The Fire You Carry
Everyone carries fire. It is inside of you right now. It may be a spark; it may be embers; or it may be full-blown, raging flames. It may have been given to you by someone; maybe passed on from fathers, mothers, grandparents, coaches, or friends. The fire may be acquired from tragedy and difficulties in your own life. Or it may be passed on to you from someone distant; someone you don't even know; but still they have left a mark. These are the things we talk about on this podcast. We, ourselves, have felt this fire. We continue to strive to become better men, husbands, fathers, friends, and citizens. This podcast is the result of our own journey, of our own discoveries; and it is our hope that you will come along with us and discover your own fire. We are constantly interviewing men we respect; men who have kindled their own fires. They may be successful in the workplace, exemplary as a husband or father, or simply set an example in how they stay fit at any stage of life. We are firemen, and we often focus on issues that we face daily: Trauma and PTSD; from how to stay fit when your life might depend on it; to learning how to be present as a husband and father even when we're gone from home a lot of the time. What we are learning applies to the military, law enforcement, EMS, and even UPS drivers. The principles that make anyone a successful man are universal truths that do not change based on a job description or a phase of life. Come, stoke the fires that you carry, and dare to kindle some new ones.
Episodes
199 episodes since 2020
193: Stabbed Nearly to Death During a Routine Medical Call, with Capitan Ben Vernon.
In this week's episode, we are joined by Captian Ben Vernon of San Diego City Fire. During a routine medical call, Ben and one of his fellow firefighters found themselves fighting for their lives and wound up getting stabbed multiple times. Ben...
September 16, 2024
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1:39:28
192: The Cost
In this week's episode, Kevin and Nole discuss some of the cons and costs associated with being firemen. They endeavor to answer, "Would you still sign up if you knew what you know now about the job?". While the main topic here is the difficult...
September 09, 2024
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49:50
191: The Gentle Slope.
The world has sold us on the idea that we deserve to be comfortable at every moment. The world is wrong. Embracing that idea is keeping us mediocre; it's keeping us stuck. It's keeping us from growing. We need to step up as men and put in the h...
September 02, 2024
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12:54
190: Stolen Valor
In this week's episode, Nole talks about stolen valor. This is an issue that has emerged on the national political stage and while we don't really do current events this is an issue that falls in line with our mission here at The Fire You Carry...
August 26, 2024
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45:42
189: The Battle For Mental Health, With Scott Henderson.
In this week's episode, we are joined by our good friend Scott Henderson. Scott is a firefighter paramedic with Pasadena Fire, a husband, and a father. He joins us today to talk about The Battle for Mental Health, a boxing event fundraiser that...
August 19, 2024
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1:17:41
188: Staying in the Fight with Mike Yarbrough of Wolf & Iron.
This week's episode features our friend and fellow podcaster, Mike Yarbrough. Mike is the host of the Wolf and Iron podcast and founder of Rustic and Main. He has been in the space of masculinity and developing men for a decade; in this episode...
August 12, 2024
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1:15:46
187: Are You Humble, Or Are You Hiding?
In this week's episode, Kevin and Nole dig into our thoughts on humility. Humility is a good personality trait and something we aspire to, but can it be taken too far? Are we holding ourselves back and limiting our impact for good on those arou...
August 05, 2024
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1:07:02
186: Some Life Lessons Gleaned From Loosing Children, Or, Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way.
In this episode, Nole goes solo to talk through some of the lessons he has picked up along the way after the deaths of two of his and his wife's sons. This episode was recorded close to the 19-year anniversary of the loss of their first son and...
July 29, 2024
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37:41
185: Perfectionism, Is It Making Us Less Effective Or Helping Us Achieve Our Goals?
In this week's episode, Kevin and Nole delve into perfectionism. It's a trait that so many of us are burdened with, but is it a positive one that helps us achieve our goals at the highest level, or does it hinder us? We would love to hear from ...
July 22, 2024
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1:10:56
184: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, The Importance Of The Fire In Your Belly, Preparation & Sleep.
In this week's episode, we are joined by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Rather than tell you who he is, we recommend you go to his website, read his bio, and come back here. Link here. ht...
July 15, 2024
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1:08:32
183: Psychedelics, Hallucinogens & Choosing The Difficult Path.
Ask and you shall recieve. After last week's episode, you had questions. What do Nole and Kevin actually think about psychedelics and hallucinogens? This episode is us endevoring to explore that topic with you, from our perspectives. We think t...
