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This episode is sponsored by Transcend, a veteran owned and operated performance optimization company that I introduced recently as a sponsor on this show.

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Well, since then, I have actually been using my products and I've had incredible success.

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There was initial blood work that was extremely detailed and based on that, they offered supplementation.

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So I began taking DHEA, BPC157 for inflammation based on the fact that I've been a stump man and martial artist and a firefighter my whole life, lots of aches and pains,

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Dihexa to help cognition after multiple punches to the head and shift work and peptides.

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Four months later, they did a detailed blood work again and I was actually able to taper off two of the peptides because my body had responded so well to just one of them that it was optimized at that point.

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So I cannot speak highly enough of the immense range of supplementation that they offer, whether it's male health, female health, peptides to boost your own testosterone, which I would argue is needed by a lot of the fire service,

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or whether it's exogenous testosterone needed, especially after TBIs or advanced age.

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Now, as I mentioned before, the other side of this company is an altruistic arm called the Transcend Foundation,

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which is putting veterans and first responders through some of their protocols free of charge.

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Now Transcend are also offering you the audience 10% off their protocols and you can find that on JamesGearing.com under the products tab.

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And if you want to hear more about Transcend and their story, listen to episode 808 with the founder Ernie Colling or go to TranscendCompany.com.

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Welcome to the Behind the Shield podcast. As always, my name is James Gearing and this week it is my absolute honor to welcome on the show Firefighter Paramedic and the man behind Rescue One CBD, John Vaught.

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Now I'm so glad that John came on because when it comes to CBD, which I have used for years now, there is still so much misunderstanding, miseducation and stigma around this incredibly powerful plant medicine.

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And some of this fear is justified if there is THC in these tinctures that could potentially make us fail a drug test.

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As you will hear, John's own journey through surgery and prescription meds that led him to CBD, just like it did with me.

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So we discuss a host of topics from his journey into the fire service, the history of CBD, the difference between THC and CBD,

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the incredible testing process he developed to make sure it is absolutely safe for first responders, sleep deprivation, shift work and so much more.

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Now, before we get to this incredible conversation, as I say every week, please just take a moment.

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Go to whichever app you listen to this on, subscribe to the show, leave feedback and leave a rating.

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Every single five star rating truly does elevate this podcast, therefore making it easier for others to find.

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And this is a free library of well over 1000 episodes now, so all I ask in return is that you help share these incredible men and women stories

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so I can get them to every single person on planet Earth who needs to hear them.

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So with that being said, I introduce to you John Voort. Enjoy.

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Well, John, I want to start by saying several things. Firstly, thank you to Jim Bernicka, who put us together in the most exotic of Beaver Creek, Ohio last year.

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Secondly, I want to welcome you on to the Behind the Shield podcast today.

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Thank you so much for having me. Really, really excited to be here. I've listened to the show for a while and followed you on social for a while.

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So it's it's an honor. Appreciate it.

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Yeah, well, everyone listening, you're going to have to find me on a different social now because Instagram shut down my page.

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They don't like kindness and solutions to problems clearly.

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So so it's a solid 2.0. I'm back into thank you. Yeah.

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I at Behind the Shield 911 dots to dot 2.0.

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So I called you a minute ago because I had messed up the most recent podcast that I've done.

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There's been a lot of things that have happened that have blown up in my face recently.

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And so I called you effing and blinding and said, I have to push this back a few minutes.

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And then I was like, what can I do to bring myself down?

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So I went and took some CBD. So it was a great transition into this conversation.

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So very first question, where on planet Earth we finding you today?

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At my home in Delray Beach, Florida, and the headquarters of of the rescue one CBD offices here.

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Beautiful. Well, I would have to start the very beginning of your time.

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And obviously, we'll get to the CBD journey in a moment.

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But tell me where you were born and tell me a little bit about your family dynamic, what your parents did, how many siblings?

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I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and I'm one of four.

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So I was the second born, second oldest. And my mom is on the job.

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She's a firefighter for Palm Beach County Fire Department.

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She's an EMS captain there and kind of followed in her footsteps.

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Amazing mother, super strong woman, just kind of an all around badass, amazing mentor and and role model.

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And my dad, hardest working person I've ever met in my life.

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He's an electrician, still at 64 years old, still an electrician.

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He's also one of the two along with me, original investors of rescue one CBD.

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So he comes out to like all the conferences.

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He like is still actively involved in the business when we travel together for the business.

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And it's a it's a cool journey we're taking together.

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So awesome childhood. I love both my parents to death.

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And they raised all four of us really well.

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Going with your dad first. Is it the Teamsters? Is that the electricians union?

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Or have I got that right?

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They have the IBEW.

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Yeah, IBEW, which I don't think he's a part of.

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But he's a he works for a private company.

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But yeah, they have a large electrical contractors union.

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Okay. Yeah, because I'm always curious when people work in other professions,

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what their experiences are with unions, because, you know, in the past, at least,

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I know there's a new administration now, but in the past, there was a lot of chest beating

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about how in the fire service, we have one of the strongest unions in the country.

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Me personally, for 14 years, watched very, very little achieved.

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And we're both going to talk about obviously, the health initiatives in the fire service,

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for example.

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So I was curious if he had experience with his union.

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No, not the IBEW. His best friend started this company.

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And this guy has always taken really good care of his employees.

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And nobody's ever gone towards the union side.

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They've it's a good it's a good place to work.

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Yeah, you take care of people who don't need a union.

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That's it, man.

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All right. What about your mom, then?

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Firstly, Palm Beach County just went to the 24 72.

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I know you've worked that schedule in your department for quite a while now.

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So what's her percept, you know, perspective of this change in her own department?

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And then we'll kind of get to your experience.

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They're stoked.

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For the most part, I think there were some people that were a little bit leery about it,

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just going from a 24 48.

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And everybody loved their Kelly, you know, and that's a hard thing to let go of,

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especially probably people that had Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

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Kelly didn't maybe want to go to a 24 72.

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But all in all, I think they're stoked about it.

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I think they're doing it in two to three years or something like that.

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And it does.

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I mean, you get paid more if you think about it.

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You know, you're working less days.

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And I've only known this schedule.

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I worked for AMR for a little bit, like when I was 18 to 20.

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And so I had a 24 48.

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And when I when I came to my department with the 24 72, it was I mean,

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the recovery from off duty is amazing.

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So I know they're really excited.

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They've been fighting for it for years.

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And the recruitment is just going to go up from here, I believe.

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So, yeah, she's towards the end of her career, but she'll still be able

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to take advantage of it for a few more years, which is really exciting.

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Yeah.

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Well, I think the people that are at the end, that's a beautiful opportunity to start healing.

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Because, I mean, really, when you transition out the fire service,

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the first five years at least are unfucking what the job did to you.

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You know what I mean?

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For lack of a better word.

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It's it.

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So she gets to kind of start unpacking some of that while she's still on the job.

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Yeah, and and it probably you're probably right.

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That is a great transition.

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You know, especially like lately, you know, she's being an EMS captain.

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They see, you know, some of the worst of the worst.

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And she's a battalion nine.

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So she's station 91 downtown Lake Worth.

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I know, you know, the area.

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So like just a lot of trauma and a lot of fires and stuff like that.

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So she's she's she's she's been around.

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She's seen a bunch of stuff.

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So it'll be great for I'm really excited.

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Told she's going to love it.

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Yeah.

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Well, let's let's go to your perspective then.

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So you have a very unique lens because you've had that schedule for quite a while now.

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So when was this go?

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Let's go to the beginning of your career.

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Is it oh nine that you got hired?

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Is that right?

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Yes.

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OK, so what was the environment as far as the competition level where,

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you know, where you were testing in general and then how competitive was it

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for your department specifically with such a great schedule?

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It was that that time was crazy because of the great recession.

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Everyone was on a hiring freeze.

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Palm Beach County didn't hire from like oh eight to 2013 or something.

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So competition wise, it was already the baseline was very, very high.

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And then with our schedule, I mean, we recruit from other departments quite often.

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So, you know, the the the I wanted to say there was probably I remember when I got hired,

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it was somewhere around four or five hundred people applying for three spots.

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And so that was I got very lucky.

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I was one of the three.

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And ever since, I mean, we've we've we usually get the same amount of applicants in total

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as the Palm Beach County Fire Department does when we do hiring processes.

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There is a and I'll say this and it's people can fact check me on this one.

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It's a very competitive department in Palm Beach County, which anybody in those areas

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knows where I work, I'm sure.

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But in the 16 years I've been there, coming up on 16 years, I've been there.

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Not one person has left our department to go to another fire department.

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It hasn't happened.

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So recruitment is never been an issue for us.

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We're fully staffed.

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We don't mando anybody ever.

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I've never you know, it just doesn't really happen.

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Maybe maybe once every couple of years or something.

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But it's like off chance.

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So recruitment is is very, very high.

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Retention is literally perfect.

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We have a one hundred percent retention rate.

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So people have left early just to go do other things.

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You know, we had a guy leave and start a pot farm in Michigan, you know,

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because that's just what he wanted to do.

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And God bless him.

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And he's doing great.

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But nobody's left to go to another fire department.

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Our retention is one hundred percent.

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It's amazing.

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That's I mean, it's just so good to hear because it conversely,

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I've had a couple of people now on for Marion County and I'll say the name

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because it's who protects my family.

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Ten years ago, when I would argue it was still extremely competitive

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because we're just coming out of the recession, just like you said,

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they couldn't find enough people to hire.

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No one was really trying to go to them.

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Now you imagine 10 years later in 2024, we've got even worse.

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So that really says something if in the time when everyone else was scrambling

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for jobs was, you know, testing against hundreds and hundreds of people.

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And back then you couldn't get anyone or you were hardly getting anyone.

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You know, that that's a decade of issues that you probably should have addressed by now.

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You know, so this is why, you know, not to throw shade, but it is what it is.

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I know that they've stuck their head back in the sand with this whole 24 72 conversation,

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which I find nauseating because it's my friends that literally are getting mandatory.

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And, you know, we had one schedule the other day and he couldn't make it

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because he got mandatory yet again.

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So, you know, when you compare and contrast this conversation, this specific shift schedule

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and a handful of stations is competitive with an entire county, as far as the number of applicants

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that illustrates the destination department concept that Hugh Bruder talks about.

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You want to get people testing to be a firefighter again, give them an environment for them to be

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excited about that will allow them to thrive rather than decay.

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Of course.

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And from the fire department side, the union side, labor management side,

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whatever you want to look at it.

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If you have everyone around you go into a 24 72 and you are falling behind,

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you're not going to maintain a standard.

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So the great thing to do is for other departments to raise the standard, you know,

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in the collective area so that we can help other people.

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Initially, I'm sure it's going to be hard like Palm Beach County going to 24 72.

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If and when Dade and Broward counties go to 24 72, there's going to be a huge demand.

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And ultimately, it'll be a little bit painful at first because we might have to have some shortages.

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But all in all, it'll end up raising the incentive to go there.

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They'll end up having to, you know, increase wages and my department, not to brag,

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but we don't really have that problem.

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But some other places do have a wage issue and you know,

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then they can increase their retention because they're trying to keep up.

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So it will create maybe a causation for it or like the imbalance might get corrected.

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So all in all, I hope it's for the better.

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You know, I know it'll be for the better.

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I hope that in the short term, people don't look at the headaches and say,

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this wasn't worth it because it is a long term thing.

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We need to think about this in generation, generations to come.

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Absolutely.

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It reminds me of those home improvement shows.

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You know, they have the house and then they pull the drywall.

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Oh, no, the plumbing is all messed up.

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Yeah, you have to do that initially.

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But the other side of it, you have a much better building that will last another 100 years.

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Yeah, exactly.

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I know that's my house every time my house was.

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I don't know this guy that used to live here.

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I think he tried to wing everything.

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So every time I open up a wall, something just to change an outlet

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turns out into a 12 hour or deal for in three home depot trips.

222
00:15:31,340 --> 00:15:33,100
Yeah, that's a good way to put it.

223
00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:35,260
I think like sometimes it's okay to find the problems.

224
00:15:35,820 --> 00:15:38,060
You know, you should get some headaches to start.

225
00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:38,700
That's a blessing.

226
00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:39,420
Get them out of the way.

227
00:15:39,980 --> 00:15:40,780
Absolutely.

228
00:15:40,780 --> 00:15:41,420
100%.

229
00:15:41,420 --> 00:15:42,780
All right, we'll get off that subject now,

230
00:15:42,780 --> 00:15:45,100
but it was such a unique lens with your mom and yourself.

231
00:15:45,100 --> 00:15:46,300
So thank you for that.

232
00:15:47,660 --> 00:15:49,900
Going back to you as a young boy then.

233
00:15:49,900 --> 00:15:53,420
So talk to me about sports and exercise that you were doing back then.

234
00:15:54,540 --> 00:15:55,980
I played baseball when I was a kid.

235
00:15:55,980 --> 00:16:00,860
I really liked I got into t ball when I was really young.

236
00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:03,820
I stayed very involved in it.

237
00:16:03,820 --> 00:16:06,220
My uncle was actually a professional baseball player.

238
00:16:07,020 --> 00:16:10,940
He was a relief pitcher for every team you can think of.

239
00:16:10,940 --> 00:16:13,580
I think he spent the most time with the Phillies and the Blue Jays.

240
00:16:15,180 --> 00:16:18,060
And so my grandfather coached him.

241
00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:22,060
My aunts who were like championship softball players.

242
00:16:22,060 --> 00:16:28,540
My mom was a championship softball player and I was a pitcher and I really, really liked it.

243
00:16:29,180 --> 00:16:37,420
And I discovered skateboarding when I was in high school and the guitar.

244
00:16:37,420 --> 00:16:39,740
And then I immediately dropped baseball.

245
00:16:39,740 --> 00:16:41,660
I was like, I don't do this anymore.

246
00:16:44,060 --> 00:16:48,300
My attention span towards things tends to go to things I'm really, really passionate about.

247
00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:51,740
And I might forget everything else as extraneous.

248
00:16:51,740 --> 00:16:55,900
So I played baseball up until I got into about middle school or high school.

249
00:16:55,900 --> 00:17:00,460
And then I just went all in on skateboarding with my friends and playing music.

250
00:17:00,460 --> 00:17:03,020
And I got really into music and played several instruments.

251
00:17:04,140 --> 00:17:09,260
But exercise wise, I was always like a pretty lanky, thin, skinny kid.

252
00:17:09,260 --> 00:17:13,260
I felt like no matter what I ate, I was always skinny.

253
00:17:13,260 --> 00:17:18,540
So it would have behooved me to lift weights earlier.

254
00:17:18,540 --> 00:17:20,460
Fire Academy would have been a hell of a lot easier.

255
00:17:20,460 --> 00:17:22,140
But I was always moving, man.

256
00:17:22,140 --> 00:17:26,220
I was always trying to do something that would just keep me at 100 miles an hour.

257
00:17:27,660 --> 00:17:31,580
How did your uncle do with his transition once he couldn't play

258
00:17:31,580 --> 00:17:32,540
baseball anymore?

259
00:17:32,540 --> 00:17:39,180
Because the kind of identity crisis that we see in uniform, you see a lot in sports as well.

260
00:17:40,140 --> 00:17:41,900
My uncle has a crazy story.

261
00:17:41,900 --> 00:17:46,460
So he actually did not do well at all.

262
00:17:48,380 --> 00:17:53,580
He did not stay serious enough to hang.

263
00:17:53,580 --> 00:17:56,940
And he was making league minimum, which is still a lot of money.

264
00:17:56,940 --> 00:17:58,140
But he had a wife and two kids.

265
00:17:58,140 --> 00:17:59,420
He had two daughters.

266
00:17:59,420 --> 00:18:03,500
And he ended up having a hard time going back.

267
00:18:04,140 --> 00:18:05,180
They wouldn't renew his contract.

268
00:18:05,180 --> 00:18:07,420
He just wasn't pitching fast anymore.

269
00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:10,060
And he wasn't keeping up with the younger guys.

270
00:18:10,060 --> 00:18:15,900
And he ended up going to jail for selling cocaine for trafficking for seven years.

271
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:19,420
And man, the guy is doing great now.

272
00:18:19,420 --> 00:18:20,140
I mean, he got out.

273
00:18:23,260 --> 00:18:25,020
His life is completely put back together.

274
00:18:25,020 --> 00:18:25,980
He's doing awesome.

275
00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:30,620
He re-established the relationship with both of his daughters and his ex-wife.

276
00:18:30,620 --> 00:18:33,900
Like everything is so, so much better.

277
00:18:34,620 --> 00:18:38,140
But that was a really turbulent time.

278
00:18:38,140 --> 00:18:44,220
And I'm sure part of it was just him coping with the lack of fame and fortune.

279
00:18:44,220 --> 00:18:50,220
I mean, he was gambling and partying it up with guys that were making seven figures or

280
00:18:50,220 --> 00:18:51,340
eight figures a year.

281
00:18:51,340 --> 00:18:54,140
And he's making six figures a year.

282
00:18:54,140 --> 00:18:57,340
And he's trying to live the life.

283
00:18:57,340 --> 00:19:03,500
And it's just too much all at once for a kid who basically went from high school into playing

284
00:19:03,500 --> 00:19:03,980
baseball.

285
00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:09,260
And that's too much power all at once unchecked.

286
00:19:10,380 --> 00:19:11,660
So I think it changed him.

287
00:19:13,340 --> 00:19:18,860
And the hardship changed him for the better after that post-traumatic growth kind of stuff.

288
00:19:19,660 --> 00:19:21,660
It really mattered at the time.

289
00:19:21,660 --> 00:19:22,780
But he's doing great now.

290
00:19:22,780 --> 00:19:25,180
But I would say he didn't do good just based on that.

291
00:19:25,180 --> 00:19:26,460
Yeah, he had a hard time with it.

292
00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:28,220
I'm glad I asked that question.

293
00:19:28,220 --> 00:19:29,420
What an incredible story.

294
00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:31,900
Especially putting that hope back into it.

295
00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:33,260
I mean, you're so deep into it.

296
00:19:33,260 --> 00:19:36,860
You've got, I don't know if he was taking the drugs too or just selling, but you've got that element.

297
00:19:36,860 --> 00:19:37,900
No, he wasn't taking them.

298
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:38,940
He was just selling them.

299
00:19:38,940 --> 00:19:39,420
Yeah.

300
00:19:39,420 --> 00:19:42,620
So he's just trying to fill that void and maybe recapture some of the things that he lost.

301
00:19:42,620 --> 00:19:44,060
And obviously, you're not.

302
00:19:44,060 --> 00:19:44,860
You're a tribe.

303
00:19:44,860 --> 00:19:46,300
Your identity is gone now.

304
00:19:46,300 --> 00:19:47,900
That's why we have to kind of turn the page.

305
00:19:47,900 --> 00:19:55,820
But to do your time and then come out and then start healing, start repairing, I mean, that's absolutely the hope that comes from post-traumatic growth.

306
00:19:55,820 --> 00:19:57,580
So that story needs to be heard.

307
00:19:57,580 --> 00:19:58,140
It's incredible.

308
00:19:59,020 --> 00:20:00,540
Yeah, especially with his daughters.

309
00:20:00,540 --> 00:20:04,860
I mean, his daughters, I don't think they ever visited him in jail.

310
00:20:05,580 --> 00:20:07,340
And when he went to jail, they were very young.

311
00:20:09,100 --> 00:20:12,540
I think they were eight or nine years old, maybe even a little bit younger.

