Locked In with Ian Bick - Military vs. Prison: An Inside Look From An Army Captain | Ryan Griffis

Episode Date: January 14, 2024

In today's episode, get ready for an adrenaline-pumping experience as we welcome Army Captain Ryan Griffis. He's not just a military hero, but also a up and coming podcaster, a social media sensation, and a passionate mental health advocate. Ryan takes us on a roller-coaster ride through his life, sharing insights about his military career, the battles he fought with mental health, and the remarkable journey that led to the creation of his influential social media platform. This is a conversation that's sure to keep you on the edge of your seat – don't miss it! Join this channel to get early access to new episodes & Behind the Scenes Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvVklIft6DMelVW18M0oBw/join Follow Ian Bick on Instagram: @ian_bick & Snapchat: ianbick Connect with Ryan Griffis: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrgriffis?_t=8j0EyfxSRzz&_r=1 YouTube: http://youtube.com/@mrgriffis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr.griffis?igsh=MWgxc3hiamEzaXdjZw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr ON-AIR With MRGRIFFIS: https://onairwithmrgriffis.buzzsprout.com Buy Merch: https://lockedinbrand.com Use code lockedin at checkout to get 20% off your order Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:34 - Growing the Podcast and Social Media Following 00:03:17 - Giving a Voice to the Underdogs 00:04:42 - The Intriguing Diversity of Stories 00:06:08 - From Poverty to the Military 00:07:47 - Struggling with Mental Health and Suicide Prevention 00:09:23 - Overcoming Childhood Trauma and Mental Health Struggles 00:11:02 - Breaking the Cycle of Addiction 00:12:34 - Sharing Male Struggles and Overcoming Backlash 00:14:14 - The Fine Line of Vulnerability and Strength on Social Media 00:15:48 - The Stigma of Speaking Out 00:17:21 - Dealing with Negative Backlash on Social Media 00:18:58 - Adjusting to Fame and Recognition 00:20:31 - Confronting Childhood Trauma and Finding Identity in the Military 00:22:07 - Seeking Therapy and Finding Comfort in Shared Experiences 00:23:53 - Opening up about my struggles 00:25:29 - Seeking Help and Embracing Past Experiences 00:27:01 - Overcoming Life's Challenges 00:28:28 - Similarities between Prison and Military Experiences 00:30:00 - Childhood Trauma and Overcoming Adversity 00:31:40 - Overcoming Adversity and Defying Expectations 00:33:08 - Different Perspectives on Criminal Behavior 00:34:39 - Helping Soldiers Transition 00:36:10 - Making the Right Decisions in Combat 00:37:48 - The Challenges of Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life 00:39:36 - Balancing Military Service and Social Media Grinding 00:41:26 - Jumping Out of a Plane 00:43:00 - Overcoming Mental Health Struggles as a Parent 00:44:32 - Being the Father Figure 00:46:09 - Opening Up About Mental Health Struggles Connect with Ian Bick: https://www.ianbick.com Powered by Creative Evolution Studios https://creativeevolutionstudios.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I found myself in Baghdad, Iraq in 2020, and I came back from that and then really started struggling with PTSD, survival guilt. And it gave me a whole new perspective on mental health and suicide prevention. It was January 13th, the first time that I ever wanted to take my life in 2021. I was like, dang, I'm at this point right now, and I don't know where it came from, you know, just three years ago I was fine. So I never really believed in that aspect of people really struggle. and want to take their life because of my childhood I had been through so much. I was like, I've been through so much and I've never even thought about it. And then I come back from combat and then start struggling.

My marriage was struggling. My foundation, everything that I had built up to this point was just crumbling down. Welcome back to your favorite podcast locked in. In today's episode, get ready for an adrenaline pumping experience as we welcome Army Captain Ryan Griffiths. He's not just a military hero, but also a up-and-coming podcaster, a social media sensation and a passionate mental health advocate. Ryan takes us on a roller coaster ride through his life, sharing insights about his military career, the battles he fought with mental health, and the

remarkable journey that led to the creation of his influential social media platform. This is a conversation that's sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, and you don't want to miss it. Remember, everyone, if you're looking for additional content from our guests, you could subscribe to our YouTube membership program for only $4.99 a month to get additional interviews. reviews I conduct with my guest after every episode. Shout out to Mike Tyson and the team of Tyson 2.0 for hooking me up with this awesome merch. Love their sweatshirt. It really is comfortable. And you guys can also support the show by sharing episodes with your friends on social media, leaving us a review on Apple and Spotify, or hitting subscribe on YouTube. That's all I got for you,

everyone. Sit back, relax, and get ready to lock in with Ryan Griffiths. I mean, what we're building is cool, man. You know, like, Like, this is probably one of the fastest growing podcasts in the world for not an A-list celebrities. Absolutely, dude. Like, when I was telling people about it, I was like, honestly, like this podcast is probably number one upcoming podcast out there. Like, you've grown, I mean, been following you for a while, but watching you grow from here to like, one year later, you're fucking up here. It's a dude, I had 5,000, no, I had 4,000 Instagram followers in, like, March. Now I have like 42,000.

