1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 This episode is sponsored by NuCalm. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,340 And as many of you know, I only bring sponsors onto this show 3 00:00:05,340 --> 00:00:07,760 whose products I truly swear by. 4 00:00:08,340 --> 00:00:11,600 Now, we are an overworked and underslept population, 5 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,560 especially those of us that wear uniform for a living. 6 00:00:15,100 --> 00:00:19,560 And trying to reclaim some of the lost rest and recovery is imperative. 7 00:00:20,060 --> 00:00:24,760 Now, the application of this product is as simple as putting on headphones and a sleep mask. 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,600 As you listen to music on each of the programs, 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:34,640 there is neuroacoustic software beneath that is tapping into the actual frequencies of your brain, 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,540 whether to upregulate your nervous system or downregulate. 11 00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:42,500 Now, for most of us that come off shift, we are A, exhausted, 12 00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:47,700 and B, do not want to bring what we've had to see and do back home to our loved ones. 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,040 So one powerful application is using the program Powernap, 14 00:00:52,300 --> 00:00:57,040 a 20 minute session that will not only feel like you've had two hours of sleep, 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:04,400 but also downregulate from a hypervigilant state back into the role of mother or father, husband or wife. 16 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:09,340 Now, there are so many other applications and benefits from this software, 17 00:01:09,340 --> 00:01:15,460 so I urge you to go and listen to episode 806 with CEO Jim Poole. 18 00:01:16,100 --> 00:01:24,300 Then download New Calm, N-U-C-A-L-M, from your app store and sign up for the 7-day free trial. 19 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:30,160 Not only will you have an understanding of the origin story and the four decades this science has spanned, 20 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:36,640 but also see for yourself the incredible health impact of this life-changing software. 21 00:01:37,140 --> 00:01:41,140 And you can find even more information on New Calm dot com. 22 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,740 Welcome guys to episode 58 of Behind the Shield podcast. 23 00:01:50,740 --> 00:01:56,240 My name is James Gearing and I have yet another amazing guest for you this week. 24 00:01:56,740 --> 00:02:05,240 The firefighting profession, I think, will collectively agree that there have been very few movies made about what we do that earn our respect. 25 00:02:05,740 --> 00:02:08,240 Backdraft certainly was one of the first. 26 00:02:08,740 --> 00:02:13,240 Most recently, Only the Brave absolutely has held up to that same standard. 27 00:02:13,740 --> 00:02:15,740 But the other one would be Ladder 49. 28 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,240 So my next guest is John Travolta. 29 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,740 Now John lives in the town I live in, is a very proud member of our community. 30 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,740 I was able to get a message to him and he immediately replied saying that he would love to come on the show. 31 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:35,740 And he ended up coming to my house to do a face-to-face interview, which I'm going to tell you right now blew my wife's mind. 32 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,740 So we talked about an array of subjects. 33 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:40,740 We started off with his early career. 34 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:47,740 Then we got to Ladder 49, what it was like to shoot, what it was like to train for it, his perspective of the fire service. 35 00:02:47,740 --> 00:02:52,240 And then we transitioned to some of the health initiatives that he's actually helped spearhead, 36 00:02:52,740 --> 00:02:56,240 helping firefighters around the country, including Ocala where I live. 37 00:02:56,740 --> 00:02:58,240 So this was an incredible interview. 38 00:02:58,740 --> 00:03:08,240 Again, I was blown away that he was able to come to the house and do a face-to-face, a medium that I love to do because the sound quality is so good when they do that. 39 00:03:08,740 --> 00:03:10,240 So I'm going to stop yapping. 40 00:03:10,740 --> 00:03:15,240 If you guys have a chance, again, go on iTunes, please rate the show and share the hell out of the episodes. 41 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,740 Remember the more first responders we get to, the more people that we're going to help. 42 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,740 So without further ado, I introduce to you my interview with John Travolta. 43 00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:45,240 Enjoy. 44 00:03:45,740 --> 00:03:46,240 Okay. 45 00:03:46,740 --> 00:03:48,240 Welcome to Behind the Shield podcast. 46 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:53,740 I am sitting in my home on the couch and across from me is John Travolta. 47 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:55,740 So welcome to the show. 48 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:56,740 Thank you very much. 49 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:57,740 Thanks for having me. 50 00:03:58,240 --> 00:03:58,740 Well, thank you for coming. 