312
00:20:12,540 --> 00:20:13,340
I'm trying to remember.

313
00:20:13,340 --> 00:20:23,500
But when he got divorced from my aunt and they lived in the West Coast on Tampa, and I didn't see him for 12, 13 years.

314
00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:28,140
I mean, I just met him again a few years ago when he started putting everything back together.

315
00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:38,140
But it was so cool to see the forgiveness from them come towards him and the understanding that he wasn't trying to cut them out of his life.

316
00:20:38,140 --> 00:20:40,780
He made a mistake and had to go to jail and pay for it.

317
00:20:40,780 --> 00:20:41,340
And he did.

318
00:20:41,340 --> 00:20:48,380
And he was never trying to pawn off his responsibility or say it wasn't his fault or anything like that.

319
00:20:48,380 --> 00:20:49,020
He owned it.

320
00:20:49,020 --> 00:20:59,100
And I always had a ton of respect for him, looking at it and saying, this was my fault, and just taking it and being a man about it.

321
00:20:59,100 --> 00:21:00,700
It was impressive to see.

322
00:21:00,700 --> 00:21:02,060
It's hard to do.

323
00:21:02,060 --> 00:21:03,660
I'm sure a lot of people think they would do it.

324
00:21:04,220 --> 00:21:10,620
And then when you're put in that situation, you probably don't know until you're actually put in that situation.

325
00:21:10,620 --> 00:21:11,500
And he did. It was cool.

326
00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:12,300
Yeah.

327
00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:16,860
Well, especially when we know, and this is from numerous people that are actually in this profession,

328
00:21:17,500 --> 00:21:21,980
we know that a lot of times prison doesn't foster growth healing.

329
00:21:22,700 --> 00:21:25,900
It can send you down the opposite path, make you worse than you were before.

330
00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:28,700
So to come out of that with the resilience that he did is impressive.

331
00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:29,980
Yeah.

332
00:21:29,980 --> 00:21:31,180
He really has it.

333
00:21:31,180 --> 00:21:36,540
My dad has a great relationship with my uncle Rick, and he has said this before.

334
00:21:36,540 --> 00:21:38,620
He's like the guy from Shawshank Redemption.

335
00:21:38,620 --> 00:21:43,900
And the line that he said, Andy Dufresne can crawl through a mile of shit and come out clean on the other side.

336
00:21:43,900 --> 00:21:45,660
That's my uncle Rick.

337
00:21:45,660 --> 00:21:48,540
Just like everything he goes through, he always comes out all right.

338
00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:49,740
Good for him.

339
00:21:50,540 --> 00:21:53,260
Well, you mentioned about skateboarding and music.

340
00:21:54,060 --> 00:21:58,860
Were any of those factored into your initial dream career aspirations, or was there something else?

341
00:22:00,380 --> 00:22:02,860
I didn't know what I wanted to do when I was a kid.

342
00:22:02,860 --> 00:22:06,460
And my mom didn't get in the fire service until 2001.

343
00:22:06,460 --> 00:22:09,740
She got hired early 2001.

344
00:22:10,300 --> 00:22:13,980
And I didn't know what I wanted to do as a kid.

345
00:22:13,980 --> 00:22:15,340
I loved music.

346
00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:23,260
I've had a proclivity for instruments and just playing instruments and playing guitar and other stuff.

347
00:22:23,260 --> 00:22:26,140
And I was just kind of bouncing along, man.

348
00:22:26,140 --> 00:22:28,220
I was hanging out with my friends and just doing all that.

349
00:22:28,220 --> 00:22:32,860
When my mom got into the fire service, I thought it would be cool to think about it.

350
00:22:32,860 --> 00:22:35,740
But what I remember when she got into the fire service, I thought she was crazy.

351
00:22:35,740 --> 00:22:38,620
So no, I think that was completely separate.

352
00:22:38,620 --> 00:22:39,980
It was going to happen no matter what.

353
00:22:43,660 --> 00:22:47,020
I started initially playing music in school.

354
00:22:47,980 --> 00:22:50,940
And I think the first instrument I picked up was the French horn, which

355
00:22:51,820 --> 00:22:57,260
if you ever want to repel women and make sure you can never get a girlfriend,

356
00:22:57,260 --> 00:22:58,300
you pick up the French horn.

357
00:22:58,300 --> 00:22:58,940
That's what you do.

358
00:22:59,580 --> 00:23:01,100
So I was like, this sucks.

359
00:23:01,100 --> 00:23:03,020
What do I have to play to actually talk to girls?

360
00:23:03,020 --> 00:23:04,780
And the guitar was probably a better one.

361
00:23:04,780 --> 00:23:07,980
So that's what I ended up initially going and I liked it.

362
00:23:09,020 --> 00:23:11,820
So yeah, they were very separate, but I just loved them both.

363
00:23:12,460 --> 00:23:14,860
So you didn't go to like a campfire with a bunch of friends

364
00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:16,940
and just pull out the old horn and start ripping?

365
00:23:18,860 --> 00:23:22,780
Yeah, no, that wasn't one I carried around with me.

366
00:23:22,780 --> 00:23:26,300
I when I picked it up, I was like, yeah, I think this will be cool to start learning.

367
00:23:26,300 --> 00:23:28,460
And then slowly I was like, how do I get rid of this thing, man?

368
00:23:28,460 --> 00:23:30,380
I was like, I can't tell anybody I do this.

369
00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:34,780
I feel like you constantly need to be around the royal family to be playing that effectively.

370
00:23:34,780 --> 00:23:36,300
Yeah, I normally hear it.

371
00:23:36,300 --> 00:23:39,740
That's the other thing is like, where the hell am I going to play this?

372
00:23:39,740 --> 00:23:46,380
Unless I'm a concert musician or something, you know, I'm like, it's just not, it's not.

373
00:23:46,380 --> 00:23:47,180
It's not something.

374
00:23:47,180 --> 00:23:50,380
And when usually when you tell people to like, I play the French horn, they go, what the hell is that?

375
00:23:51,020 --> 00:23:51,980
Yeah, exactly.

376
00:23:51,980 --> 00:23:53,340
It's not an easy instrument to play.

377
00:23:53,340 --> 00:23:58,860
So it did give me some fundamentals, but yeah, I can't say that I would ever want to pick that one back up.

378
00:23:58,860 --> 00:24:07,500
Absolutely. I actually heard a funny skit on it was on Instagram when I can, I can see it again now, but I'll never see this again, because it's gone.

379
00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:14,700
But it was a black comedian and he was talking about, I think he was playing the French horn or something like that.

380
00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:20,460
And his music teacher, I'm sure it's a true story, has said to him, you need to play the, I think it was a tuba.

381
00:24:20,460 --> 00:24:21,260
And he was like, why?

382
00:24:21,260 --> 00:24:23,660
Because you've got those big luscious lips.

383
00:24:23,660 --> 00:24:25,980
And he was like, racist ass motherfucker.

384
00:24:25,980 --> 00:24:27,500
Anyway, and then he goes on and on.

385
00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:33,180
And then he goes on and talking about the moment he put his lips on the tuba, it was the match made in heaven.

386
00:24:33,180 --> 00:24:34,780
And he was like, that motherfucker was right.

387
00:24:36,780 --> 00:24:37,980
That's so funny.

388
00:24:37,980 --> 00:24:45,420
Yeah, I mean, you do have to, it is a very specific, a lot of those, a lot of those wind instruments, but it's a very specific mouth type.

389
00:24:45,420 --> 00:24:47,180
You can't, not everybody can play them.

390
00:24:47,180 --> 00:24:48,060
It's very physical.

391
00:24:49,180 --> 00:24:55,660
So then, so walk me through then it was the EMS side that you got into first, wasn't it?

392
00:24:55,660 --> 00:25:00,380
Yeah, I joined the Explorer program when I was 15.

393
00:25:00,380 --> 00:25:07,420
And that's when I, like I saw my mom in the fire service and a buddy of mine who was my neighbor, like one of my best friends from high school.

394
00:25:07,420 --> 00:25:17,660
So I'm joining this Explorer program and it, they let you ride on trucks and you can get trained up and all this stuff seems like it'd be pretty cool.

395
00:25:17,660 --> 00:25:19,660
And he's like, you want to do it?

396
00:25:19,660 --> 00:25:20,940
I go, nah, I'm good.

397
00:25:20,940 --> 00:25:21,740
No, thanks.

398
00:25:21,740 --> 00:25:26,380
So he goes to the first night and he comes back and he's like, man, you have got to go.

399
00:25:26,380 --> 00:25:27,900
This is really, really cool.

400
00:25:27,900 --> 00:25:31,100
So I went the second night and I ended up staying there for five years.

401
00:25:32,540 --> 00:25:36,140
And I got hired out of that program at the same department.

402
00:25:36,140 --> 00:25:39,500
And now I run the Explorer program at my department.

403
00:25:39,500 --> 00:25:44,380
So I'm the lead advisor for that Explorer program and, or also known as cadets.

404
00:25:45,420 --> 00:25:49,420
And I've been doing that, man, I don't know.

405
00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:53,420
We're going to hit our 20 year anniversary this year.

406
00:25:53,420 --> 00:25:57,100
And I've been with it since day one, either as a cadet or running it.

407
00:25:57,100 --> 00:26:01,900
So I don't remember when I took it over, but I've been there for 20 years doing that.

408
00:26:01,900 --> 00:26:03,260
We have 30 kids in the program.

409
00:26:04,140 --> 00:26:09,020
But that is what really solidified that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

410
00:26:09,020 --> 00:26:10,780
I was like, this is the only thing I want to do.

411
00:26:11,340 --> 00:26:17,180
So film over the job as a teenager, riding on the trucks, being at the firehouse table,

412
00:26:17,180 --> 00:26:20,060
seeing how the guys and girls interact with each other, the family.

413
00:26:20,060 --> 00:26:26,860
And that if it wasn't for the Explorer program, I don't know if I would have,

414
00:26:26,860 --> 00:26:31,420
I think it does seem inevitable, but it's hard to make that judgment now.

415
00:26:31,420 --> 00:26:35,740
Cause like I'm already in it, but I think I would have ended up in the fire service at some point.

416
00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:38,940
And seeing how much my mom loved it.

417
00:26:38,940 --> 00:26:43,340
But that was the, I remember that that was when after the first night I was there, I was like,

418
00:26:43,340 --> 00:26:45,980
okay, I think I'll, I think I'm going to do this forever.

419
00:26:45,980 --> 00:26:49,020
Talk to me about that experience as a young man and then running it.

420
00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:52,860
Because when, especially when there's that diversity conversation,

421
00:26:53,740 --> 00:26:55,180
there's two sides to the coin.

422
00:26:55,180 --> 00:27:00,620
Of course, there are absolutely groups of young men and women that the fire service is just not

423
00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:04,620
on the radar or not even an option because a lot of us went to fire academy.

424
00:27:04,620 --> 00:27:07,580
That's not cheap, you know, EMT school, paramedic school.

425
00:27:07,580 --> 00:27:13,100
And then there's a lot of people that, you know, they're not seeing themselves in uniform

426
00:27:13,100 --> 00:27:18,220
represented in their community too, but scooping up a bunch of people based on pigmentation or

427
00:27:18,220 --> 00:27:20,220
sexual orientation is not the answer either.

428
00:27:20,940 --> 00:27:25,020
So I think, you know, it's already been out there for a long time, but Marion Ocala here,

429
00:27:25,020 --> 00:27:29,260
my friend, Chris Hickman started one and it's phenomenal because they offer all the training

430
00:27:29,260 --> 00:27:30,060
for free.

431
00:27:30,060 --> 00:27:31,740
They put it in a central location.

432
00:27:31,740 --> 00:27:35,100
So all these kids have to do is be able to get there three times a week.

433
00:27:35,820 --> 00:27:39,340
They get all the training, they get the equipment, and then there's a, we have the state fire

434
00:27:39,340 --> 00:27:41,260
college here in our, in our city.

435
00:27:41,260 --> 00:27:45,340
So then there are, you know, scholarship positions to go to fire school.

436
00:27:45,340 --> 00:27:49,580
So they've removed a lot of the barriers to entry, but they've also said you can be a

437
00:27:49,580 --> 00:27:54,140
firefighter, but you've got to prove that either A, you can be a firefighter or B that

438
00:27:54,140 --> 00:27:57,820
you even want to, because I think it's a lot of value for people that don't want, they

439
00:27:57,820 --> 00:28:01,660
try the mentorship program and they go, oh, it's not what I want to do.

440
00:28:01,660 --> 00:28:02,620
Beautiful.

441
00:28:02,620 --> 00:28:05,100
You just saved yourself a lot of stress, maybe a lot of money.

442
00:28:05,820 --> 00:28:09,420
Now you can check that off your list and go pursue some of the other ones.

443
00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:14,540
So I think those programs are phenomenal, but talk to me about your experience as a

444
00:28:14,540 --> 00:28:17,580
young person and then what you're seeing now 20 years later.

445
00:28:18,540 --> 00:28:21,740
The generational difference is wildly different.

446
00:28:22,540 --> 00:28:28,060
I, um, when I was coming up in the program and I think this is definitely true for like

447
00:28:28,060 --> 00:28:29,580
my dad's generation and stuff.

448
00:28:30,300 --> 00:28:36,140
If we made mistakes, um, someone can pull you aside and say, Hey, Jack, ask, knock it

449
00:28:36,140 --> 00:28:36,540
off.

450
00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:37,340
You know what I mean?

451
00:28:37,340 --> 00:28:39,260
And, uh, you're like, okay.

452
00:28:39,260 --> 00:28:40,220
And you respond well to that.

453
00:28:41,020 --> 00:28:47,820
And slowly over time, um, I noticed that when I tried to run the program like that, it

454
00:28:47,980 --> 00:28:49,100
didn't go that well.

455
00:28:50,060 --> 00:28:55,980
And I had to learn a lot about the psychology of, of mentorship and teaching people.

456
00:28:55,980 --> 00:29:03,980
And, um, you know, my biggest thing going from a young man and into leading it and

457
00:29:03,980 --> 00:29:10,300
running it was understanding that running that program, the idea of leadership behind

458
00:29:10,300 --> 00:29:13,660
it meant more that you had to care about people, not that you were the smartest and

459
00:29:13,660 --> 00:29:14,220
most capable.

460
00:29:15,180 --> 00:29:19,820
And I just thought if I was a really good fireman and a really good paramedic that I

461
00:29:19,820 --> 00:29:23,340
could teach people that skill and that that's all they needed to know.

462
00:29:23,340 --> 00:29:30,060
And in reality, um, especially at, we take, we take kids in as early as 14 years old,

463
00:29:30,220 --> 00:29:31,180
14 years old.

464
00:29:31,180 --> 00:29:35,100
They don't, they do care how much, you know, but they want to see that you care about

465
00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:35,580
them first.

466
00:29:35,580 --> 00:29:38,380
Um, and then they'll run through a wall for you.

467
00:29:38,380 --> 00:29:41,900
Um, but that was a really hard part for me.

468
00:29:41,900 --> 00:29:45,820
And I had a lot of headaches early on because I couldn't understand why it was so

469
00:29:45,820 --> 00:29:49,820
difficult to get buy-in, um, until we did that.

470
00:29:49,820 --> 00:29:56,620
And the program I run is these, I don't like calling them kids because they don't

471
00:29:56,620 --> 00:29:57,340
act like children.

472
00:29:57,340 --> 00:29:59,740
Um, but I think that's the biggest thing.

473
00:29:59,740 --> 00:30:01,340
They don't act like children.

474
00:30:01,340 --> 00:30:04,620
Um, but they are, um, second to none.

475
00:30:04,620 --> 00:30:09,260
I mean, I'm biased obviously, but I'd put them up against any Explorer program in

476
00:30:09,260 --> 00:30:09,660
the country.

477
00:30:09,660 --> 00:30:14,220
We've traveled nationally to go to national competitions and these, these kids are the

478
00:30:14,220 --> 00:30:20,140
most competitive, dedicated, uh, hardcore, uh, explorers that you'll find.

479
00:30:20,140 --> 00:30:25,020
I mean, we have a reputation of just dominance, like they go and compete and they

480
00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:26,620
want to crush everybody.

481
00:30:26,620 --> 00:30:31,340
Um, and that, that attitude reflects and permeates through everything they do, the

482
00:30:31,340 --> 00:30:33,420
way they wear their uniform, the way they show up to the firehouse.

483
00:30:33,420 --> 00:30:34,940
They're amazing.

484
00:30:34,940 --> 00:30:41,180
So we've, we've, I went from trying to figure out how to like get buy-in to

485
00:30:41,180 --> 00:30:45,980
establishing this, this culture to the point where it's not, it's not me at all.

486
00:30:45,980 --> 00:30:50,220
Like if I leave tomorrow, this is going to continue that way because of, um, the

487
00:30:50,220 --> 00:30:53,900
people I've brought in and the culture that they set up at the, at the ground

488
00:30:53,900 --> 00:30:54,620
level.

489
00:30:54,620 --> 00:30:57,820
And I wish I could, we, I could figure out how to do this in my fire department.

490
00:30:57,820 --> 00:31:00,540
I wanted, I want to, uh, translate that.

491
00:31:00,540 --> 00:31:06,460
Maybe I will one day, but, um, you know, the, the culture, I use that word so

492
00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:11,260
passionately that in that program, they're there and no matter who joins the

493
00:31:11,260 --> 00:31:15,820
program, they will assimilate to exactly how these, these other young men and

494
00:31:15,820 --> 00:31:16,780
women are.

495
00:31:16,780 --> 00:31:20,220
Um, they demand excellence every, from everyone.

496
00:31:20,220 --> 00:31:23,740
And, um, what you said earlier is exactly what I tell them.

497
00:31:23,740 --> 00:31:26,540
Funny enough, I'm like, there's three kinds of people that join the program.

498
00:31:26,540 --> 00:31:29,340
There's kids that really want to do this.

499
00:31:29,340 --> 00:31:32,940
There's kids that are unsure and they could go one way or the other.

500
00:31:32,940 --> 00:31:35,180
And then there's kids that definitely don't want to do this, but this seems

501
00:31:35,180 --> 00:31:37,260
like something cool and they get community service out of it and all this

502
00:31:37,260 --> 00:31:38,700
other stuff, which is fine.

503
00:31:39,420 --> 00:31:42,860
But if you join, no matter which one of those three groups you are, you have to

504
00:31:42,860 --> 00:31:43,820
meet the standard.

505
00:31:43,820 --> 00:31:45,580
So as long as you do that, you're welcome.

506
00:31:46,220 --> 00:31:50,140
And it's a, we actually pay a hundred percent of their school.

507
00:31:50,140 --> 00:31:54,860
So if you're in the program for two years, they get free EMT medic and fire.

508
00:31:55,580 --> 00:32:02,300
So, um, we had a local billionaire, uh, donate a hundred thousand dollars to us.

509
00:32:03,100 --> 00:32:09,100
Um, as a scholarship check in, I want to say it was 2007 or 2008.

510
00:32:09,820 --> 00:32:11,980
And we've been using it ever since and slowly replenishing it.

511
00:32:11,980 --> 00:32:15,180
We do fundraisers and stuff, but we've still been able to give that out.

512
00:32:15,180 --> 00:32:21,100
We've given out over 130 something thousand as of, as of yet.

513
00:32:21,100 --> 00:32:22,780
And, uh, we do, we're still doing it every year.

514
00:32:22,780 --> 00:32:25,980
So one of my kids just got hired at Delray beach fire department.

