Ben Dubin: Into the Fire (Tempe Fire Dept)

In this episode of the Keiser Human Performance Podcast, members of the Tempe Fire Department share how strength, conditioning, and performance training play a critical role in preparing firefighters for the physical and mental demands of the job.

They discuss the importance of building resilient, well-rounded athletes within the fire service — focusing on injury prevention, durability, and real-world performance rather than just traditional fitness metrics. The conversation highlights how structured training programs, accountability, and the right equipment can directly impact job readiness and long-term health.

This episode offers a powerful look into how performance training supports those on the front lines, ensuring they’re prepared to perform when it matters most.

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All right, Ben, how's it going today? It's going  good, Gabe. Thanks for having me on, man. Yeah,

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of course. Happy to have you on with us. I've  come to learn that recently you were in San Diego

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with some family, and I have to ask you. Mhm. Any  good food spots while you're in San Diego? Well,

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if you ask my wife, she would say yes and my  kids because they love seafood. I am one of the

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probably rare people exist that does not like any  seafood whatsoever. So, my wife luckily has a fan

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club with our son who will order the most crazy  adult-like dishes with every sort of seafood you

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can imagine. He loves every ounce of it. And  then myself and my daughter will just have

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some chicken or some uh some steak and we'll be  happy ourselves. I can appreciate that because I'm

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actually allergic to fish. Uhhuh. So, actually, I  don't know if I appreciate that. Maybe, you know,

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that's a bit insulting. you have this amazing  opportunity in front of you and you're not taking

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advantage of it. And it's crazy because we we  all know the benefits of of seafood on, you know,

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for everything. And growing up in Arizona, I was  a product of my environment and my folks really

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never never had that stuff around. But somehow  both my brothers enjoy seafood, so I don't know

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what happened. Okay. Okay. Well, good to know.  Well, I'm sure your family got to enjoy some

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fish tacos or something like that. Absolutely.  Yes. Cool. other question for you because it's

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on the top of my mind and it always is whenever  I speak to anybody at any fire department. Um,

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I had the opportunity when I was really young to  visit a local one here and like the coolest thing

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that a kid could look at are the jaws of life.  And I imagine people ask about that a lot. So,

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what's your experience of jaws of life? Have you  ever got to use it in the field yet? Oh yeah,

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multiple. I mean, I've been in the fire service  now as a firefighter for almost 13 years. I was

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assigned to a ladder company which one of their  primary jobs on car accidents is extrication. So

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we are the ones responsible for the jaws of life  or the spreaders as we call them and the cutters

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which are like giant scissors. And I'm currently  assigned to a squad company here in Tempe Squad

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278. And once again that is still a part of our  job description. And so I have been using those

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on a fairly regular basis the past 10 years.  So we train a lot on them and then just like

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when as a kid when people come to the station  they ask a lot about that and we ask them,

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"Hey, you want to see how heavy these things  are?" So we have them hold it and they're like,

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"Holy cow." Especially the parents that are with  the kids, they have no idea how heavy some of the

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equipment that we have is. And the fact that we  have to maneuver it in all different ways, shapes,

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and forms at any time of day in any environment  really opens their eyes to some of the demands of

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our of our job. Awesome. And I don't know if it's  like just because they named it the Jaws of Life,

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but it seems like no matter who you are, what age  you are, what you're interested in, like it's just

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this awesome sounding thing that everyone wants to  know more about. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And sometimes

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the kids will ask and sometimes, you know, the  parents will even ask to see the jaws of life

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because it's their first time in a fire station  and and that's just that's the name that's been

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associated with it. And just gives us more of an  opportunity to show them what our tools are and

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you know what their money is going towards because  this is their these are their fire stations.

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They're the ones paying for this equipment. I want  them to see this is exactly what you're doing with

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the money to help us and help other people. I feel  like for sure I'm going to be one of those parents

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and like I'm going to forget that my kid is like  near me. I'm like, "Just show me that." Like,

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it's funny. Sometimes the kids get there and  they're a little bit shy and they're kind of being

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standoffish or they're running around and the  parents are more engaged in the actual time around

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the fire truck than their than their kids are.  Awesome. Well, you mentioned being in Arizona,

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obviously from Arizona. You talked a little bit  so far about the Tempe Fire Department. I would

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love to start there. Just for anyone listening,  give us an overview of, you know, your experience

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with Tempe Fire Department. Just tell us what  we need to know. Yeah. Well, so Tempe Fire,

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it's a suburb of Phoenix and kind of the way the  valley the valley operates here is very different

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than most parts around the country. So here in the  valley, Phoenix obviously is the big city within

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this area. You have Phoenix, you have Tempe, you  have Scottdale, you have Chandler, Mesa, Peoria,

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Glendale. So if you think about the valley is this  one big bowl of a lot of different city cities,

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a lot of different towns, a lot of different  different fire departments within this valley. We

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have something that's called automatic aid which  is fairly unique I think when it comes to the fire

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service. So there's there's mutual aid and then  there's automatic aid. Mutual aid is let's say

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there's a call that happens on the border of a of  a jurisdiction. So there's a call that happens on

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the border of Tempe and Phoenix. Mutual aid would  mean someone has to make a phone call to the other

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department requesting that they need additional  help. And it just takes time. It takes effort.

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In some places, that's just the way it has to be  done. But here in the valley with automatic aid,

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regardless of the city that you work for,  regardless of the color of your fire truck,

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if you are the closest apparatus, the closest  appropriate apparatus to the call that is being

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made to 911, you are going. And so, yeah, we have  our separate fire departments, which I'll talk

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about Tempee specifically in a second, but it's  important to understand that as a as a valley,

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as a county, we all work together. We all train  together because on one fire you could have three

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different cities on a structure fire. You know,  it's not uncommon in Tempe for a fire that happens

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in Tempe to have Tempe fire, to have Mesa fire, to  have Phoenix fire, to have Scottsdale fire. So you

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could have four completely different cities all  working towards the same goal, working towards the

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same objective, working to keep everyone safe and  provide rescue and whatever services we're trying

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to provide at that moment. And what that allows  us what that what that creates is an opportunity

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to make sure that we're always on the same page  and that we're always training together. Now,

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specifically with with Tempee, Tempe is a fairly  small department compared to some of the others.

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We're what's called landlocked where the only  way our city could build right now is up. That's

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because we're surrounded by other cities that  we've already reached our limits when it comes

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to expansion in the horizontal direction, but  now we're expanding in the high-rise direction.

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We have mult I think I could be wrong here just  as many if not more high-rise developments than

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the city of Phoenix does. At least we're close  to and for a very small city like TB that is a

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crazy crazy statistic. So our department is very  quickly becoming a high-rise department as well as

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a mid-rise which is anything that's 75 ft or less.  So about six stories or less. And then within that

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becomes additional training and a new generation  of firefighting because 20 years ago these these

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structures didn't exist in in the city of Tempee.  So it's hasn't changed our job description,

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but it's added to what we need to know at a  very high level to make sure that when we're

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responding to these calls, we we know what we're  doing. And then, you know, within Tempe, we have

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currently seven fire stations. We have number  eight that is worked on being built right now.

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We have roughly 200 sworn firefighters. We have  six ambulances that operate out of the city of

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Tempe with civilian staff. So, they're not sworn  firefighters, but they're civilian personnel. We

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have We're an allhazards fire department,  which means we do everything. We do EMS,

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we do hazardous materials, we do technical rescue,  we do swift water, we do dive rescue, anything you

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can think of. We are what's called an allhazards  fire department. So for a city as small as we are

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to have what we have is is pretty incredible. Wow,  that's really fascinating. I I appreciate kind

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of the detail on everything there. So a question  for you. You mentioned the valley. You have Mesa,

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Tempe, Scottdale, and the Phoenix area. So you all  working together with this mutual aid. That's not

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so common in other areas of Arizona or even the  country. No, it's called automatic aid. So excuse

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me. You know, that's okay. Mutual aid is very  common, but usually like so previous to being

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employed with Tempe, I worked for Colorado Springs  Fire Department. And Colorado Springs is kind of

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an isolated city where it's kind of just the city  of Colorado Springs. And so there are some cities

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on the outside or some towns on the outside, but  they're a little bit smaller, only a few stations.

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So that's where kind of mutual aid comes into play  where if we need some resources from them or they

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need some resources for us, they can call us and  ask and we would go and help them. versus here in

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the valley with all these cities being packed so  tightly together. We decided many years ago just

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to get away from the jurisdiction thing, get away  from who cares what city you work for, what's best

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for the customer, what's best for the person that  we're serving. So the closest apparatus regardless

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of what city you work for is going to go help  that person. Got it. Okay, cool. Thanks for

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the clarification. So, I'm curious and we'll dive  more into Tempe Fire Department and other things

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related to training and preparation and these  types of things, but I'm really curious about

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how you even got to this point. Like, what brought  you into this world? Man, it's a it's a long story

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that I think I can make short. So, you know,  it's funny. You have your plan in life of what

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you think you're going to be doing or what you are  going to attempt to do in life and certain things

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happen and you're we're here to learn certain  lessons and those lessons take us different

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directions. maybe than something we hadn't thought  about. So, you know, my initial my initial goal

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of wanting to get into the fire service came  around about when I was in my senior year of

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college. I played some baseball in college. I  ended up finishing and getting my degree from

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from Arizona State and exercise science, but I I  knew I love playing sports. I love being a part

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of something that was bigger than me. I I love  the the physical aspect. I love I love training

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with a purpose. I always knew I wanted to have a  career where, you know, my my time spent training

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had a legitimate impact on something outside of  just me, had a had a purpose in my life. And so,

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as I gained some friendships along the way, I I  learned a lot about the fire department and was

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still kind of up in the air what I wanted  to do. And since I was getting my degree

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in exercise science, I ended up going to work  for a company. They used to be called Athletes

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Performance. They're called Exos now. And so I had  originally heard about them back in the year 2000

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uh when I was playing high school baseball. I  played for a a high school called Horizon High

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School which was pretty well known for baseball  back in the early 2000s. And when Mark Versteagen

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and them first came to Arizona from Florida, they  targeted our school because we had a relationship

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with some sponsors that they had as well. And  they came out and they talked to us and they

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educated us and they took us through some kind  of baseball prep for a few weeks. So, we got to

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have their coaches on our field taking us through  these movements and I very quickly knew like this

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is what I wanted to be doing with part of my life.  Like they got to come out here and coach. This is

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freaking awesome. Like what a great great job. And  so I got a chance to go train there as an athlete

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uh when I was still in my playing days 25 years  ago. And then once I was there at the facility,

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I'm like, man, I I'd want to do this for a living.  Like look at this job. Look at this place. Look at

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the people these coaches get to work with. look at  these look at these coaches you get to learn from.