July 08, 2024
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1:01:18
182: Healing Past Trauma & Injuries with Jon Vargas of Grablives Podcast
In this week's episode, Kevin is joined by Jon Vargas of Grablives podcast. Jon is an L.A. City fireman and podcaster who started his journey into podcasting due to multiple suicides in his department and the way they were handled. As Kevin get...
July 01, 2024
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1:30:36
181: Sobriety, with John Estrada.
In this week's episode, Kevin and Nole are joined once again by John Estrada. John last came on our show back on episode 40 to talk about fatherhood, and we had an excellent conversation on the subject. Today John is back to talk about his sobr...
June 24, 2024
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1:35:25
180: On Post Traumatic Stress & How Nole Has Been Failing To Deal With It Properly
In this week's episode, Nole shares his recent struggles with Post Traumatic Stress and his failure to deal with it in the ways he knows work. Kevin also shares his perspective on dealing with similar struggles, and we delve into what we know w...
June 10, 2024
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55:13
179: The Ranger Creed
In this week's episode, Nole talks through the Ranger Creed, why it exists and what it means in his life now, so many years removed from his time in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Nole's time in Ranger Battlaion shaped a lot of who he is as a man to...
June 03, 2024
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29:14
178: Tribute To A Great Man, Leon Broussard III, Pops.
In this week's episode, Kevin and Nole discuss Pops, Kevin's stepdad. As you know, Pops recently passed away. In honor of him and the amazing legacy he leaves behind, we thought it would be fitting to talk about just a few of the attributes tha...
May 27, 2024
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1:21:07
177: How To Prepare & Make It Through "The Tower" (Fire Academy, Police Academy, Basic Training)
In this episode, Kevin and Nole get into what it's like to go through "The Tower". The Tower, often called a Fire Academy, is a very unique training experience that can be difficult to navigate successfully, so with this episode, our goal is to...
May 20, 2024
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1:04:28
176: Leap Of Faith, With Josh Smith.
In this week's episode, Nole is joined by Josh Smith. Josh is a friend from Hume Lake and this episode focuses in on Josh's journey of faith and the lessons learned through it. The primary focus is on trusting God, and taking "leaps of faith" a...
May 13, 2024
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1:18:58
175: The Importance Of Competition, With Jim King, Vice President Of The California Police Athletic Federation.
In this week's episode, we are joined by Jim King, Vice President of the California Police Athletic Federation. Jim is a retired fireman passionate about the incredible benefits available to everyone through sport & competition. In this epi...
May 06, 2024
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53:58
174: Brady Mclean, Go Fast Don't Die.
In this week's episode, we are joined by Brady Mclean of Go Fast Don't Die. Brady thought his life had essentially come to an end at age 28 after going through a divorce. This experience deeply shook Brady and forced him to reconsider his life'...
April 29, 2024
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1:48:44
Bonus Episode: LACoFD Day Of Prayer, 5/2/24 10 AM
This is a unique joint episode led by Captain Andrew Lawrence of A Warriors Perspective Podcast. Captain Wilk and Chief Gaytan join Captain Lawrence to discuss the details of the Department Day of Prayer coming up on May 2nd at LAO. Last year w...
April 23, 2024
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22:45
173: Seriously Wounded In Ukraine, With Gio Roman
In this week's episode, we are back with Gio Roman once again. This time he's telling us the story of his second trip to Ukraine. This trip is quite a bit longer and is brought to an end when Gio is seriously wounded in combat. Don't miss this ...
April 22, 2024
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1:00:13
172: In Combat During The Early Days Of The Ukraine War, With Gio Roman.
In this week's episode, we are joined by our friend Gio Roman. When Gio heard that Russia was invading Ukraine, he knew he wanted to help. Within days of the invasion, Gio was on the ground, acting as a medic for a Ukrainian unit composed of bo...
April 15, 2024
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45:21
171: The Bad Night Protocol, With Captain Evan Halquist.
In this week's episode, Captain Halquist is back to discuss how to best approach a day following a bad night of sleep. This protocol comes both from actual science and his own personal observations while working at one of the busiest fire stati...
April 08, 2024
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1:25:04
170: Not The Solution, With Jeremy Stalnecker
In this episode of The Fire You Carry, Kevin and Nole are joined again by their good friend Jeremy Stalnecker. Jeremy is one of the founders of The Mighty Oaks Warrior Foundation, an author and podcast host. The topic today is suicide. We appro...
April 01, 2024
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48:56