515
00:32:26,620 --> 00:32:30,700
Uh, his badge ceremony is Friday and I'm going to go, he was a recipient as well.

516
00:32:30,700 --> 00:32:32,940
I'm going to go see that, but we're turning them out, man.

517
00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:34,860
And they're the absolute best.

518
00:32:34,860 --> 00:32:37,100
They're going to be little force multipliers wherever they go.

519
00:32:37,100 --> 00:32:40,060
They're going to hopefully change the fire service every, every, every time

520
00:32:40,060 --> 00:32:40,940
they get hired at one.

521
00:32:40,940 --> 00:32:44,300
So it's a huge passion, mine, if you can't tell it's like the most important

522
00:32:44,300 --> 00:32:45,260
thing I've done in my career.

523
00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:54,140
I hear two kind of, um, philosophies when it comes to the young recruits of today,

524
00:32:55,020 --> 00:33:01,100
the, you know, the, the kind of blinkered, uh, ignorant statement is, oh, the reason

525
00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:04,540
why we can't hire our kids is because they don't want to work these Gen Z kids.

526
00:33:05,180 --> 00:33:09,340
Now to me, I mean, yes, there's that group in every single generation, you know?

527
00:33:09,340 --> 00:33:11,260
So I call absolute bullshit.

528
00:33:11,260 --> 00:33:16,700
What makes sense to me and what I see with my own eyes is that this young generation

529
00:33:17,420 --> 00:33:19,340
values far more than money.

530
00:33:19,340 --> 00:33:24,140
And if you think about our generation, what's every fucking union negotiation,

531
00:33:24,140 --> 00:33:26,220
oh, we need to pay raise pay raise.

532
00:33:26,220 --> 00:33:31,580
And what's the most resistance the 24 72, like it blows my mind that the people

533
00:33:31,580 --> 00:33:35,900
that's benefiting work against it because they just don't understand it.

534
00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:40,060
And it was taken a step back and just critically thought that concept for a moment.

535
00:33:40,060 --> 00:33:43,420
If I work 42 hours a week, I could be with my family more.

536
00:33:44,140 --> 00:33:49,100
So what I hear from these people now that are, that are recruiting, that are open-minded

537
00:33:49,100 --> 00:33:52,860
and really looking at these young people is they're like, James, they value their time.

538
00:33:52,860 --> 00:33:54,620
They value their, their mental health.

539
00:33:54,620 --> 00:33:55,900
They value their physical health.

540
00:33:55,900 --> 00:33:57,260
They value their relationships.

541
00:33:57,980 --> 00:34:01,980
So I would argue that's one of the reasons why we have the recruitment crisis is because

542
00:34:01,980 --> 00:34:05,740
when you look on a piece of paper, what it's like to be a firefighter in America,

543
00:34:05,740 --> 00:34:11,100
yes, there's all the good things that we both ran towards it for, but now when you Google it,

544
00:34:11,100 --> 00:34:15,820
there's the divorces and the testosterone and the reproductive issues and the cancers

545
00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:21,980
and the suicides of which we just had one in my town during a firefighter Memorial weekend.

546
00:34:22,700 --> 00:34:24,060
I mean, just absolutely tragic.

547
00:34:24,060 --> 00:34:28,860
So these children, these young people are seeing this and it doesn't look good

548
00:34:28,860 --> 00:34:33,900
to that young fired up applicant, but then they go to your city where you've got this

549
00:34:33,900 --> 00:34:38,700
excellent mentorship program and you're showing them that you care by the work weeks and other

550
00:34:38,700 --> 00:34:39,500
elements.

551
00:34:39,500 --> 00:34:44,060
And you've got these fricking spark plugs dominating all over the country.

552
00:34:44,060 --> 00:34:50,060
So talk to me about that concept, you know, do these Gen Z kids just air quotes, not want to work

553
00:34:50,060 --> 00:34:54,620
or are they just more mature and more well-educated than we were because, you know,

554
00:34:54,620 --> 00:34:59,500
of the information that's available now and they absolutely will work if they're given the

555
00:34:59,500 --> 00:35:00,380
right environment.

556
00:35:01,180 --> 00:35:02,700
I think it's the environment all the way.

557
00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:10,460
And I can prove it because I take, like those three groups I just said, I mean, I'll put it to you

558
00:35:10,460 --> 00:35:12,700
this way to answer that question better.

559
00:35:14,860 --> 00:35:16,700
We, it's a free program.

560
00:35:17,500 --> 00:35:22,860
We pay 100% of their tuition as long as they stay for two years and we will make them more prepared

561
00:35:23,420 --> 00:35:25,820
to join the fire department than anybody else.

562
00:35:25,820 --> 00:35:28,140
By the time they get into fire Academy, this is old.

563
00:35:28,140 --> 00:35:29,660
They've already figured all this stuff out.

564
00:35:29,660 --> 00:35:33,260
They know everything except going into a burning building.

565
00:35:33,260 --> 00:35:34,380
They've done everything else.

566
00:35:35,740 --> 00:35:39,740
And 90% of them don't get into the fire service in my program.

567
00:35:39,740 --> 00:35:45,820
90% don't not because they can't, but because they don't want to because we have another stat

568
00:35:45,820 --> 00:35:54,540
where over our entire the life of this program, the last 20 years, 100% of the kids that we've

569
00:35:54,540 --> 00:35:57,820
put through EMT, medic and fire have been placed in the fire service.

570
00:35:57,820 --> 00:35:58,620
100%.

571
00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:00,380
We haven't had one kid.

572
00:36:00,380 --> 00:36:01,420
We're not a big program.

573
00:36:01,420 --> 00:36:06,780
I only have 20 at a time, but we've never had anybody go through EMT, medic and fire in 20

574
00:36:06,780 --> 00:36:08,940
years and not get into the fire service.

575
00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:11,020
And that tells me two things.

576
00:36:11,020 --> 00:36:13,500
One, the kids who do it really, really, really want to do it.

577
00:36:14,780 --> 00:36:19,820
But two, the other 90% that aren't, they're working just as hard.

578
00:36:19,820 --> 00:36:20,940
They're maintaining the standard.

579
00:36:20,940 --> 00:36:22,300
We wouldn't keep them if they didn't.

580
00:36:23,020 --> 00:36:26,380
So, you know, you could make the argument.

581
00:36:26,380 --> 00:36:29,980
One could make the argument that saying, well, Gen Z is lazy.

582
00:36:31,100 --> 00:36:35,340
The kids you're picking are just super into being firefighters, so they're the exception.

583
00:36:35,340 --> 00:36:38,380
And I would say, well, 90% of them don't get into the fire service.

584
00:36:38,380 --> 00:36:43,660
And yet each of them acquires hundreds of hours of community service every year.

585
00:36:43,660 --> 00:36:46,220
They break their back for our fire department.

586
00:36:46,220 --> 00:36:47,580
They show up at everything.

587
00:36:47,580 --> 00:36:48,380
They're there early.

588
00:36:48,380 --> 00:36:49,100
They leave late.

589
00:36:50,940 --> 00:36:52,060
They go and compete.

590
00:36:52,060 --> 00:36:56,220
And, you know, they're extremely, extremely respectful.

591
00:36:57,020 --> 00:37:02,300
They've shown time and again that they're willing to get their hands dirty.

592
00:37:02,300 --> 00:37:06,540
And I'll tell you, we have a really strict phone and social media policy.

593
00:37:06,540 --> 00:37:11,100
So when they show up, we don't see a phone in their hand at all.

594
00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:15,900
And when we go to events, you know, we don't let them click together or anything like that.

595
00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:22,940
We immediately send them out to go and mingle with every other Explorer program and all that stuff.

596
00:37:22,940 --> 00:37:25,820
So, I mean, I call it bullshit.

597
00:37:25,820 --> 00:37:26,380
I agree with you.

598
00:37:26,380 --> 00:37:27,740
I don't think it's Gen Z at all.

599
00:37:27,740 --> 00:37:37,100
I think the difference is we have a misalignment of understanding what they need to be instructed

600
00:37:37,100 --> 00:37:43,500
with, which is patience and reasoning, like why we do everything.

601
00:37:43,500 --> 00:37:48,140
Whereas previous generations could just say, get out there and go do it, you know,

602
00:37:48,140 --> 00:37:49,180
and that's kind of it.

603
00:37:49,180 --> 00:37:53,740
And I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I can get the same result.

604
00:37:53,740 --> 00:37:59,020
I've seen the generations come through and I can get the same result or better from this newer generation.

605
00:37:59,020 --> 00:38:03,180
You just have to show them that you give a shit first.

606
00:38:03,180 --> 00:38:11,660
And, you know, they don't really respond to the other ways of instruction, but explaining things.

607
00:38:11,660 --> 00:38:17,900
And getting by in that way, and you will have the highest quality and highest caliber of people

608
00:38:17,900 --> 00:38:18,780
you can imagine.

609
00:38:18,780 --> 00:38:20,300
They're very easy to refine.

610
00:38:20,300 --> 00:38:27,420
So, see, one of the pushbacks I get from switching to the 2472 is, oh, we can't hire enough people now.

611
00:38:27,420 --> 00:38:28,220
It's like, yeah.

612
00:38:28,220 --> 00:38:32,300
And conversely, we used to test against hundreds, if not thousands of people.

613
00:38:33,020 --> 00:38:38,060
So there's one common denominator, the leadership and the fire service, because it's the people

614
00:38:38,060 --> 00:38:41,900
working in uniform that are doing all the extra hours for you when you mismanage it so much that

615
00:38:41,900 --> 00:38:43,180
it's devolved to this point.

616
00:38:43,660 --> 00:38:49,980
So if you fix the thing, you will once again have all these young spark plugs from around the country

617
00:38:49,980 --> 00:38:55,980
in similar programming, excuse, programs that are now banging on your door wanting to be a firefighter.

618
00:38:55,980 --> 00:39:00,140
And once again, you can take the top 10% of the list, just like we used to.

619
00:39:00,140 --> 00:39:03,580
So the answer is not to point your fingers at other people.

620
00:39:03,580 --> 00:39:07,580
The answer is to look in a mirror and go, we have some people that are doing this.

621
00:39:07,580 --> 00:39:08,780
We have screwed this up.

622
00:39:08,780 --> 00:39:10,620
It's time that we turn this corner.

623
00:39:10,620 --> 00:39:15,500
So all these different perspectives, including yours, are adding layers to this conversation.

624
00:39:15,500 --> 00:39:18,860
It's like, it's not no one wants to be a firefighter anymore.

625
00:39:18,860 --> 00:39:24,940
It's no one wants to be a firefighter in 2024 until we fix the things that are broken.

626
00:39:24,940 --> 00:39:26,860
So fix the things that are broken.

627
00:39:27,900 --> 00:39:28,220
Yeah.

628
00:39:28,220 --> 00:39:35,580
Isn't it weird right now that if you find a fire chief who the entire department adores,

629
00:39:35,580 --> 00:39:38,140
it's so rare, it's abnormal.

630
00:39:39,420 --> 00:39:43,500
And I don't know what the answer to that is.

631
00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:44,940
I just know that that is a fact.

632
00:39:44,940 --> 00:39:50,620
Like if you went around, that may be because some people are overly critical.

633
00:39:50,620 --> 00:39:51,660
I don't know.

634
00:39:51,660 --> 00:39:58,940
But I do know that overall, most people would be very unhappy with their fire chief,

635
00:39:58,940 --> 00:40:02,620
or I should say the administration in general, than not.

636
00:40:02,620 --> 00:40:07,260
And I don't have any aspirations to become a fire chief.

637
00:40:07,980 --> 00:40:15,420
But every once in a while, I get this whim where I'm like, could I change that?

638
00:40:15,420 --> 00:40:15,900
And I don't know.

639
00:40:16,700 --> 00:40:19,260
Because I've known this department since I was a teenager.

640
00:40:19,260 --> 00:40:24,140
So I figured if anybody could help, I figured I might be able to.

641
00:40:24,140 --> 00:40:27,740
But I'm not even halfway through my career, so I don't want to think like that right now.

642
00:40:27,740 --> 00:40:35,100
I think what I'm seeing, and it's so disappointing, you want to be like,

643
00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:37,900
I was only ever a firefighter, and I'm proud of that.

644
00:40:37,900 --> 00:40:40,780
It was not like I'm looking down at my career.

645
00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:41,900
I adored that position.

646
00:40:41,900 --> 00:40:43,420
That's what I dreamt of in fire academy.

647
00:40:43,420 --> 00:40:44,940
I never got past that.

648
00:40:44,940 --> 00:40:48,460
I just still want to be holding the saw, going interior, whatever it is.

649
00:40:49,340 --> 00:40:54,060
But you want the people in the white shirts, the ones with the bugles,

650
00:40:54,060 --> 00:40:57,260
whatever it is, to be better than you, to be the leaders,

651
00:40:57,260 --> 00:41:00,860
to be the ones that's blazing a path, and then you all kind of follow.

652
00:41:01,580 --> 00:41:07,100
But when COVID happened, and you saw how easily the country was divided

653
00:41:07,100 --> 00:41:11,740
to the point where families and friendships were shattered over a vaccine or a mask,

654
00:41:12,620 --> 00:41:14,700
that's when I went, oh, shit.

655
00:41:15,820 --> 00:41:19,180
I just assumed that all the people in leadership positions were really good at their job,

656
00:41:19,180 --> 00:41:23,660
but now we're seeing misinformation and division and all these things.

657
00:41:23,660 --> 00:41:24,940
It's horrendous.

658
00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:27,660
That is what I think is happening now in the fire service.

659
00:41:27,660 --> 00:41:29,180
I put a post out a while ago.

660
00:41:29,820 --> 00:41:34,060
I think it said, there is no greater cowardice than a leader that refuses

661
00:41:34,060 --> 00:41:35,980
to advocate for the health of their people.

662
00:41:36,620 --> 00:41:37,820
And that's what I'm seeing.

663
00:41:37,820 --> 00:41:40,540
I'm seeing people that should never have been in that position

664
00:41:41,180 --> 00:41:46,300
now being called upon to do what they've been paid for for 5, 10, 15, 20 years,

665
00:41:47,020 --> 00:41:49,260
and they just don't have the balls to do it.

666
00:41:49,820 --> 00:41:52,540
And so I'm seeing cowardice, plain and simple.

667
00:41:52,540 --> 00:41:58,620
If you, like where I live now, have had multiple suicides of young people in the last four years,

668
00:41:58,620 --> 00:42:03,580
and you still refuse to do anything about it, then you don't need to be in that position.

669
00:42:03,580 --> 00:42:08,780
You need to step down and let someone with a set to actually make change, step in that position.

670
00:42:08,780 --> 00:42:13,180
And if your city or council or county council members are doing the same thing,

671
00:42:13,180 --> 00:42:17,660
then you need to educate the people in your town or county and get rid of them as well.

672
00:42:18,140 --> 00:42:22,460
Because otherwise, you're just going to have the same thing over and over again.

673
00:42:22,460 --> 00:42:29,100
So optimistically, we are a beautiful point where we can turn a corner and really force change,

674
00:42:29,100 --> 00:42:34,620
but only with a later leader who's willing to actually make that happen and a, you know,

675
00:42:34,620 --> 00:42:38,860
workforce, a fire department that will actually get behind that and force that.

676
00:42:38,860 --> 00:42:42,940
But if we just put our heads back in the sand and say, oh, that will never happen.

677
00:42:42,940 --> 00:42:44,220
They'll never go for it.

678
00:42:44,220 --> 00:42:45,900
Then you're absolutely right.

679
00:42:45,900 --> 00:42:50,620
But then you'll be the department that no one wants to work for because everyone around you has fixed it.

680
00:42:50,620 --> 00:42:56,940
Yeah, I see a lot of people in my department where, so just to echo what you're saying,

681
00:42:56,940 --> 00:43:04,220
in the next five years, all of our chiefs at my department are leaving except for two of them.

682
00:43:04,940 --> 00:43:11,500
And that means that I mean, all of them, James, like every single chief assistant,

683
00:43:12,220 --> 00:43:15,900
assistant chief and upward are gone, including the fire chief.

684
00:43:15,900 --> 00:43:21,500
So, you know, that makes us look around and go, okay, we have five years to figure out who the team is going to be.

685
00:43:21,500 --> 00:43:26,780
And I'm looking around and I'm asking and I'm trying to figure out and I'm an admin now,

686
00:43:26,780 --> 00:43:29,980
which I'm supposed to go back in like June back to shift.

687
00:43:30,780 --> 00:43:36,540
But, you know, I'm around all these guys and the succession plan is zero, you know,

688
00:43:37,260 --> 00:43:43,020
and I'm like, man, I would love to like, let's work this like an NFL draft, you know,

689
00:43:43,020 --> 00:43:46,460
start coaching people up, start getting the best of the best.

690
00:43:46,460 --> 00:43:52,380
The problem is right now is the perception of admin is like, that's them and we're us, you know,

691
00:43:52,380 --> 00:44:02,060
and everybody who you would really want to see in charge, they are kind of resistant to it.

692
00:44:02,060 --> 00:44:04,460
They're like, I don't want to go, you know, to the dark side, man.

693
00:44:04,460 --> 00:44:06,140
I just want to be one of the guys.

694
00:44:06,140 --> 00:44:10,300
And it just underlines exactly what you're saying.

695
00:44:10,300 --> 00:44:15,340
Like we need those people to be up there too, which is funny because when I brought that up,

696
00:44:16,540 --> 00:44:19,420
the one of the only assistant chiefs that's going to be around,

697
00:44:19,420 --> 00:44:22,460
the one of the only two assistant chiefs that's going to be around, he goes, perfect.

698
00:44:22,460 --> 00:44:26,940
You should say, you know, like saying, okay, put your money in your mouth as asshole, you know,

699
00:44:26,940 --> 00:44:29,340
and I'm like, oh, about that.

700
00:44:29,340 --> 00:44:32,860
You know, so which was a compliment.

701
00:44:32,860 --> 00:44:35,100
Like I don't want, I don't mean to say that like I'm bragging or anything.

702
00:44:35,100 --> 00:44:40,140
That's not what I was saying, but I, he was just saying like, hey, if you see change, you want to

703
00:44:40,140 --> 00:44:41,900
do stuff, why are you going back to shift?

704
00:44:41,900 --> 00:44:47,340
And I, me, I'm like, I got promoted to captain so I could be a captain and I've worked zero days

705
00:44:47,340 --> 00:44:47,900
as a captain.

706
00:44:47,900 --> 00:44:53,020
I was like, I'd like to get some experience as an officer on an engine for a while before I,

707
00:44:53,020 --> 00:44:55,900
you know, tuck, you know, just tuck it away.

708
00:44:55,900 --> 00:44:56,700
So it'd be cool.

709
00:44:56,700 --> 00:44:57,420
I'm halfway through.

710
00:44:57,420 --> 00:45:03,420
Like I don't want to go to admin yet, but you know, I hope that I get to the point where I

711
00:45:03,420 --> 00:45:09,020
know, I hope there are a lot of people that have these ideas for change that could do good stuff

712
00:45:09,020 --> 00:45:16,060
and bring it up because a lot of the issues that I've taken, that I've taken issue with,

713
00:45:16,700 --> 00:45:21,500
speaking of circle is from lack of leadership, whether it's mental behavioral health or physical

714
00:45:21,500 --> 00:45:27,820
health, or just trying to understand recruitment and retention or just being a good leader.