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And so I ended up steering my college my college  time towards my degree in exercise science with

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the goal and intention of working for athletes  performance um as a as a performance specialist

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or strength and conditioning coach. And then fast  forward to now my senior year in college. I'm

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finishing up and I'm trying to figure out what  I want to do and I end up doing an internship

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over at Athletes Performance and just fell in love  with the facility, fell in love with the people,

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the culture, and ended up having an opportunity  to work there as an intern. And then shortly after

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my internship ended, they allowed me to come on  full-time as a coach. Now, while I was there, I

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noticed they had something called the firefighter  performance mentorship. And at this point,

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I was still kind of up in the air of what I wanted  to do in my life. You know, I had a great inn with

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with Athletes Performance or or Exos and but I  still had this itching to be a part of something

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bigger with with regards to service and and the  fire service. And so I started asking questions

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about, hey, what is this mentorship? What is this  firefighter thing you guys do? Because I've been

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looking at doing this as a career. And so they sat  down and talked to me. And basically what they did

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back in the day is these firefighters would come  in throughout the country and the Exos coaching

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staff would just give them the system, give them  the methodology and it was kind of up to them to

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connect the dots of how how does this systematic  approach to performance in this elite athlete

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industry, how does it transfer to your career as a  fire service? And so I asked them, hey, can I can

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I take this on? You know, I'm trying to learn more  about the fire service. Can I see if I can revamp

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this to see if we can make this a little bit  more job specific for the members that are flying

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in here to to take this class? And they said  absolutely. And so through some connections I had,

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I started reaching out to some folks over at Tempe  Fire because that's where Athletes Performance,

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their original headquarters was in Tempe. And so  I reached out to some people through who I knew

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and started riding along, started spending time  at the station, started inviting them into the

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facility so they could see what we do and started  trying to bridge this gap between the world of of

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performance for firefighting and world performance  for elite athletes. And the more time I spent with

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these firefighters, getting a chance to be on the  truck and at the station and just hang out with

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them and spend time with them and watch how they  train, I'm like, "This is it. This is this is what

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I want to be doing." And if at some point down the  road I can bridge both my passions together with,

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you know, strength, conditioning, performance, and  fire service. If someday, somehow those can come

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together, man, how great would that be? And so  I, you know, Exos was super supportive. They knew

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basically from the beginning what my intention  was. It wasn't to stay there long term as a

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coach. It was to get into be a firefighter.  And they respected that. And like I said,

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they supported that in any way, shape, or form  that we could. And while I was testing, trying

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to get into the fire service, I got a chance  to run these firefighter mentorships. I've had

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these firefighters coming in and just continuing  to learn more and more about the requirements of

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the job, what it takes physically, what it takes  emot emotionally, what it takes mentally. And so

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almost really setting myself up hopefully  for success when I do get the opportunity.

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And then sure enough in in 2010 um I had the  chance to go originally work for for Tempe.

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I I got I put myself through a paramedic school  while I was coaching at Exos and Tempe was hiring

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a paramedic to be on one of their ambulances  and in 2010 I took a test and I was fortunate

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to be the one of one uh that got hired to be on  that ambulance. Um and so allowed me a chance to

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kind of leave this performance um culture behind  at EXOS and transition now into my first step in

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the fire service. Yeah, I wasn't a firefighter  yet, but I was a civilian member. I was on an

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ambulance. I was at the station with the crew.  Same schedule, but I was only doing half the job.

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I was only doing the medical part. I wasn't doing  the fire part yet. So spent about two and a half,

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three years doing that. And then through another  random connection, a guy I worked with in Tempe,

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his brother-in-law worked for Colorado Springs,  and he's like, "Hey, Ben, I know we're not hiring

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anybody right now." This is kind of during that  downturn in the economy back in 2012, 2013. He's

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like, "My brother works for Colorado Springs. You  should give them a call and, you know, see if it's

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something you want to do." Cuz he knew I wanted to  learn the craft of being a firefighter. He knew I

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wanted to learn the trade. as much as I love temp  and I I love the Phoenix area because it's where

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I'm from, he knew that I wanted I wanted to do the  job. I was I was itching. I was ready. Once again,

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just kind of randomly took a test up in Colorado  Springs and somehow out of 1,200 people, they

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picked 30 of us and I was one of those 30. within  basically nine days of finding out, moved my

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entire life up to Colorado Springs and spent three  and a half years up there as a as a firefighter,

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as a paramedic, as a hazmat technician with the  city of Colorado Springs Fire Department. And

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then fast forward again, my wife and I, we end  up having a kid. We have our first boy, Corey,

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back in 2015. and we were talking about maybe  coming back home or trying to come back home

00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:40.560
for a while, but really wasn't in the near  future. Uh, but Tempe, uh, found out they

00:16:40.560 --> 00:16:46.880
were hiring again in 2016 for the firefighter  recruit. And I got a bunch of texts from a bunch

00:16:46.880 --> 00:16:51.280
of people that I care about and that I miss  back here at home. And they said, "Hey, Ben,

00:16:51.280 --> 00:16:55.200
we're hiring. What do you think? You know, I know  you've been up there for three and a half years,

00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:00.720
but we would love to see if you can come down  here." And I was hesitant cuz I was not ready

00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:05.200
to go through another fire academy again and start  everything completely over. Uh cuz when you switch

00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:09.200
departments, you got to start all back over again  at the beginning. Regardless of what you've done,

00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:13.520
regardless of what you've learned, it's starting  at ground zero to learn the way that they want you

00:17:13.520 --> 00:17:18.560
to learn it and to learn the way that they want  you to perform this job. but wanted to take a

00:17:18.560 --> 00:17:23.760
chance and somehow once again got lucky enough to  be hired by city of Tempee as a firefighter back

00:17:23.760 --> 00:17:29.600
in 2016 and been there been there ever since.  You know, I definitely miss Colorado, miss the

00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:34.160
the brotherhood up there and the family up there  as a hardworking fire department, but this this

00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:39.360
is home and we're we're happy to be here and we  have we have no regrets in the in the path that

00:17:39.360 --> 00:17:44.720
we took. So, that's that's how I got to Tempe and  the the windy road that it took to get here. No,

00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:48.720
it's awesome. It's it's really cool to hear that  and I think a lot of people, you know, when they

00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:52.640
think about EXO's um our athletes performance  back in the day, you they forget about that that

00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.520
they're also working with first responders. Um so  it's really really cool to hear that and to see,

00:17:57.520 --> 00:18:02.400
you know, what that experience has done for you  and how it's helped shaped your path to get to

00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:06.800
where you are now where now you're able to help  so many others which I think is super cool. So

00:18:06.800 --> 00:18:13.440
you mentioned earlier wanting to make the training  more jobspecific. So before we get to that point,

00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:20.080
what were your early impressions of fitness and  performance and preparation in firefighting as you

00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:23.200
entered the profession as you saw it throughout  the years, whether it was in Colorado Springs

00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:31.280
or back here in Tempe? Yeah. You know, like any  anything that has a culture associated with it,

00:18:31.280 --> 00:18:37.200
usually culture means there is a past that this  path has been paved by a lot of people before

00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:42.080
you and it's been earned by a lot of people  that came before you. Firefighting's been

00:18:42.080 --> 00:18:48.560
around for a very very long time and with those  cultures that are very steeped in tradition,

00:18:48.560 --> 00:18:54.320
it can generally be difficult to bring new ideas  forward. And every every culture is different.

00:18:54.320 --> 00:18:59.600
Even the culture from Colorado Springs to Tempe  is different. But what I saw when I first got on

00:18:59.600 --> 00:19:07.040
the job back in 2010 was this mindset that was  still focused on very one-dimensional training,

00:19:07.040 --> 00:19:11.520
at least when it comes to the fitness aspect. You  know, within the training in the fire service,

00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:15.840
you have firefighter specific training where  you have your gear on, you're throwing ladders,

00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:19.520
you're pulling hose line, you're cutting holes in  roofs. There's there's that part of training, and

00:19:19.520 --> 00:19:23.040
then there's the other part of training. That what  are you doing when you're not doing that stuff?