My TikTok went up 400,000 just one year. year. I went in January 1st, I had 100,000. I just hit 100,000. That's wild. And now it's about to hit 500,000. The YouTube, I hit 100,000 July after, you know, like six months. Yeah. Because I started in January. And then now we're about to hit, I'm hoping, you know, we closed December out with 200,000. We just passed 180,000. That's wild. But we grow about like 15 to 20,000 a month. Dude, that's wild. Yeah, because, I mean, even next year, you know, like you were saying, if you make that connection with Jail, he's on here. You should see that one person. Yeah, your shit's booming.

Yeah, I mean, we had Chevy on the pod. Like, we have so good names. I got the interviewing down, Pat. And, you know, a lot of it is just giving people the opportunity to speak. Right. You know, like, it's letting people share their story and it's not a host-driven podcast. Like, I guide the person as needed. Yeah.

But it's not host-driven. Yeah. And I think that's a big thing, too, is because there's a lot of places, I mean, especially the ones that I've been on, it's always been host-driven, where it's, it's like I get prompted 25 questions or 50 questions that I already know what I'm going to answer to and it's like them driven it and me giving them like a answer that they know I'm going to answer you know yeah and that's kind of why I went to start my podcast is being the opposite I just wanted to bring people on just to tell their story on how they've made it fucking to where they're at through the rough

and the setbacks that they've had just to give them a voice the underdogs if you will a voice you know Yeah, and my audience likes the individual stories. Yeah. And they don't want the host. Like, I get shit if I interrupt someone, which I've gotten so much better about doing. And that's the biggest thing in podcasting. Just don't interrupt your guests because then you're going to beat out all these other podcasts where it's just banter, banter, banter, you know? For sure.

When I edit people's podcasts for like for our studio business, my biggest feedback to them is just don't interrupt your guests. Let them, you know, ask a question and then give them an answer. And with mine, every week you have different content. It's not the same bullshit celebrities coming on sharing their story of the weekend. You know, this is like a real thought-provoking. And honestly, I mean, I mean, given knowing you, but before knowing you and being in contact, that's why I loved listening in on yours because it was always something different. You didn't have something that was consistent, not the same question, it wasn't host-driven.

It was just something that I was like, oh, this is completely different than what the last episode was. But it was so intriguing where I'm like, all right, now I want the next episode. And I don't think it ever gets old because so many people, went to prison, everyone has a different experience. Right. Like, I can ask the same question, like, what did you eat in prison? And a million people are going to have different answers and share their experience. And it's the same thing

with the Army, you know, like me being an influencer, they see me in the uniform, but there's so many different stories that everybody has to tell. Like, even me being an engineer, there's so many different engineering experiences that happens in combat, that no story is the same. Yeah,

exactly. So, you know, I stumbled across your Instagram, which is why we're here. you had followed me and then I was going through like your reels and you've been able to build a platform while in currently serving in the military and you're like a symbol for like you know men's mental health I guess you would call it and that's what caught my attention and why I wanted to you know have you on the show and give you a platform to share your story um so you know I'm handing the mic over to you on this one I want to hear everything you know like why you got into the military growing up and then the struggles you faced and how you were kind of able to turn that all

around and build the platform. Yeah, man, I appreciate it. One, just for having me. The reason why I love social media is just being able to interact with people like yourself that goes on and wants to hear the story of other people and how they were raised and so on and so forth. But young age, I grew up in Macquarie County, Kentucky, dirt poor. I had a pretty rough childhood where I was physically, mentally, and emotionally abused for the first 15 years of my life. So the military just kind of fell into the right place, right time. I went off to college, had no intentions on ever going to college, but I had been offered a scholarship to commission as an officer.

I didn't want to go to college, but I showed up two days prior before the PT test, passed a PT test, and got offered a scholarship. And really haven't looked back since. And then I graduated from college and went to airborne school where I was jumping out of airplanes, which was wild because when I got selected for that school, I had never been in an airport or an airplane prior. So I had successfully jumped out of five aircrafts at this time before even flying in a commercial aircraft. So that was like one of those stories that I was like, oh, wow, the military really has some stuff to offer. I can jump out of airplanes and do

some cool stuff, you know. But the reason I joined is just because I wanted to do something bigger than myself going through the rough times of the troubles and trials as a kid. I wanted to do something that was kind of better than myself. And I thought joining the military could do that. And then I realized real quick with mental health, I thought that I was mentally tough as as tough as I could be because of the situations that I was in prior before joining the military. Being abused, my dad, he was a drug addict, alcoholic. I was like, you know what, I've been through so much. I'm mentally tough. There's nothing that can break me.

Then I found myself in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2020, and I came back from that, and then really started struggling with PTSD, survival guilt, and it gave me a whole new perspective on mental health and suicide prevention. It was January 13th, the first time that I ever wanted to take my life in 2021. I was like, dang, I'm at this point right now, and I don't know where it came from, you know, just three years ago I was fine. So I never really believed in that aspect of people really struggle and want to take their life because of my childhood. I had been through so much.

I was like, I've been through so much and I've never even thought about it. And then I come back from combat and then start struggling. My marriage was struggling. My foundation, everything that had built up to this point was just crumbling down. I had two little kids and I wanted to be that father figure that could just be there for them. And I was absent for the first four years of their life between training. I missed the birth of my first daughter, the birthdays, the first footsteps, and it really started taking a toe on me, and I realized that I wasn't mentally as strong that I should be.