715
00:45:27,820 --> 00:45:32,860
Um, it's all from, it's all from a lack of like the right people in the right seats.

716
00:45:34,460 --> 00:45:35,100
Absolutely.

717
00:45:35,660 --> 00:45:39,900
Well, I want to kind of shift a little bit to make sure that we dive in and spend a lot of time on

718
00:45:39,900 --> 00:45:41,260
the CBD conversation.

719
00:45:41,260 --> 00:45:47,500
So as you progress through your career, talk to me about the, the injury that you have and then

720
00:45:47,500 --> 00:45:50,300
how that ultimately leads you to trying CBD for the first time.

721
00:45:50,300 --> 00:45:58,140
Yeah. I had foot surgery in 2018, 2018.

722
00:45:58,140 --> 00:46:02,460
Yeah. It was six years. Yep. I was turning 30. Yeah. So I had, I had foot surgery in 2018

723
00:46:03,020 --> 00:46:11,180
and, um, uh, I was, it wasn't really an injury. Um, I had a very tight Achilles as a kid

724
00:46:11,180 --> 00:46:13,740
and I didn't notice it, but it was slowly deforming my foot.

725
00:46:13,740 --> 00:46:19,340
So I had to get my foot rebuilt. So they had to, uh, break my, my, uh, my ankle in a few places

726
00:46:19,340 --> 00:46:28,220
and infuse, uh, three joints. So, um, very painful procedure. So I had to take opiates, uh, and I

727
00:46:28,220 --> 00:46:36,700
took them for, um, almost two months every day. So it was, um, it was hard stopping them and I

728
00:46:36,700 --> 00:46:42,220
really screwed up my sleep. So when I tried to figure out how I could correct my sleep,

729
00:46:42,220 --> 00:46:45,020
the options were just more medication. Um,

730
00:46:45,020 --> 00:46:54,300
or to do something natural that I wasn't allowed to take, like, like THC or CBD. And, uh, that was

731
00:46:54,300 --> 00:46:58,140
all I was finding online, you know, and we talked to my, when I talked to my doctor, he's like,

732
00:46:58,140 --> 00:47:05,980
would you like Xanax, Ambien or Lunesta, you know, and I'm like, why do I have to correct the, uh,

733
00:47:06,620 --> 00:47:11,100
the, the, the issue of, of lack of sleep with more medication, medication put me in this spot.

734
00:47:11,100 --> 00:47:15,180
Well, when I started searching, I got really interested in CBD and a friend of mine recommended

735
00:47:15,180 --> 00:47:23,020
it on the department. And, uh, he mentioned to take CBD for sleep. I, uh, I, I was trying to find

736
00:47:23,020 --> 00:47:28,860
something that was safe for firefighters and nothing was coming up. So, uh, put me down this,

737
00:47:28,860 --> 00:47:34,860
this other path. I started working, um, doing like website development, uh, and stuff. My fiance and

738
00:47:34,860 --> 00:47:41,820
I have done that before. And, uh, I started doing it for this, this guy who had a CBD company. Um,

739
00:47:41,820 --> 00:47:45,740
I learned a little bit of the ins and outs of the company and the brand. I didn't really like the

740
00:47:45,740 --> 00:47:52,620
product. I went down my own route of making CBD, uh, generic, like just generic CBD, not for

741
00:47:52,620 --> 00:47:58,300
firefighters. And I got very educated on the process. Well, over time, some research came out

742
00:47:58,300 --> 00:48:05,580
to show CBD isolated does not cause failed drug tests. It was preliminary. I went very, very deep

743
00:48:05,580 --> 00:48:10,700
into that. I actually called the guys at Johns Hopkins that did the study and talk to them about

744
00:48:10,700 --> 00:48:18,300
it and, um, talk to lawyers. I did all my own stuff. And, um, I found a group of scientists in

745
00:48:18,300 --> 00:48:25,980
Colorado that can isolate CBD to zero parts per billion in the refined product. And I, um,

746
00:48:25,980 --> 00:48:31,020
get the wrong grading from them. We make everything here. And, um, so that's kind of like the really

747
00:48:31,020 --> 00:48:39,980
abridged version, but the, uh, the, the push was my foot surgery, but what really has motivated me

748
00:48:39,980 --> 00:48:46,620
and has kept this brand going and, and, uh, I guess been like the fuel on the fire is that

749
00:48:47,900 --> 00:48:54,060
the counterfactuals, like there's so much stuff that has been, uh,

750
00:48:54,060 --> 00:48:59,660
so much stuff that happens in the fire service that makes absolutely no sense to me for health

751
00:48:59,660 --> 00:49:06,300
and wellness. And with this compound, first of all, doesn't produce a high and it's, you know,

752
00:49:06,300 --> 00:49:10,380
um, it's not addictive and you can, there's no withdrawal. So you're like, all right,

753
00:49:11,100 --> 00:49:18,700
they're worried about drug testing, but the same exact, um, I guess fears that, that are with,

754
00:49:18,700 --> 00:49:24,700
uh, THC are applied to Xanax as well, or any Benzo, I should say stays in your urine for a month.

755
00:49:25,500 --> 00:49:32,940
THC and Benzos, you can't tell active intoxication with it. THC and Benzos, right? Um, there is no,

756
00:49:32,940 --> 00:49:38,700
uh, sobriety test to say, did you take this today? Or did you take this, you know, three days ago or

757
00:49:38,700 --> 00:49:42,700
two weeks ago or whatever THC and Benzos, and yet one of them, you can have a prescription for me,

758
00:49:42,700 --> 00:49:47,580
an active firefighter and it has withdrawal symptoms and it's very deadly. If you know,

759
00:49:47,580 --> 00:49:55,260
addictive. Uh, and I was like, w what in the hell are we doing with both of these things? Um, so

760
00:49:55,260 --> 00:49:59,900
then it just became more mission driven for the entire fire service because it changed my sleep

761
00:49:59,900 --> 00:50:07,580
forever. And, um, I'm 36 now and I feel in better health than I ever have, uh, way better than when

762
00:50:07,580 --> 00:50:13,420
I was in my twenties. I've also prioritized like proper nutrition and I've prioritized working out

763
00:50:13,420 --> 00:50:18,300
and it's a holistic approach. It's not this one thing, but you know, in general, I look at it like

764
00:50:18,940 --> 00:50:29,260
the lack of, you know, priority on this stuff is, is what, um, is what is, is the biggest motivating

765
00:50:29,260 --> 00:50:33,420
factor for the day to day, because I think we're, we're just missing the, we're, we're, we're missing

766
00:50:33,420 --> 00:50:41,100
the forest for the trees here. Your origin story is the same as mine. I had a meniscus tear, um,

767
00:50:41,100 --> 00:50:47,980
and was on opiates. I think it was my second one, I believe, which was uber painful. The guy,

768
00:50:47,980 --> 00:50:53,100
the surgeon told me that my meniscus was kind of stuck between my tib fib and my femur and he had

769
00:50:53,100 --> 00:50:58,700
to like crank on my leg to get it out. Um, so yeah, the bruising and the pain was, was pretty brutal,

770
00:50:59,340 --> 00:51:05,740
but I remember I got, I think it was like, uh, I don't think it was even two weeks. I forgot

771
00:51:05,740 --> 00:51:11,500
10 days and then I refilled it once and I had Dr. Gregory Smith on the show, who's a pain physician

772
00:51:11,500 --> 00:51:17,580
in LA and he had a company or has a company called red pill medical. And he sent me some CBD, zero

773
00:51:17,580 --> 00:51:24,460
THC CBD. Awesome. And, uh, I literally, I remember posting a picture again, it's gone now on Instagram

774
00:51:25,500 --> 00:51:30,060
of the prescription torn up and then a side of the thing, a CBD next to it. And then we're talking,

775
00:51:30,060 --> 00:51:35,740
this has to be seven, six, seven years ago. So very similar to when you had yours. And I was just,

776
00:51:35,740 --> 00:51:41,340
I was amazed. And again, he, he sent me the mass spectrometry of the, you know, each batch that we

777
00:51:41,340 --> 00:51:47,500
were taken to prove that there was no THC in there. Um, and so I had the same exact thing. And even

778
00:51:47,500 --> 00:51:50,940
with the sleeping pills, when you, when you actually learn about sleeping medication, you're

779
00:51:50,940 --> 00:51:57,020
not sleeping, you're unconscious, you know, only natural products can create real sleep. Those,

780
00:51:57,020 --> 00:52:02,140
those, uh, you know, prescription sleeping pills, you are not getting that restorative sleep. You're

781
00:52:02,140 --> 00:52:06,780
never getting into that deep, deep sleep, which is why, um, I think it's Benadryl, for example,

782
00:52:06,780 --> 00:52:12,780
they did a study and people that took that every single night had the same ill effects as, as us,

783
00:52:12,780 --> 00:52:16,380
you know, people that don't sleep every night. So you might think you're asleep, but you're not

784
00:52:16,380 --> 00:52:22,140
actually sleeping properly with those. Whereas CBD, you're actually getting into a deep restorative

785
00:52:22,140 --> 00:52:27,260
sleep, especially when you're off shift. Yeah. I haven't read that Benadryl and I want to look

786
00:52:27,260 --> 00:52:32,060
that up that, uh, I love seeing stuff like that. And that, that's all I'm trying to do. And I,

787
00:52:32,780 --> 00:52:41,820
I, um, I've had conversations with, um, physicians and, um, one, I had a conversation with a

788
00:52:41,820 --> 00:52:49,260
psychiatrist that wasn't a big fan of what I'm doing because, um, this person said, you have to

789
00:52:49,260 --> 00:52:56,220
understand the reason you're not sleeping first. And I said, totally agree. But with all due respect,

790
00:52:56,220 --> 00:53:04,220
I know the reason I'm not sleeping. I work a 24 hour shift. So, um, when we can take the, the,

791
00:53:04,940 --> 00:53:09,340
when we, we should start the conversation by saying we do a very unnatural job and we're creating

792
00:53:09,340 --> 00:53:15,980
unnatural, um, circumstances and environments for our brain and body. And the answer to that should

793
00:53:15,980 --> 00:53:22,940
not be create more, uh, or solve that problem with more unnatural stuff. How do we get back to balance?

794
00:53:22,940 --> 00:53:29,580
And, um, you know, um, there are certain things like, you know, that are debatable, right? Like

795
00:53:29,580 --> 00:53:34,540
people have, uh, made the debate that, that, um, high doses of melatonin can be good.

796
00:53:34,540 --> 00:53:38,780
Testosterone replacement therapy can be good. You know, I don't know where I stand on that stuff.

797
00:53:38,780 --> 00:53:45,260
I'm not educated enough, but I do know that, um, in, in, I've become a very big consumer of CBD

798
00:53:45,260 --> 00:53:55,740
research. Um, the overall health, um, profile, safety profile of CBD is extremely high, uh,

799
00:53:55,740 --> 00:54:00,940
compared to almost any other compound. There are no long-term effects. Um, and it's been studied

800
00:54:00,940 --> 00:54:08,220
for decades. I studied it in kids, I studied it in adults. Um, it's, it's got all of, uh, the upsides

801
00:54:08,220 --> 00:54:13,180
that you would want in restoring your circadian rhythm. Um, and more research comes out, like

802
00:54:13,180 --> 00:54:17,180
the biggest one and the most important one that I always try to tell firefighters, which I know you

803
00:54:17,180 --> 00:54:22,780
heard me talking about at Beaver Creek was we learned that the brain's circadian rhythm, the

804
00:54:22,780 --> 00:54:30,460
master clock is set by cannabinoids. Um, and this is a very interesting development because

805
00:54:31,260 --> 00:54:37,580
that part of your brain called the super chiasmatic nucleus or the SCN, the SCN, uh, has these,

806
00:54:37,580 --> 00:54:43,340
these components in it that say, what is daytime? What is nighttime? When should you get tired?

807
00:54:43,340 --> 00:54:49,340
And when should you be awake? Well, they get jacked up with light. So if you're up all night,

808
00:54:49,340 --> 00:54:55,020
you know, those, those hormones are completely off. So cannabinoids are at an all time low when

809
00:54:55,020 --> 00:55:01,180
you're sleep deprived. They're at an all time high when you're in a sleeping state. Um, if they go

810
00:55:01,180 --> 00:55:07,100
backwards, how do you correct that? Well, if you ask any sleep expert, they'll say, uh, and they

811
00:55:07,100 --> 00:55:12,940
uh, any for an hour of disrupted sleep, you need several days of proper sleep to recover from it,

812
00:55:12,940 --> 00:55:16,300
which basically means if you work a 30 year career, you're going to be in 30 years of

813
00:55:16,300 --> 00:55:22,940
sleep deprivation. There's no way to restore it. The best shift is the 24 72 to try to recover from

814
00:55:22,940 --> 00:55:29,740
those. Um, because it allows them those time off in between shifts, but it, you know, ultimately,

815
00:55:29,740 --> 00:55:36,380
uh, to correct that circadian rhythm, it's either take several months off or quit the fire service.

816
00:55:36,380 --> 00:55:41,500
So, you know, what we're trying to do is just be advocates for the us fire service to say,

817
00:55:42,300 --> 00:55:48,060
this is a way to naturally correct that part of the SCN that gets disrupted without having to

818
00:55:48,700 --> 00:55:52,940
put in a bunch of chemicals or drugs that are addictive and have withdrawal symptoms.

819
00:55:54,460 --> 00:56:00,620
I had Paige Figgey on the show. Uh, her daughter, Charlotte was, uh, really the origin story of CBD

820
00:56:00,620 --> 00:56:04,620
as we know it today, at least, and I'm sure it's been used for millennia. You know, we, we tend to

821
00:56:04,620 --> 00:56:10,140
turn our back on the ancient wisdom that surrounds psychedelics and CBD and acupuncture and all the

822
00:56:10,140 --> 00:56:16,220
things that have worked for a long time. Um, but, uh, you know, you listen to her, she was at death

823
00:56:16,220 --> 00:56:23,340
store and it wasn't THC in this particular case, it was pure CBD and she saved her life and she had

824
00:56:23,340 --> 00:56:28,620
years and years and years, you know, of, you know, full life again until she actually passed away

825
00:56:28,620 --> 00:56:33,820
from, uh, she got these horrendous seizures through kind of febrile seizures. And when COVID

826
00:56:33,820 --> 00:56:38,540
came through, she actually had a febrile seizure and she passed away in her sleep. But I think she

827
00:56:38,540 --> 00:56:43,180
was a, an infant when she, or was a toddler, at least when, when she had this initially,

828
00:56:43,180 --> 00:56:47,500
she lived to be nine years old and she was at death store when she gave her the CBD initially. So,

829
00:56:48,300 --> 00:56:53,580
you know, there's so much evidence to show, you know, that THC specifically with pediatric

830
00:56:53,580 --> 00:56:57,500
seizures, they've shown a lot, you know, obviously with cancer patients, when they lose their, uh,

831
00:56:57,500 --> 00:57:02,140
their, their, uh, appetite, excuse me. I mean, there's over and over and over and over again,

832
00:57:02,140 --> 00:57:08,060
but CBD specifically, there are so many things that it does so well without the THC at all,

833
00:57:08,060 --> 00:57:14,460
which is why zero THC is such a, an important product for the fire service. So for people

834
00:57:14,460 --> 00:57:21,500
listening, you know, kind of just unpack the difference between CBD and marijuana. And let's

835
00:57:21,500 --> 00:57:26,940
kind of go back to, you know, the, the, uh, elementary levels so we can then build on it.

836
00:57:26,940 --> 00:57:33,820
Um, the basic, the most basic thing to think about is that CBD is most, um,

837
00:57:34,700 --> 00:57:42,300
prominent in the hemp plant. It's not, uh, from marijuana. And, um, what it is, is a compound

838
00:57:42,300 --> 00:57:46,220
in the family called cannabinoids. It's non-psychoactive. It doesn't make you high.

839
00:57:46,780 --> 00:57:53,340
THC is also a cannabinoid, but it's like its cousin. It does make you high. Um, and it, it, uh,

840
00:57:53,340 --> 00:57:58,380
will cause a failed drug test. So that's the other side of the, the issue with firefighters.

841
00:57:58,380 --> 00:58:03,900
These two compounds are the most prominent cannabis compounds in hemp and in marijuana.

842
00:58:04,460 --> 00:58:09,820
Um, CBD is more prominent in hemp and THC is more prominent in marijuana. So they're very closely

843
00:58:09,820 --> 00:58:17,740
related plants. And at the outset, they look, uh, the same and smell the same, but the inner

844
00:58:17,740 --> 00:58:25,820
workings are very different. When you want to use CBD, um, I'm sorry, when you want to make CBD,

845
00:58:26,700 --> 00:58:31,740
they use the hemp plant and they try to extract all the CBD out of it into, you know, an elixir

846
00:58:31,740 --> 00:58:38,300
or a powder, um, something like that. And, um, THC is just a natural by-product. So a lot of times,

847
00:58:39,340 --> 00:58:46,460
uh, that THC gets kind of, um, extracted and kept and they use it and resell it, you know,

848
00:58:46,460 --> 00:58:54,380
and so, uh, a lot of people associate CBD with like marijuana or like going to a head shop or,

849
00:58:54,380 --> 00:58:57,500
you know, they see like the big pot leaf and they put CBD on it and that's,

850
00:58:58,060 --> 00:59:05,100
it's a misnomer. That's really not accurate. Um, CBD is very different from THC in its, uh,

851
00:59:05,100 --> 00:59:10,940
effect, like the, the way it doesn't make you high, but also in its properties of inflammation.

852
00:59:10,940 --> 00:59:17,180
So CBD is a potent anti-inflammatory. THC is not. THC doesn't really help inflammation. CBD

853
00:59:17,180 --> 00:59:22,620
increases overall REM sleep. THC disrupts REM sleep. So they're kind of push and pull. Um,

854
00:59:22,620 --> 00:59:28,940
there are things that THC does great. Uh, it's way better at, uh, pain relief, um, for actual

855
00:59:28,940 --> 00:59:34,460
interruption of pain receptors. It's better than THC. It's better than CBD is, uh, but for

856
00:59:34,460 --> 00:59:39,500
inflammation, you know, which most of us have to deal with chronically, uh, CBD does reduce that.

857
00:59:39,500 --> 00:59:45,100
So the most important thing to remember is that CBD is not weed. It's not from weed. Um, it's from

858
00:59:45,100 --> 00:59:50,220
hemp. And even though they look and smell similar, they are very different from a legal standpoint.

859
00:59:50,220 --> 00:59:55,580
Um, and they do have different properties. They are like, like I'd say, push and pull, uh, CBD is

860
00:59:55,580 --> 01:00:01,740
more of an inflammatory and a, uh, anti-inflammatory and a sleep aid and THC is more of a pain reliever.

