Ep.19 Squad Life... take 2, with Greg Hawk

Greg Hawk is retiring from the fire service in 2 years, but he has yet to slow down and there's no sign that it's even possible for him. In Episode 19 Greg and I sat down for the 2nd time (If you're paying attention you may notice that I have had several repeat guests on the podcast.  What can I say, I like talking to my brothers) to discuss, life on the squad, depression, training, professionalism and much more.
Give it a listen and enjoy!

Please check out the below links to some of the pages and topics mentioned in episode 19.

Forcible entry training prop we discussed - www.FirehouseInnovations.com
IG pages:
Follow Greg:
@last3years
@hawksalvage
Follow the Squad 44:
@ghostsquad44
Follow the haters ;-) : 
@cancel_thesquad

Contact your host, Rayne Gray:
raynegray@firegroundfitness.com
IG - @firegroundftness
Twitter - raynegray@firegroundfit
FB - fireground fitness

Holler at me on any venue you choose, do not hesitate to reach out and share your questions, comments or words of wit! Feedback is welcome!

Also, If you haven't already...Subscribe! Get on apple podcast and leave a review.
All that being said...Whatever you do, keep leaning in to your work and life, stay in the game and do not hold back. Wake up every morning and get after it!


Go on now, GetSome!
Rayne

Ep.18 "Diesel and dirt" the smell of the fire house..." W/ Capt. Chris Pearce

When I sat down with Chris Pearce I really wanted to talk about his father's Line of Duty Death and how that impacted him. And we did, but we went for an hour before we got there! Chris and I spent several years working together at fire Station 12 which may explain why he and I can't get to the main point with out our conversation meandering a bit!
In Episode 18 Chris and I rapped about Special Operations on Camelback mountain, leadership, training, trust and we wrapped our conversation with a very honest and candid conversation about the Line of Duty Death of Ricky Pearce. Chris' dad died when he was just 6 years old and this has shaped him as a man, father and Firefighter. Chris is such a solid and well rounded Fire Captain and he has a perspective that is well worth hearing.
Enjoy the podcast!
GetSome!


Support the podcast by following us on social media. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

You can contact Fireground Fitness...
Email Raynegray@firegroundfitness.com
IG @firegroundfitness
FB @firegroundfitness
http://firegroundfitness.com

Ep.17 Fire and Jits and Dance, Oh My! With Michael Caro and Travis Swartzlander

Every now and again you meet someone that transcends your expectations. In Episode 17 we have the chance to rap with two such dudes, Michael Caro and Travis Swartzlander. These Brothers in arms are cut from the same cloth - Firefighters by day, Brazilian Jujitsu practitioners in the afternoon and competitive west coast swing dancers at night.

We took the opportunity to discuss all of the above as well as Caro's company, Canejo Valley Advanced Wellness Medical Group. A great conversation with a couple of solid Brothers. Check it out as well as the link and pages below!

Support the podcast by following us on social media. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Check out today's Guests
Micheal Caro can be found at
cvadvancedwellness.com/
on IG @cvadvancedwellness
on FB @conejo Valley Advanced Wellness

Travis Swatzlander can be found at
IG @that_ninja_trav
IG @ninja_wcs_int
FB @travis swartzlander
youtube - ThatNinjaTrav
https://www.youtube.com/user/travswartz/featured

You can contact Fireground Fitness...
Email Raynegray@firegroundfitness.com
IG @firegroundfitness
FB @firegroundfitness
http://firegroundfitness.com

Ep.16 Motivational Quotes with Austin Moreland

Motivational quotes have a real power in our lives. They can create emotion and inspire action, cause deep contemplation and consternation. In Episode 16, Austin and I got together and shared a few of our favorites and discussed their meaning and application.
Here are the main quotes we rapped about. There are others sprinkled in as well. Check it out and let me know which one is your favorite.
“He who is waiting on the battlefield wins"
   -Sun Tzu

"Leaders will let you fail with out making you feel like a failure"
   - General Stanley McCrystal

"You don't make men safe by making them weak. You make men safe by making them strong and disciplined."
   -Jordan Peterson

“No plan survives enemy contact, you may start off fighting your plan, but the enemy gets a vote”
   - Col. Tom Kolditz

“2% of your time is spent dealing with tactical situations and 98% of your time is spent dealing with human situations. And human situations are driven by emotions.”
    – AVB

“Fail early, fail fast, fail often”
   - Author Unknown

"If you want something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done."
   - Thomas Jefferson
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

   - Theodore Roosevelt

Ep.15 Your Mental Health: How to stay in the game with Dr. Kerry Ramella

Dr. Kerry Ramella has spent the better part of her adult life working with firefighters. It has been her life's work to focus on the dark side of public service - Researching the negative aspects of the job, how firefighters cope, manage and break down. Her work has brought about great insight into how we can better care for our fire family and keep ourselves mission ready as well.

In episode 15 we discussed the signs and symptoms of poor mental health, how we can build resiliency and a mind - body connection. We also talked about some of the trends throughout the fire service and how some fire departments are responding.
This conversation barely scratches the surface of what we need to know to be mentally bomb proof however, its a great start, pointing to many resources and ideas to get us started.

Check out some of the resources mentioned in this episode:
Firestrong.org
PScrisissolution.com

If you have any questions or comments for me, feel free to contact me:
Email@: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com
IG: @firegroundfitness

Finally; if you're digg'n the podcast, or not - leave me some feedback. Go to apple podcasts: Subscribe, rate & review. Or wherever you listen.

Ep.14 The Commute to Cali with Matt Bryant

In Episode 14 I sat down with one of my BJJ training partners, Matt Bryant. Matt is a Cal Fire Engineer with about 15 years on the job. He strongly believes in leadership and training. Our conversation covered both of these topics but also included talk about staffing models, complacency, sleep deprivation and much much more.

During our conversation Matt mentioned that he and members of his battalion read and discuss many books and podcasts. He specifically named a few and I wanted to share them, so please see below:

Podcast
Jockopodcast.com

Books
Extreme Ownership - by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
The way of the warrior Kid - Jocko Willink
Fearless - by Eric Blehm
The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi

Fitness challenge
https://30forthekids.com/register-4-challenge

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In strenth

Rayne

Ep.13 Trip review and being 20ish

So summer is coming to an end and everyone is heading back to work and school. As we drove home from our summer adventure I took the opportunity to sit down with the "kids" to reflect on vacation, growing up around the fire service - how it has influenced them and what its like being 20ish. 

Thanks for listening. Please subscribe through your favorite platform, rate the podcast and leave me some feedback.

GetSome

Rayne