So I started reaching out for help through social media opposed to anything else. And that's what kind of kickstarted my platforms is I put it all out there of everything that I was going through, the troubles, trials, and situations on TikTok, and it kind of blew up. And it's got me to where I'm at today. and now I just speak a positive message how you can still be a leader, you can still be doing your everyday life, but life doesn't discriminate. Everybody goes through troubles and trials and have setbacks, but not dwelling on that and being able to adapt and overcome from those situations has got me to where I'm at.

Now, do you think those feelings of depression, those mental health struggles, were in a direct result because of what happened or what you've seen in Iraq, or do you think that Iraq and your, what happened over there just triggered really your childhood trauma that was built up and that was what had the effect on you mentally, not so much the service in general. I think so, you know, as a kid going through being abused and watching that through a lens of a child, I had kept it so like tucked down deep inside where nobody knew really what was going on. So I never spoke out on it because I was always taught, hey, you have to be tough, no crying, no speaking out. Don't tell anybody what's going on. So I had kept that in for the first

18 years of my life. And then the mental side of the PTSD and Iraq and the scenarios, I think, just topped it. And I really wanted to start speaking out. And then people started really learning who I was and what I was going through. So I don't necessarily think it was the Iraq situation and stuff that kind of pushed me over the edge of wanting to be able to speak. My message now is to show that younger generation that no matter what you go through in life, your home life, outside of it, is you can adapt and overcome from that and still be successful and have a positive message and do everything that you want to just because you go through something doesn't mean that you have to stay there.

Something you were telling me in the car that really stuck out was that, and you had just mentioned it that your father was an addict himself and you had told me in the car that you wanted to make sure that you had never followed his footsteps where, you know, on our show we see a lot of addicts where a lot of them come from a family where their parent was an addict and it's kind of passed down and they're not able to have that mentality or they never even think of that as a thought. Yeah. What was that like for you? How did you navigate that and how do you know at that young age that you never wanted to dive in on that path of addiction?

Yeah, so my dad being a drug addict and alcoholic disclaimer, we have an awesome relationship now. He's remarried. him and I still are in contact. I forgave him for a lot of stuff that had went on through my childhood. But seeing it, you know, it wasn't just the physical and mental pain that I went through. I watched my mom suffer from it as well. She was abused and went through all the struggles as a single mom of three. I just realized at a young age, like, man, I don't think this is how relationships should be.

And him putting her through that, I just realized at a young age, like, hey, when I find somebody, which my wife now, we've been together. since middle school. We have two beautiful kids. We had our first one right after college. I've, I set that foundation at an early age, like, hey, I mean, given our relationship is not perfect, just like everybody else's, you know, like everybody has their ups and downs. But that's what has laid the foundation of our relationship is when I've found the wife I have and fell in love with her, I'm like, hey, I want to make a difference and not have that generational curse where you just abuse them, you go through the scenarios, you really, it's a turning point for me in that relationship aspect where I wanted to be the opposite of my dad. Now, the videos that you start

getting emotional and you start talking about how you felt and how you feel, what were those videos about? What was the context of those? Yeah, so with PTSD and some of the situations that I've been in and the childhood experience, you know, it's very emotional because still to this day, I mean, I get a lot of messages on like, oh, you don't look depressed. Oh, you don't look sad. And I think sometimes, like, that's the shocker that I still have to myself, you know, I don't, I don't feel it every, every second of the day. There's some days that I have good days. There's some days that I have bad days. But it's still being able to realize like, hey, I'm going through something right now and I'm not mentally there. And I'm not at my full capability of what I could be

as a father, as a husband, as a soldier. And it's just being able to relay that to my platforms is like, hey, you might see somebody with millions of followers and seem like he has his stuff together. But in reality, I still have bad days and I still struggle just like everybody else does. Now, women are able to go on to say TikTok and they'll post a video of them crying over a breakup or a relationship or whatever, what they're going through. You essentially did the male version of that to talk about your struggles. Yep.

What did it take for you to be able to do that? And what was someone kind of like the backlash that you got? Because people are vicious, you know, in the comments when it comes to this. Yeah, you know, I think it's a very fine line because I did get a lot of backlash. And then the stigma in the military is you have to be physically fit and mentally tough. And I think the first instant instincts for me is when I was on a TikTok live one time and it was during lunch. And I was scrolling through the comments, you know, and I seen. one comment that stuck out that said, I'm watching your wife and kids.

And it instantly stopped me in my tracks. And I probably had 500,000 followers at the time. And I got off the live. I called my wife, and I was like, hey, where are you at? She's like, oh, I'm at the commissary picking up groceries. I'm like, hey, there's somebody. I don't know who it is, but they're watching you and the girls right now. And that was the turning point for me to realize, like, hey, some people on social media

are internet warriors and they think you're weak because of what you're talking to. and I had that fine line that I had to flip a switch and make it known like just because I'm going through something doesn't make me weak. And I'm willing to turn it and flip that switch at any given moment and be and go to war at any point with anybody when they come from me or my own. And I realize that there in that scenario is from the internet aspect, if you talk about your problems, if you speak out, some people do define you as being weak. but it's a fine line of being able to be open about what you're going through but still hold that character aspect of like, hey, it's just not an internet thing. This is real life. And if you come from me or my own, I'm going to war with you at any given moment

and I still have the ability to flip that switch if I have to. I choose not to and I don't want to, but it's not a weak thing in my opinion when somebody speaks out and talks. But a lot of people take that stigma as in, oh, he, speaking out, he must be weak. Now, some people will also look at it as like a cry for attention. Yes. What do you say to that?