861
01:00:03,340 --> 01:00:09,020
It seems like the standard kind of percentage of THC that's in a regular CBD tincture is

862
01:00:09,020 --> 01:00:14,860
0.3%. Um, I know there was some stronger ones. Charlotte's web sent me some a while ago and, uh,

863
01:00:15,900 --> 01:00:20,620
I'll tell you a funny story. There was what I thought was basically one more dose left in a

864
01:00:20,620 --> 01:00:26,300
bottle. So I ended up just not using the little dropper, but I just chugged it. I have a super

865
01:00:26,300 --> 01:00:33,500
low tolerance to CHC and I accidentally got high for like the rest of that day. It was done. It

866
01:00:33,500 --> 01:00:38,460
was shot. So yes, there is, there is a danger of getting regular, even clean, you know, Charlotte's

867
01:00:38,460 --> 01:00:44,300
web is a very clean, trustworthy, um, CBD, but yeah, when there is that element, you do have to be

868
01:00:44,300 --> 01:00:49,260
careful as the first responder conversely. And this is where I think it's so important to

869
01:00:49,260 --> 01:00:55,900
storytell like red pill, like Charlotte's web does have a zero THC line as well. Like rescue one CBD,

870
01:00:56,940 --> 01:01:03,260
when you absolutely guarantee that there is no THC in it, therefore you are safe because they

871
01:01:03,260 --> 01:01:07,340
are not testing for CBD in a blood test. You know, it'd be like, I was told we would be like

872
01:01:07,340 --> 01:01:11,420
testing for red blood cells. Like we have cannabinoids in us. I know it's exogenous, but

873
01:01:11,420 --> 01:01:15,660
you know, you're testing for something that naturally occurs in the body. Um, so talk to

874
01:01:15,660 --> 01:01:22,700
me about that differentiation and how have you been able to, uh, gain confidence from people

875
01:01:22,700 --> 01:01:27,820
that your product is safe because that fear of failing a workplace drug test is clearly one of

876
01:01:27,820 --> 01:01:33,500
the biggest stigmas when you come to this conversation. That is everything. Um, and

877
01:01:33,500 --> 01:01:41,820
you know, uh, to start, I should say Charlotte's web is the CBD company. They are the original.

878
01:01:42,540 --> 01:01:48,860
They've established what quality is and they, uh, like no other CBD company would even be here if

879
01:01:48,860 --> 01:01:56,460
it wasn't for the work that the Stanley brothers did. Um, so like everybody owes them a debt of

880
01:01:56,460 --> 01:02:03,820
gratitude that's in this industry. Um, however, they do not, uh, make a truly THC product, THC

881
01:02:03,820 --> 01:02:10,060
free product. And in their marketing material, they'll tell you THC free is guarantee is a, uh,

882
01:02:10,780 --> 01:02:19,420
their level is 0.02% or less. So they can allow it to 0.02% THC in their THC free products. And

883
01:02:19,420 --> 01:02:26,620
that's the industry standard because it's very, very hard to refine THC out to a smaller number

884
01:02:26,620 --> 01:02:33,020
than that. Um, I've seen it done several times. I've toured facilities around the country and I've,

885
01:02:33,020 --> 01:02:40,300
I've learned what this process takes and it's very expensive and intricate. Um, so I understand

886
01:02:40,300 --> 01:02:43,900
when most of the country doesn't really care about failing a drug test or having THC in there. So,

887
01:02:43,900 --> 01:02:49,340
um, what we had to do because that's the industry standard, separate ourselves.

888
01:02:50,060 --> 01:02:55,180
And the only way to do that, I had to, I have to give my fiance all the credit. Um, if you ever

889
01:02:55,180 --> 01:03:02,380
meet May, you'll, uh, you'll understand how I also have so much drive cause she's like, she's a force

890
01:03:02,380 --> 01:03:07,660
in nature. She's awesome. And, uh, she asked me probably the most important question. She was like,

891
01:03:07,660 --> 01:03:13,660
if you were, if you were a firefighter and you didn't own this company and it's not a THC,

892
01:03:13,660 --> 01:03:18,940
and another firefighter started rescue on CBD, would you trust him? Would you trust him to take

893
01:03:18,940 --> 01:03:24,780
his CBD? And I said, no. And she was like, okay, what would you have to do? What would he have to

894
01:03:24,780 --> 01:03:29,740
do to gain your trust? I was like, how's he going to prove it? Right. So we're like, okay, well,

895
01:03:29,740 --> 01:03:34,860
let's test it. Okay. Well, what if he thinks that you didn't test every bottle or that you skipped

896
01:03:34,860 --> 01:03:42,380
one? I'm like, well, we'll, uh, we'll give him a drug test in his order. Right. So we put little

897
01:03:42,380 --> 01:03:46,860
drug tests in the order. When you, when you take the product at home, you get a little drug test

898
01:03:46,860 --> 01:03:52,380
with you so you can see for yourself. Like, okay. Well, what if that, uh, what if he doesn't trust

899
01:03:52,380 --> 01:03:57,340
that drug test? So now we've actually gone to the third step and this is really exciting because

900
01:03:57,340 --> 01:04:03,020
I think we're supposed to get the actual announcement tomorrow. Might be even today. Uh,

901
01:04:03,020 --> 01:04:10,540
our CBD, uh, was used in a study with the university of Maryland and Arcadia university

902
01:04:10,540 --> 01:04:14,460
for the last year. It's been going on for a year and we've been taking firefighters

903
01:04:15,500 --> 01:04:20,860
from around the country and they've been using our product. And then they submitted urine samples

904
01:04:20,860 --> 01:04:26,460
to the universities for lab analysis. So they perform a urinalysis dipstick and they test their

905
01:04:26,460 --> 01:04:31,660
urine to prove that isolated CBD does not cause a field drug test if you isolate it properly.

906
01:04:32,460 --> 01:04:37,020
So, uh, initially it was like, okay, well let's lab test it. Like, yeah, anybody can lab test.

907
01:04:37,020 --> 01:04:42,380
How do they trust you to giving the drug test in the box, which my buddy Joe gave me that idea.

908
01:04:42,380 --> 01:04:47,420
I always say I'm going to give him credit. And then, uh, all the way up to saying, well,

909
01:04:47,420 --> 01:04:51,660
if you don't want to trust the CBD guy, trust the scientists at Arcadia and university of Maryland.

910
01:04:52,300 --> 01:04:56,940
Um, other than that, man, it's getting out in front of people and just saying it and talking

911
01:04:56,940 --> 01:05:01,740
to people and answering the questions, showing them the process of how we make things because,

912
01:05:01,740 --> 01:05:10,300
um, the, the reputation of the CBD industry is that's the wild west. I mean, there's no regulation.

913
01:05:10,300 --> 01:05:13,820
Um, you can buy the stuff in a gas station. You have no idea what you're getting.

914
01:05:14,460 --> 01:05:19,340
So, um, me putting my face out there saying, I'm an active duty firefighter. I'm still working.

915
01:05:19,340 --> 01:05:25,420
I get randomly drug tested three times a year and, um, I'm putting my reputation on it. And we've

916
01:05:25,420 --> 01:05:30,700
had thousands of firefighters use it over the years helps. Uh, I think that's what did it because

917
01:05:30,700 --> 01:05:34,700
like the first year we went to FDIC, I was like, man, I don't know if we're going to even be able

918
01:05:34,700 --> 01:05:41,740
to give this stuff away. And, uh, it wasn't that well accepted and this will be my fourth year

919
01:05:41,740 --> 01:05:46,860
going. And last year we had a line, you know, I mean, it's just the amount of acceptance and

920
01:05:46,860 --> 01:05:52,060
understanding and people willing to take a second look at it and seeing us there, we had people

921
01:05:52,060 --> 01:05:56,220
come up and say, Hey, I've seen you here years before. If you sucked or you caused a field drug

922
01:05:56,220 --> 01:06:00,220
test, I'm sure you wouldn't come back. So it's gotta be something to that. So I think it's a

923
01:06:00,220 --> 01:06:04,060
combination of those things, but we're trying to just hit everything. Um, I want to be very

924
01:06:04,060 --> 01:06:11,100
scientific about it. Um, and I also want to, you know, just kind of put, put my neck out there and

925
01:06:11,100 --> 01:06:18,380
say, uh, I'm, I'm the person who's trying to, um, take all the risk and show you that it's safe.

926
01:06:19,900 --> 01:06:26,220
When you did the interview with Jim last year, um, you talked about, there was a study you were

927
01:06:26,220 --> 01:06:33,900
hoping to do. You'd gone to the IFF for funding. Um, did that funding come through? No. And this

928
01:06:33,900 --> 01:06:45,420
is the study. Um, it, I, I tried to ask around, um, and I went through local channels and I was

929
01:06:45,420 --> 01:06:53,900
repeatedly like ignored. Um, and I didn't go any higher. I, if I, if I really wanted to put my foot

930
01:06:53,900 --> 01:07:00,300
on the gas, I could have gone to, um, uh, so a friend of mine, Stephanie white, she writes for

931
01:07:00,300 --> 01:07:06,940
fire engineering. She's, um, she does the five after midnight podcast. She, uh, she's a, um,

932
01:07:07,900 --> 01:07:14,060
union executive in Virginia. She worked for Fairfax County and she was, uh, uh, she was like,

933
01:07:14,060 --> 01:07:20,940
Hey, you can come up to, you know, the, um, I can't remember the damn name of it, but it's where,

934
01:07:20,940 --> 01:07:25,020
you know, where all the union leaders get together every year and, uh, you can make motions to,

935
01:07:25,580 --> 01:07:30,380
to ask for things. It's where people get funding for stuff. And she's like, let's go do that.

936
01:07:31,340 --> 01:07:40,060
At the time, uh, Dr. Heather Harris, um, from Arcadia university, I got put in contact with her

937
01:07:40,060 --> 01:07:47,500
and this woman is the premier senior foremost expert on forensic science, uh, when it comes

938
01:07:47,500 --> 01:07:53,580
to drug testing in the country. Um, she testifies, uh, for, for like big court cases. She's been on

939
01:07:53,580 --> 01:07:59,820
Netflix. She was on this really cool special called how to fix a lab scandal. Um, and she, uh,

940
01:08:00,860 --> 01:08:04,540
she's, she's got this amazing reputation and she wanted to do the study for us.

941
01:08:05,260 --> 01:08:10,620
So I didn't need the funding anymore. And they were so excited about the study, you know, uh,

942
01:08:10,620 --> 01:08:17,900
because it hasn't been done before. Um, so it would help her career as well. So her and her

943
01:08:17,900 --> 01:08:25,260
PhD student, um, the, she is a professor at, uh, associate professor, I think at Arcadia

944
01:08:25,260 --> 01:08:29,420
and just colleagues at university of Maryland. They were like, just, they're like, okay,

945
01:08:29,420 --> 01:08:32,700
you have to do all the legwork. You have to get the participants, you have to do the paperwork,

946
01:08:32,700 --> 01:08:37,500
you have to submit the stuff. Uh, we will run the tests and we'll get it published. So, um,

947
01:08:37,500 --> 01:08:44,140
but they're presenting it this week at a conference in New Jersey, which is super cool. Um, so I'm

948
01:08:44,140 --> 01:08:50,300
waiting to get the zoom meeting cause I want to watch it. Um, but it's, uh, it's first of its kind.

949
01:08:50,300 --> 01:08:57,340
Uh, the IFF is aware of the study, so I'll bring it to them once it gets actually published, but

950
01:08:57,340 --> 01:09:01,660
yeah, I didn't, I didn't at a local level, I, I was ignored quite a bit.

951
01:09:01,660 --> 01:09:08,220
The reason I asked that people, when it comes to 24 72, they're all, but can you send me some studies?

952
01:09:08,780 --> 01:09:15,260
I'm like, there aren't any because the fire service hasn't done any on shift work. You know,

953
01:09:15,260 --> 01:09:20,780
I can send you a bunch on smooth ball versus, you know, combination nozzle or, you know,

954
01:09:20,780 --> 01:09:25,180
you insert thing here, but no, when it comes, and even if you look at the cancer studies,

955
01:09:25,180 --> 01:09:30,140
there's no conversation about sleep deprivation, a known carcinogen when it comes to the cancer

956
01:09:30,140 --> 01:09:35,340
studies either. So the reason I asked that obviously a very loaded question is this is what I found

957
01:09:35,340 --> 01:09:41,340
when it comes to the wellness point of view. There's a handful of studies, but they're all

958
01:09:41,340 --> 01:09:46,380
always in these very myopic areas. I don't know if there's a specific entity that's funding them for

959
01:09:46,380 --> 01:09:52,060
another reason, but you know, when people come to me and go, Oh, show me the data, like I can't. And

960
01:09:52,060 --> 01:09:57,660
that in itself speaks volumes, you know, we have to just reverse engineer. Like I said before,

961
01:09:57,660 --> 01:10:02,300
we are in a crisis now doing it this way. Well, then if we're going to sit in a lab,

962
01:10:02,300 --> 01:10:06,300
well, the hypothesis is then if we change it around the other way, things will get better.

963
01:10:06,300 --> 01:10:12,380
That's the only study we have is a 50 long year, most churnal study or longitudinal study on how

964
01:10:12,380 --> 01:10:17,340
to kill a firefighter. So now if we do the opposite, then we'll have healthy firefighters again,

965
01:10:17,340 --> 01:10:23,260
but it is important for people to know, like people are using their initiative, trying to bring some

966
01:10:23,260 --> 01:10:28,860
of these things to light and getting zero support from these organizations that we paid for a long

967
01:10:28,860 --> 01:10:33,820
time, whether it's unions, whether it's chiefs conferences, whatever it is. And that needs to be

968
01:10:33,820 --> 01:10:38,220
brought out into the front. Like, you know, the reason there's no data is because no one fucking

969
01:10:38,220 --> 01:10:45,180
did anything or even worse, there was resistance to doing anything. So, you know, I'm not pointing

970
01:10:45,180 --> 01:10:50,940
at a specific person within this, but collectively as a profession, as a union, we need to change

971
01:10:50,940 --> 01:10:58,380
this. If there's not support for these proactive solutions to our problems, then why not? And how

972
01:10:58,380 --> 01:11:09,740
do we fix it? I've heard we need more research so many times. And that was why I just chased it down

973
01:11:09,740 --> 01:11:25,100
myself. But I think part of the problem with the study thing, and maybe we could talk on the side

974
01:11:25,100 --> 01:11:31,660
a little bit, but I don't want to get myself in trouble. At a high level with union leadership

975
01:11:31,660 --> 01:11:42,140
at the IFF, I know that there is a very real fear of messing with the schedule. And without

976
01:11:42,700 --> 01:11:51,500
naming people or anything, it was explained that I think they're more worried about losing the 24

977
01:11:51,500 --> 01:12:02,460
hour schedule in general. But whenever a local has to try to fight for something other than what their

978
01:12:02,460 --> 01:12:06,780
current schedule is, it comes with a dangerous territory. So it's kind of like you're on your

979
01:12:06,780 --> 01:12:16,380
own a little bit. And with that, that would be the same for research. And to be clear, I think the

980
01:12:16,380 --> 01:12:21,100
IFF would love everybody to be on the 2472. I don't think they are afraid of that at all. I think

981
01:12:21,100 --> 01:12:30,060
what they're afraid of is if they do these studies, they'll uncover maybe some issues with

982
01:12:31,740 --> 01:12:37,660
sleep deprivation that we already know them to be true, but that cities will take that and weaponize

983
01:12:37,660 --> 01:12:44,780
it and say, okay, then we're going to get away from a 24 hour shift and it'll go the exact opposite

984
01:12:44,780 --> 01:12:50,140
that we want it to go. Whether that is true or not, or whether the data will even support that,

985
01:12:50,140 --> 01:12:55,020
I don't think it would. But I think that's what they're afraid. It actually helped for the 2472,

986
01:12:55,020 --> 01:13:00,540
but I think maybe that's what their fear is. I'm totally speculating. I don't think, I know

987
01:13:01,900 --> 01:13:07,740
they've had talks at a high level where they're like, we can't ever lose a 24 hour shift.

988
01:13:10,140 --> 01:13:15,580
Whether it's just what the guy's like, the tradition of it, the fact that people work

989
01:13:15,580 --> 01:13:20,140
other jobs and stuff, I don't know, but that has definitely been talked about.

990
01:13:21,740 --> 01:13:27,260
I always say if a freaking idiot can come across the pond and become a firefighter and find the

991
01:13:27,260 --> 01:13:32,860
people with the answers, then what the fuck? Here's the thing. I can tell you from all the

992
01:13:32,860 --> 01:13:39,500
sleep experts and the military, every single branch, the sporting world, if you look at

993
01:13:39,500 --> 01:13:46,060
people who work 12 hours, ER doctors and nurses, corrections officers, police officers, are they

994
01:13:46,060 --> 01:13:51,740
pillars of health? No. Your ER nurses are a hundred pounds overweight. They're at the back smoking

995
01:13:51,740 --> 01:13:57,500
while they're dealing with people dying of lung cancer and diabetes. It's insane. It's because

996
01:13:57,500 --> 01:14:02,620
that environment doesn't do them any justice and they also should have more rest and recovery

997
01:14:02,620 --> 01:14:07,580
between the shifts if we're going to ask them to work a night shift. The 24 hour clock, just as you

998
01:14:07,580 --> 01:14:13,980
alluded to earlier, the circadian rhythm, we still get up in the morning. We still work all day and

999
01:14:13,980 --> 01:14:19,180
then our disrupted sleep or no sleep at night means that we have to play catch up. But the

1000
01:14:19,180 --> 01:14:25,900
advantage of living in a house, a fire station, is that we don't have to go to bed at night,

1001
01:14:25,900 --> 01:14:29,660
go to bed in the day and then work all through the night. It's different. The dispatch is another

1002
01:14:29,660 --> 01:14:35,100
perfect example of 12s. So no, if you had the guts to actually just do the fucking research,

1003
01:14:35,100 --> 01:14:39,980
you would find all these entities would say, no, the 12s aren't the right answer.

1004
01:14:39,980 --> 01:14:44,780
But they're not asking the real question, which is why a firefighter is working 56 hours a week.

1005
01:14:45,900 --> 01:14:50,940
That's the real question because 24s are great. You just put an extra 24 in the middle to make it

1006
01:14:50,940 --> 01:14:57,500
a 42 hour work week and therefore you have another day to do your side hustle. As long as you're just

1007
01:14:57,500 --> 01:15:01,900
not working through the night. Don't do an ambulance. Don't work in an ER, you know, but this is

1008
01:15:01,900 --> 01:15:07,820
what's crazy is that every time I hear a rebuttal, there's no fucking sense to it whatsoever. It's

1009
01:15:07,820 --> 01:15:13,420
complete ignorance. So it goes back to cowardice. If they just say, oh, it's too hard, then we'll

1010
01:15:13,420 --> 01:15:17,020
just keep burying fire fighters. Fine. Get the bagpipes ready. There's another one coming.

1011
01:15:17,580 --> 01:15:21,420
It takes a set of fucking balls to actually say, look, the way we've done it is wrong. Oh,

1012
01:15:21,420 --> 01:15:27,100
and by the way, the Northeast everyone admires, we've worked a 42 hour work week. We should advocate

1013
01:15:27,100 --> 01:15:32,780
for everyone else, but that's not the case. So, you know, it really turns my stomach because we

1014
01:15:32,780 --> 01:15:37,900
spend, I mean, how much, you know, collectively from over a million firefighters paying union dues,

1015
01:15:38,460 --> 01:15:43,580
how much financially is there going to that? And you can't even address the most basal thing that

1016
01:15:43,580 --> 01:15:49,740
a union is made for a work week. You know, so I call bullshit on that. I mean, that's just

1017
01:15:49,740 --> 01:15:53,020
fucking cowering and not stepping up and truly advocating for your people.

