#MACVSOG #VietnamWar #SpecialForces #GreenBeret #VanguardWallPodcast #VietnamVeteran #MilitaryHistory Hoplite Nutrition — Veteran-built supplements. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off subscribe-and-save. https://hoplitenutrition.com?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ep32_macvsog&utm_content=sponsor_hoplite Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 5h 45m 58s | ||||||
| 3/11/26 |  Kyle Steiner: Korengal Survivor, Green Beret, and the Fight to Be a Good Father | CW2 Kyle Steiner — 173rd Airborne, Korengal Valley combat veteran, and 7th Special Forces Group operator — joins The Vanguard Wall for a full-length documentary-style interview covering combat, resilience, and legacy.Kyle Steiner was 20 years old when he deployed to Outpost Restrepo in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, one of the most dangerous places on earth, with Battle Company, 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. During Operation Rock Avalanche, he was called KIA over the radio after being struck in the head during an enemy ambush — and walked away. He later failed Special Forces selection, rebuilt, and crushed it the second time, spending 15 years with 7th Special Forces Group.Today, weeks from retirement after 20 years of service, Kyle's mission has shifted — to raising sons who will become better men than him, a daughter who will never settle for less than she deserves, and answering the question that drives him: how do you pass on the values forged in combat without the trauma that came with them?Chapters00:00:00 Introduction & Welcome00:01:00 Kyle Steiner: The Full Story Read00:04:27 Kyle Reacts to Hearing His Own Story00:05:51 Military Brat to Small-Town Wisconsin00:07:02 The SF Pamphlet That Launched His Dream00:07:25 His Father's Hard Standards (And Why He's Grateful)00:09:43 Oldest of Five: Family Dynamics & His Parents' Divorce00:27:51 The 18X-Ray Program Explained00:30:00 Basic Training: How He Became the Honor Graduate00:37:50 Airborne School & the Band of Brothers Moment00:39:55 SFAS First Attempt: Not Selected, Not Ready00:54:55 Three Dark Months at Bragg Watching Others Leave01:06:20 Italy: Assigned to the 173rd Airborne at Vicenza01:07:39 Scout Platoon Struggles & a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy01:12:20 The Command Team "Punishment" That Built Him01:30:05 Joining Battle Company & the Road to the Korengal01:45:00 Flying Into the Korengal Valley01:51:00 Life at Outpost Restrepo: SAW Gunner, 1,600 Rounds, Daily Firefights01:57:50 111 Firefights in One Month: September in the Korengal02:19:20 R&R Leave: Going Home & Choosing to Walk Back Into It02:21:31 "Combat Is Like Crack": The Adrenaline of War02:31:30 Sebastian Junger, Tim Hetherington & the Restrepo Documentary02:58:40 Sal Giunta: Before He Won the Medal of Honor03:08:30 Operation Rock Avalanche & the First Major Casualties03:22:27 The Headshot: Called KIA Over the Radio, Woke Up, and Ran03:43:05 Coming Home to Italy, Meeting Julia & Choosing SFAS Again04:05:00 SFAS Second Attempt: This Time He Was Ready04:13:51 The Q Course, Earning the Green Beret & 7th Special Forces Group05:13:18 Combat Dive School, HALO & the Hardest Schools in the Military06:07:16 The Harder Fight: Fatherhood, Retirement & the Operator MindsetFollow Kyle Steiner📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/realkylesteiner🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWallThe Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 7h 05m 26s | ||||||
| 3/8/26 |  He Survived Fallujah… Then Walked Away From Everything | Eric Shelvy (Part 2) | He fought in Fallujah at 21. He carried a diplomatic passport in Moscow. He investigated explosives for the ATF. And then he walked away from all of it — sold his house, pulled his kids out of school, flew to Panama, and bought a sailboat.In Part 2 of this conversation, Eric Shlevy picks up where the war ended and takes us through every chapter most people never get to hear: embassy life, the State Department, the ATF fugitive task force, and ultimately the decision to sail the world with his wife and two kids for nearly three and a half years.This episode goes deep into what it actually looks like to rebuild your identity after combat — not through therapy buzzwords, but through action. Through new missions. Through showing your kids that the world is bigger than anyone told them it was.Eric talks about sailing logistics, homeschooling at sea, marriage on a boat with nowhere to escape, and the moment his daughter started talking about a life in the foreign service — at 16.He also reflects on the Time Magazine cover, legacy, and what it means to secure your place in history without letting it own you.This is a rare story. And Eric is a rare man.If this conversation moved you — share it with someone who needs it. That's the only way this reaches the people it's meant for.🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes | Support us on Patreon | Merch available nowFollow Eric Shelvy📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/sailing.altair🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC3B0cJaRDBXbEMYwppOlAjQ🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWallThe Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected]🎯 The Vanguard Wall is powered by Hoplite Nutrition — built for those who run toward. No fillers, no fluff, just fuel built for the mission. Shop hoplitenutrition.com — code VANGUARD15 for 15% off + Subscribe & Save.📩 The Weekly SSE (free intel brief): https://intel.thevanguardwall.com🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🎥 YouTube (watch the full episode): https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com⚔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 4h 26m 09s | ||||||
| 2/22/26 |  He Refused to Be Put in a Box | Marine, Diplomat, Then Gone | Eric Shelvy (Part 1) | On November 22nd, 2004, a photograph appeared on the cover of Time Magazine — a young Marine, 21 years old, face locked in a primal scream in the middle of the push on Fallujah, Iraq. That Marine was Eric Shelvy. And if you think you know where his story goes from there, you're wrong.Eric grew up in St. Louis — Catholic schools, divorced parents, weekends riding in his father's police cruiser. He was the one kid in his elite Jesuit high school who didn't go to college. He enlisted in the Marines instead, deployed to Iraq twice, and on his second tour led men through house-to-house combat in Fallujah — the heaviest urban fighting since Vietnam.What happened after is just as remarkable. Embassy duty in Moscow straight out of Fallujah. A posting to The Hague. A reassignment to Kuala Lumpur he didn't want — where he met a Ukrainian ballerina in an expat bar, barely speaking each other's language, and fell in love anyway. He fought embassy bureaucracy to get her a visa, married her, left the Marine Corps, joined the Diplomatic Security Service, became an ATF explosives specialist — and then walked away from all of it. Sold the house, bought a sailboat in Panama, and spent nearly three years crossing the Pacific with his family.This is Part 1. It's not a war story. It's not a love story. It's a story about a man who has spent his entire life refusing to be put in a box.Content note: Frank discussion of combat and loss of fellow service members. Documentary and historical context throughout.Subscribe for Part 2 and follow The Vanguard Wall for more stories from people who have lived it.Follow Eric Shelvy📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/sailing.altair🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC3B0cJaRDBXbEMYwppOlAjQ00:00:00 Intro:00:06:57 St. Louis upbringing: Jesuit school + ride-alongs with a cop dad00:18:23 Cop father in the streets: learning calm under chaos00:25:32 The recruiter pitch: choosing infantry over the “normal” path00:42:56 ASVAB & DEP: signing the papers and committing00:47:20 Pre-boot jitters: cigarettes, nerves, “what did I do?”00:49:36 Boot camp reality: receiving platoon + breaking you down01:01:15 Becoming a Marine: discipline, suffering, brotherhood01:07:56 To the infantry: Pendleton, forming the team01:24:39 Landing in Kuwait: first taste of war & the unknown01:29:30 Rolling north: vehicles, armor, and the invasion machine01:30:16 Infantry squad anatomy: weapons, roles, how you actually fight01:51:30 First real contact: RPGs and chaos on the move01:57:59 First casualty: the moment war becomes real02:03:30 Coming home changed: leadership and lessons carried forward02:34:06 Combat mindset & fear: what guys admit after the fact02:52:19 Promotion & pressure: stepping up as a squad leader03:03:00 Leadership before the storm: LtCol Malay & “bad dudes in that house”03:13:42 Quick break: resetting before the Fallujah story03:14:10 Back to Iraq (Fall 2004): Camp Fallujah, Route Michigan, contractors bridge03:55:07 Media spotlight: the build-up before entering the city04:02:19 Photographer Max: living inside the platoon’s fight04:34:52 Hardest decision in Fallujah: what command really means04:56:44 The Time cover photo: what the frame didn’t show04:58:47 When you realized it was on the cover: aftermath of the image🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWallThe Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297🎯 The Vanguard Wall is powered by Hoplite Nutrition — built for those who run toward. No fillers, no fluff, just fuel built for the mission. Shop hoplitenutrition.com — code VANGUARD15 for 15% off + Subscribe & Save.📩 The Weekly SSE (free intel brief): https://intel.thevanguardwall.com🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🎥 YouTube (watch the full episode): https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com⚔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 5h 15m 26s | ||||||