51 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:05,740 I can't believe that I was able to reach out to you and you just dropped everything and said yes, so you could reach out to the first responders of the world. 52 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:07,740 So I really, really appreciate that. 53 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:14,740 Well, you're welcome because when I heard what your purpose was, I wanted to because I believe in supporting the first responders. 54 00:04:14,740 --> 00:04:18,240 And I have a soft spot for firefighters. 55 00:04:18,740 --> 00:04:19,240 So there you go. 56 00:04:19,740 --> 00:04:22,240 Well, we will definitely delve into that in this conversation. 57 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:26,240 So if you don't mind, I would love to start at the beginning. 58 00:04:26,740 --> 00:04:31,240 So where exactly were you born and what was your family unit like? 59 00:04:31,740 --> 00:04:33,240 How many siblings you had and what your mom and dad did? 60 00:04:33,740 --> 00:04:34,240 Born in Englewood, New Jersey. 61 00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:38,240 I have five brothers and sisters, six kids total. 62 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:51,740 Mom was a school teacher, a drama teacher, speech teacher, and dad was a coach and was in business with his brother in the Firestone tire business. 63 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:57,740 And we had a very suburban lifestyle and I loved it. 64 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,740 I wouldn't have traded it for anything. 65 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:02,740 OK, and he said he was a coach. What did he coach? 66 00:05:02,740 --> 00:05:10,240 Football, basketball, but he's in the Hall of Fame in New Jersey for baseball, oddly enough. 67 00:05:10,740 --> 00:05:23,240 But he did. And he also was a co-coach with Vince Lombardi, the famous football coach, before he was the famed Vince Lombardi. 68 00:05:23,740 --> 00:05:31,240 My dad partnered him in coaching students in St. Cecilia High School in New Jersey. 69 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:32,740 OK, did you play any of those sports yourself? 70 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:40,740 I played football and I played basketball. Five years of basketball and two years of football. Quarterback. 71 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:46,740 Oh, OK, fantastic. Now were your aspirations to go into sports or were they already into drama? 72 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:53,740 Well, we had a choice because dad was encouraging sports but not enforcing it. 73 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,740 And mom was encouraging the arts but again not enforcing it. 74 00:05:57,740 --> 00:06:05,240 So we got to choose what we really wanted. So I experimented with sports and felt that it wasn't for me as an end game. 75 00:06:05,740 --> 00:06:12,240 But that I felt that I was making quite a good effect as a performer and maybe that was a much more realistic end game. 76 00:06:12,740 --> 00:06:17,240 OK, so when you left school did you pursue the arts in college or did you go straight into it? 77 00:06:17,740 --> 00:06:24,240 No, I left school and started making a living as a performer right away at 16 years old. 78 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:31,740 I was making a good living at it and it evolved and escalated into a wonderful career. 79 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:37,740 Now what would you describe as your first true big break? 80 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,740 Well, every break is correlated or connected to a bigger break. 81 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:47,740 For instance, that year I spoke of when I was 16. 82 00:06:47,740 --> 00:06:55,240 And I was in a summer theater professional company of Bye Bye Birdie, a musical. 83 00:06:55,740 --> 00:07:00,240 And a big time agent was in the audience looking at somebody else. 84 00:07:00,740 --> 00:07:07,240 But I was the only person he thought would be ideal for his roster. 85 00:07:07,740 --> 00:07:13,240 So I waited a month and he said the first mistake you made was to wait a month. 86 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,740 Because you could be already doing other bigger and better things. 87 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:19,740 And I said, OK, well, what's our plan? 88 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:30,740 And before you knew it, I was off doing radio commercials and TV commercials and bits on soap operas and auditions for big time movies. 89 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,740 And within months I was already on a map, if you will. 90 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,740 So that to me was a big break. 91 00:07:37,740 --> 00:07:44,240 Now if you're talking about fame break, I would say that was Welcome Back, Cotter, when I was 21, a few years later. 92 00:07:44,740 --> 00:07:51,240 That would be when I became famous around the world on television. 93 00:07:51,740 --> 00:07:57,240 And then a couple of years later became famous in movies with Sardinia Fever, Grease, Serbian Cowboy. 94 00:07:57,740 --> 00:08:06,240 OK, now if my sources are correct, and my source would be Wikipedia, so it may not be correct, were you an extra in Emergency, the show? 95 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:12,740 Yeah, that would be that first. When I first got with my manager, I was two years into it. 96 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:22,740 I was 18 or 17 and I got cast in Emergency, where I played a victim that was hurt on the side of a hill. 97 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,740 You can look it up, it's a pretty... 