00:19:23.040 --> 00:19:28.480
What are you doing in the gym? What does your  training session look like um to help prepare you

00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:33.280
hopefully for for those events that are happening?  But within the training session environment,

00:19:33.280 --> 00:19:39.440
within the gym environment, uh just very very  one-dimensional, very bodybuilder, um CrossFit

00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:45.040
still had a pretty big strong arm uh within the  fire service. Um, and all these all these things

00:19:45.040 --> 00:19:53.600
aren't they're not bad in itself, but what I felt  was lacking was just a lack of education. Because

00:19:53.600 --> 00:20:00.640
my my true heartfelt belief is that every member  within our organization deserves to have all the

00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:04.960
knowledge and information. So then they can then  make an informed decision about what's going to

00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:09.920
work for them. You know, just because I believe  this is the way you should be training doesn't

00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:14.400
mean that's the way you're going to be training.  But I feel like I have a responsibility to at

00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:19.680
least teach you and show you the right and safe  way to do certain things. And as long as you have

00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:25.120
that information, then you get to make a choice as  an adult kind of what you want to be doing. And so

00:20:25.120 --> 00:20:33.040
I felt at the forefront there was just a lack of  education that we needed to start there. Um, and

00:20:33.040 --> 00:20:40.720
it's taken us it's 15 years to basically take the  step I wish we took 15 years ago. It just it takes

00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:45.680
a while and it's really important to be patient  and it's really important to be understanding of

00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:49.680
where everyone else is coming from and trying to  meet them where they're at. Because if you come

00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:54.000
in with this attitude that it's, hey, this is the  way you have to be doing it. This is the way you

00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.840
need to be training because of this, that, and the  other, there's going to be a brick wall right in

00:20:57.840 --> 00:21:02.160
front of you, that it's going to be very difficult  to break down. And I say this from experience

00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.240
because when I first came on, I made that mistake.  I was very naive. I was very naive in what I what

00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:13.760
I thought I knew. I was very naive in what I  thought they should know. And my approach has

00:21:13.760 --> 00:21:21.520
changed over the years because going that way,  it didn't serve anyone. It was just I want to

00:21:21.520 --> 00:21:26.160
make sure everyone gets the information that they  deserve to know so they can make their decisions.

00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:31.040
That's what we've been trying to accomplish the  past 10 years in Tempe. Did you see similarities

00:21:31.040 --> 00:21:34.960
between the way that people were preparing and  we're not talking about firefighter specific,

00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:41.120
we're talking about in the gym in Colorado  Springs as well as Tempe in the early days. It was

00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:46.560
honestly very similar. You know, it's funny when  when people walk into the gym at a fire station,

00:21:46.560 --> 00:21:51.200
they generally are focused on one piece of the  puzzle. They see weights and they want to lift

00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:55.680
and that's it, right? It's very one thing, right?  There's no system in place. There's no prehab,

00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.360
there's no soft tissue, there's no mobility,  there's no recovery. There might be small bits

00:21:59.360 --> 00:22:05.600
and pieces if they think about doing it, but when  they walk in a gym, it's either there's a piece of

00:22:05.600 --> 00:22:09.200
equipment I want to do some cardio on, I'm going  to go on a treadmill, I'm going to go elliptical,

00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:14.160
or I'm going to lift some weights, and that was  it. And as far as programming, a lot of the guys

00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:17.840
would just show up and say, "What do I feel like  doing today?" Or, "Hey, what are you doing today?

00:22:17.840 --> 00:22:22.240
Let me do what you're doing." Or they'll go on,  type in a computer, you know, what's the workout

00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:30.000
of the day? or they'll have some sort of idea,  but really there wasn't an approach that brought

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.320
I don't want to say education, but there wasn't  an approach that brought this longevity aspect

00:22:34.320 --> 00:22:40.640
or this thought process of hey, what's your goal?  Let's work towards that goal for a certain period

00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:44.560
of time and then once you've reached that goal,  we can switch. It was like trying to chase five

00:22:44.560 --> 00:22:49.760
rabbits at one time because they just didn't have  the knowledge or understanding to do what it is

00:22:49.760 --> 00:22:53.280
that I know they wanted to do, but they just  they didn't have that ability to do because

00:22:53.280 --> 00:22:59.040
they didn't have the resources to give them what  they needed. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, cool. We have

00:22:59.040 --> 00:23:03.600
so much to uh to chew on here. So, I'm excited  to go down this rabbit hole. So, okay. So tell

00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:11.760
me about some of those experiences at Exos and  athletes performance and how the principles you

00:23:11.760 --> 00:23:17.120
took from there helped shape your approach to okay  I recognize where we're at. I understand where we

00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:22.000
want to get going. You mentioned being patient,  taking time leaning into education. What are some

00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:27.040
of the principles of training that you maybe took  from there into your approach here with Tempe?

00:23:27.040 --> 00:23:32.880
Yeah. So, I mean, I'll say good or bad, Exos has  shaped my entire life when it comes to what I

00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:38.480
believe performance is. And I say the bad part  because I've recognized over the past several

00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:46.720
years that I was so focused on this system and  this method that I didn't allow myself to learn

00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:52.160
some other things that are out there. And we have  a lot of very smart people, especially in 10B,

00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:58.640
that are very passionate about fitness. And just  because they don't align with the approach that I

00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:03.280
take doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of value.  So what I've really tried to do over the past

00:24:03.280 --> 00:24:09.520
several years is trying to open up and put down my  ego, put down my wall and say, "All right, yeah,

00:24:09.520 --> 00:24:13.760
I have this knowledge and education, but that's  just one thing. What else do you have? Give me

00:24:13.760 --> 00:24:19.280
everything else. Let's all work together because  what I have may not work for firefighter A,

00:24:19.280 --> 00:24:23.840
but what you have might work for them, but maybe  we can work together and get the best of both

00:24:23.840 --> 00:24:31.600
worlds. So, I'll say Exos has completely shaped  my understanding of what I believe performance,

00:24:31.600 --> 00:24:37.840
what I believe longevity, what I believe a healthy  career should and could look like. And that's been

00:24:37.840 --> 00:24:43.520
the biggest biggest shift we've tried to make here  in Tempe. And and really realized early on it has

00:24:43.520 --> 00:24:50.560
to start with education. I needed to get everyone  on the fire trucks in a room out of service so

00:24:50.560 --> 00:24:56.640
I can clearly explain to them, hey, this is what  this system looks like. This is why this system's

00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:02.000
in place. This is the reason that we do some sort  of movement screen. This is the reason that we're

00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:08.560
doing some prehab soft tissue work. And more  importantly, not just telling them, they had to

00:25:08.560 --> 00:25:16.720
feel it for themselves. So, I'll say the biggest  buyin that we got with Tempe was when they came in

00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:21.520
for their training and education with me, took  them through what this systematic approach is,

00:25:21.520 --> 00:25:25.920
what the method methodology is that we're trying  to shift towards, and then I took them through

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:31.200
a full soft tissue session. And some of these  individuals, as as much as soft tissue has been

00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:36.800
a mainstay for 25 years now, have never done this  stuff. And some of the individuals that have done

00:25:36.800 --> 00:25:43.120
it have maybe done it incorrectly. So having  them all in a room anywhere from they have six

00:25:43.120 --> 00:25:49.600
weeks on the job to 32 years on the job. I have  them all doing the same thing. and the positive

00:25:49.600 --> 00:25:56.800
response we got from just that allowed us to set  up the next steps and start to really reinvest in

00:25:56.800 --> 00:26:01.920
what we're trying to do because they they left  that session feeling different. They left that

00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:07.840
session feeling better. And I know there's certain  things that you cannot argue me with like if I put

00:26:07.840 --> 00:26:12.640
some mini bands around your knees and your ankles,  I'm going to get your glutes going. You have no

00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:17.040
choice. You cannot say they're not working. I  am going to win that battle every single time.

00:26:17.040 --> 00:26:21.760
And then you're going to understand why that's  important and then go back to soft tissue. I'm

00:26:21.760 --> 00:26:25.520
going to do certain things and show you certain  things where you're going to feel an immediate

00:26:25.520 --> 00:26:31.040
impact where there is zero way for you to argue.  I know exactly what you're feeling and why you're

00:26:31.040 --> 00:26:37.040
feeling it and this is how it's going to help you.  So allowing us to have that in-person education

00:26:37.040 --> 00:26:43.040
with a practical application allowed us to set the  stage for what we're trying to do right now. So

00:26:43.040 --> 00:26:47.600
that was one acute session. That's not something  that happened over time. That's correct. Okay. So,

00:26:47.600 --> 00:26:52.880
one acute session, light bulbs turned on a little  bit. Bodies, you know, everyone was feeling what

00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:56.720
they were feeling. Going back to the station,  everyone's talking about it because, you know,

00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:01.280
we had three shifts here in Tempe. So, it took  us a good two months to get through every single

00:27:01.280 --> 00:27:06.560
crew, but I would have two or three crews come  down at a time a couple times a day and then they

00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:10.000
would go back and they would, "Oh my gosh, have  you guys done this class yet?" And I'm going,

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.720
"No." So, people talk about the good thing, talk  about the bad things, too. But then people after

00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:20.000
about the first week started looking forward to  coming to the class where most firefighters will

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.080
show up and be like, man, what are we doing here?  Like we're rolling on the ground like come on like

00:27:24.080 --> 00:27:30.080
we we need to spend our time doing more important  things. But by showing them, by letting them feel

00:27:30.080 --> 00:27:34.960
for themselves, I'm not the one convincing them.  They're the one convincing themselves that this

00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:40.960
has value. Got it. So you still let him do some  bench press though during that session? Well,

00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:45.360
this was just a soft tissue session. I was very  clear in saying that stuff's important. And that

00:27:45.360 --> 00:27:51.680
that that's a good point though because that stuff  is important and I my mindset is I am not here to

00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:56.640
take away anything you like to do. If you like  doing bodybuilding, you like doing powerlifting,

00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:02.560
you like doing whatever it is, that's great. What  can we add into it to maybe make that a little

00:28:02.560 --> 00:28:07.680
bit safer or allow you to perform even better  when you're doing the things that you like?