1018
01:15:53,020 --> 01:16:00,620
Yeah, that's true. We have to remember that is what the union was founded on was the work week,

1019
01:16:00,620 --> 01:16:05,900
right? The 40 hour work week. And I knew that, I know they secure funding, like our union dues

1020
01:16:05,900 --> 01:16:16,700
just went up to the IFF for cancer research. And it was to research cancer in firefighters children,

1021
01:16:16,700 --> 01:16:21,340
like the effects of the fire service line, all good initiatives. I mean, I'm all for it. But I

1022
01:16:21,340 --> 01:16:29,740
know that to your point, I think you can you can allocate money to go do that. This guy who's the

1023
01:16:29,740 --> 01:16:37,580
medical director for the IFF now Danny Wu, Dade County fireman for a long time retired, became a,

1024
01:16:37,580 --> 01:16:42,220
I don't know if, do you know Danny? Do you know? I don't think so. I might be wrong though, but it

1025
01:16:42,220 --> 01:16:47,340
doesn't ring a bell. He was a Dade County firefighter for a long time. So like South of us

1026
01:16:47,340 --> 01:16:56,780
and was on the task force that went to Katrina. He was at 9-11, became a doctor after he was a

1027
01:16:56,780 --> 01:17:05,340
firefighter. And I think he's recently put up there and he's trying to change shit up. I mean,

1028
01:17:05,340 --> 01:17:13,660
he's, people speak really highly of him, but he was the first person, I know Ed Kelly as well,

1029
01:17:13,660 --> 01:17:17,020
like trying to do, I don't know Ed Kelly, I'm saying I know Ed Kelly is trying to do like a

1030
01:17:17,020 --> 01:17:23,260
lot of stuff to bring the awareness to the PFAS and the gear. And Dr. Wu was doing some research

1031
01:17:23,260 --> 01:17:28,700
in that. He's, I've talked to him on the phone. He's aware of the study I was trying to do. He

1032
01:17:28,700 --> 01:17:32,940
loves it. And he's like, bring this to my attention. He's very pro cannabis guy, which is crazy.

1033
01:17:33,660 --> 01:17:39,180
I said he's pro psychedelics, pro cannabis. He just wants to have research done and stuff. And

1034
01:17:39,180 --> 01:17:49,260
obviously, so I hope like that could be something that he would tackle because I know with his

1035
01:17:49,260 --> 01:17:54,380
contacts, he's got to know people that can do sleep studies. And this doesn't seem like something

1036
01:17:54,380 --> 01:18:00,140
that's extraordinary to do. If they can do it in the military. And I know Dr. Breger, Alison Breger,

1037
01:18:01,020 --> 01:18:05,020
she does it with special ops in the military, special forces in the military.

1038
01:18:05,980 --> 01:18:08,700
We can do it with some firefighters. Well, we don't need it. This is the point. We don't

1039
01:18:08,700 --> 01:18:13,020
even need to do it. They've already done it. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. What's so crazy. Apples to,

1040
01:18:13,020 --> 01:18:17,500
you know, crab apples almost exactly the same. You know, just go to the military, say, hey,

1041
01:18:17,500 --> 01:18:23,340
can I see your sleep studies? Yeah. What you guys doing are insane. Tell me about this 4896. Don't

1042
01:18:23,340 --> 01:18:28,460
even start. You guys are no wonder you're all dying. Here's the information. All right, get on with

1043
01:18:28,460 --> 01:18:37,500
it. So what's, how do you say spell his last name? Uh, W H U. W H U. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um,

1044
01:18:37,500 --> 01:18:43,660
um, yeah, I'm going to double check that right now. But yeah. Uh, yeah. W H U. Yep. Danny Wu.

1045
01:18:43,660 --> 01:18:51,900
Um, yeah, he's a, um, that was the doctor. Yeah. He's, um, he's, uh, he's, he's, he seems like a

1046
01:18:51,900 --> 01:18:58,940
standup guy. I mean, um, I hope that he has those things, you know, aligned properly. Uh,

1047
01:18:59,820 --> 01:19:02,860
I don't know what it's like going from being a firefighter to being,

1048
01:19:02,860 --> 01:19:10,860
you know, in, in the top executive board of the IFF. That's, uh, that's a big change, but, um,

1049
01:19:10,860 --> 01:19:14,860
you know, they do have the money and they do have the political power. So, you know, these things,

1050
01:19:14,860 --> 01:19:19,820
you mean not even research, just bringing awareness to it to say the IFF is going to

1051
01:19:19,820 --> 01:19:24,860
set an initiative in the next 10 years. We want to see 50% of the departments in the United States

1052
01:19:24,860 --> 01:19:29,740
be at 24 72. We're going to work our asses off to make that happen. You know, and like, can we do

1053
01:19:29,740 --> 01:19:35,260
more? I don't know. I don't know. Should you go for 90%? I don't know. But, um, yeah, that's a, uh,

1054
01:19:35,980 --> 01:19:41,020
that's, that one seems like if you're talking about recruitment and retention and you put that out

1055
01:19:41,020 --> 01:19:45,580
there, that that's the initiative we want to bring this 42 hour work week to people, all of a sudden

1056
01:19:46,620 --> 01:19:51,100
places where people were like, I'd love to be a firefighter, but I feel like they don't really

1057
01:19:51,100 --> 01:19:55,820
try to look out for your health and wellness. That's a big change, you know, in a positive way.

1058
01:19:55,820 --> 01:20:00,540
That could be great. 100%. Yeah. No, it sounds, I mean, it's the thing, the whole point of this

1059
01:20:00,540 --> 01:20:04,700
podcast isn't just to talk shit is to find the people with the answers. And I found so many,

1060
01:20:05,260 --> 01:20:10,860
but there is no research in the fire service. And even Joel Billings who I had on, who, you know,

1061
01:20:10,860 --> 01:20:17,340
I always say very nice guy, volunteer firefighter. He said he never worked overnight as a volunteer.

1062
01:20:17,340 --> 01:20:24,060
He ends up going into research instead, um, does a study on a local department that in his words

1063
01:20:24,060 --> 01:20:32,780
ran less than one call a night shows that the 48 96 is better than the 24 48 in that particular case

1064
01:20:33,580 --> 01:20:39,020
and the country runs with it. And you have Seattle and all these, you know, guys just getting

1065
01:20:39,020 --> 01:20:44,780
murdered every night working this insane thing. And the only benefit they actually found was that

1066
01:20:44,780 --> 01:20:49,180
second 24 hours, they didn't have to get up at five in the morning to drive to the firehouse.

1067
01:20:49,820 --> 01:20:53,660
So they got a little bit more sleep if they weren't running calls at that moment,

1068
01:20:53,660 --> 01:21:00,460
but that's simply remedied by changing your start time to 11 or 12, you know, like midday.

1069
01:21:00,460 --> 01:21:05,100
Um, and then all of a sudden, you know, you get to wake up in your own bed, have breakfast with

1070
01:21:05,100 --> 01:21:10,220
your kids and your family, kiss them as they go to school and work, then go to the station. And if

1071
01:21:10,220 --> 01:21:15,260
you're on shift and you got murdered, we don't have to get up at seven o'clock because the dispatch

1072
01:21:15,260 --> 01:21:20,380
does the all call. They let you sleep and you get up at nine or 10. And then when you are relieved,

1073
01:21:20,380 --> 01:21:25,180
you're not a liability on the road ready to kill someone because you're so damn tired. So

1074
01:21:25,180 --> 01:21:32,140
we can literally take the one, you know, minute benefit that the study showed and apply it to

1075
01:21:32,140 --> 01:21:37,580
every single fire department just by shifting that. But the 48 96, you know, a little knowledge is a

1076
01:21:37,580 --> 01:21:43,820
dangerous thing. People that got this, I guess it kind of went off like wildfire, completely

1077
01:21:43,820 --> 01:21:47,580
misunderstood. I mean, no different than studies that showed that cigarettes were healthy for you

1078
01:21:47,580 --> 01:21:51,900
back in the fifties. You know, you got to look at who's doing it, you know, and Joel, again,

1079
01:21:51,900 --> 01:21:58,380
innocently, he wasn't trying to hoodwink anyone, but he had no idea how it was going to be taken.

1080
01:21:58,940 --> 01:22:02,780
As he said himself, this isn't made for a busy department, you know, and even I would argue,

1081
01:22:02,780 --> 01:22:08,940
no department, you know, in, in 2024 should be working 48 hours straight. But, um, yeah, so,

1082
01:22:08,940 --> 01:22:14,780
you know, it's a great example of even that, you know, that there's no studies done that particular

1083
01:22:14,780 --> 01:22:20,300
one ended up doing way more harm than good. People don't realize it, but it is, and it's through no,

1084
01:22:20,300 --> 01:22:25,260
no fault with the researcher at all. It's the fact that people just didn't do their due diligence

1085
01:22:25,260 --> 01:22:31,100
looking into what this was, what were the kind of, um, elements that contributed to it and would

1086
01:22:31,100 --> 01:22:36,940
it apply to their fire department? The answer is no on, you know, 95% of the departments around

1087
01:22:36,940 --> 01:22:42,540
the country. Yeah. And also people always bring their biases in. So when somebody's looking for

1088
01:22:42,540 --> 01:22:47,500
an answer, they'll cherry pick whatever they want. If there's only one study and there's nothing to

1089
01:22:47,500 --> 01:22:52,940
the contrary, then they're going to use it as leverage for, you know what I mean? Like that's,

1090
01:22:53,980 --> 01:23:00,780
that, that, that's the negative of it. Uh, you're asking a bunch of firefighters to be scientific

1091
01:23:00,780 --> 01:23:07,580
about something, you know, at a top level. And I've, I've never seen, um, a lot of most times I go

1092
01:23:07,580 --> 01:23:12,220
to health and wellness stuff. I don't see a lot of chiefs in the audience, you know, I don't. So

1093
01:23:12,220 --> 01:23:15,660
that's part of the problem is a lot of preaching to the choir, which is great because of the

1094
01:23:15,660 --> 01:23:20,300
grassroots, you can bring it upward. But, uh, you know, a lot of times that people that really,

1095
01:23:20,300 --> 01:23:24,940
really need to hear it, of course, aren't the ones that are going to be there. Absolutely.

1096
01:23:25,900 --> 01:23:32,940
What about the FDA and CBD? I know Charlotte's web and a lot of these companies that have the

1097
01:23:32,940 --> 01:23:40,700
3% or 0.3% THC and their products, there's been all this kind of opposition and partly, I think,

1098
01:23:40,700 --> 01:23:44,780
because of the Delta rate and some of these synthetics that have come out, but it's really

1099
01:23:44,780 --> 01:23:51,420
shot the, uh, the good companies, the good CBD companies in the foot with you doing zero THC.

1100
01:23:52,140 --> 01:23:56,620
Has that affected you at all? Or are you actually able to just go about business as usual because

1101
01:23:56,620 --> 01:24:03,580
there isn't that element in your compound? Yeah, we're business as usual. Um, the, the FDA

1102
01:24:04,860 --> 01:24:09,980
does not regulate CBD at all. The regulatory bodies that CBD falls under is the department

1103
01:24:09,980 --> 01:24:17,260
of agriculture. Uh, and that's just because hemp is a crop. And then the DEA, if, and only if

1104
01:24:17,260 --> 01:24:24,220
your CBD goes above 0.3% because then it's not hemp anymore, it's marijuana. So the only definition

1105
01:24:25,020 --> 01:24:31,820
now that the government uses for hemp versus marijuana is a cannabis plant, whether it's

1106
01:24:31,820 --> 01:24:38,940
sativa or indica or hybrid, that has more than 0.3% THC in it. So, um, if you grow a cannabis sativa

1107
01:24:38,940 --> 01:24:43,660
plant and it's got 0.3% in it, it's hemp. But if you grew that same cannabis sativa plant

1108
01:24:45,180 --> 01:24:51,580
and the one next to it had 10% or I'm sorry, uh, 0.5% THC and it's above that legal limit,

1109
01:24:51,580 --> 01:24:56,940
they'll consider that marijuana has to be destroyed. So, um, you know, that's the,

1110
01:24:57,660 --> 01:25:03,500
that's the regulation side of it, but all of the Delta products, which I don't know if you want

1111
01:25:03,500 --> 01:25:07,100
to get into that, but the Delta products, you know, they're, they're synthetic cannabinoids

1112
01:25:07,100 --> 01:25:13,260
and they're like, okay, well, we'll change this compound. It'll be Delta A THC. And then they have

1113
01:25:13,260 --> 01:25:18,780
Delta 10 coming out. So that's the regulation side of it. And then the other thing that I

1114
01:25:18,780 --> 01:25:24,540
want to talk about is the other side of it. So, um, I know that there's a lot of people who are

1115
01:25:24,540 --> 01:25:27,740
really upset about this. I know that there's a lot of people who are like, oh, I'm going to

1116
01:25:27,740 --> 01:25:32,060
go with Delta A THC. I'm going to go with Delta A THC. And then there's a lot of people who are

1117
01:25:32,060 --> 01:25:37,340
like, well, we'll change this compound. It'll be Delta A THC. And then they have Delta 10 coming

1118
01:25:37,340 --> 01:25:43,340
out. And then they have, uh, HHC and THC. Oh, and they all have very similar intoxicating effects,

1119
01:25:44,300 --> 01:25:48,380
but they're not Delta nine. So they just, basically when they wrote this law,

1120
01:25:48,380 --> 01:25:53,180
they painted themselves into a corner of a loophole. So we don't have any issues with that.

1121
01:25:53,180 --> 01:25:58,780
Even in California right now, the law, which a lot of other States made may adopt says,

1122
01:25:58,780 --> 01:26:03,580
uh, there can't be any detectable amounts of THC in the product whatsoever. So it covers all forms

1123
01:26:03,580 --> 01:26:10,140
of THC. We're already fine with that. Um, which I'm against that by the way, I don't, their,

1124
01:26:10,140 --> 01:26:15,180
their argument is that kids are getting it. My argument would be then, you know, uh, crackdown

1125
01:26:15,180 --> 01:26:19,020
on the, the businesses that are selling it to kids don't, you know, because one person shits their

1126
01:26:19,020 --> 01:26:22,300
bed or shits their pants. Everybody's got to wear a diaper. Like that doesn't make any sense.

1127
01:26:22,300 --> 01:26:28,540
Um, because for, you know, for example, like Charlotte, um, very, very high doses of CBD,

1128
01:26:29,260 --> 01:26:37,420
and she was the catalyst for the, the, uh, all the pediatric research that was done in seizures

1129
01:26:37,900 --> 01:26:45,660
by the company, um, GW pharmaceuticals. So Epidiolex is the only FDA regulated medication,

1130
01:26:45,660 --> 01:26:52,700
uh, that is CBD and it's just CBD and cherry flavoring and Epidiolex, um, is a pediatric

1131
01:26:52,700 --> 01:26:57,740
seizure med. They did all the studies on it. Um, all, most of what we know of how CBD works in

1132
01:26:57,740 --> 01:27:05,020
the body was done off of that done by the FDA, three phases of, of FDA trials. And, um, but

1133
01:27:06,300 --> 01:27:11,900
you had to take like 20 milligrams per kilogram, which is a lot. And, uh, you can't, you can't

1134
01:27:11,900 --> 01:27:19,580
find that in dispensaries, those high, high, high CBD doses with very little or no THC are only

1135
01:27:19,580 --> 01:27:27,340
found by CBD companies. So it's a reg, it's like, uh, a regulation that I think had good intentions,

1136
01:27:27,340 --> 01:27:30,540
but it's actually going to end up kind of hurting people. Um, although we're kind of on the side of

1137
01:27:30,540 --> 01:27:38,140
that. What about the, uh, the quality of the hemp that you use in your CBD? I remember a page talking

1138
01:27:38,140 --> 01:27:43,260
about, um, hemp is used for oil spills and some other things where it's a great kind of sponge as

1139
01:27:43,260 --> 01:27:49,580
a plant to pull, you know, toxins out of the earth. But the danger again is there's no oversight in

1140
01:27:49,580 --> 01:27:55,260
what kind of hemp is being used for the manufacturer of CBD. So how do you, uh, ensure you get good

1141
01:27:55,260 --> 01:28:01,020
quality hemp? Yeah. Industrial hemp has been around for that purpose. Uh, it's called the mob

1142
01:28:01,020 --> 01:28:03,700
crop. I mean, they pull PFAS out of soil with it. Uh, they're doing a lot of, uh,

1143
01:28:03,700 --> 01:28:08,700
they use it at Chernobyl to get radiation out of the soil. It's crazy. So it will pull anything

1144
01:28:08,700 --> 01:28:17,980
out of there. Um, we only use, um, uh, organically grown hemp in Colorado. So, um, everyone always,

1145
01:28:17,980 --> 01:28:24,380
you know, points to Colorado. It really is Colorado and Kentucky. Um, and now it's funny

1146
01:28:24,380 --> 01:28:27,580
enough starting to become South Dakota are really great places to grow hemp. You can see it in

1147
01:28:27,580 --> 01:28:33,780
my Fellowship Tips. Um, I've got some気 units out of there. Um, we've got some world super

1148
01:28:33,260 --> 01:28:47,940
breaker not too much, um, and the shrimp not too much. And this one, you have the

1149
01:28:47,940 --> 01:28:55,360
killer ky Hydrochlorone and節目. The

1150
01:28:55,360 --> 01:28:57,880
Colorado, that's a very easy thing to find.

1151
01:28:57,880 --> 01:29:00,640
You know, there's so much rocky area

1152
01:29:00,640 --> 01:29:02,500
that people don't want to build on

1153
01:29:02,500 --> 01:29:06,720
that you can find areas that are far from highways.

1154
01:29:06,720 --> 01:29:10,280
So yeah, we use organically grown hemp in Colorado

1155
01:29:10,280 --> 01:29:14,000
and we contract with these scientists,

1156
01:29:14,000 --> 01:29:17,040
this specific group that can extract it

1157
01:29:17,040 --> 01:29:19,400
to our specifications.

1158
01:29:19,400 --> 01:29:20,800
What about efficacy?

1159
01:29:20,800 --> 01:29:22,880
Again, there's many like Thorne, for example,

1160
01:29:22,880 --> 01:29:23,840
is one of my sponsors.

1161
01:29:23,840 --> 01:29:26,520
And when you look at a multivitamin,

1162
01:29:26,520 --> 01:29:28,500
it might have, and this is not with them,

1163
01:29:28,500 --> 01:29:30,000
but with a cheap one,

1164
01:29:30,000 --> 01:29:32,080
it might say it's got whatever is in there,

1165
01:29:32,080 --> 01:29:34,520
but it doesn't mean the body is gonna absorb that amount,

1166
01:29:34,520 --> 01:29:36,640
that many micrograms or milligrams.

1167
01:29:36,640 --> 01:29:38,640
And Thorne, as it's developed,

1168
01:29:38,640 --> 01:29:40,840
there's where that's what you will actually be absorbing.

1169
01:29:40,840 --> 01:29:43,640
Obviously, everyone's metabolism is a little different,

1170
01:29:43,640 --> 01:29:45,580
but that's what you should be absorbing.

1171
01:29:45,580 --> 01:29:49,280
So talk to me about the, I guess for lack of a better term,

1172
01:29:49,280 --> 01:29:51,660
false advertising in some of the products out there

1173
01:29:51,660 --> 01:29:55,720
and how you're able to ensure the efficacy of your product.

1174
01:29:55,720 --> 01:29:59,920
Yeah, what we have to understand is bioavailability of CBD

1175
01:29:59,920 --> 01:30:02,340
is relatively low.

1176
01:30:02,340 --> 01:30:05,200
So taking it properly is what matters.

1177
01:30:05,200 --> 01:30:08,040
And then really the big thing is making sure

1178
01:30:08,040 --> 01:30:09,340
the proper amount is on the label.