98 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:27,740 Ethic scene. 99 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:33,740 Where I have kind of not so good dialogue, but I was being honorable to the script. 100 00:08:33,740 --> 00:08:45,240 And then I was in Medical Center and I was on The Rookies and Owen Marshall Counselor, all the shows that were popular in the day, prior to my doing my own TV series. 101 00:08:45,740 --> 00:08:52,240 OK, now I saw that you did the musical Grease, was that before the movie and was that how you got into the movie? 102 00:08:52,740 --> 00:09:00,240 Yes, I did the stage show of Grease first. I did The National Road Company and then I did Broadway. 103 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:09,740 And that was really the blueprint for my clocking, that one day maybe I could do the movie. 104 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,740 And then indeed a few years later, the movie came along and I indeed did it. 105 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:19,740 OK, fantastic. And then the other one of that period that people talk about, which you just did, was Saturday Night Fever. 106 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:28,740 Now, had you an extensive disco dancing pass before that, or was that something you learned for the role? 107 00:09:28,740 --> 00:09:39,240 Well, everyone in my neck of the woods, you know, frankly knew how to act, sing and dance as a trifecta for getting more work. 108 00:09:39,740 --> 00:09:49,240 If you knew these three, if you had these three abilities, when you auditioned for any given show, you had three times the chances of getting employment. 109 00:09:49,240 --> 00:10:03,740 So I had a natural ability to do all three and it just added to my, well, let's say the characters traits, being a disco dancer, 110 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:11,740 you use the same talents at doing other types of dance and you just design it for that genre. So that's what I did. 111 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,740 OK, did you have any idea how many drunk people will be emulating those moves for decades after that? 112 00:10:16,740 --> 00:10:24,240 Yeah, isn't that amazing? Yeah, they're doing a beautiful documentary. They just finished it in England of Saturday Night Fever. 113 00:10:24,740 --> 00:10:32,240 And it's a really accurate and terrific homage to the film for its 40th anniversary. 114 00:10:32,740 --> 00:10:41,240 OK, John, so we're going to get straight to Ladder 49. So can you tell me how that project even came across your radar? 115 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:53,740 It was December 20th or 23rd. I forget what year it was. What's the year of Ladder 49? 116 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,740 2004. It was the release date. 117 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:09,740 Yeah, so it was December 2003 and I was at my home in Maine and I got a call from my agent in Los Angeles saying that there's a very interesting script about firefighters. 118 00:11:09,740 --> 00:11:21,240 They want you to play the captain or chief. Would you read it and consider it? It's a real offer. 119 00:11:21,740 --> 00:11:30,240 They're going in February or March of 2004 and I said, sure. I've always wanted to do a movie about firefighters. 120 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:42,740 Even back to Ronnie Howard's backdraft. They said, well, the exciting thing is they're trying to make this much more realistic. 121 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:57,740 And the new technology was allowing us to do that. So I said, OK, let's read it. I read it. I loved the part of the chief and thought it was fun and interesting and heroic. 122 00:11:57,740 --> 00:12:12,240 And anyway, I said yes. And we were off and running. But the prerequisite was that I had to do a month of training to be an actual firefighter. 123 00:12:12,740 --> 00:12:20,240 They said we want all the men that are going to be in the movie to be trained as actual firefighters. 124 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:29,740 So you have to go through literally the same training. And they said, you know what? That's awesome. I'd love it. I don't know if I'll make it, but I'll try it. 125 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:43,740 So we did. And I was good up until the you could help me with this, but there's a black box that you have to find your way through. 126 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:44,740 The maze. 127 00:12:44,740 --> 00:12:56,240 The maze. Yes. And I couldn't do it with all the equipment on because I couldn't find the wedges to get me up. 128 00:12:56,740 --> 00:13:00,240 And then they put smoke in there, too, and all that stuff. You couldn't literally see anything. 129 00:13:00,740 --> 00:13:13,240 So I was willing to do it, but without I was willing to just do it, but not with the full equipment, which is the adds all that size and weight to your overall structure. 130 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:26,740 So that was the only thing that I kind of drew the line at. I did everything else. I did all the actual putting out fires, simulated climbing the sides of the building. 131 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:34,740 Everything but that last bit is what I did because I just couldn't find the niche for it. 132 00:13:34,740 --> 00:13:44,240 I don't think you're alone there as many firefighters that really can't stand where in the pack and a lot of people do. You still have to stay in, but you take your pack off to traverse some of those. 