What are your thoughts on that? Yeah, so a lot of people I got that as well. Like this dude is just chasing cloud. This dude is just wanting followers. He's wanting to be known. But the real reasoning behind my platforms is, you know, I didn't post in uniform for the first year I was on social media. And I don't know if that was why social media kicked off for me or not.

but all the troubles and trials and situations that I was talking about, I was just in normal clothes, normal human, just going through rough situations in life. And then when I posted the first one in uniform, it kicked off like, oh, this is not only a soldier, but he's a leader in the military as well. So seeing it from a leadership standpoint, it was a positive impact at that point

because these younger soldiers realized, like, hey, him being a leader in the military, if he can talk about his problems and still, be equipped to do the things that we are required to do in combat and war, then we can talk about our problems as well. So it was a positive impact at that point, me being in the uniform and talking about the troubles and trials and situations. And I had so many people come to the DMs, come through email saying like, hey, your video has really inspired me. I wish I had a leader like you when I was in the service and I might have stayed in. What was someone like the negative backlash you got

from maybe soldiers, coworkers, people that are in your inner circle. Yeah, so there was not much of the negative backlash from my inner circle, but on the outer circle, you know, there's always the negative backlash of people making fun, people saying, oh, he's just boo-hoo, and he's talking about PTSD, his mental health, he's not physically fit, mentally tough. And that's where me flipping that switch, talking about the internet warriors, like I have the ability to let them talk on the internet. meet me in person and when it comes down to it,

like I'm going to war at any given moment and willing to compete and challenge you to anything that you have towards me in that situation. And I was able to do that through social media, you know, and the individuals that meet me from the Internet and then in real life, it's completely the same scenario in their minds like, oh, like you're just a normal human being.

You don't seem unhappy. You don't seem to press. You don't seem like this individual that's just trying to boo-hoo and get followers. And that was the big point for me is like I was able to realize when I met these people off the internet in person is, oh, you're the same. I'm like, yeah. You know, we live in such a weird world where, you know, people can get, I guess you

call it famous on social media and they're still working a regular job. Like I remember when I was still working at Whole Foods and my videos were going viral and I have all these followers and people don't really know how. how to approach you or how to act or like what because they look at you something different when really you're just like a normal person yeah and and a lot of times like you know if you see me like come up to me say hello um some people are a little weird about how they do it but i get maybe they're like shy or whatever but i'm just like a normal person like i always want to be that normal guy which is why i take a lot of time to try to respond to messages and interact with people and you know like

pick up my guest at the at the hotel or something you know little things like that I would I even pick you up at the airport if I wasn't I was shot from Friday going in and out to the city But you know things like that people don't really realize you know they don't and you know Being in my position in the military and seeing combat and having PTSD I visualize and I pick up on people's actions way before you know so I'm always kind of like scanning and Seeing people in the distance and I noticed people staring and it was a big thing that I had to realize because, like, coming back from combat, when I now are being, I'm being recognized in public,

I'm like, where does this dude know me from? Is he, like, out to kill me or is he just wanting a picture, you know? So it was a weird point for me in life of people wanting to come up and kind of take a picture just to get to know me and say, hey, and, like, I mean, just on the way here, you know, I had somebody in Colorado Springs, like, in the airport, like, oh, I've seen your videos. I love your message.

But before that, it was like a five-minute staring contest, like me glancing over there, like, why is this, person staring at me. So it was just something that I really had to adjust and get used to as well. Do you think looking back on it now that you joined the military to kind of face that childhood trauma that you endured physically and mentally? Maybe like getting into the military was a way for you to confront it, not directly but indirectly? I think so, you know, my grandfather, he was in the military and I looked up to him a lot. And I think me wanting to follow in his footsteps is the reason and I joined, but then being able to really find my own identity within the military, you know,

going through some special training that I've been through. I wanted to really put it all out there and test the physical and mental ability that I had that I didn't know that I had at that point. So going through that training and wanting to just be, go to combat and in war, you know, like that was the goals that I had as an early soldier in the military. It's like, hey, I want to be put through the ringer. I want to go to all this training and see combat, go to Iraq, go to Africa, go to Africa, go to Afghanistan and face the problems internally that I had.

And how is your view on that change now that you've experienced that? You've been in combat. You've gone overseas and now you're back. How is that, you know, changed? Yeah, it's definitely changed a lot. I would never wish anybody going, you know, like I've been to Iraq. I experienced, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I've never been back. Now, would I go back if I had to?

Absolutely. You know, we all take an oath. but I experienced that. I know what combat is like. I know what the worst scenario is like. And I can tell you that it's a lot fun of being here in the States and enjoying freedom that we have here opposed to being over there in an eight-by-eight-eight room,

living with, I mean, my experience in Iraq is a little bit different than everybody else's. But I enjoy being able to come back here and have the freedom that I do. I love being over there just because the camaraderie with the guys that I was with, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings. one bit if I never went back.