00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:12.240
And so, you know, like I said, within a  systematic approach, strength is just one piece

00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:16.480
of the puzzle. If you like doing what you like  doing strength-wise and you don't want my help,

00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:20.400
great. That's fine. But maybe you can add in  some soft tissue work. Maybe you can add in

00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:25.760
some mobility work. Maybe you can add in some  recovery work. Add in certain parts to help

00:28:25.760 --> 00:28:31.040
increase the value of what it is you're trying to  accomplish. Okay. And earlier you mentioned this

00:28:31.040 --> 00:28:36.160
idea of Sure. We want to make sure that you're  prepared for these situations where you have to

00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:40.560
go in and help people when they need it most,  right? These first responder situations. But

00:28:40.560 --> 00:28:46.880
the other thing that you mentioned was longevity.  Mhm. And you talked about life after firefighting,

00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:52.080
life outside of firefighting. Can you talk more  about how that influenced your education, the

00:28:52.080 --> 00:28:56.000
conversations you were having, and your approach  to the training as well? It's honestly changed

00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:03.120
everything. And I I'd never thought I would take  this path in education, you know. I mean, we've

00:29:03.120 --> 00:29:08.560
all seen the programs that go out there that, you  know, see it pop up on Instagram or whatever. Hey,

00:29:08.560 --> 00:29:13.920
you got a firefighter, be a better firefighter,  do this program, right? Be a be a stronger police

00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:19.680
officer, do this program. Do better be a Navy  Seal, do this program. We we've seen these very

00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:26.880
sports specific programs and we're inundated  with them, you know, and and that's and that's

00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:32.720
important. I don't want to I don't want to take  away from the value of those or take away from how

00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:37.920
important it is to be a good firefighter because  regardless of how you think about performance,

00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:43.600
you're going to you're going to win at at every  end. But where I shifted my mindset and where

00:29:43.600 --> 00:29:50.560
I feel like at least in my organization that I  got the most buy in was telling them, hey, yeah,

00:29:50.560 --> 00:29:55.840
you wear this blue shirt 10 days a month. We wear  blue shirts out here as firefighters. What do you

00:29:55.840 --> 00:30:00.320
do in the 20 other days a month at your home? Do  you have kids? Do you have hobbies? Do you like to

00:30:00.320 --> 00:30:06.480
go hiking? Do you like to go mountain biking? Do  you go skiing? Do you do ultras? Whatever it is,

00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:13.040
do you have grandkids? Are you an aunt? Are  you an uncle? And what I tell them is I care

00:30:13.040 --> 00:30:19.920
way more about you during those 20 days a month  you're not here and how you feel than I do when

00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:24.880
you're here. And you kind of see these people  like, wait a second, they don't just care about

00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:29.200
us being better firefighters. They actually  want us to be better at just feeling better,

00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:36.800
just better at being human. And so that kind of  allowed me to shift the talk and try and my goal

00:30:36.800 --> 00:30:43.120
as a coach is to find what every person's why is.  You know, why why would they be motivated to do

00:30:43.120 --> 00:30:48.640
something like this? Because anybody can create a  program, anybody can write a program, anybody can

00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:52.880
put it up on Instagram, but that doesn't mean  someone's going to do it. You really have to

00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:59.680
tap into that emotional connection and figure out  what's your why. And for some people, it's going

00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:06.240
to be a firefighter. But I'll be honest with you,  that's a very small percentage. Because a lot of

00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:10.400
people on this job that have been doing it for 15,  20 years, they'll come up to me, they say, "Ben,

00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:15.440
I've never been hurt. I've never been on light  duty. I can do my job this fine. And I don't like

00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:20.240
to work out. So you're telling me this workout  program is going to make me a better firefighter?"

00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:27.040
It's like, I'm fine. And so I've had to shift away  because those are the people I want to capture the

00:31:27.040 --> 00:31:33.840
most. I want to capture the people the most that  don't think that fitness, that movement has value

00:31:33.840 --> 00:31:39.120
in their life. And there are a lot of people  that have done just fine over a long career

00:31:39.120 --> 00:31:43.440
that don't take performance or don't take fitness  seriously. And who am I to tell them that they've

00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:48.720
been wrong because they've been fine. They haven't  gotten hurt and they're okay. So, in my earlier

00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:54.000
presentations, I'd have these pictures up on our  on our screen, and it would show a firefighter

00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:59.200
doing an evolution, you know, let's say pulling  a hose line. It would say it would show someone

00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:04.160
hiking a mountain, and it would show someone  chasing around a grandkid. And what I would say

00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:09.200
is look at all three of these movements. All three  of these movements are the exact same thing. Your

00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:13.760
hip, your knee, and your ankle are in flexion at  some point, and then at some point they're going

00:32:13.760 --> 00:32:18.720
to go into extension. And if we can learn to keep  that alignment by not having that knee cave in,

00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:24.880
by keeping a strong glute, by turning off the TFL,  then maybe we can feel better as we're doing these

00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:30.800
things. And whether your why is chasing after  your grandkid on a Saturday at the baseball

00:32:30.800 --> 00:32:37.280
field or your why is hiking up a mountain on a  technical rescue or your why is riding a bike in

00:32:37.280 --> 00:32:43.200
the next triathlon, at least you get to see that  our approach is this global approach that we're

00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:48.400
not just trying to focus on making you a better  firefighter. We want to make you a better mover

00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:53.840
and that in turn is going to help you feel better  whether you're on this job or not. And people put

00:32:53.840 --> 00:32:59.920
a lot of time into this career. Families sacrifice  a lot for us to do this career that we love. We're

00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:09.360
gone for a minimum of 24 hours at a time. This  last weekend, I was gone. From Friday to Monday

00:33:09.360 --> 00:33:15.760
night, I saw my family for 12 hours. So, we're  gone a lot. They sacrifice enough. They shouldn't

00:33:15.760 --> 00:33:19.920
have to sacrifice anymore when we step inside  that door. So, when I come home from work and

00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:24.400
my son who's 10 years old and plays baseball  says, "Dad, I want to go play baseball." My

00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:29.040
response should be, "Hey, buddy, I can't cuz my  shoulder's hurting me. Hey, I can't cuz my back's

00:33:29.040 --> 00:33:34.640
hurting me." I've got a responsibility not just to  show up for the people that I'm sworn to protect,

00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:39.520
but I got a responsibility to show up for the  people that I love and the people that love me.

00:33:39.520 --> 00:33:46.880
And that to me is what most of our wise are, is  that we want to be better at our jobs at home.

00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:53.760
We want to be better husbands, better wives,  better fathers, better grandfathers. We want to

00:33:53.760 --> 00:34:01.440
enjoy our life 247, not just the 10 days we're at  work. And our career is long, minimum of 25 years,

00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:06.480
and this career, this career can bang you up.  I've had multiple surgeries already early on in

00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:11.520
my life that I know I'm always going to be playing  a little bit of catchup. But if if we can capture

00:34:11.520 --> 00:34:17.760
these members and capture their attention and  let them understand that in 25 years that blue

00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:22.160
shirt's going to come off for the last time and  it's not going to go back on again. But your role

00:34:22.160 --> 00:34:28.160
as a father, your role as a mother, your role  as a husband, as a wife, as a grandfather, that

00:34:28.160 --> 00:34:33.360
role is never going to go away. And we want to  make sure you feel good every single day because

00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:40.960
you've earned it once that shirt comes off for the  last time. I mean, no pun intended, but you got me

00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:50.000
fired up. You have me fired up. That was awesome.  I was incredible. And I I I you know, for me,

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:56.160
I I'm thinking about you. I'm picturing myself you  talking to me in front of some equipment and I'm

00:34:56.160 --> 00:35:00.880
a firefighter and I see it like I can see those  light bulbs going off when you start showing maybe

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:05.360
that graphic of these are all the same position  and this is the Y and whether you're doing X, Y,

00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:09.440
or Z, this makes a lot of sense. I mean, that's  got to click for people right there. It is. And

00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:13.440
and like early on, like I would have we we used  a functional movement screen back in the day. Um

00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:18.080
because that's what athletes performance used.  And I would have each movement screen compared

00:35:18.080 --> 00:35:22.320
to a movement that firefighters do. So like that's  one way in which we were trying to be firefighter

00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:27.840
specific. But that didn't capture everyone  and we got to capture and that's why that's

00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:32.000
why this approach and it's not just with that  it's with everything like you know me not just

00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.640
physically but mentally you have you need you have  a responsibility to come home to your family every

00:35:36.640 --> 00:35:41.840
day and be the person that they deserve and the  person that you deserve and all these all these

00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:45.760
things interconnect you know I teach breath  work I teach cold exposure you know I teach

00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:51.920
the Wimhof method so performance isn't just about  this physical piece it's about the whole picture

00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:57.680
and your family deserves deserves to have you show  up no matter how tough that shift was or how tough

00:35:57.680 --> 00:36:03.440
that tour was at work and be who are you who you  want to be not just for them but for yourself