133 00:13:44,740 --> 00:13:47,240 So I would say that's still admirable if you got through everything except that. 134 00:13:47,740 --> 00:13:51,240 Yeah, I did. And I got through it without the pack. So yeah, but I learned a lot. 135 00:13:51,240 --> 00:14:04,740 And the main thing that that I observed and you'll understand this is that I was watching many of these firefighters closer to retirement. 136 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:15,740 There was a particular chief, a captain and a sergeant that were not doing well with physical ailments from all the poisons and toxic they were exposed to. 137 00:14:15,740 --> 00:14:39,240 So I got smart and I decided to offer them a program that I had helped start with others around the September 11th time where we were detoxing the firefighters, the policemen, the first responders that were at that site in Manhattan. 138 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:52,740 And the detox program is a sauna sweat program where you sweat for up to from 25 to 35 days, five hours a day, includes a lot of vitamins and minerals and oils pushing the toxins out of the body. 139 00:14:52,740 --> 00:15:10,240 And I established this along with Tom Cruise and my church and we were very successful. We've done, I think it's upwards of 3000 people in New York now and all over the country. 140 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:28,740 I started other divisions of what they call the Heroes Health Fund and it's for even soldiers from the Middle East that are exposed to extremities of toxic elements. 141 00:15:28,740 --> 00:15:49,240 And it's super effective and anyway to get back to the story, I noticed these three guys that were not doing particularly well in Baltimore and I said look, I'll finance, I'll open your own little division for detoxing you guys to prove to you how well it works. 142 00:15:49,240 --> 00:16:03,740 And if you like it, you can share it with other first responders. So I set up shop there. I invested the money in setting up the saunas. I hired a doctor. I did the sole profile for them. 143 00:16:03,740 --> 00:16:22,240 And one December after the movie had been released and I said well guys, it's all set up. You are now officially ready to be detoxed. And they spent 25 days. They got out around Christmas Eve or something. 144 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:44,740 And all their ailments went away. All the ones that they were suffering from and this was anything from addiction to pills that they were on because of these toxic effects to not being able to sleep, to organs shutting down and some even extreme, even more extreme situations. 145 00:16:44,740 --> 00:16:57,240 But they all got fixed and they were very excited, couldn't believe it. It was as if by magic. And we started a Baltimore Heroes Health Fund right there where I filmed the movie. 146 00:16:57,740 --> 00:17:12,240 And then we opened up another one in Nevada and then another one in Utah. Anyway, we have about five of them around the country including New York of course and we are trying to build and make more of them. 147 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:33,740 And they are so successful. So that was my personal gift back to the firefighters and continues to be so. Even here in Ocala I have a place where the local firefighters can use the Heroes Health Fund to help them detox if they are interested. 148 00:17:33,740 --> 00:17:46,240 Yeah, I heard that from local firefighters. I have friends in Ocala Fire and Marion County Fire and they have told me that story about going through a detox and doing the Niacin and the Swedish steam baths. 149 00:17:46,740 --> 00:17:59,240 And it is now catching on where I have heard of other departments detached from your specific drive that you have done that are also putting saunas in the stations and steam baths for the same exact reason. 150 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:18,740 They really need to. There were several local Ocala firefighters that we succeeded with to have the same result as the Baltimore guys. I was just giving the origin of it which was Baltimore and New York but we were successful in starting it here in Ocala as well. 151 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:25,740 Right. And speaking of Baltimore, did you actually spend time in the stations and running calls with the guys there too? 152 00:18:25,740 --> 00:18:41,240 Yes, we did that. We had to as part of our training to be authentic so there were many calls that we went on. And a couple became volunteer firefighters after the movie. 153 00:18:41,740 --> 00:18:42,240 Oh really? 154 00:18:42,740 --> 00:18:53,240 Yes, I think two of the actors actually signed on to be volunteer firefighters because they were already trained and they got their cert so they just decided to be on call if they were needed. 155 00:18:53,240 --> 00:19:06,740 Okay, brilliant. And now I want to get the gentleman's name right. Where are we here? Oh goodness, I'm going to cut this bit out too. Lieutenant Mark Lant? 156 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:07,740 Yes. 157 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,740 So Mark, was he kind of mentoring you through this whole thing? 158 00:19:11,740 --> 00:19:25,240 Yes, he was our lead trainer. Very patient. And there were some funny times too because we had to do the call within a 60 second period to get in equipment, on the truck and out. 159 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:43,740 And of course I was doing everything correctly I thought but I was by far the slowest of all of them so there was one take where they said action and they tried to do it in actual time where we get our equipment on from the time it's called to the time the fire engine leaves the house. 