| 2/9/26 |  From Failing Middle School to Special Forces Commander | LTC Chane Jackson | Chane Jackson was told he'd never make it past eighth grade. A teacher gave him an "H" on a paper because an F wasn't low enough. He never made honor roll once.Fast forward: West Point graduate. 75th Ranger Regiment. Green Beret commander. Five combat deployments. Over 100 direct action missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Three Bronze Stars. Fluent in Arabic. And he never lost a soldier under his command—never fell back in a firefight. Not once.After retiring, Chane taught himself to code and became Director of Data Science for US Special Operations Command, managing AI systems for 90,000 personnel across 11 commands. Now he's building two businesses—D1 Training in Austin and Game Day Men's Health in Tampa—focused on optimizing human performance.This is a four-hour conversation about struggle, resilience, combat leadership, loss, and what it means to keep pushing forward when everyone says you can't.What we talk about:The childhood that shaped him—single mom, tough neighborhood, academic struggles that almost ended everythingHow a brutal West Point professor taught him the mental toughness that would save his life in combatRanger Regiment and learning what it takes to lead elite soldiersGetting his Green Beret and deploying to Afghanistan with ODA 3325Months of sustained combat in Kajaki—getting shot at on infill, firefights that never seemed to endThe day Master Sergeant Gregory Trent was killed (we covered Greg's story in a seven-part series with ODA 3424)What it's like holding someone's skull together while praying they make it homeLeading through loss while staying mission-focusedTeaching at West Point and mentoring the next generationTransition to tech—teaching himself data science and building AI systems for SOCOMWhy he left the military and started two franchisesD1 Training: athletic performance for youth and adults using cutting-edge technologyGame Day Men's Health: veteran-owned TRT and men's wellness clinicFull conversation on The Vanguard Wall podcast.⚔️Follow Chane Jackson📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/chaneszD1 Training Center Austin, Texas (owned by Chane)📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/d1jollyvilletx📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/d1jollyvilletxGame Day Mens Health Tampa, FL (owned by Chane)📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/gamedaytempleterrace📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gamedaytempleterrace🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWallThe Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected]#SpecialForces #GreenBeret #RangerRegiment #Military #Veterans #Leadership #CombatStories #entrepreneurship🎯 The Vanguard Wall is powered by Hoplite Nutrition — built for those who run toward. No fillers, no fluff, just fuel built for the mission. Shop hoplitenutrition.com — code VANGUARD15 for 15% off + Subscribe & Save.📩 The Weekly SSE (free intel brief): https://intel.thevanguardwall.com🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🎥 YouTube (watch the full episode): https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com⚔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 7h 39m 49s | ||||||
| 1/29/26 |  Special Forces Officer Reveals Why He Chose Seminary Over the Military | Evan Perperis | What does it take to go from a self-described "nerdy drama club kid" to leading Green Beret teams in Iraq? And what kind of man walks away from a 20-year Special Forces career to pursue seminary? This is the story of Major Evan Perperis.Evan spent two decades in the US Army — Ranger School, SEER, Pathfinder, Special Forces Qualification Course, and four combat deployments to Iraq and the Middle East. As a Green Beret team leader with 5th Special Forces Group, he trained elite Iraqi Commandos in the heart of the War on Terror. He earned two Bronze Stars and four Meritorious Service Medals.But that's only half the story.When he wasn't downrange, Evan was running 24-hour obstacle course races, climbing the height of Mount Everest with obstacles for charity (raising over $25,000 for wounded warriors), competing as a professional OCR athlete with 100+ podium finishes, and authoring 10+ books on fitness and combatives.Then he made a decision that shocked everyone: he walked away from the military to become a Greek Orthodox priest.In this conversation, we cover:His childhood and the moment 9/11 changed everythingSix months in Ranger School and refusing to quitLeading platoons and ODAs in combatThe emotional toll of deployment on familyHis extreme endurance challenges and athletic careerWhy he chose Orthodoxy and the priesthoodBalancing warrior mentality with faithThis is a conversation about sacrifice, perseverance, faith, and what it means to truly live a life of purpose.Follow Evan Perperis:🌐 Website: www.UltraOCRman.com📘 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ultraocrman📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ultraOCRman💪 Patreon: www.patreon.com/GreekCombatives📚 Books: www.TeamStrengthSpeed.com📖 Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Evan-Perperis/author/B07R1R2J4B🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall The Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected] Evan Perperis served 20 years in the US Army as a Special Forces officer with 5th Special Forces Group, completing Ranger School, SEER, Pathfinder, and the Special Forces Qualification Course. With four combat deployments to Iraq and the Middle East, two Bronze Stars, and four Meritorious Service Medals, Evan led Green Beret teams training elite Iraqi Commandos during the War on Terror. Beyond military service, he competed as a professional obstacle course racer with over 100 podium finishes, authored more than 10 books on fitness and combatives, and raised over $25,000 for wounded warriors through extreme endurance challenges. After two decades of service, Evan made the extraordinary decision to pursue seminary and become a Greek Orthodox priest. This conversation explores his journey from combat to faith, the sacrifices of military life, the emotional toll of deployment on family, and what it means to live a life of true purpose. Follow Evan's journey at www.UltraOCRman.com and find his books at www.TeamStrengthSpeed.com.🎯 The Vanguard Wall is powered by Hoplite Nutrition — built for those who run toward. No fillers, no fluff, just fuel built for the mission. Shop hoplitenutrition.com — code VANGUARD15 for 15% off + Subscribe & Save.📩 The Weekly SSE (free intel brief): https://intel.thevanguardwall.com🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🎥 YouTube (watch the full episode): https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com⚔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 6h 57m 30s | ||||||
| 1/19/26 |  Navy Veteran Opens Up About Depression, Faith & Hollywood | Cody Bobay | 🔥 This is the story Hollywood doesn't want you to hear.Cody Bobay went from being an alcoholic 13-year-old in a broken home to encountering God in a Navy barracks—and his entire life changed in ONE SECOND. Now he's fighting to take back Hollywood one film at a time.From nuclear warfare missions to battling depression, from marriage crisis to standing up against church criticism, from devastating rejection to launching a studio that refuses to bow to Hollywood's agenda—this conversation goes DEEP.If you're struggling with:Pornography addictionDepression or suicidal thoughtsMarriage problemsFeeling like a failureFinding your purposeBeing a better fatherFighting for biblical masculinityThis episode is for you.📍 CHAPTERS:00:00:00 - Introduction: From Broken Home to Warrior00:15:32 - Age 13: First Drink, Alcoholism & Chasing Acceptance00:30:45 - The Dark Reality: Cheating, Fighting & Hating Himself00:46:18 - Rock Bottom: Screaming at God in a Navy Barracks00:51:03 - The Encounter: How God Changed Everything in One Moment01:08:47 - Nuclear Warfare: Life on the E-6B Mercury Platform01:28:15 - SERE School: Breaking His Neck & Cold Water Torture01:42:33 - Blue Jacket of the Year: God Whispers the Answer01:54:20 - Meeting His Wife: No Sex Until Marriage After That Past02:08:44 - Year 7 Crisis: "You're Having an Emotional Affair with Work"02:22:10 - Why Christian Men Stay Fat & Addicted (The Brutal Truth)02:38:52 - Writing 700 Devotionals While Fighting Depression02:51:16 - God's Call to Acting: "Would You Follow Me Into the Ocean?"03:04:39 - Hollywood Rejection: 10 Final Callbacks, Zero Callbacks Back03:18:24 - Fighting on Film: Breaking His Neck in the Ogden River03:29:47 - Pastors Tried to Cancel Him: "You'll Never Speak Without Seminary"03:44:11 - The Pornography Conversation Church Won't Have03:58:35 - Raising Kids in Hollywood: Steak & Sex