00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:10.800
because everyone deserves that. Really well said  and okay so you you had this experience with Exos

00:36:10.800 --> 00:36:15.760
athletes performance Colorado Springs back to  Tempe and now you're starting to change things

00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:21.120
slowly at Tempe and get this going in a direction  that you want it to go. you're starting to get

00:36:21.120 --> 00:36:25.680
some buy in, but now you've taken it to the next  level, right? And I know you still have somewhat

00:36:25.680 --> 00:36:31.280
somewhat of a ways to go in your head of where you  want this to go, but this is starting to get taken

00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:36.160
to another level. So, tell us about that. Tell  us about the opportunity to redesign Station 2, I

00:36:36.160 --> 00:36:40.240
believe it was, and just the funding that came in  and really the opportunity you have now in front

00:36:40.240 --> 00:36:46.720
of you. Yeah, we and you you said it you said it  great. you know, we we're closer than we ever have

00:36:46.720 --> 00:36:50.880
been, but we're we're still pretty far away, which  I don't think I'm ever going to reach the goal,

00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:56.480
I think, of what I envision of what, you know,  performance or fitness or longevity looks like

00:36:56.480 --> 00:37:00.160
in the fire service, but I'm I'm never going to  stop trying. So, we're going to see how close we

00:37:00.160 --> 00:37:07.280
can get. So by taking this to the next level, you  know, we are and I believe this is true that the

00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:15.120
first fire station ever to have Keiser equipment  inside our fitness room at our fire station, which

00:37:15.120 --> 00:37:21.760
is amazing. And you know, you I look back to the  relationships that have been built with Exos the

00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:28.960
past 25 years. And then that that really is what  allowed us to build this connection with Keiser.

00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:34.720
you know, Jim and Steve, I had no idea who they  were and they had no idea who I was. And I think

00:37:34.720 --> 00:37:41.440
just through the procurement process of looking  to buy some equipment, um, my name got brought

00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:46.880
up randomly in a conversation, the three of us  just sat down and talked one day and you know,

00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:54.240
Jim being uh, he was a firefighter for I believe  13 years in Texas prior to joining Keiser. He's

00:37:54.240 --> 00:37:59.280
like, "Wait a second. You you you worked for  Exos and you're a firefighter?" He's like, "Wait,

00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:03.440
I'm a firefighter. I work for Keiser. Like, we  need to be talking. We need to figure this out."

00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:07.600
Because he's been trying to figure out a way to  get into the fire service because he knows the

00:38:07.600 --> 00:38:12.960
value firsthand because he's had the experience  firsthand of what this can bring to the membership

00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:18.400
that it just made sense for us to connect and  for us to talk. And then from there, we were just

00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:23.120
able to create something pretty pretty amazing.  And so where this originally came from though,

00:38:23.120 --> 00:38:30.800
if I take a step back, Exos has a whole physical  therapy department. And for the past several

00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:35.280
years, you know, with the amount of injuries that  unfortunately we do suffer in the fire service,

00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:39.760
people would get hurt. They'd either have surgery  and not have surgery. And then usually they would

00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:43.920
reach out, hey, where should I go to physical  therapy? And I would without a doubt say, hey,

00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:47.760
if it works for you, if it's convenient, go  to Exos. Like here's their number. Call them,

00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:52.720
make it happen. And we've been sending multiple  people there in the past several years because I

00:38:52.720 --> 00:38:56.880
believe they are really, really good at what they  do when it comes to a performance standpoint,

00:38:56.880 --> 00:39:01.280
not just a rehab standpoint. But it took one  very specific individual, and I'm going to give

00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:08.640
him kudos on this podcast, Captain Doug Meyers,  who is now interim chief Doug Meyers. Uh Doug was

00:39:08.640 --> 00:39:15.200
before he became this into this new chief position  was our member welfare representative for local

00:39:15.200 --> 00:39:20.960
uh the Tempe local uh union chapter. and he was  also the vice president at the state level of the

00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:27.920
professional firefighters of Arizona in charge of  member welfare. So he cared deeply about taking

00:39:27.920 --> 00:39:34.400
care of our membership. That's what he has focused  his entire career on. And unfortunately one day he

00:39:34.400 --> 00:39:40.560
got hurt, he injured himself and I had him go over  to Exos and within a week or two he came back to

00:39:40.560 --> 00:39:44.240
me and he said, "Ben, why are we not doing any  of this stuff?" It's like, you've been here for

00:39:44.240 --> 00:39:48.560
how long? You've been telling us about this.  why are we not doing it? And I'm like, Doug,

00:39:48.560 --> 00:39:53.040
yeah, I don't know. Like, I've been trying.  Like, I need someone else to be the voice. I

00:39:53.040 --> 00:39:58.720
need someone else to spearhead this. And he's  like, okay, we got it. And because, you know,

00:39:58.720 --> 00:40:03.840
unfortunately, he got injured. But because he  was at where he was, because he got to experience

00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:12.240
what this what the equipment, what the what the  performance aspect, what the coaches brought him,

00:40:12.240 --> 00:40:18.720
he realized that we have something pretty special  here in this relationship with this great company

00:40:18.720 --> 00:40:23.520
that's in our backyard and we need to capitalize  on this relationship. And so we started sending

00:40:23.520 --> 00:40:29.040
more people there and people started spending more  time on this equipment. And then station two here

00:40:29.040 --> 00:40:35.520
in Tempe is one of our older fire stations. And we  basically on the same property decided to demolish

00:40:35.520 --> 00:40:41.280
the station and rebuild a brand new one. And  within that came a budget for a a fitness room.

00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:47.360
And I'll tell you, we would not be here talking  today if Doug Meyers did not stand up and hold

00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:52.800
firm that we were getting what we were going  to get because there were multiple times even

00:40:52.800 --> 00:40:57.440
after the procurement process that they tried  to repurpose that money for something else. And

00:40:57.440 --> 00:41:03.040
Doug's like, "Nope, this is important." And he  knows it's important because he felt the value,

00:41:03.040 --> 00:41:07.360
right? But it's really hard to tell someone,  hey, we're going to spend this money where, yeah,

00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:12.000
you can spend 10% over here and get a different  piece of equipment, but it kind of does the same

00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:17.120
thing, but not really. So, it's really hard for  individuals who've never experienced what the

00:41:17.120 --> 00:41:24.560
value is to understand why we're asking for it.  So, it took someone like Doug on the inside and at

00:41:24.560 --> 00:41:30.240
his level of leadership to hold firm to say, "No,  this this is what we're doing, and it's important

00:41:30.240 --> 00:41:34.000
because I'm telling you, it's important."  And very luckily within our administration,

00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:39.360
I've had a lot of our chiefs over there doing  physical therapy. We had a lot of buyin from our

00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:44.800
organization from the top down. So we were very  fortunate, very unique position that we didn't

00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:50.480
have to fight too hard at internally. But then  when you have a city procurement team that's like,

00:41:50.480 --> 00:41:55.440
why are you spending this kind of money? We know  why we're doing it because we're going to show you

00:41:55.440 --> 00:42:01.280
the value on the back end. We're going to show you  that return on investment because this equipment

00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:06.480
is going to help us improve our performance and  decrease our risk for injury. And then we're going

00:42:06.480 --> 00:42:10.800
to prove it to you that we're doing it that way.  And so because of Captain Myers, we got all this

00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:16.400
great equipment in station two. Station 2 just  opened up a few months ago. And that station is

00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:24.640
uh is designed to reduce the amount of carcinogens  that we are facing as firefighters. It's a very

00:42:24.640 --> 00:42:28.160
friendly environment. I don't know if you know  this or if your listeners know this, but cancer

00:42:28.160 --> 00:42:32.960
is is the leading cause of death for firefighters  right now. We've had we've lost two members in

00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:39.600
Tempe under 40 years old the past 5 years that  both had to leave a wife and multiple kids behind.

00:42:39.600 --> 00:42:45.040
We have another one currently diagnosed with a a  brain tumor. We are fighting this cancer battle,

00:42:45.040 --> 00:42:50.400
but station two is designed in memory of one of  our members, Tommy Ariyaga, who passed away to

00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:55.360
cancer. So when it comes to wellness with what  what the reason I'm saying this when it comes

00:42:55.360 --> 00:43:02.720
to wellness and taking care of each other we have  lost so many great people in the near past that

00:43:02.720 --> 00:43:07.520
we take this so seriously that the we're going to  fight for what we know we deserve and we're going

00:43:07.520 --> 00:43:15.680
to fight for what we know can help and Keiser is  no different because it's that important. Yeah,

00:43:15.680 --> 00:43:20.160
I appreciate all that. So it's been a few  months now that you've had that. What's the

00:43:20.160 --> 00:43:25.200
feedback been like? So far, the feedback has  been great. You know, I'm not at station two,

00:43:25.200 --> 00:43:30.640
so I only get the communication that they're  willing to tell me. And as firefighters, you can

00:43:30.640 --> 00:43:35.200
probably ask our members wives at homes. Probably  not the best communicators in the world. So, I

00:43:35.200 --> 00:43:41.360
don't I don't I don't get a lot of information uh  without pulling and prying too much. But so far,

00:43:41.360 --> 00:43:46.320
I heard nothing but good things. everyone  when Steve and Jim came down that present

00:43:46.320 --> 00:43:52.560
and talk about really specifically the value in  having this type of equipment from an eccentric

00:43:52.560 --> 00:43:57.360
to a concentric movement of taking a lot of  the pressure off of those joints and putting

00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:02.240
it where it's supposed to be um at least from an  injury prevention perspective and then letting our

00:44:02.240 --> 00:44:08.720
members feel it during the assessments that they  did and seeing real time data being captured right

00:44:08.720 --> 00:44:13.360
in front of them that is going to allow them to  take the guesswork out of well how heavy should I

00:44:13.360 --> 00:44:17.520
lifting. Well, it shows you right here.  You need to go up or go down. And so,

00:44:17.520 --> 00:44:22.960
they got this firsthand look at this technology,  but not just the education. What was important was

00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:28.880
the practical aspect. They had to feel what this  equipment does. And I think over time, because

00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:34.480
right now it's just at one station, over time, the  more members that get an opportunity to train on

00:44:34.480 --> 00:44:40.320
this equipment and to train the right way on this  equipment, the more buyin we're going to get. But

00:44:40.320 --> 00:44:44.240
like we talked about before, just talking about  something that's not going to sell it. Especially

00:44:44.240 --> 00:44:50.080
with something like this, you actually have  to feel it to understand it. So, we know being

00:44:50.080 --> 00:44:55.200
patient, it's going to take time, whether it's  getting this equipment installed at other fire

00:44:55.200 --> 00:45:00.400
stations through various grants or various ways  of doing that or getting more members over to this

00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:06.800
station. It's just going to take a period of time  for people to understand what the value is outside

00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:12.240
of those members that are working at station two.  But so far, everyone said, "Man, this is amazing.