160 00:19:43,740 --> 00:20:04,240 And suddenly I finish everything and everybody breaks out into laughter because they've been already ready for about 40 seconds and I'm the only one. I think they clocked me at two minutes getting everything where they were under a minute and I said hey I'm an old man, leave me alone. 161 00:20:04,740 --> 00:20:10,240 Well speaking of that, so you had a huge amount of real firefighters in the production as well, is that right? 162 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:36,740 Yes, and they needed to be. Any time you're trying to accurately portray a subject matter you really have to have the real deal with you. I finished a race car movie and if we didn't have the actual professional race drivers we wouldn't be authentic, we wouldn't pull it off. You really do need the real deal. 163 00:20:36,740 --> 00:20:58,240 Yeah, I had Captain Dale Die, have you met him? I worked with him as a firefighter before I became a fireman so I worked with him in Japan doing the Terminator show for Universal Studios and he put us through the boot camp. It's a very mini gentle version of what he put the guys through for Platoon and Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. 164 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:21,740 But again for the same reason that you guys did the fire is I've interviewed so many military people on this show because I hold them with high regards especially the special ops guys and so many of them say that especially Band of Brothers is something they respect and it would not have been that way had they not had real soldiers in the movie and the actors being taught by a soldier. 165 00:21:21,740 --> 00:21:51,240 Also it gives the actors that are not professional firefighters or whatever the profession they're portraying confidence to have someone near them that is exactly the real deal and you know actors have a certain pride that they want to be execute things well and if you have an expert next to you that can clock what you're doing then you don't feel like you have an insurance policy next to you and it feels very good to do that. 166 00:21:51,740 --> 00:22:05,240 By doing the right thing next take do it this way try to do it cool. Now you know that there's at least one to three takes that are absolutely authentic and they can scratch the one that's less authentic. 167 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:28,740 Right yeah I did the World Trade Center with Nicolas Cage and I say with he was physically there on the set nothing to do with me I was we were just glorified extras but I guess they took that to such a point when the final you know the movie came out we were literally silhouettes through a window but even then they still wanted those silhouettes to look like they knew what they were doing. 168 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:30,740 Of course of course. 169 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:31,740 So yeah. 170 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:32,740 It's absolute sense. 171 00:22:32,740 --> 00:22:41,240 All right so when once you've gone through that training had your perspective of what these men and women go through changed. 172 00:22:41,240 --> 00:23:10,740 Completely because the danger was very real to me now what they're doing and risking is completely authentic in regards to whether they like it or not they are heroic and I think it's empirical that they are because as the saying goes everyone else is leaving the. 173 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:21,740 Fire and they're going in I mean that's that's putting your life immediately on line and I think it's completely impressive. 174 00:23:21,740 --> 00:23:51,240 So yeah my my viewpoint you got an inkling that it was like that but when you experience it yourself and you feel the heat and you see the the complexity of how far as you know let's say even in a kitchen fire where apparently the most dangerous fumes are from plastics that you know ignite and then the firefighter or the people trapped breathe that in and it solidifies in their lungs. 175 00:23:51,740 --> 00:24:09,240 You know knowing that it's a kitchen fire or a restaurant kitchen or something you know you're going into something that even if you don't get killed might be damaging you for life you know it's a very tricky thing that these guys are estimating but they do it you know. 176 00:24:09,740 --> 00:24:10,240 Yeah. 177 00:24:10,740 --> 00:24:11,240 How brave is that. 178 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:22,740 Well speaking of the heat another thing that I got from a couple of the interviews I saw about the movie they had the LPG props blaring when you guys are shooting is that right so you were feeling a lot of heat. 179 00:24:22,740 --> 00:24:43,240 Oh always yeah and it was the first and I'm not trying to brag or or say that we're better than other movies but I do think as far as authenticity we did capture it better than any film to date because we simply had the technology to and the earlier films did not. 180 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:55,740 So we are part of the it's the evolution of the technology of film that allowed us to be authentic or let's say more authentic than prior films or earlier films. 181 00:24:55,740 --> 00:25:13,240 Yeah yeah because another one that's prior to you again back to back draft that's pretty much before that before I'm sure I would say hell is the best one but there were obviously some big holes in the game I being in the middle of fires and not wearing a mask and having perfect dialogue and wait a second. 182 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:32,740 Yeah which is what they do a lot in aviation films it drives me crazy they they do all sorts of things are in that are inaccurate but in this one we were 100% accurate but that's because the firefighters are not going to allow us to be anything else but we asked them to not allow us to be anything else but authentic. 