Dates with His Son04:12:18 - I68 Studios: Taking Back Hollywood Without Asking Permission04:26:40 - Final Word: Here I Am, Send Me🎯 FOLLOW Cody Bobby:Instagram: @codybobayWebsite: www.codybobay.comSoulçonInstagram: @soulconseriesWebsite: www.soulcon.comI68 StudiosInstagram: @i68studiosPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/cw/I68Studios🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall The Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected]#CodyBobay #ChristianMasculinity #HollywoodTransformation #NavyVeteran #SoulConWarrior #BiblicalManhood #MarriageAdvice #Fatherhood #ActionFilms #I68Studios #OvercomingAddiction #MentalHealthRecovery #FaithJourney #MilitaryStoriesNavy veteran Cody Bobay discusses his military service, personal faith transformation, 19-year marriage, parenting philosophy, and career transitions into writing, speaking, and acting. Topics include military experiences, mental health, masculinity, family relationships, and creative pursuits. Long-form conversation covering service, personal growth, and life purpose. Interview by The Vanguard Wall podcast featuring veterans and their transformation stories.🎯 The Vanguard Wall is powered by Hoplite Nutrition — built for those who run toward. No fillers, no fluff, just fuel built for the mission. Shop hoplitenutrition.com — code VANGUARD15 for 15% off + Subscribe & Save.📩 The Weekly SSE (free intel brief): https://intel.thevanguardwall.com🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🎥 YouTube (watch the full episode): https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com⚔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 4h 36m 46s | ||||||
| 1/2/26 |  Breaking Addiction & Building Desert Plunge: Matt Kuiper's Recovery Journey | What do you do when you've lost everything—your family, your future, your will to live? For Matt Kuiper, founder of Desert Plunge, the answer came in the form of 38-degree water. This is the story of a man who went from two DUIs and jail time to building one of the fastest-growing cold plunge companies in America—and how he discovered that our darkest moments can become our greatest purpose.Chapters:0:00 - Introduction4:00 - Early Childhood & Christian Reform Upbringing15:10 - First Antidepressants at 1517:20 - First Drink: "I Cannot Wait to Do This Again"30:50 - First DUI at 16, Second at 2137:40 - The Day I Almost Died: 220 BPM Heart Rate47:30 - Green Oaks Ranch: 6-Month Rehab53:00 - Meeting My Wife in Rehab1:09:00 - Relapse: Wife Kicks Me Out1:17:00 - Rock Bottom & 90 Meetings in 90 Days1:27:00 - Why Marriage is Worth Fighting For1:37:00 - Becoming an Electrician: The Trades vs College1:48:00 - 2019 Mental Health Crisis in Ecuador2:01:00 - Cold Plunge Changed Everything2:07:00 - Building Desert Plunge from Garage to Business2:34:00 - Customer Service & Business Philosophy2:51:00 - Plant Medicine: 5-MEO, Kambo, Ketamine3:04:00 - Faith, Fatherhood & Breaking Cycles3:19:00 - SSRIs, Big Pharma & Alternative Medicine3:27:00 - Final Message: You Can Change Your Story🎯 FOLLOW Matt Kupier:Instagram: @Matt_Kuiper, @desertplungeWebsite:https://desertplunge.com/🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall The Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️https://www.thevanguardwall.comSocial Media: ⬇️The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297Want to sponsor the show?Email: ⬇️[email protected]#MattKuiper #DesertPlunge #ColdPlungeTherapy #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealthAwareness #SobrietyJourney #EntrepreneurStory #WimHofMethod #RecoveryIsPossible🎯 The Vanguard Wall is powered by Hoplite Nutrition — built for those who run toward. No fillers, no fluff, just fuel built for the mission. Shop hoplitenutrition.com — code VANGUARD15 for 15% off + Subscribe & Save.📩 The Weekly SSE (free intel brief): https://intel.thevanguardwall.com🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast🎥 YouTube (watch the full episode): https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com⚔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297📧 Connect/Sponsor: [email protected] Support the show 🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 🏪 Merch: https://www.thevanguardwall.com (code VANGUARD15) 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVanguardWall ⚔️ Patreon (early access + Discord): https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297 📧 Sponsor Inquiries: [email protected] 💪 Hoplite Nutrition — veteran-built supplements made in the U.S. Code VANGUARD15 for 15% off Subscribe & Save → https://hoplitenutrition.com | 3h 32m 59s | ||||||
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