00:45:12.240 --> 00:45:17.840
I can't believe we have this. Never knew this  existed." Cuz a lot of the members had never seen

00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:23.200
any of this any of this stuff before. And this  is very foreign, especially to firefighters. It's

00:45:23.200 --> 00:45:27.600
also foreign to think sometimes that they deserve  this type of equipment, which we're trying to

00:45:27.600 --> 00:45:32.720
change that narrative. You know, a lot of people  say, "Well, firefighters are like professional

00:45:32.720 --> 00:45:36.880
athletes." And I I kind of stopped them right  there because of the conversation we already had.

00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:43.520
But I say regardless of that, they deserve the  same resources as professional athletes. It's our

00:45:43.520 --> 00:45:48.720
responsibility to make sure they have everything  they need to perform at the top of their game both

00:45:48.720 --> 00:45:54.960
on and off duty. Whether it's to save someone on  duty or to go run around with your kid off duty.

00:45:54.960 --> 00:46:00.560
That's what we have to do. Arguably more like  more resources like you're on the front line like

00:46:00.560 --> 00:46:06.880
saving lives. So, you know, we need those people  to be prepared, you know, because it is in reality

00:46:06.880 --> 00:46:10.880
a matter of life or death at times. It is. And we  look at the track record of Exos, you know, I've

00:46:10.880 --> 00:46:16.240
been around that Keiser equipment since the year  2000. Like there's a reason that Keiser is still

00:46:16.240 --> 00:46:22.400
there. If it sucked, nobody would be training  there. If it sucked, nobody would be that there be

00:46:22.400 --> 00:46:27.920
it would be obvious. There's no reason to invest  in a company that doesn't produce results. And so

00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:31.520
there's very few people that I trust in my life  when it comes to this stuff. But I've been around

00:46:31.520 --> 00:46:38.080
Exos for such a long time that I know the value.  Like it's it's a no-brainer that we actually had

00:46:38.080 --> 00:46:42.960
this opportunity. But everyone, like I said, they  deserve the education, they deserve the knowledge,

00:46:42.960 --> 00:46:47.040
they deserve the resources. So at least at  the end of the day, they can make an informed

00:46:47.040 --> 00:46:52.160
decision about whether or not this has value for  them in their life. And that's our responsibility

00:46:52.160 --> 00:46:58.560
as educators. I love that because I think we're  so aligned, you know, our two organizations and

00:46:58.560 --> 00:47:04.480
you and us at Keiser with the value of education,  right? That is truly the empowering thing. You can

00:47:04.480 --> 00:47:09.840
write a program for somebody and they can follow  it. That's awesome. But the education aspect is

00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:14.160
key. I mean, that really opens up the door. And I  like how you frame this like I'm educating you so

00:47:14.160 --> 00:47:18.800
that you can make the decision, you know, for  whatever is best for you. I'm not forcing you

00:47:18.800 --> 00:47:23.440
to do anything. Yeah. because you I said learned  that the hard way and everyone in a fire service

00:47:23.440 --> 00:47:27.360
I think learns that the hard way at some point  where if you come in saying this is the way to

00:47:27.360 --> 00:47:32.720
do it. You are going to be there's going to be a  a smoke filled hole in the door of them throwing

00:47:32.720 --> 00:47:37.200
me out as fast as they could. So you really have  to approach it with empathy and compassion and

00:47:37.200 --> 00:47:40.880
understanding that hey this is this is for your  information and you choose to do with it with

00:47:40.880 --> 00:47:46.160
what you want and we're here to help in any way we  can. Right. And even within performance, you know,

00:47:46.160 --> 00:47:50.160
pneumatics is a small part of performance. Like  there are different tools in the toolbox. We say

00:47:50.160 --> 00:47:54.960
that all the time. And it's not that one is better  than the other. It's that some are appropriate at

00:47:54.960 --> 00:48:00.000
certain times, some work really well when combined  together. And it really just depends. Ultimately,

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:07.200
if we can really educate practitioners about  the power of this tool or this specific toolbox,

00:48:07.200 --> 00:48:11.040
that really opens up the door for them as a  practitioner in order to help people better. So

00:48:11.040 --> 00:48:14.560
yeah, cuz if you don't educate that equipment  is just a giant paper weight and it's just

00:48:14.560 --> 00:48:18.400
sitting there collecting dust. And we've seen it  before with the equipment we've bought. Like the

00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:22.880
education has to come ideally before the equipment  gets there, but before anyone gets on it,

00:48:22.880 --> 00:48:28.160
otherwise it just sits there and collects dust  and it's doing good. Absolutely. So I understand

00:48:28.160 --> 00:48:32.640
we're doing a um small pilot project, pilot  research project with you right now. Do you

00:48:32.640 --> 00:48:37.280
mind expanding on that a little bit? Yeah. So,  you know, when Steve and Jim first approached me,

00:48:37.280 --> 00:48:41.360
we weren't quite sure how this was going to  develop, but you know, we decided to say,

00:48:41.360 --> 00:48:45.920
"Okay, we're getting this equipment. What do we  think about taking the members that are at station

00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:51.360
2. So, we were hoping to get somewhere between 10  and 20 members, depending on, you know, who wants

00:48:51.360 --> 00:48:54.960
to do. Once again, no one has to do it. This is  just an option. The equipment's there. You can

00:48:54.960 --> 00:49:00.640
choose to do it if you want. Let's do a 12-week  program. Let's use the majority of the Keiser

00:49:00.640 --> 00:49:06.720
equipment designed within this program, within  this framework. Let's assess them before and

00:49:06.720 --> 00:49:13.200
let's assess them after and let's see what happens  because you know training at the firehouse it's a

00:49:13.200 --> 00:49:16.880
different beast because you could get interrupted  at any second. You may not have a chance to get

00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:21.760
the full workout in. It may get in over a period  of 10 hours depending on how many calls you got

00:49:21.760 --> 00:49:26.240
or depending if you're motivated or able to  go back and finish up what you started. So,

00:49:26.240 --> 00:49:31.280
you might not get the whole workout in. You might  get half of it. You might get anything in between.

00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:35.920
You may not get a workout in at all because you're  training all day. You're running a fire. You're

00:49:35.920 --> 00:49:41.840
busy with calls. So, it's very it's chaotic to say  the least because you don't know when something's

00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:48.400
going to happen. So, we use that word informal,  you know, in this situation because let's just

00:49:48.400 --> 00:49:56.720
try this and let's see in 12 weeks if we can build  something that shows that we have improvement. So,

00:49:56.720 --> 00:50:01.280
we can show our our city leaders that, hey,  based off this assessment, they're at risk here,

00:50:01.280 --> 00:50:05.520
based off this 12-week program, this post  assessment, here's where their risk decreased

00:50:05.520 --> 00:50:10.080
and here's where their performance increased.  And so to design the program, I took that on

00:50:10.080 --> 00:50:16.400
kind of myself mainly because, you know, having  the being a current firefighter and having the

00:50:16.400 --> 00:50:21.040
education that we've brought out the past several  years, I wanted this program to line up with that

00:50:21.040 --> 00:50:26.960
education. So we're continually speaking the same  language. So we basically built a program as three

00:50:26.960 --> 00:50:31.760
days a week. I can go into the details of it if  you want, but three days a week about an hour

00:50:31.760 --> 00:50:37.120
to an hour. Yeah. Going to code perfect. So for 3  days a week, the way that I structure this program

00:50:37.120 --> 00:50:43.680
is the first two days are going to be split. So  day one is I believe upper push lower pull with a

00:50:43.680 --> 00:50:49.440
complimentary circuit at the end and then day two  is going to be lower push upper pull and then day

00:50:49.440 --> 00:50:54.640
three we got a total body and I structured it with  some linear periodization. So the first four weeks

00:50:54.640 --> 00:50:59.360
are going to be a general prep or foundational  phase. a lot of unilateral movements because

00:50:59.360 --> 00:51:03.920
I've been trying to get this point of unilateral  unilateral movements across my firefighters for

00:51:03.920 --> 00:51:08.560
a very long time because that kind of goes away  from some of their mindsets and it's one of the