Did you seek therapy when you came back? I didn't initially. So I opened up on social media. You did at first. Right, yeah, I did at first. Opened up on social media and then I started seeking therapy probably six months after I got back. But I went through that sober journey with my younger brother.

We went sober for 365 days. And I realized at that point when I was trying to use alcohol as a crudge for what I was going through. And after that 365 days, I realized I really needed to seek a lot of therapy for not only combat and war stuff, but for childhood as well. So I've done a 12-week therapy session, and then it was regularly two weeks after that. And I still seek therapy just because there's, like I was saying, life doesn't discriminate. There's so much stuff that we go through in and out of combat, even the normal

everyday individual, you know, goes through stuff in life that we know nothing about. So, yeah, I still seek therapy. What were some takeaways from therapy that you learned about yourself that you didn't know about yourself before going to therapy? Yeah, I realized that I wasn't the only one that struggle.

Although the military likes to have that stigma that, you know, people don't go through stuff, I realize going through therapy, like there were so many individuals that go through situations and troubles and trials that I've been through. and it's just one of those things that I felt comfortable about myself being able to say it out loud. You know, I was feeling everything on the inside, but I had never really publicly spoke about it.

So being able to tell somebody face to face as a man like, hey, I need help. I'm struggling. I don't know what I'm going to do was one of those walls that I had built up for the last 25 years. And it slowly started crumbling down and being able to be honest with somebody because it was a room, like this, you know, and I had never told anybody at this point that I wanted to take my life. And I was on the verge of killing myself. It was January 13, 2021, and I was just like, hey, I woke up that morning and didn't want to be alive. And being able to tell somebody that and them hear me out, it gave me a sense of comfort that, hey, somebody knows that I'm struggling and

somebody's there to help me. So for the first time in my life, although I had friends and families and close ones that I could have easily turned to, I just never did because I didn't want to put that burden on them. And I think a lot of times that that's where we fall into that trap of being self-guilt and not wanting to talk to people that know who we are personally. So being able to talk to somebody that had no conception of who I was was a good feeling for me. It's a little uncomfortable for some, but I enjoyed it. So tell us about that day that you woke up and you didn't want to be alive anymore because I'm sure a lot of people that are listening have those days. What are someone like the warning signs? How did you make it through it? What was that like for you?

Yeah, so I woke up and I mean, I was struggling the knot prior and I woke up from a cold sweat and all the flashbacks was happening. I had some nightmares and I just woke up with this sick feeling in my stomach and I had no excitement whatsoever. And going through life, I was weighing out the pros and cons and I would say advice for anybody if you're at that point of having to weigh out the pros and cons and you're like at the tipping point of like hey life's not that great why am I still here that's when you initially need to seek the help if you're ever questioning yourself and that that's what I did so throughout that whole day I had questioned and was laying out the pros and cons of should I be here or should I not and it eventually led to me saying like hey I don't deserve to be here

I should add over in Iraq. Somebody else should be where I'm at. And I was able to seek the help that I needed and just realize that I can't change anything that I have been through, but I can embrace what I've been through and help other people through what I've been through. What would you say to someone that has those thoughts that's currently feeling those now? You were in a room with that person. I would say that, hey, you're not alone.

There's still somebody that's sitting right in front of you that's going through something that you have no idea about. and if you need help, then reach out because I can promise you that person that's sitting in front of you that needs somebody that's going through something can probably relate to you more than you can ever imagine. I love that man. Yeah, man, because it's a weird feeling knowing that, I mean, given us, you know, I don't, I know of you and your story and your past, but I don't truly know everything about you. You don't truly know everything about me. We're sitting here. We could be fine.

But then five hours from now, you could be going through something that I completely. didn't know that you were going through while we're sitting here that's really bothering you you're really struggling with. And it's just something that maybe you didn't want to talk about. Maybe it's something that you were going through that, that, I mean, I have no idea, but it's just little conversations and stuff like that, knowing that there's somebody that's still within your circle that's going through something in the life because it doesn't discriminate. We all go through something. We all have the troubles and trials and situation. And life's going to knock you down at one point, but you have to get back up. You can't dwell

on it. And, I mean, take this for example, man. you are booming right now. You are, you're scaling. But for whatever the case may be, my advice would be whether you have this, whether it hits rock bottom, like it doesn't define who you are and you have the ability to adapt and overcome and build anything that you want to and be able to pursue that just because of who you are. It doesn't take anything else. My platforms, I say it all the time, you know, I love people that meet me without knowing

I have millions of followers. They meet me and I want them to be able to see the kids. character, the morals and the values that I have. And then when they realize I have millions of followers, they're like, oh, I had no idea. That's what I want to be able to influence on people. It's like, hey, this is cool having. But at the end of the day, if I don't have it, then that's okay too, because on the inside, I'm still who I want to be, and I'm able to pursue what I want to as well. Now, you've watched our show before. You've listened to our show. You've seen the clips. What do you think are some of the similarities between people that went to prison?

and people that have served in the military. You know, I think the reason why I love your podcast so much is because I can relate to those inmates, but in a different sense in combat. And I'm sure everyone in prison might have the same aspect or same thoughts. At one point, you have to find that grit. And, I mean, dudes that are sentenced five and ten years, you know, I take that same thing with soldiers that are in the military that have these contracts of three, six, and eight years.