183 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:41,740 Yeah now there's there's I would say there's one more movie and we're talking you know a long long time after ladder 49 now but have you seen only the brave yet. 184 00:25:41,740 --> 00:26:02,240 I have not. Okay I highly recommend that that to me now has joined the other two as an incredible movie Josh Brolin played one of the roles and it was released let me see about two months ago now and it's based on the Prescott 19 so the 19 wildland firemen that were burnt over in 2013 in Arizona. 185 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:13,740 I didn't know about it. Yeah so I highly recommend that but that's a wildland movie so it's very different but again they went through a firefighter boot camp. What's your feeling right now about what's happening in Los Angeles. 186 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:29,740 In the wildfires. Yeah I mean this is a terror incognito I don't think anything's ever happened like this before in that kind of high end areas of Bel Air and Ventura and I mean what's your take on it. 187 00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:54,240 I mean I don't I know from from a firefighter's point of view when you start building houses amongst you know wildland interface it's it's a gamble then you're already rolling the dice but just the sheer magnitude of some of these fires it's almost like a fire perfect storm that we're seeing some of the footage has just been you know heart wrenching but I used to. 188 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:59,740 What do you think was the cause or what would you what would you say are the probable causes of the cause. 189 00:26:59,740 --> 00:27:27,240 I am detached from that side now so I would be you know I any words from my mouth wouldn't even be worth it but I would I would definitely ask my old apartment and I'm just in Orange County those guys have been out fighting all those fires. 190 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:45,740 The arson the point of origin is almost irrelevant because whether it's a cigarette whether it's a piece of glass from the sun whether it's a debris set if it hadn't been these crazy dry conditions in the Santa Ana winds blowing through it would be a spot fire and it would be out. 191 00:27:45,740 --> 00:28:01,240 I think that what's causing the magnitude is certainly the weather yeah and this you know this dryness but then sadly the more of us inhabit this planet the more we put our houses in you know more dangerous places whether it's on on a cliff on the edge of the ocean or you know. 192 00:28:01,740 --> 00:28:10,240 How are you feeling about the neighborhood you are living in do you feel that they're pretty well prepared for any kind of fire. 193 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:31,740 For yeah I think it's so as far as topography and what we would look at as a risk yeah we're pretty good we're surrounded by by roads we fire breaks you know there's not a lot of heavy fuel as far as you know some of the green plants that do burn fast and but I'd say our biggest threat here is hurricanes. 194 00:28:31,740 --> 00:28:40,240 But again unless we had a direct hit from a tornado that's Ocala has almost magically missed it. 195 00:28:40,740 --> 00:28:56,240 I don't know what it is but it's kind of surrealistic that it never quite affects this area and the Clearwater area is the same Clearwater and Ocala seem to be these little little divisions that never really quite get hit that hard. 196 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:03,740 No the same as Disney us that's who we protect now and they say there's a bubble over there I mean we've we've had some you know. 197 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:05,740 Being done there. 198 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:21,740 So speaking of Ocala so that's another thing I wanted to touch on you know while we were talking yes you're this this big you know star on the screen but you're also extremely loved in the city that I live in you know that we share Ocala. 199 00:29:21,740 --> 00:29:29,240 And almost every restaurant we go into there's you know pictures of you in a good way you know eating there being a normal resident. 200 00:29:29,740 --> 00:29:33,240 So what was it that drew you here and what was your impression when you first came. 201 00:29:33,740 --> 00:29:47,240 Basically the fly in community concept is what drew me here because it where I live is quite a large runway and was capable of safely bringing in and out any size of aircraft. 202 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:51,740 So my wife really wanted to be in the country. 203 00:29:52,240 --> 00:30:02,740 So I think that those are the two main things and it's close to my church in Clearwater and I think those two were were primary the reasons. 204 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:12,740 Okay yeah yeah because as we were talking before we went on Mike that sense of community I think is very strong for a sleepy little town in the middle of central Florida. 205 00:30:12,740 --> 00:30:17,240 We're very proud of our little town. 206 00:30:17,740 --> 00:30:26,240 If I'm not mistaken we got voted as the number one family community in the country to bring up a family like this would be the right atmosphere. 207 00:30:26,740 --> 00:30:41,240 And I think there's I remember there was a survey done recently about Ocala and it rated so high relative to everywhere else in the country for all the right reasons like for instance this is what I was told anyway. 208 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:49,740 That the priorities of the citizens seem to be more group oriented versus individualistic. 