00:51:08.560 --> 00:51:13.520
things they just never learned. They just never  learned how to do it. So, I'm trying to get them

00:51:13.520 --> 00:51:20.640
to understand the value of that single arm, single  leg split position. And that's what that GPP phase

00:51:20.640 --> 00:51:25.120
was technically for. After that, we went into a  hypertrophy phase. So, we're getting into some

00:51:25.120 --> 00:51:30.080
higher volumes, some moderate intensity. Still  sticking with the same framework as far as upper

00:51:30.080 --> 00:51:35.120
push, lower pull day one, lower push, upper pull  day two. And then as we get into the last four

00:51:35.120 --> 00:51:40.880
weeks of the program, we're going into more of a  power strength power to finish off on that. So,

00:51:40.880 --> 00:51:45.680
now we're using the power squat machine,  going fast, quick reps. We've helped train

00:51:45.680 --> 00:51:51.040
that eccentric to concentric movement with some  load previously. So, now we can start moving that

00:51:51.040 --> 00:51:55.680
load with some intensity. And the same thing with  the bench press. So our goal was to go from very

00:51:55.680 --> 00:52:03.760
controlled unilateral to very controlled bilateral  with an higher volume and then go very quick very

00:52:03.760 --> 00:52:08.480
reactive power strength for the last four weeks.  So when they finish this program they've taught

00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:14.240
and they've learned how to move their body with  intensity with quickness and with reactivity. So

00:52:14.240 --> 00:52:18.960
on the unilateral GPP phase right uh hey we're  getting used to training on this. We're nailing

00:52:18.960 --> 00:52:22.880
down, you know, we're taking our time. Obviously,  because unilaterally, you got to move a little bit

00:52:22.880 --> 00:52:26.880
slower at least to start, but hey, we're building  some volumes. Okay, cool. Now, we're adding some

00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:32.080
more eccentric loading with the hypertrophy phase.  We get some more moderate intens intensities,

00:52:32.080 --> 00:52:36.400
strength and power. The split for that, is it  still a three-day split? It is still a three-day

00:52:36.400 --> 00:52:40.160
split. Yep. And are you combining strength and  power within the same session? So, like leading

00:52:40.160 --> 00:52:43.920
with power then getting to strength, or are is  one day maybe dedicated to power and strength

00:52:43.920 --> 00:52:48.000
or how how are you splitting leading with power?  So, you know, from that nervous system standpoint,

00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:53.600
trying to get that power, the more neurologically  demanding movements done at first when you're most

00:52:53.600 --> 00:52:58.480
fresh and then going on to more of the strength  strength stuff towards the towards the end of the

00:52:58.480 --> 00:53:05.120
workout. That's awesome. And question for you,  because you know, I am the average person when

00:53:05.120 --> 00:53:09.920
it comes to maybe understanding firefighters  and what's really important. I've seen the

00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:15.440
competitions, the quote sexier stuff of people  running up the staircase and whatnot. But when you

00:53:15.440 --> 00:53:21.600
think about your actual KPIs from a firefighter  specific standpoint and a performance standpoint,

00:53:21.600 --> 00:53:28.960
what are those main KPIs on both ends? Man, it's  it's hard because it's everything. You know,

00:53:28.960 --> 00:53:36.320
there is we could be thrown in the middle of any  environment at any time without any sleep, with

00:53:36.320 --> 00:53:43.760
anything going on. So, literally every part of our  energy system, at least from a cardio perspective,

00:53:43.760 --> 00:53:49.200
will be challenged on any given fire. Um,  you're going to be in the anorobic elactic,

00:53:49.200 --> 00:53:52.240
you're going to be in the aerobic, you're  going to be in the anorobic right now for

00:53:52.240 --> 00:53:56.960
the next who knows how long. There's no end in  sight. From a strength-wise, you're going to

00:53:56.960 --> 00:53:59.440
be going through power movements, you're going  to be going through strength movements, you're

00:53:59.440 --> 00:54:03.040
going to be going through endurance movements,  you're going to be going through static holds,

00:54:03.040 --> 00:54:06.400
depending on what you're doing. And then from  a, you know, a rescue standpoint, you're going

00:54:06.400 --> 00:54:11.200
to be pulling out heavy loads. You're going to be  going up ladders, going into jumping in the rooms,

00:54:11.200 --> 00:54:16.240
making sure the room is safe and secure, doing a  search on all fours with core stability and core

00:54:16.240 --> 00:54:23.600
strength. So, it literally is everything. But  what I try and teach our members is you have to

00:54:23.600 --> 00:54:29.360
start somewhere. If you start training everything  right now, you're going to be chasing two rabbits

00:54:29.360 --> 00:54:34.480
at one time. We have to start somewhere. We have  to build that base. have to build that foundation.

00:54:34.480 --> 00:54:41.280
Just because our job demands that we have that  we're in these chaotic random environments,

00:54:41.280 --> 00:54:46.320
that doesn't mean your training has to be that  way from a fitness perspective. We need to

00:54:46.320 --> 00:54:51.440
control what we have control of because in that  environment, our likelihood of getting injured

00:54:51.440 --> 00:54:57.840
is high. In the environment in the weight room,  our likelihood should be zero. But the problem

00:54:57.840 --> 00:55:05.440
is at least in temp a majority of our injuries  happen in a training atmosphere. And so we have to

00:55:05.440 --> 00:55:11.680
understand yeah that those fire ground simulations  those are great but those are very unpredictable

00:55:11.680 --> 00:55:15.840
environments. We have a very predictable  environment when it comes back to our weight

00:55:15.840 --> 00:55:21.040
room. It comes back to our training floor. We need  to be very methodic, very strategic in what we're

00:55:21.040 --> 00:55:26.480
training and how we're training it to provide us  with the best opportunity to hopefully perform at

00:55:26.480 --> 00:55:33.200
our highest, but ideally reduce our potential  for something catastrophic happening to us or

00:55:33.200 --> 00:55:40.160
the person we're trying to help. So there is not  a good answer because it's everything and I don't

00:55:40.160 --> 00:55:45.360
want to replicate everything in a safe atmosphere  because that takes the safety out of the window.

00:55:45.360 --> 00:55:51.040
We need to build those foundations over time. And  that's why having that systematic approach to what

00:55:51.040 --> 00:55:56.240
strength and conditioning is is what adds that  value. If you're doing some soft tissue every day,

00:55:56.240 --> 00:56:01.280
you're doing some prehab, some mobility, you got  your strength, you're doing your ESD or cardio,

00:56:01.280 --> 00:56:06.000
you're doing your recovery, you're hitting all  pieces of that program in every single day,

00:56:06.000 --> 00:56:12.000
you're going to be much more well-rounded to be  successful in that environment versus if all we're

00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:16.480
doing is one piece of the puzzle, just taking  a bench press with some ass and benching it,

00:56:16.480 --> 00:56:22.800
your chances of success are a lot less than  the other guy who involved that entire system.

00:56:22.800 --> 00:56:28.080
Seems so simple, right? It's Yeah. Yeah. Right.  And and get them to do it. That's the hard part.

00:56:28.080 --> 00:56:32.400
I can really see. I'm just thinking through  exercises and and trying to picture myself, you

00:56:32.400 --> 00:56:40.160
know, in certain scenarios and I think like heavy  isometrics, the heavy joint specific joint angle

00:56:40.160 --> 00:56:44.640
specific isometrics that can be introduced too.  You know, you were talking about so she's holding

00:56:44.640 --> 00:56:48.400
certain things. I'm like, there's a lot of really  cool positions you can get into with the air

00:56:48.400 --> 00:56:53.360
squat, with the leg press, where you are fighting  some really, really heavy isometrics. And that and

00:56:53.360 --> 00:56:58.400
that's what's beautiful is that with a job that  potentially requires everything and anything, the

00:56:58.400 --> 00:57:02.560
only thing limiting you in a training atmosphere  is your imagination, your creativity, right? But

00:57:02.560 --> 00:57:06.400
if you come from this from a movement perspective,  and I try and teach people, well, forget about the

00:57:06.400 --> 00:57:12.000
exercises. Don't worry about that. What movement  are you trying to improve? Right? Right? And once

00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:15.520
you have these move this movement library in  your head, you can pick whatever you want. It

00:57:15.520 --> 00:57:20.400
doesn't matter what you're doing. You pick your  movement. You have your goal of your hypertrophy,

00:57:20.400 --> 00:57:24.080
your strength, your power. So your sets and reps  are done for you. You don't have to worry about

00:57:24.080 --> 00:57:28.400
that. That's all done. Anybody can do that. But as  long as you have the movements that you're trying

00:57:28.400 --> 00:57:34.000
to improve and your proper split, your imagination  is the only thing holding you back and that's it.

00:57:34.000 --> 00:57:38.640
And that's where the education piece comes in with  Keiser. Once you understand this and what it is,

00:57:38.640 --> 00:57:43.680
now your imagination can kind of run free.  Exactly. And there thousands of exercises that can

00:57:43.680 --> 00:57:50.080
be done on the FT alone. There's so so many things  that there just like our job has no limitations

00:57:50.080 --> 00:57:55.760
into what we might be asked to do. Your equipment  is the same thing. So why not marry the two worlds

00:57:55.760 --> 00:58:01.360
and find how can we be creative and make this  make sense for us? Yeah, absolutely. Okay,

00:58:01.360 --> 00:58:05.120
last question before we finish up with some  fun ones. We talked about where you've been,

00:58:05.120 --> 00:58:10.160
where you're at now. I'm curious to know a little  bit more about where you want this to go. So,

00:58:10.160 --> 00:58:13.520
it's kind of funny. So, a buddy of mine, I  mentioned one of our guys that passed away.