There's some people that join the military that just simply double. don't want to be in the military. And they all have their pros and cons on why they done it or why they were at fault. But at the end of the day, you have to be able to be adaptive and overcome. I mean, if you're in a sentence for 10 years, you have to get through it with time, you know. Same thing with the service. If you lock in a contract for six, eight years, like you have to serve your time. You go to combat. You go through the scenarios, the situations. and I think we're able to relate to that aspect with your content because everybody is, like you were saying earlier,

everybody has their own story. You can talk to a thousand prison or inmates or whatever, but everybody's aspect on is going to be different. You can have me on here and then somebody that I work with in the military that does the same thing that I do, but it's going to be completely different. Yeah, I love that. Yeah.

What was like the first episode that you saw about this? Dude, my favorite one was the, the Craigslist. The Craigslist band. When I seen that, I related to it so much because I was in Kentucky in my hometown. And it was a big thing. I mean, I had seen smaller clips, but this was like the first big episode where I wanted to listen to this dude from start to finish. Because I remember him being a thing, you know, like Craigslist was big for us.

We grew up dirt poor. So I was always on Craigslist trying to get dirt by. trying to get motorcycles, use cars. And then a lot of people started getting robbed and stood up. And I was just like, dang. Now I've kind of put phase to time to place of like, dude, like this probably was that guy that I was scared of when I was trying to buy some dirt box or something, you know. Do you think you relate to these individuals too because of your childhood trauma? Absolutely.

You know, I think coming from the place that I did is that's why I'm doing what I'm doing and trying to provide a positive. message and impact is because I'm for, whether you see it or not, I'm for the underdog, all the drug addicts, all the alcoholics, all the people that grew up dirt poor, all the individuals that don't have a story, all the individuals that don't have a voice, I'm for those individuals because I used to be that individual. You know, I was told at a very young age that I would never amount to anything, that Applewood doesn't fall far from the tree. Well, here I am.

I graduated college. I have a master's degree in engineering. I have project management under my belt. And I've made it farther than anybody had thought that I would. And it's not to show and put in their face like, oh, I've made it. It's just a sense of a positive, like, it doesn't matter the individuals that are over you that look down on you. It's nothing that I need to prove to them. But it was that impact that I had at a young age when people kept telling me that I would never amount to anything that I couldn't do this.

I couldn't do that. Well, here I am at 30 years old. And I've done way more than anybody ever expected me to do. Yeah. I think that's why a lot of people that have never been to prison or even, I mean, I think everyone has trauma in their life and they relate to it, whether they want to admit it or not, because we've all gone through stuff. Yeah. But people that haven't even faced that or even thought that they had trauma, they do relate to these individuals on some level. Yeah, because like even a couple of my buddies that aren't in the service, you know, we watch your stuff all the time.

and some of the stuff that you have on here that they talk about, these dudes relate. And they're just good dudes that's been in, I mean, depending on what the crime is and what they've done, they've just been a wrong place, wrong time. And then just because you've been committed of something doesn't mean it really defines you. And you can adapt and overcome from it. So I think from a poor standpoint from a dude that just grew up in Kentucky with all my friends watching your stuff, is we relate to it because we were definitely in some of the situations. that these dudes talk about.

It's just that we weren't in that place at that time and didn't get caught for some of the stuff that we were doing mischievous stuff, you know, like stealing road signs, like, hanging people's houses, like all that stuff like was minor stuff, but it was something that was fun that we'd done. And when we talk,

when we hear about the crimes and big stuff, I have friends that committed a lot of crimes, they just didn't get caught for doing it. So we look at it in a sense of just because you go to prison, just because you do this, doesn't really define you as a bad person because everybody, nobody's perfect. Everybody goes through stuff. Everybody does stuff.

But being able to adapt and overcome from those situations after, just like this, for example, being able to see it from the outside looking in is like, these are people that have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. At Hyundai of Glendale, Lisa New, 2026 Hyundai Tucson SC Frontwheel Drive for 269 a month, plus tax for 36 months with owner's assurance in America's best warranty, 10-year, 100,000 Stop by Hyundai of Glendale today or Hyundai ofglendale.net. 36-month lease, 4,499 to its signing. Tax title license and dock fees extra.

Plus government fees and taxes. 7,500 miles per year, expire 6126. Who available at this payment? PH 71529, pH 71529, pH 714659. Certain situations. You know, the other day I interviewed a former military police officer. So it was interesting to hear, like, you know, arresting soldiers and going the processing system and everything like that.

Do you have any experience with that at all, like with your position and whatnot? Yeah, so when I was a platoon leader, and that's why I was saying, not everybody that wants to be in the military, or everybody that's in the military wants to be, because I had a platoon of 20-something people, and I really had to be that leader

and talk to these individuals and these soldiers, when soldiers would come to me with their problems, like, hey, I don't want to be here no more. So trying to find that motivation or inspiration and to give those soldiers, I was never the leader to try to reflect like, hey, you have to do this, you have to be here. I would always try to set those individuals up that had that childhood troubles and trials that they were going through that's kind of led into their military career just to set them up and be that

individual that could hear them out and set them up for the outside. You know, there's so many things that you can do within the military that set you up for success on the outside. I think one example is I had a soldier that he was defined. he didn't listen to any leadership up to this point, and I took over the platoon, and he's like, hey, I just don't want to be here. Nobody cares what I'm doing. Like, I just want to get out.