209 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:58,740 You know they're not it's not we need a self centered thing to open or do it's like I'd like a good place for the kids to go. 210 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,740 I'd like a good place for the family to blah blah. 211 00:31:01,740 --> 00:31:14,240 I would you know I would like more community activity there all the desires of the individuals seem much more group for the group more than than self centered ideas and that's unusual. 212 00:31:14,740 --> 00:31:25,240 You know that's kind of exciting thing old fashioned concept that is now reliving itself here in Ocala. 213 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:32,740 Yeah yeah and we talked about before about the whole tribal thing I think we have that you know we're proud of our network here. 214 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:34,740 I agree with you. 215 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:51,740 I think there is a tribal feeling that makes everyone feel good about being here and it's evolving into all the niceties that any cosmopolitan city could have and it'll get more so. 216 00:31:51,740 --> 00:32:03,240 But I mean we're not wanting for much here you know as far as entertainment and food and stores and you know it's continually evolving. 217 00:32:03,740 --> 00:32:13,240 Yeah it is I mean every time they close a business down it seems like just a more genuine family owned business pops up in its place which is great to see. 218 00:32:13,740 --> 00:32:15,240 Yeah it really is. 219 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:24,740 All right well I'm going to just you said about emotion so the one thing I want to touch on before you know we kind of close out. 220 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:33,740 One of the most powerful moments I think that most people would say about ladder 49 was when you gave the eulogy when Joaquin Phoenix's character passed away. 221 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:43,740 I saw ladder 49 right when I came out of my very first fire department's orientation which was three months of hell by the way hi Alia if you can still remember that. 222 00:32:43,740 --> 00:32:55,240 But it was October and at the end of the movie you know it was very tragic and you saw the funeral and you know it was a real punch in the gut as far as the job. 223 00:32:55,740 --> 00:32:58,240 But it was still two dimensional on screen. 224 00:32:58,740 --> 00:33:04,240 I watched ladder 49 with my son Ty who you just met for the first time he's ever seen it. 225 00:33:04,740 --> 00:33:08,240 He's just turned 10 I figured it was a good time to watch especially before he met you. 226 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:29,740 But when I watched that scene it was completely different. I've been a fireman 13 and a half years and then the last four or five I've lost count of how many firefighters are buried from you know not any any dramatic death in a fire or anything like that but from cancer from heart disease from drug overdose from all these different things. 227 00:33:29,740 --> 00:33:42,240 And the detail in that scene not only you know the actual funeral itself and then your eulogy but the way they saluted the bagpipes all these different you know elements that they had. 228 00:33:42,740 --> 00:33:50,240 I mean it it I was in tears watching it because it wasn't two dimensional anymore as a fireman halfway through his career it was real now. 229 00:33:50,740 --> 00:33:54,240 And then when you did your eulogy obviously I mean I was crying like a baby as well. 230 00:33:54,240 --> 00:34:06,740 I really totally understand and you know I that's why I love that film so much I think it has a depth and an authenticity that is rare. 231 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:22,740 And as far as your friends are concerned that you've lost this is a time where you can promote the heroes health fund to them because maybe many of them their lives would be saved if they experience this heroes health fund and the detox program. 232 00:34:22,740 --> 00:34:37,240 They would not they would you know have a different fate and you can you can help them have that by promoting it on your show and enlightening them about how it works and be a great thing. 233 00:34:37,740 --> 00:34:43,240 Absolutely. Well I will put that on the website for today's episode which will be JamesGierion.com for you guys listening. 234 00:34:43,740 --> 00:34:50,240 I'll put a link there. I also want to put a link as well for the Jettra Volta Foundation. Can you just give us a brief overview of that as well. 235 00:34:50,240 --> 00:35:07,740 Yeah. Yeah. When my son passed we started a foundation that was very widely scoped because so many things my son was connected to and education and other illness in children and different aspects. 236 00:35:07,740 --> 00:35:34,240 And it was so complex his situation that I felt like limiting the foundation to just one or two ideas. It was not enough. So I widen the scope for for all areas not not just any particular illness but education and support of special needs children because that's really an area that 237 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:48,740 until you experience a special needs child you don't realize the magnitude and the depth of concern it can give a parent and more importantly the child itself. They're not having an easy time of it you know. 238 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:55,740 So it's a it's a good thing to do a wide spectrum and when you're doing a charity like that. 239 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:58,740 Yeah. OK. Well I will put the link on there as well. 240 00:35:58,740 --> 00:36:10,240 Very good. Thank you. OK. So just a couple of wrap up short rapid fire questions. I always ask everyone is there a book that you recommend to people on anything in the world. 