1179
01:30:09,340 --> 01:30:14,340
So the industry standard is to lab test once a year per batch.

1180
01:30:18,520 --> 01:30:21,160
So you could have 10 batches,

1181
01:30:21,160 --> 01:30:23,120
but if you just have one lab test

1182
01:30:23,120 --> 01:30:25,480
that shows that it's been done in that year,

1183
01:30:25,480 --> 01:30:29,320
then that's all you really have to prove with it.

1184
01:30:29,320 --> 01:30:32,800
So if you buy a bottle that says 1000 milligrams on it,

1185
01:30:32,800 --> 01:30:34,480
it may not actually have 1000 milligrams.

1186
01:30:34,480 --> 01:30:37,000
So you're already starting off behind the eight ball

1187
01:30:37,000 --> 01:30:39,680
with you paid for 1000, maybe there's only 700 in there.

1188
01:30:39,680 --> 01:30:40,800
You can't dose it properly.

1189
01:30:40,800 --> 01:30:42,120
So you don't absorb much of that.

1190
01:30:42,120 --> 01:30:46,320
Then if it's not made properly,

1191
01:30:46,320 --> 01:30:51,320
a lot of fats, waxes, and even part of the plant chlorophyll

1192
01:30:53,220 --> 01:30:56,040
gets left behind, it doesn't want to absorb well.

1193
01:30:56,940 --> 01:30:59,560
So not refining those products out

1194
01:30:59,560 --> 01:31:03,120
leads to low bioavailability as well.

1195
01:31:03,120 --> 01:31:08,120
So our ultra refined version inside an MCT oil,

1196
01:31:08,300 --> 01:31:09,860
especially under the tongue,

1197
01:31:09,860 --> 01:31:13,820
absorbs much better than a lower quality product.

1198
01:31:13,820 --> 01:31:16,180
The refinement process is important.

1199
01:31:16,180 --> 01:31:19,940
And then there's also the fact that you have to ensure

1200
01:31:19,940 --> 01:31:22,840
that the proper amount is on there, especially with sleep.

1201
01:31:23,940 --> 01:31:26,300
There's a really crazy biphasic effect with CBD.

1202
01:31:26,300 --> 01:31:28,220
If you take less than 25 milligrams,

1203
01:31:29,660 --> 01:31:30,940
you're not gonna sleep well.

1204
01:31:30,940 --> 01:31:34,420
You'll actually have an awake promoting,

1205
01:31:34,420 --> 01:31:36,820
alert promoting feeling.

1206
01:31:36,820 --> 01:31:39,600
So they discovered this in animals and in humans.

1207
01:31:39,600 --> 01:31:42,840
So I've had people call me and say, hey, I took CBD

1208
01:31:42,840 --> 01:31:45,100
and I slept like shit.

1209
01:31:45,100 --> 01:31:47,700
It was the worst sleep I've ever had.

1210
01:31:47,700 --> 01:31:48,580
I'm like, how much did you take?

1211
01:31:48,580 --> 01:31:50,180
They're like half a dropper.

1212
01:31:50,180 --> 01:31:52,380
That's only, ours is 30,

1213
01:31:52,380 --> 01:31:54,220
our lower one at the time was 33 milligrams.

1214
01:31:54,220 --> 01:31:55,340
I'm like, you took 16.

1215
01:31:55,340 --> 01:31:56,900
I was like, that's a no-no.

1216
01:31:56,900 --> 01:31:58,620
You didn't follow any of the directions.

1217
01:31:58,620 --> 01:32:03,620
So the point is with ours,

1218
01:32:04,320 --> 01:32:06,900
we make sure that it's ultra refined,

1219
01:32:06,900 --> 01:32:08,620
that we have the proper amount on the bottle

1220
01:32:08,620 --> 01:32:12,780
and that we've maximized it so that it can be as bioavailable

1221
01:32:12,780 --> 01:32:16,260
as CBD can be.

1222
01:32:16,260 --> 01:32:17,100
Beautiful.

1223
01:32:17,100 --> 01:32:18,260
So for people listening,

1224
01:32:18,260 --> 01:32:19,940
let's talk about what you offer

1225
01:32:19,940 --> 01:32:21,180
because I wanna give you this platform.

1226
01:32:21,180 --> 01:32:25,420
Cause I mean, again, I'm just such a huge fan of CBD.

1227
01:32:25,420 --> 01:32:26,260
I trusted it.

1228
01:32:26,260 --> 01:32:27,940
Actually, when I got into it,

1229
01:32:27,940 --> 01:32:30,140
I had transitioned out the fire service,

1230
01:32:30,140 --> 01:32:31,300
but I volunteered.

1231
01:32:31,300 --> 01:32:32,780
And so I'm like, well, perfect.

1232
01:32:32,780 --> 01:32:34,800
I'm gonna do this workplace drug test.

1233
01:32:34,800 --> 01:32:35,860
If I fail, it doesn't matter.

1234
01:32:35,860 --> 01:32:38,140
I'm a volunteer, so whatever.

1235
01:32:38,140 --> 01:32:39,980
But obviously that wasn't the case.

1236
01:32:39,980 --> 01:32:42,940
Cause again, it was also a zero THC product.

1237
01:32:42,940 --> 01:32:47,460
So talk to me about the different types that you offer

1238
01:32:47,460 --> 01:32:49,820
and then let's get into where people can find it.

1239
01:32:50,940 --> 01:32:52,700
We have a daytime and a nighttime formula.

1240
01:32:52,700 --> 01:32:56,420
The daytime formula is really,

1241
01:32:56,420 --> 01:32:58,500
people take it mostly for inflammation and for mood.

1242
01:32:58,500 --> 01:33:01,340
So CBD does have this cool effect on serotonin

1243
01:33:01,340 --> 01:33:05,420
where it kind of evens the mood out a little bit

1244
01:33:05,420 --> 01:33:10,020
by increasing overall endogenous serotonin.

1245
01:33:10,020 --> 01:33:13,940
So a lot of people take it to kind of help with anxiety

1246
01:33:13,940 --> 01:33:16,660
and to have that even keel feeling throughout the day,

1247
01:33:16,660 --> 01:33:17,980
but it is an anti-inflammatory.

1248
01:33:17,980 --> 01:33:20,740
So taking it chronically also helps with that stuff

1249
01:33:20,740 --> 01:33:22,340
from what research shows.

1250
01:33:22,340 --> 01:33:24,260
Obviously not in the stuff that's evaluated by the FDA,

1251
01:33:24,260 --> 01:33:26,540
but the research shows that.

1252
01:33:26,540 --> 01:33:29,660
Our nighttime version is called out of service

1253
01:33:29,660 --> 01:33:32,700
and it's designed to do exactly that.

1254
01:33:32,700 --> 01:33:37,700
We doubled the dose so that you can get to that 25,

1255
01:33:38,860 --> 01:33:43,060
that higher than 25 milligram mark with a lower cost.

1256
01:33:43,060 --> 01:33:45,060
So you could start that with only half a dropper.

1257
01:33:45,060 --> 01:33:47,180
So there's like 60 servings in that thing.

1258
01:33:47,180 --> 01:33:50,380
What we found that most people that are taking it for sleep

1259
01:33:50,380 --> 01:33:52,500
over time have to increase their doses.

1260
01:33:52,500 --> 01:33:54,260
And so it was getting expensive for people.

1261
01:33:54,260 --> 01:33:55,300
So we doubled the dose,

1262
01:33:55,300 --> 01:33:57,900
but we only increased the price by like 10 bucks.

1263
01:33:57,900 --> 01:33:59,980
We tried to keep it as low as possible.

1264
01:33:59,980 --> 01:34:03,220
And we added these things called terpenes in there

1265
01:34:03,220 --> 01:34:04,620
to make you feel tired.

1266
01:34:04,620 --> 01:34:06,820
Terpenes are naturally found in cannabis,

1267
01:34:06,820 --> 01:34:08,460
but we didn't get them from cannabis.

1268
01:34:08,460 --> 01:34:11,340
We extracted them from things like mangoes and hops

1269
01:34:11,340 --> 01:34:14,980
so that we can avoid the THC content as well.

1270
01:34:14,980 --> 01:34:18,580
So we've put a lot of science into the product.

1271
01:34:18,580 --> 01:34:20,140
I designed all of them myself.

1272
01:34:20,140 --> 01:34:22,900
I chose the terpene profiles myself,

1273
01:34:22,900 --> 01:34:25,900
but we contracted with people to extract this stuff

1274
01:34:25,900 --> 01:34:28,460
and just deliver it to us so we can mix it all up.

1275
01:34:28,460 --> 01:34:30,420
So that's the difference between the daytime

1276
01:34:30,420 --> 01:34:31,860
and the nighttime.

1277
01:34:31,860 --> 01:34:33,580
They do come in flavors, you know.

1278
01:34:33,580 --> 01:34:35,060
So sometimes people don't like,

1279
01:34:35,060 --> 01:34:37,740
cause it's just MCT oil, it's kind of weird for them.

1280
01:34:37,740 --> 01:34:39,940
So they want some flavor in there to help them leave it

1281
01:34:39,940 --> 01:34:41,300
under the tongue to absorb.

1282
01:34:42,580 --> 01:34:43,860
So there are flavors available.

1283
01:34:43,860 --> 01:34:46,740
And then we have a topical that's a local pain reliever,

1284
01:34:46,740 --> 01:34:49,100
which I'm very proud of the formula.

1285
01:34:49,100 --> 01:34:52,540
We had to really work for a long time to refine it.

1286
01:34:52,540 --> 01:34:53,980
And again, we make everything ourselves.

1287
01:34:53,980 --> 01:34:58,180
So it's got CBD in it, but it's got a capsicum

1288
01:34:58,180 --> 01:35:00,180
which is like the oil from hot peppers.

1289
01:35:00,180 --> 01:35:01,500
This is basically pepper spray.

1290
01:35:01,500 --> 01:35:06,500
So it creates a lot of warmth to help relax muscle tissue.

1291
01:35:06,860 --> 01:35:10,940
And then it's got a lot of arnica in it and that flower.

1292
01:35:10,940 --> 01:35:12,260
A lot of people in CrossFit use it

1293
01:35:12,260 --> 01:35:14,700
to help reduce soreness and bruising.

1294
01:35:14,700 --> 01:35:17,780
So with some menthol and the CBD in there,

1295
01:35:17,780 --> 01:35:20,140
those four, we call the core four,

1296
01:35:20,140 --> 01:35:22,980
those four ingredients are amazing for pain relief

1297
01:35:22,980 --> 01:35:24,820
and it works very, very quickly.

1298
01:35:24,820 --> 01:35:26,740
So whenever we go to conferences,

1299
01:35:26,740 --> 01:35:27,980
that's kind of the one I give out.

1300
01:35:27,980 --> 01:35:29,580
I'm like, hey, just put this on and walk around

1301
01:35:29,580 --> 01:35:31,740
and just come back.

1302
01:35:31,740 --> 01:35:35,020
I don't even have to do a sales pitch kind of thing.

1303
01:35:35,020 --> 01:35:37,380
But that is for short-term pain relief.

1304
01:35:37,380 --> 01:35:39,420
That doesn't help with sleep or anything like that.

1305
01:35:40,740 --> 01:35:42,580
The help with sleep and overall inflammation,

1306
01:35:42,580 --> 01:35:43,420
you have to ingest it.

1307
01:35:43,420 --> 01:35:44,380
That's where the oils come in.

1308
01:35:44,380 --> 01:35:46,380
So those are our main ones.

1309
01:35:46,380 --> 01:35:48,100
Just keep it simple.

1310
01:35:48,100 --> 01:35:49,260
But everything's on our website

1311
01:35:49,260 --> 01:35:51,460
and we shipped all 50 states.

1312
01:35:51,460 --> 01:35:53,220
What is the website?

1313
01:35:53,220 --> 01:35:58,060
Rescue1CBD.com, but it's one with the number one.

1314
01:35:58,060 --> 01:35:59,620
So I wanna get to some closing questions,

1315
01:35:59,620 --> 01:36:03,180
but let's just do one more opportunity

1316
01:36:03,180 --> 01:36:07,060
to educate the people listening that work in a profession

1317
01:36:07,060 --> 01:36:09,940
where they're required to do a workplace drug test

1318
01:36:09,940 --> 01:36:11,940
that your product will be safe for them.

1319
01:36:13,100 --> 01:36:17,140
The most important thing is lab testing

1320
01:36:17,140 --> 01:36:20,540
and we lab test at three different points.

1321
01:36:20,540 --> 01:36:24,500
So the first lab test gets done during manufacturing

1322
01:36:24,500 --> 01:36:27,940
to ensure that we've made it properly,

1323
01:36:27,940 --> 01:36:29,980
that the zero THC mark has been hit.

1324
01:36:29,980 --> 01:36:33,100
And when we say zero, we mean 0.000.

1325
01:36:33,100 --> 01:36:38,100
So that raw ingredient gets delivered to us as a powder.

1326
01:36:38,500 --> 01:36:39,780
It's an isolate.

1327
01:36:39,780 --> 01:36:42,460
And we have a lab test from the manufacturer,

1328
01:36:42,460 --> 01:36:43,900
from the scientists that we use that say,

1329
01:36:43,900 --> 01:36:48,180
this is at 0.000 milligrams of THC,

1330
01:36:48,180 --> 01:36:53,180
0.000% of THC in the raw kilo.

1331
01:36:53,460 --> 01:36:57,260
So then we lab test it again to make sure

1332
01:36:57,260 --> 01:36:59,220
that theirs matches up with ours.

1333
01:36:59,220 --> 01:37:01,340
But third party DEA registered lab

1334
01:37:01,340 --> 01:37:03,260
has nothing to do with us.

1335
01:37:03,260 --> 01:37:04,980
Once those two come back perfect,

1336
01:37:04,980 --> 01:37:06,580
then we make the product.

1337
01:37:06,580 --> 01:37:08,460
Once we make the product, we test it again.

1338
01:37:08,460 --> 01:37:11,380
And this time we're testing not just for the THC content

1339
01:37:11,380 --> 01:37:13,620
to be perfect, but we have to make sure

1340
01:37:13,620 --> 01:37:17,100
that it has a lack of lead contaminants, pesticides,

1341
01:37:17,100 --> 01:37:19,580
solvents, all that stuff, so it's gotta be a pure product.

1342
01:37:19,580 --> 01:37:22,060
And that me doing like my fireman math

1343
01:37:22,060 --> 01:37:25,700
didn't screw up the amount in the bottle as well.

1344
01:37:25,700 --> 01:37:28,380
So you're getting the amount that you paid for.

1345
01:37:28,380 --> 01:37:31,780
And again, it has to have 0.000% THC.

1346
01:37:31,780 --> 01:37:34,400
So we have to go to really specific labs

1347
01:37:34,400 --> 01:37:35,480
to get that number.

1348
01:37:36,340 --> 01:37:41,340
You have to be certified by the ISO

1349
01:37:41,680 --> 01:37:43,900
to have that sensitivity level set.

1350
01:37:43,900 --> 01:37:48,660
So not every lab can test down to the 0.000 mark.

1351
01:37:48,660 --> 01:37:50,820
So there's only a few in the country that do it.

1352
01:37:50,820 --> 01:37:53,100
So we have to take care in doing that,

1353
01:37:53,100 --> 01:37:55,020
vetting these labs, which we've done.

1354
01:37:55,020 --> 01:37:59,660
And I guess all I'm saying all this to underscore one point,

1355
01:38:01,060 --> 01:38:05,100
we have made, our team has made ourselves the gatekeeper

1356
01:38:05,100 --> 01:38:07,640
for the US Fire Service for making a quality product.

1357
01:38:07,640 --> 01:38:10,300
So the entire point of what we do

1358
01:38:10,300 --> 01:38:14,420
is so that we can be the advocates for the 0.000 THC

1359
01:38:14,420 --> 01:38:16,180
firefighters and first responders.

1360
01:38:16,180 --> 01:38:18,580
So, or anybody who needs to pass a drug test,

1361
01:38:18,580 --> 01:38:21,020
all of us that are on the team, except for my dad,

1362
01:38:21,020 --> 01:38:22,540
he's an electrician, but all of us on the team,

1363
01:38:22,540 --> 01:38:25,780
except my dad are active duty firefighters.

1364
01:38:25,780 --> 01:38:30,200
And all of us put our money where our mouth is.

1365
01:38:30,200 --> 01:38:32,780
We all take the product and we all get randomly drug tested.

1366
01:38:32,780 --> 01:38:34,700
So on top of that, we're getting the study

1367
01:38:34,700 --> 01:38:35,740
published here soon.

1368
01:38:35,740 --> 01:38:36,580
Hopefully by the end of the year,

1369
01:38:36,580 --> 01:38:38,180
it'll be published and peer reviewed,

1370
01:38:38,180 --> 01:38:39,000
which would be really cool.

1371
01:38:39,000 --> 01:38:43,900
But that is a multifaceted approach.

1372
01:38:43,900 --> 01:38:46,940
That question to answer it, I guess more directly

1373
01:38:46,940 --> 01:38:49,820
is we take a whole lot of steps to make sure

1374
01:38:49,820 --> 01:38:53,500
that every aspect of the process is covered,

1375
01:38:53,500 --> 01:38:56,180
to make sure it's your THC from start to finish.

1376
01:38:56,180 --> 01:38:57,000
Brilliant.

1377
01:38:57,000 --> 01:38:59,280
I just wanted to underline that because again, I know,

1378
01:38:59,280 --> 01:39:00,620
but I've been down a very,

1379
01:39:00,620 --> 01:39:02,260
not many people have spoken to Paige Figi

1380
01:39:02,260 --> 01:39:04,340
and heard Charlotte's story, for example.

1381
01:39:04,340 --> 01:39:06,980
So educating the people and just putting them at ease.

1382
01:39:06,980 --> 01:39:08,220
It's a storytelling again,

1383
01:39:08,220 --> 01:39:09,780
it's the same with the 2472.

1384
01:39:09,780 --> 01:39:11,520
It's debunking the myths.

1385
01:39:11,520 --> 01:39:13,620
This is your brain on drugs and all the other

1386
01:39:13,620 --> 01:39:15,660
ridiculous stuff that we were raised on

1387
01:39:15,660 --> 01:39:17,100
and getting people to, again,

1388
01:39:17,100 --> 01:39:19,380
like we talked about earlier, critically think.

1389
01:39:19,380 --> 01:39:22,620
So, all right, I wanna transition some closing questions.

1390
01:39:22,620 --> 01:39:24,180
So the first one I'd love to ask,

1391
01:39:24,180 --> 01:39:25,920
is there a book or are there books

1392
01:39:25,920 --> 01:39:27,300
that you love to recommend?

1393
01:39:27,300 --> 01:39:29,260
It can be related to our discussion today

1394
01:39:29,260 --> 01:39:31,340
or completely unrelated.

1395
01:39:31,340 --> 01:39:34,540
Yeah, one of the most powerful books I read,

1396
01:39:34,540 --> 01:39:37,940
it might just be because of the job I got into

1397
01:39:37,940 --> 01:39:40,300
in admin and it was very tough for me at the time,

1398
01:39:40,300 --> 01:39:45,300
but the wisdom of the bullfrog by Admiral McRaven.

1399
01:39:45,940 --> 01:39:47,580
People probably seen his video,

1400
01:39:47,580 --> 01:39:49,940
the YouTube video where he's talking about making your bed.