And I was like, well, what do you want to do on the outside? And I think that was the first time somebody's actually sit down with him and asked him, like, wait, are you concerned about me outside of the military? I was like, yeah, for sure. So, long story short, he wanted to be a firefighter. We were able to task him to go and work with a firefighting group for six months before he transitioned out of the military, and now he's a full-time firefighter.

But it's like little things like that is being able to talk with somebody and be personal and interacting and not just being that overbearing leader of like, hey, you have to do this, or the consequences are going to be this. So I think from the military police aspect as well as being able to see the big picture

opposed to the smaller picture when soldiers are defined. Now, something we see with people that go to prison is that they're usually faced with, you know, dangerous or tough situations that can alter them for the rest of their life and, you know, become someone maybe that they don't want to become or they're at the crossroads of choosing not to be that person. Right. When you're in the military and you're faced with tough decisions, you know, overseas in combat, how do you make those dark times not turn you into something you never want to become? Yeah. So I would say there's definitely tough times in combat. You know, like just because you're stuck in a tough situation doesn't mean that you're making the right decision on how to get out of it.

You know, some stuff is life-threatening. And there's certain situations that you get put in that you know if you make that decision, then it's not the right decision. Whether anybody sees it or they don't, but you internally know. And I think that reflects on your character and your morals. Being able to have that fortitude of saying like, hey, I know this is really. wrong, but I'm not going to get caught if you still do it or if you don't. I think from a leadership standpoint, that's what I instill into soldiers is, hey, there's a lot of stuff, whether you're in the military or out of the military, that kind of defines your life and put you in

certain situations, but it's kind of up to you and having that internal fortitude to make those decisions, the right decisions that reflects your character and morals. And for whatever reason, if you make that wrong decision, at that point, you just got to man up and deal with those consequences. What about when you see things that the average person doesn't see? How do you not let those things get to you? Yeah, so it's tough because being able to see some of the stuff that the average person doesn't, I mean, take combat for example. I was in a combat zone in Iraq, downtown Baghdad, and I come back and after a month of being in just pure chaos, now I'm sitting in an office doing PowerPoint. So how do you take a combat veteran that has seen war and then is living a chaos life where

he feels like he's up 24-7 and then now you put him behind a computer and want him to act normal? And I think it's a tough situation to be in because we don't really transition that lifestyle to the public very well because we're so trained to like, hey, go to war, come back and be normal. Go to war, come back and be normal. So the average person, when they see us struggling, I think with PTSD, suicide, mental health, it's a, it's weird and it's a hard topic just because it is hard to adapt from those scenarios that the everyday soldier is in. Whether you see combat, whether you don't, just take, and I think, again, relating to people in prison, take somebody that's been into prison for 10 years that, although that. they're not getting shot at in prison or they're still missing. And those events that's going on in somebody's everyday life.

And now you put them back in a scenario into the population and say, hey, act normal. It's hard to do. Same thing with combat. Take somebody that's been in Iraq for nine months. It's been getting shot at, been getting blown up, watching their friends die. And now you come back to a real-life scenario in the States. And they're like, hey, just act like everything's normal. Go back to your day-to-day job.

Yeah. It's rough. It's hard. But I think even from a soldier standpoint, being able to speak on it now is like you can see the help and transition period that you need to be able to if you are struggling. I mean, there's so many things that you can do to get the help that you need that I realized that I didn't realize prior before getting the help. But there's so many things within the military that you're able to seek out to get the help and stuff that you need. What's your day-to-day life now? Like you're not actively in combat, but you are still in the service. Yep. What's your role now? What do you do day-to-day and how you manage the social media platform you're building?

Yeah, man, it's weird because my days are, I feel like I'm on a 24-7, 365 job. I wake up every morning at 5 o'clock, go and do PT for two hours. Whether it's running, rucking, exercising, go to work at 9 o'clock. nine to five is all military, whatever they need me to do, I'll do. But I'm an engineer, so I will do as far as construction, demolition, anything like that, on to now social media after five o'clock. Still being a full-time dad as well, my wife and I have two kids. So social media, anywhere between 6 o'clock till midnight, and I just grind on it, and then I wake up the next day and do it again.

Dude, it's time-consuming. And, I mean, even with a podcast we was mentioning, you know, I threw that in there because I wanted to have a podcast. I wanted to grow in the social media world. But, like, this is a full-time job. Like, it's hard to still have a, be in a full-time job yourself and then try to do social media full-time as well. Yeah.

It's rough. But, I mean, it's rewarding as well, you know. Like, I love doing what I do in the military. It gave me opportunities that I never imagined, you know, this is my sixth state living in in seven years. I've lived in Hawaii, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, twice, now Colorado. And it's just opened up so many doors for me. I mean, before, I think I mentioned it before, I had never been in a commercial aircraft. I flew anywhere for a vacation, you know, growing up, Derpour, we always just drove everywhere.