241 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:38,240 Oh gosh. Well entertainment wise let's give your other card. I have to think about that because there's so many good books out there that it's difficult to hone it down to just one. It would depend on your interests and your interest levels. I would I would imagine. But you know of course I'm going to I'm going to promote my my own you know religion and probably I don't know fundamentals of thought or 242 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:50,740 let's say Dynetics or Science of Survival. One of these books are always interesting to read for people and help them through life and give them some tools. 243 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:57,740 Those would be the books I would immediately recommend. And then there are others. 244 00:36:57,740 --> 00:37:23,240 For I grew up with all the classics and always enjoyed them for young people you know to kill a mockingbird and airport and you know because I was an aviator and these are all books that were fun to read. I don't know if in a new unit of time if there'd be much fun for people but that's what I grew up with. 245 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:27,740 OK fantastic. Now what about a movie and or documentary. 246 00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:38,740 I love documentaries and I think that the there's so many documentaries that that I've enjoyed over the years. 247 00:37:38,740 --> 00:37:56,240 You know I like the World War Two documentaries that investigate the antics and politics of that. I think there's always something to learn from them. Any aviation documentary any rock star documentary I find interesting. 248 00:37:56,740 --> 00:38:03,240 You know there's many recently that are good. And then what was the other movie. 249 00:38:03,740 --> 00:38:05,240 Movie movie and or documentaries. 250 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:17,740 Yeah movies are so again each year I have not to be perfectly honest investigated this year's cinema enough and I have my obligation at the end of the year to watch movies for my voting for the Academy. 251 00:38:18,240 --> 00:38:24,740 So I will I will take take time to do that so I don't have one yet that I would recommend recently. 252 00:38:24,740 --> 00:38:39,240 OK I'm pretty sure the Academy will be sending you only the brave so that will be coming to your doorstep soon. Yes. OK now is there a guest that you would recommend to come on the show to talk to the first responders of the world. 253 00:38:39,240 --> 00:39:00,740 Yes what I'll do for you is I'll give you a list of about five guys that I think will blow your mind with what they went through with the Heroes Health Fund and detoxing and to give you details of their life threatening illnesses that they had that were completely handled with the program. 254 00:39:00,740 --> 00:39:10,240 And I think it would do you and your fellow first responders a great deal to hear someone who actually got their life saved. 255 00:39:10,740 --> 00:39:11,240 Absolutely. 256 00:39:11,740 --> 00:39:12,240 You see fantastic. 257 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:40,740 And I think the more extreme situations are even the ones that will be better for you to hear because we all know a healthy guy can get more healthy but when you have a totally artificially affected firefighter or first responder that has been exposed to things that he shouldn't have been exposed to but had to for the line of duty 258 00:39:40,740 --> 00:39:48,240 to hear their magnificent results would be much more effective I think. 259 00:39:48,740 --> 00:39:51,240 Yeah nothing more powerful than the life story. 260 00:39:51,740 --> 00:39:59,240 Definitely. OK and the very last one before we talk about where else we can find you what do you do to decompress when you're not acting and not flying. 261 00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:15,740 Well flying is one of the things I do. OK well flying. Sorry. And I take courses at my church and that helps me decompress and I spend time with my family and that helps me decompress and travel if I can as not just for business but for pleasure. 262 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:24,740 And honestly being in Ocala helps me decompress I'm always more chilled when I'm here than anywhere else. 263 00:40:24,740 --> 00:40:36,240 Yeah I agree 100 percent. Love it here. People ask why do I because I live I work in Orlando why don't I live down there and it's like well it's very simple. Just come to Ocala and you'll see. 264 00:40:36,740 --> 00:40:41,240 Yeah and it may take a few months to get it but once you're here you always come back. 265 00:40:41,740 --> 00:40:43,240 Yeah exactly. 266 00:40:43,740 --> 00:40:48,240 I found that people that leave to get out they always find themselves coming back to Ocala. 267 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:59,740 Absolutely. OK so we've got the two websites you talked about already the Heroes Health Fund and Jet Travolta will be on there. Are there any other social media or websites that you want to talk about. 268 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:09,740 I think we covered covered them all. Do you know. I think I think that's that's good. 269 00:41:09,740 --> 00:41:19,240 Fantastic. Well thank you so much for coming on the show and I truly appreciate that and I know that people listening will really be blown away by this interview so thank you. 270 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:39,740 Oh good. Well my pleasure.