1401
01:39:51,140 --> 01:39:53,300
He wrote this book, it's very short

1402
01:39:53,300 --> 01:39:56,660
and it's about having a very specific outlook

1403
01:39:56,660 --> 01:39:58,660
on being a leader.

1404
01:39:58,660 --> 01:40:01,220
And sometimes you have to eat shit

1405
01:40:01,220 --> 01:40:02,820
and you have to like work a tough job

1406
01:40:02,820 --> 01:40:07,820
and how to have the appropriate mindset behind it.

1407
01:40:08,500 --> 01:40:10,340
That one I absolutely love.

1408
01:40:12,180 --> 01:40:15,840
And then the other one is the culture code

1409
01:40:15,840 --> 01:40:17,060
and it speaks for itself,

1410
01:40:17,060 --> 01:40:19,040
but I think everybody who's starting

1411
01:40:19,040 --> 01:40:20,140
the fire service should read it.

1412
01:40:20,140 --> 01:40:22,380
It's just about establishing and building culture

1413
01:40:22,380 --> 01:40:23,500
from high performing teams,

1414
01:40:23,500 --> 01:40:27,660
but he does these really cool in-depth dives

1415
01:40:27,660 --> 01:40:30,060
on people you wouldn't expect like bank robbers.

1416
01:40:30,060 --> 01:40:33,740
And then he has like, obviously like athletes

1417
01:40:33,740 --> 01:40:37,460
and stuff like that, but he does a little bit of everything.

1418
01:40:37,460 --> 01:40:40,540
Brilliantly written book, both of them really good.

1419
01:40:40,540 --> 01:40:41,380
Beautiful.

1420
01:40:41,380 --> 01:40:43,240
What about films and documentaries?

1421
01:40:44,820 --> 01:40:45,660
Oh man.

1422
01:40:53,300 --> 01:40:54,940
I'm like a huge comedy movie guy.

1423
01:40:54,940 --> 01:40:56,580
So like when you said film,

1424
01:40:56,580 --> 01:40:58,060
the first one that popped in my head is the movie

1425
01:40:58,060 --> 01:41:02,900
I'm with Gruber because especially for Firehouse movies,

1426
01:41:02,900 --> 01:41:04,380
I don't think there's anything better than that,

1427
01:41:04,380 --> 01:41:06,980
even though I catch a lot of shit for that.

1428
01:41:06,980 --> 01:41:08,980
You know, people think it's like so dumb,

1429
01:41:09,980 --> 01:41:13,780
but as far as like films,

1430
01:41:13,780 --> 01:41:16,980
one of my favorite films is Lucky Number Slevin.

1431
01:41:16,980 --> 01:41:17,820
I love that one.

1432
01:41:17,820 --> 01:41:19,700
It's not that many people know about it,

1433
01:41:19,700 --> 01:41:23,740
but it's a really, really good murder mystery,

1434
01:41:23,740 --> 01:41:25,740
who done it with a A-list cast

1435
01:41:25,740 --> 01:41:28,680
that kind of gets forgotten about.

1436
01:41:28,680 --> 01:41:30,700
Documentaries funny enough,

1437
01:41:31,860 --> 01:41:35,740
the one that I have probably watched the most

1438
01:41:35,740 --> 01:41:37,020
is Last Breath.

1439
01:41:38,220 --> 01:41:40,620
And it's like, it's not,

1440
01:41:40,620 --> 01:41:42,700
I don't know if you've seen that one, the diving one.

1441
01:41:42,700 --> 01:41:43,940
Yes, amazing.

1442
01:41:44,820 --> 01:41:45,660
Unbelievable.

1443
01:41:45,660 --> 01:41:47,940
And it's just because every time I watch it,

1444
01:41:47,940 --> 01:41:49,460
it gets my heart rate going through the roof

1445
01:41:49,460 --> 01:41:51,500
and trying to put yourself in that position.

1446
01:41:51,500 --> 01:41:52,500
I don't even wanna give it away,

1447
01:41:52,500 --> 01:41:54,980
but people should watch that one.

1448
01:41:54,980 --> 01:41:59,980
And sometimes I just wanna watch movies

1449
01:42:00,340 --> 01:42:01,420
just to shut my brain off.

1450
01:42:01,420 --> 01:42:06,420
So I don't have one that's like anything groundbreaking

1451
01:42:07,060 --> 01:42:09,380
or where you're gonna learn or change your whole life.

1452
01:42:09,380 --> 01:42:12,380
I just like, sometimes I just like to shut the brain off.

1453
01:42:12,380 --> 01:42:13,900
Yeah, those are important too.

1454
01:42:13,900 --> 01:42:15,300
Absolutely.

1455
01:42:15,300 --> 01:42:16,420
All right, well, the next question,

1456
01:42:16,420 --> 01:42:18,180
is there a person that you'd recommend to come

1457
01:42:18,180 --> 01:42:21,760
on this podcast as a guest to speak to the first responders,

1458
01:42:21,760 --> 01:42:25,260
military and associated professions of the world?

1459
01:42:25,260 --> 01:42:27,300
Yeah, aside from Danny Wu,

1460
01:42:27,300 --> 01:42:30,040
who I think would be awesome on here.

1461
01:42:35,700 --> 01:42:38,980
The other person I can really suggest,

1462
01:42:40,460 --> 01:42:42,140
I'm trying to think of who you haven't had on

1463
01:42:42,140 --> 01:42:44,580
because I believe you've had Dina Ali on here, right?

1464
01:42:44,580 --> 01:42:46,460
Yes, yeah, she'll be coming back on again though

1465
01:42:46,460 --> 01:42:47,580
because she's just about to release,

1466
01:42:47,580 --> 01:42:49,460
I think she just released her book yesterday.

1467
01:42:49,460 --> 01:42:50,300
Yes.

1468
01:42:50,300 --> 01:42:53,140
Yeah, she's a huge deal.

1469
01:42:53,140 --> 01:42:58,140
And you know, another interesting guy who I got to meet

1470
01:42:59,140 --> 01:43:02,860
was Brandon Stackpole, I don't know if you met Stack.

1471
01:43:02,860 --> 01:43:07,460
He's a recently retired firefighter from,

1472
01:43:07,460 --> 01:43:09,740
I believe Frederick County, Maryland,

1473
01:43:10,740 --> 01:43:12,340
not Frederick County, I'm gonna screw that,

1474
01:43:12,340 --> 01:43:13,860
Prince William County, Maryland.

1475
01:43:13,860 --> 01:43:18,860
And the guy has a crazy story, he's in the military.

1476
01:43:18,860 --> 01:43:22,200
He's been a huge proponent of THC and psychedelics.

1477
01:43:22,200 --> 01:43:24,880
So he has a podcast that he's on,

1478
01:43:24,880 --> 01:43:26,800
that it's called The Things We All Carry.

1479
01:43:26,800 --> 01:43:29,240
And he brings a lot of people on to talk about

1480
01:43:31,040 --> 01:43:34,900
some of those, I guess what would be fringe ideas

1481
01:43:34,900 --> 01:43:36,560
like psychedelics and marijuana,

1482
01:43:36,560 --> 01:43:38,980
but he also recently transitioned into retirement,

1483
01:43:38,980 --> 01:43:42,280
which has been early, like he was only on the job

1484
01:43:42,280 --> 01:43:44,880
like 12 or 13 years, which I mean, you know,

1485
01:43:44,880 --> 01:43:49,200
after that he did get hired late,

1486
01:43:49,200 --> 01:43:53,220
but he's just going down this really cool path,

1487
01:43:53,220 --> 01:43:55,960
I think is really cool where he's trying to transition

1488
01:43:55,960 --> 01:43:57,180
in that phase of his life.

1489
01:43:57,180 --> 01:44:00,160
And he's just an interesting cat, man.

1490
01:44:00,160 --> 01:44:01,000
He's got a cool story.

1491
01:44:01,000 --> 01:44:03,280
So I would say those two definitely,

1492
01:44:03,280 --> 01:44:05,420
Dr. Wu and Brandon Stackpole.

1493
01:44:05,420 --> 01:44:07,520
Yeah, Stack was on as well a while ago now.

1494
01:44:07,520 --> 01:44:09,040
I think he was on his show too.

1495
01:44:09,040 --> 01:44:11,680
So, but this is the thing, there's a thousand.

1496
01:44:11,680 --> 01:44:13,880
I know he interviewed you, yeah.

1497
01:44:13,880 --> 01:44:15,960
Yeah, wow, okay.

1498
01:44:15,960 --> 01:44:18,720
Yeah, Dr. Danny Wu, I hope he can bring in

1499
01:44:18,720 --> 01:44:20,320
some introspection.

1500
01:44:22,480 --> 01:44:24,040
I think there's like a veil a little bit

1501
01:44:24,040 --> 01:44:26,520
on what the IFF can and cannot study

1502
01:44:26,520 --> 01:44:28,200
or like, you know, how they do that.

1503
01:44:28,200 --> 01:44:29,840
I wish there was a little more transparency in it.

1504
01:44:29,840 --> 01:44:33,160
So it'd be cool if he got on here just to talk to the member,

1505
01:44:33,160 --> 01:44:35,040
you know, platform and talk to the membership,

1506
01:44:35,040 --> 01:44:36,720
like, hey, here's all the stuff we're doing

1507
01:44:36,720 --> 01:44:40,000
because it doesn't feel like it comes down our way.

1508
01:44:40,000 --> 01:44:40,840
No, no, I agree.

1509
01:44:40,840 --> 01:44:43,120
And this is the thing, it's not about casting blame.

1510
01:44:43,120 --> 01:44:44,760
It's just getting back to, you know,

1511
01:44:44,760 --> 01:44:47,200
what I would argue a union is supposed to do, you know,

1512
01:44:47,200 --> 01:44:49,160
which is fix the things, you know,

1513
01:44:49,160 --> 01:44:51,080
and all of us, you know, coming together.

1514
01:44:51,080 --> 01:44:55,000
Union means, you know, unity, not black union,

1515
01:44:55,000 --> 01:44:56,600
white union, female union.

1516
01:44:56,600 --> 01:44:58,720
I mean, that just, I hate that concept.

1517
01:44:58,720 --> 01:44:59,960
That means that we failed as a union

1518
01:44:59,960 --> 01:45:02,000
if we've got all these kind of splintering things.

1519
01:45:02,000 --> 01:45:04,280
You can have another group call that,

1520
01:45:04,280 --> 01:45:06,320
but I don't think you can use the word union

1521
01:45:06,320 --> 01:45:08,960
because, you know, it's like, you know,

1522
01:45:08,960 --> 01:45:11,640
having New York and not calling any of it New York.

1523
01:45:11,640 --> 01:45:13,680
This is just Harlem or this is just, you know,

1524
01:45:13,680 --> 01:45:15,960
for me, you failed.

1525
01:45:15,960 --> 01:45:18,880
All right, well then the very last question

1526
01:45:18,880 --> 01:45:21,280
before we reiterate where we can find you,

1527
01:45:21,280 --> 01:45:22,880
what you do to decompress?

1528
01:45:26,160 --> 01:45:28,600
Yeah, I don't do a good job.

1529
01:45:30,680 --> 01:45:34,560
And I think it's mostly because I'm in admin

1530
01:45:34,560 --> 01:45:37,600
and I have to come home and kind of start my second workday

1531
01:45:37,600 --> 01:45:39,400
because I still have to like package ship orders

1532
01:45:39,400 --> 01:45:42,040
and work with the team to just do my chores.

1533
01:45:43,440 --> 01:45:48,240
So when I was at my best, when I was at my best,

1534
01:45:48,240 --> 01:45:51,760
when I was on shift, I would do meditation

1535
01:45:51,760 --> 01:45:52,920
and yoga every single day.

1536
01:45:52,920 --> 01:45:57,920
And I do, I really like the practice of memento mori.

1537
01:45:58,640 --> 01:46:03,000
So you meditate on your own mortality

1538
01:46:03,000 --> 01:46:08,000
and you try to think of like you dying, unfortunately,

1539
01:46:08,200 --> 01:46:09,120
and not being here.

1540
01:46:09,120 --> 01:46:13,360
And then remembering that you have your whole life

1541
01:46:13,360 --> 01:46:15,720
in front of you and that you are gonna live

1542
01:46:15,720 --> 01:46:18,240
in appreciation of the fact that you are alive.

1543
01:46:18,240 --> 01:46:23,120
I started doing that after I read this book,

1544
01:46:23,120 --> 01:46:26,160
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, like his journal.

1545
01:46:26,160 --> 01:46:28,640
And I read that he did that and I was like,

1546
01:46:28,640 --> 01:46:30,200
that sounds really dark.

1547
01:46:30,200 --> 01:46:31,280
And I was like, that's depressing

1548
01:46:31,280 --> 01:46:33,160
and it's the exact opposite.

1549
01:46:33,160 --> 01:46:36,400
And I would start my morning doing that and meditating.

1550
01:46:36,400 --> 01:46:40,160
And man, I feel like that is something

1551
01:46:40,160 --> 01:46:42,640
I really should go back to just talking about it now.

1552
01:46:42,640 --> 01:46:44,600
But it taking that time for yourself in the morning

1553
01:46:44,600 --> 01:46:47,200
and just, you just live in appreciation.

1554
01:46:47,200 --> 01:46:50,400
That whole gratitude thing, that's how I would do it

1555
01:46:50,400 --> 01:46:52,240
is practicing gratitude and trying to,

1556
01:46:53,760 --> 01:46:55,840
keep the stress level down.

1557
01:46:58,040 --> 01:47:01,520
Because CBD is great and I love the way it makes me feel

1558
01:47:01,520 --> 01:47:05,240
and keeps my head even, but ultimately it's one part.

1559
01:47:05,240 --> 01:47:06,440
So you have to do the other stuff.

1560
01:47:06,440 --> 01:47:11,040
And then really it's taking time not working.

1561
01:47:11,040 --> 01:47:13,640
And that could be just, and it's always hanging out

1562
01:47:13,640 --> 01:47:16,000
with my fiance and my dogs, you know?

1563
01:47:16,000 --> 01:47:18,200
But that could just be sitting on the couch,

1564
01:47:18,200 --> 01:47:21,000
watching The Office, which is like my absolute favorite show

1565
01:47:23,400 --> 01:47:24,720
or watching a movie.

1566
01:47:24,720 --> 01:47:27,840
But honestly, if I'm sitting in the chair and just working,

1567
01:47:27,840 --> 01:47:29,640
you know, and my brain is going, going, going,

1568
01:47:29,640 --> 01:47:31,960
I just work, spawns more work.

1569
01:47:31,960 --> 01:47:35,200
So it's hard to do, but like getting on the calendar

1570
01:47:35,200 --> 01:47:37,480
and scheduling saying hard stop,

1571
01:47:37,480 --> 01:47:39,280
no more work right at this time.

1572
01:47:39,280 --> 01:47:41,760
And just dedicating it to just not doing anything.

1573
01:47:42,640 --> 01:47:44,240
Absolutely, beautiful.

1574
01:47:44,240 --> 01:47:45,680
All right, well then just to reiterate,

1575
01:47:45,680 --> 01:47:47,160
where can people find the website

1576
01:47:47,160 --> 01:47:49,360
and where can they find you on social media?

1577
01:47:50,280 --> 01:47:53,600
Rescue1CBD.com with the number one

1578
01:47:53,600 --> 01:47:56,920
and then Rescue1CBD on Instagram.

1579
01:47:56,920 --> 01:47:59,880
We are at the moment, Shadow Band,

1580
01:47:59,880 --> 01:48:04,480
and I think that's gonna be there forever, unfortunately.

1581
01:48:04,480 --> 01:48:06,360
I can't complain too much,

1582
01:48:06,360 --> 01:48:08,320
because we do still have a page.

1583
01:48:08,320 --> 01:48:10,120
We didn't get it completely shut down.

1584
01:48:10,120 --> 01:48:11,760
Unlike the ones with the spoke out.

1585
01:48:11,760 --> 01:48:15,280
Yeah, so I was like, man, I'm not gonna,

1586
01:48:15,280 --> 01:48:16,480
I hung up the phone with you earlier, man.

1587
01:48:16,480 --> 01:48:17,560
I was like, I'm not gonna complain

1588
01:48:17,560 --> 01:48:18,560
about our social anymore.

1589
01:48:18,560 --> 01:48:21,680
That's wild, that's so, that's terrible.

1590
01:48:21,680 --> 01:48:26,320
But the, if you search for Rescue1CBD,

1591
01:48:26,320 --> 01:48:28,120
you have to type everything in.

1592
01:48:28,120 --> 01:48:32,360
If you type in rescue, the number one, and CB,

1593
01:48:32,360 --> 01:48:33,360
we still won't pop up.

1594
01:48:33,360 --> 01:48:35,560
You have to type in the whole thing.

1595
01:48:35,560 --> 01:48:36,640
We don't really pop up much.

1596
01:48:36,640 --> 01:48:38,640
So find us on social there.

1597
01:48:38,640 --> 01:48:39,920
We do post a lot of stuff.

1598
01:48:39,920 --> 01:48:42,120
And myself or somebody on the team

1599
01:48:42,120 --> 01:48:45,920
is like really responsive on Instagram.

1600
01:48:45,920 --> 01:48:47,400
So you can reach us there.

1601
01:48:47,400 --> 01:48:50,120
Or if you just email support at Rescue1CBD,

1602
01:48:50,120 --> 01:48:51,400
again with the number one.

1603
01:48:52,320 --> 01:48:54,160
We'll get back to you quick.

1604
01:48:54,160 --> 01:48:55,120
Beautiful.

1605
01:48:55,120 --> 01:48:56,800
Well, John, I wanna say thank you firstly

1606
01:48:56,800 --> 01:48:59,920
for your flexibility earlier

1607
01:48:59,920 --> 01:49:02,880
when I was having to uneth that episode.

1608
01:49:02,880 --> 01:49:06,160
But more importantly, just for again,

1609
01:49:06,160 --> 01:49:09,360
being a trailblazer and getting this to our profession,

1610
01:49:09,360 --> 01:49:12,560
but obviously doing it in a way that it is actually safe,

1611
01:49:12,560 --> 01:49:13,880
not just trying to make a quick buck.

1612
01:49:13,880 --> 01:49:15,800
And then when everyone fails drug tests,

1613
01:49:15,800 --> 01:49:18,440
that bright and center, you'll know where to be found,

1614
01:49:18,440 --> 01:49:20,280
the opposite to put us at ease

1615
01:49:20,280 --> 01:49:24,120
and bring this amazing solution to this community.

1616
01:49:24,120 --> 01:49:26,080
Because as your psychiatrist said, yes,

1617
01:49:26,080 --> 01:49:28,920
there are underlying things that we also have to address.

1618
01:49:28,920 --> 01:49:31,320
You can't just take a pill or a tincture.

1619
01:49:32,400 --> 01:49:34,320
This is just one tool in the toolbox.

1620
01:49:34,320 --> 01:49:37,160
But I have found it's an incredibly powerful tool

1621
01:49:37,160 --> 01:49:39,800
that needs to be accessible to the first responders.

1622
01:49:39,800 --> 01:49:42,400
So I wanna thank you so much for being so generous

1623
01:49:42,400 --> 01:49:43,600
with your time and coming on

1624
01:49:43,600 --> 01:49:46,080
the Behind the Shield podcast today.

1625
01:49:46,080 --> 01:49:47,680
Thank you for having me, really.

1626
01:49:47,680 --> 01:49:56,680
I'll see you next time.