The military allowed me to be selected for airborne school. when I jumped out of five aircrafts with a parachute five times before I entered an airport, you know. So it's just, was it like to jump out of a plane? Dude, it's weird because I actually, I hated my instructors because I'm in, I'm young at this point, you know, and I thought me telling them like, hey, I've never been in a commercial aircraft. I've never been in an airport.

Is that going to give me a disadvantage? And, you know, they gave me kind of like that big bro tap on the back, like, oh, we got you, buddy. And not knowing going into airborne school, the last person to load the aircraft is the first person to jump out. So I'm the last person. And I was like, hell yeah. Like, these dudes are going to take care of me.

I'm the last person I'm going to get a watch. 20 people jump before me. Not knowing they give you a 30 second window or a 10 minute time frame. It's like 10 minutes and then 30 seconds and a green light comes on. Well, that 30 second marker, this dude's checking and opens up the door. well, we loaded in, and I was the last person, which is the first person to jump, and I was like, damn it, I'm the first person.

You see the clouds and everything, and it's just pretty much six seconds. You jump out, tuck up, and I'm holding my breath. I'm counting to six. If you're counting past six seconds, then your parachute didn't open, and you got a split second to determine what you're going to do next. I've always wanted to do it,

but I don't think I have the guts to go out there. Man, you have to do it, just because, like, it's one of those things where it's like a personal courage type deal where I realized that once that door opened and what the instructors had done they're like kind of like oh we'll show him we'll we'll get them out there first you know I was like all right well now I'm going to show these dudes that I can do it and just being able to run and jump out of that door and just crossing your fingers that your parachute opens was like such an adrenaline rush but then after that six seconds and your parachute actually opens

you're looking down and it's probably the coolest feeling I've ever had. I bet. Yeah. Now, as someone that's, you know, dealt with their share of mental health struggles, do you plan on bringing that up to your children and kind of like addressing that before they may encounter their own issues? Or are you going to do it if that time ever comes when they are struggling? You know, I think, I mean, that's a good question. And I won't bring it up because I think knowing what I know now,

I'm able to set an example and be that father-fifference. or that mentor that they need without having to bring it up. And I think that's what I try to pursue as a parent, you know, going through some of the troubles and trials and situations that I did. I shouldn't have to sit them down and tell them like, hey, dad shouldn't be acting like this. Dad shouldn't be doing like that. They should be able to look up to me as a father and say like, hey, this is how my dad acts and this is how he treats my mom.

This is how he treats us as kids. And when they see that with other parents or other kids and other situations, then they'll realize at that point like, hey, Like, that guy shouldn't be acting like that. Same thing with mental health and suicide. You know, I can pick those situations up probably a lot easier than a lot of other people when it comes to the youth or kids. But I think I should be able to be that mentor, that father figure, to show them what right looks like and they can follow in those footsteps. You know, I followed in those footsteps and but seeing it from a different aspect than I did growing up.

So I was able to realize it at that point. but being able to be a dad and give these little girls everything that they've ever wanted is something that I take pride in that I want them to be able to look up to me and say, hey, like, he's doing this and he's a good dad, he's a good father

and then be able to reflect on that when they see other people not being able to act on it. Why do you think we as humans avoid confronting how we feel and what we think about? Why do we run from that? That's a good point because I was always taught if you do, then you're kind of defined being weak.

You know, as a man, there's just a certain aspect or character that you have to uphold and you have to be big, strong, tough, and not show any weakness. And I think that's why I have the story that I do within the military is like, I can tell you that I'm struggling and going through stuff, but I have the ability to flip that switch and shoot your head off if I have to, you know. And I think being able to confront somebody in a way to not undermine what they're going through as a tough situation and a fine line of being able to look somebody in the eyes and say, hey, I'm struggling.

Like, I'm not okay right now because, one, it's the unknown. You don't know how they're going to respond. On the flip side, if you have somebody that you really trust and love and you're talking to, say your friend, family members, and that's why I never did speak out to my family at first because you just never know how somebody's going to react. If you're in a situation where you're contemplating life and you have somebody on the other end that you're talking to and you're opening, up and being completely honest, like, hey, I'm thinking about taking my life, and they're like,

that, that sucks. You shouldn't do that. At that point, like, that's the worst, like, feeling or emotion that you can get. And I think that's why a lot of people are afraid to do that, because they don't know the response of somebody else. So it's easier for them to just hold it in and not say something to somebody else, opposed to wanting somebody to really accept them and be honest with them and feel what they're going through.

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, Brian, thank you for coming. on the show, man. Really appreciate it. You know, we've been talking about doing this for a while. I'm glad that our audience gets to see like a little bit different version, you know, kind of like an outsider, I guess you could call it, someone that hasn't been to prison but has had their own struggles. Yeah. Because it's all, you know, trauma related. It is. You know, it all stems back to childhood. And that's like a lot of the guests on our show have that. And, you know, it's good for

someone to see that, you know, you're a regular guy and you have your struggles too. Just like we all do in the world. And you know, you're actively out there building a platform to promote facing your struggles and seeking help and being kind of like that beacon for other people. Man, it's been an honor. Honestly, thank you for having me in your audience. I love the podcast. I can relate to a lot of individuals that you have and the success that you have, man, it's well deserved. And I'm just appreciative of being a guest on lockdown.