Glorious Professionals

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own”

— Bruce Lee

Born in England on a farm, our guest for Episode 037 James Geering had always dreamed of becoming a Firefighter but was told because of color blindness he was unable to serve. James, now a podcast host, author and firefighter and paramedic of 15 years, joins Jason and Rich after a ruck on the Jacksonville Beach to talk about his winding road from lifeguard, to stuntman in Japan, to naturalized American citizen living his dream of service.

James traces his work ethic and humility in training to his early martial arts training. The idea of using information and skills from different disciplines to constantly improve is now a common thread in his work. He continues to serve by using his platforms to educate the public through his lens as a first responder.

Throughout his career, he also witnessed a giant void in the area of First Responder wellness -- and is blunt about how the mental and emotional costs of service simply weren't talked about in his training or early years -- but the conversations are changing now. Some of those conversations happen on James’s podcast “Behind the Shield” and are chronicled in his book, One More Light, which takes readers through heart-wrenching stories that are coupled with a unique and mental health perspective about preventing tragedy and unnecessary suffering. An “incurable optimist,” James in One More Light ultimately leaves the reader with the hope that, with us at our best, we have a fighting chance to thrive in an uncertain world.

James talks about not just saving lives as a first responder but improving quality of life for those serving and all of us. James’ years of selfless service and dedication to humanity are two qualities we aspire to achieve here at GORUCK and we’re happy to welcome this Glorious Professional as our first firefighter to the podcast.

Links:

• James Geering of the Behind the Shield podcast
• One More Light by James Geering with foreward by Josh Brolin
• Glorious Professionals Episode 035 - Roger Sparks
• Learn more about GORUCK and Ruck Clubs

Dave Castro rarely speaks of his service at the tip of the spear but the imprint of those years of training to excellence is apparent in everything he does -- especially at the CrossFit Games.

“The past that I speak so little of is so foundational for who I am.”

In Episode 028, with Jason and Rich, Dave discloses a few of the missing pieces of his winding journey starting with “The Rock” and leading to leadership in the Navy as well as CrossFit International.

Dave grew up on “The Ranch” in California and while he was involved in athletics and martial arts he never excelled. Always a “self-directed” researcher he stumbled onto the challenge of becoming a Navy SEAL and he dropped out of college (against his parents’ wishes) and chased the goal with single minded focus wondering “do I have what it takes?”

With self knowledge and the reflection born of being both recruit and trainer, Dave talks about the mindset and mentality of getting through BUD/S and other challenges. Dave made the deliberate choice to not put his SEAL experiences up front in the early days of working for CrossFit while still active duty as a BUD/S instructor -- a decision which makes some still surprised to learn he was a SEAL. He served 12 years as a SEAL yet the quiet professional ethos is so ingrained, details are not forthcoming about his service through multiple deployments on elite Special Operations Teams. The lessons and values Dave holds from his years of service, however, are clear: holding yourself to a high standard; constantly training and pushing; walking the walk; and being willing to be humble, start over and work your way up.

He attributes his success out of the military to his mindset of “not ‘be impressed by what I’ve done,’ but ‘let me impress you by what I can do.’”

Dave lays out his narrative about the source of the edginess he brings to CrossFit as a sport -- especially at the Games -- and the crossovers between Teams and CrossFit: teamwork, community, discipline and always training/honing your craft with care.

Links:

• Dave Castro and The CrossFit Games
• “The Rock”
• “Rogue Warrior” by Richard Marcinko
• Learn more about GORUCK
• Glorious Professionals podcast website

“Every time I thought this might be the end, it showed up again.”

Malaika Underwood joins Jason and Emily for a very friendly Episode 051 to talk about her athletic career and the future she hopes to see in youth and professional sports. Born and raised in San Diego, playing freely with a gaggle of neighborhood kids, Malaika says baseball -- not softball -- found her and became a lifelong love. She dreamed of being a professional player, “the first,” as opportunities for girls and women in baseball were rare to nonexistent.

She wrote to coaches to find a potential spot on a High School team -- not for special treatment, just for fair chance. Malaika talks about her competitiveness and stubbornness, along with the support of her parents, helping to deal with the weight of constantly having to prove herself -- “to be perfect” -- as the only girl on the team. Although baseball was her passion, her athleticism in volleyball earned her a place as a recruited scholarship athlete at UNC Chapel Hill. She talks about the struggle and culture shock of that transition as well as the relief of not being “the only.”

When she found the USA Baseball Team in 2006 -- having not played competitively for 7 years but staying involved in the game as coach and mentor -- the loneliness she had always felt on the diamond gave way to playing on a field of other women (an experience common to most of them). She is now the longest-tenured player on a USA Baseball National Team, male or female. She has earned five Women’s Baseball World Cup medals, as well as two Women’s Baseball World Cup All-Tournament Team selections.

Malaika is also wife to Chris, mother to Birdie and Kit, author, and professional in the sports arena, spending her time and talents to support college athletes as the NCAA landscape changes. She speaks about the importance of free-play for kids, carving a path for girls and women into professional baseball, and the aspirational steps needed to get there. The conversation covers a lot of ground in sports from large personalities to the history of softball, and throughout there is a love of the game and appreciation for the power of team sport.

Links:

• “Birdie Can Too!” by Malaika Underwood
• USA Baseball
• Discrepancy in NCAA Basketball Tournaments Coverage and in 2021 Tournaments Facilities
• “In Search of Greatness”
• Learn more about GORUCK
• Glorious Professionals podcast website

In Episode 010, Jason and Emily are joined by expert Linda Mansolillo to talk about disaster preparation - be it wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, or a global epidemic. Linda is a biotech strategist with 24 years of military service, currently a medical officer in the Air Force Reserve, and is also a mom. Through projects like LadyBugOut she focuses on bringing disaster preparation and implementation strategies home to our primary community - our families - and most especially our children.

Even if you don’t have kids, you can learn key strategies for dealing with emergencies including making preparations a lifestyle (including designating in advance “who makes the call”), the importance of staying calm getting factual information, and focusing on what you can control. Linda advocates for empowering kids of all ages to deal with disaster and life through age-appropriate discussion, decision-making and responsibility. This episode is primarily about leadership in crisis and spending the time to slow down and really communicate with our home team.

Links:

• Linda Mansolillo
• LadyBugOut
• Learn more about GORUCK
• Glorious Professionals podcast website

In episode 008 of Glorious Professionals we welcome former Quiet Professional (aka Green Beret) Brent Cooper in to talk with Jason and Rich about failure and not quitting, the sum of a team being greater than its parts, and how his unique life experience and passion brought him to be Executive Director of the Green Beret Foundation (GBF).

Brent grew up working and spent over a decade in the corporate world before getting an age waiver to go to Special Forces Selection at age 30. He credits passing and joining the storied 5th Group not to his reasons to succeed, but his drivers to not fail. From childhood through his first experiences in the team room to his first mission in Afghanistan and “one of his top three moments in life,” his stories are of putting in the work to meet his own - and his team’s - standard of excellence. His blend of talents between military and civilian life is well suited to now helping his brothers and their families at the GBF and speaking knowledgeably about the varied and unique challenges the community faces.

Links:

• Brent Cooper, GBF Executive Director
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS)
• Green Beret Foundation Twitter