00:58:13.520 --> 00:58:18.480
His name is Scott Laam. He passed away in December  of this past year. 39 years old, wife, two kids,

00:58:18.480 --> 00:58:23.040
had what's called a nut carcinoma. Only about 20  cases diagnosed a year, a very rare and aggressive

00:58:23.040 --> 00:58:30.240
cancer. I worked with Scott on the ambulance back  in 2010. you as my first partner when I first

00:58:30.240 --> 00:58:36.160
got into the fire service. And I had told him  something back then that I forgot that I had told

00:58:36.160 --> 00:58:41.120
him. I had told him that I want to change the fire  service when it comes to what health and wellness

00:58:41.120 --> 00:58:48.160
looks like. I want to change it. And a few months  before he passed, we were teaching a class for one

00:58:48.160 --> 00:58:53.360
of themies with the breath work and stuff that  we do. and he had this big post on Facebook and

00:58:53.360 --> 00:59:00.400
he's like,"I remember back in 2010 when my friend  Ben said he wants to change the fire service and

00:59:00.400 --> 00:59:05.360
look at them now. Look look what they're doing  now. They're taking those steps." And he said,

00:59:05.360 --> 00:59:13.840
you know, never let the the scariness of your  goals hold you back. I I take that that's what

00:59:13.840 --> 00:59:19.040
I live with. I live with those those words in my  head. I don't care how big the goal is. It might

00:59:19.040 --> 00:59:25.280
be unattainable. I don't know. But I am not  going to stop until everyone has everyone out

00:59:25.280 --> 00:59:31.600
there deserves the knowledge and education to lead  a happy, healthy, and strong life. And I am never

00:59:31.600 --> 00:59:36.800
going to stop. And it's little things like this of  getting the equipment, the right equipment at the

00:59:36.800 --> 00:59:41.680
right place, starting at one station. I want it  at all seven stations. I want to add our training

00:59:41.680 --> 00:59:46.480
center. I want to add our localmies. So when the  recruits are going through, this is just all they

00:59:46.480 --> 00:59:53.840
know. I want want everyone to have the chance to  lead a happy, healthy career, not just on duty and

00:59:53.840 --> 00:59:58.800
off duty, but even more important, they retire and  just feel good and feel proud of the work they put

00:59:58.800 --> 01:00:04.720
in, but then now give the time to themselves that  they've deserved and that they've earned to be

01:00:04.720 --> 01:00:10.000
who they want to be for the rest of their lives.  And that that's that's just that's just what I

01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:15.600
care about. That's really awesome. And I in just  listening to you today in the last hour or so,

01:00:15.600 --> 01:00:21.520
I have full confidence for whatever my opinion is  worth um that it'll not only happen with station

01:00:21.520 --> 01:00:25.920
two, but at more stations and I have a funny  feeling that it's going to be much bigger than

01:00:25.920 --> 01:00:31.360
you know the state of Arizona and then the valley  too. So I hope so. I hope so. Yeah, that's that's

01:00:31.360 --> 01:00:35.840
really really awesome and I appreciate you sharing  that stuff. I just have a couple of kind of quick

01:00:35.840 --> 01:00:41.120
hitters, fun closing ones to finish off, but  really truly appreciate your time today. Number

01:00:41.120 --> 01:00:46.240
one, your favorite piece of Keiser equipment to  train on. Oh gosh, I love the FT just because

01:00:46.240 --> 01:00:52.800
you can do anything with it. Like just having the  ability to do powerful rotational movements inside

01:00:52.800 --> 01:00:57.680
a gym is amazing. Prior to this equipment, I would  tell my people the only way to produce power is

01:00:57.680 --> 01:01:01.760
to get a medicine ball and go outside and throw  it against the wall. Like we can't do rotational

01:01:01.760 --> 01:01:06.160
power with a regular what are they called?  Those machines, the pulley machines, because the

01:01:06.160 --> 01:01:10.880
weight's going to smack up and down. But now we  have this tool that you can do rotational power in

01:01:10.880 --> 01:01:16.240
any plane of motion which is so important for us.  So I love the FT for its versatility and for what

01:01:16.240 --> 01:01:20.880
it provides. You have Cory working on that thing  before his baseball games. He will be. Yes. So

01:01:20.880 --> 01:01:25.040
he's been at Exos with me. He knows which is cool.  I get to show him like this is what performance

01:01:25.040 --> 01:01:29.600
is like. If you want to be at this level, this is  what it takes buddy. And hopefully I'll get him in

01:01:29.600 --> 01:01:34.080
the right place and give him the best opportunity  to be successful. We'll see. Very cool. Favorite

01:01:34.080 --> 01:01:43.200
place to grab lunch in the valley or Tempe? Oh  gosh. Oh boy. No. Yeah, of course not. So, it's

01:01:43.200 --> 01:01:46.800
kind of funny. When you work at a specific station  with a specific crew, you tend to always go to the

01:01:46.800 --> 01:01:52.240
same spots, right? We go to we go here. There's  this place called Cabba. Um, it's really really

01:01:52.240 --> 01:01:57.760
good, healthy, healthy. I think it's Mediterranean  or Greek food. Just Yep. really, really good food.

01:01:57.760 --> 01:02:01.840
And then they they take good care of us when we're  there. I used to go to Cabba all the time when I

01:02:01.840 --> 01:02:06.000
was at UCLA and they actually opened one down the  street here in Chicago. It was the first one. And

01:02:06.000 --> 01:02:10.000
the line's out the door all the time. It's always  busy for sure. Like news was going around like,

01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:14.800
"Have you seen the newest restaurant in Chicago?"  Like I came to your very familiar with it. Very

01:02:14.800 --> 01:02:23.520
familiar with it. Question for you. Last one here.  Do you love fire or do you hate fire? I love my

01:02:23.520 --> 01:02:29.520
job. I love the fact that we are trained to a high  level where something happens, we have the ability

01:02:29.520 --> 01:02:35.120
to impact that person's life right now. We take  that we take that responsibility very seriously.

01:02:35.120 --> 01:02:39.520
Of course, I want no one's house to catch you  on fire. I can't even imagine what that feeling

01:02:39.520 --> 01:02:44.400
is like. I can't even imagine what someone goes  through, especially if there is a loss of life

01:02:44.400 --> 01:02:48.480
or an injury or just losing your stuff. I can't  imagine. People should be confident in knowing

01:02:48.480 --> 01:02:53.200
at least in Tempe that we are trained to a very  high level that if and when it does come out,

01:02:53.200 --> 01:02:58.160
we are ready to go. Not because we love it, but  because we've been trained to an extremely high

01:02:58.160 --> 01:03:02.800
high level that we're coming and we're ready  to perform and and help in any way we can.

01:03:04.000 --> 01:03:08.320
It's my opinion that, you know, for sure as I  reflect on this conversation that I certainly

01:03:08.320 --> 01:03:13.680
take it for granted. I imagine many people take  people like you and the service that you provide

01:03:13.680 --> 01:03:18.480
for granted until the moment it actually impacts  their lives and then all of a sudden they see it

01:03:18.480 --> 01:03:22.960
in a different light. So, I guess I want to take  a second just say thank you. You know, you're

01:03:22.960 --> 01:03:26.560
worth it. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. It's really  appreciated. and I know you're in the valley,

01:03:26.560 --> 01:03:31.440
but just to the entire world of firefighters,  you know, it's really really appreciated in

01:03:31.440 --> 01:03:36.240
this moment for sure and obviously for me moving  forward. So, thank you. You're welcome. Like I

01:03:36.240 --> 01:03:43.040
said, you guys, the people are worth it that we  help. Yeah, thanks. And if someone wants to learn

01:03:43.040 --> 01:03:47.920
more, any great resources that you would suggest,  if any someone wants to follow you even or maybe

01:03:47.920 --> 01:03:52.000
your journey or or tempation 2, whatever it  is, where can they go to maybe learn more?

01:03:52.000 --> 01:03:56.160
though on Instagram I have my own personal my  personal company where my wife and I we teach

01:03:56.160 --> 01:04:01.280
the Wimhof method we teach breath work we teach  cold exposure for mental health mental wellness

01:04:01.280 --> 01:04:05.520
for for all first responders and military  veterans so my Instagram handle is called

01:04:05.520 --> 01:04:13.280
connect to it co n ect the number two and then  it I'm always putting tips and tricks up there

01:04:13.280 --> 01:04:18.240
as far as that part of my life goes where a  lot of my passion gets rolled into the mental

01:04:18.240 --> 01:04:22.240
health side now um and the physical health  is just something I really just get to do to

01:04:22.240 --> 01:04:26.800
help other people obviously. And outside of that,  Tempe Firefighters has their own Instagram. Well,

01:04:26.800 --> 01:04:31.440
they'll they'll post stuff as well. Just type in  Tempe Firefighters. Our our local our union does

01:04:31.440 --> 01:04:36.000
a really good job in making sure that the public  knows, you know, this is what we're doing. This is

01:04:36.000 --> 01:04:42.320
why we're doing it and where their money is going  to in turn help them when they need to call us,

01:04:42.320 --> 01:04:48.800
if they need to call us. Very cool. Ben, thank you  so much. I really, really appreciate it. Thanks

01:04:48.800 --> 01:04:54.000
for joining me on the human performance podcast  here. You heard it from Ben, connect number two,

01:04:54.000 --> 01:04:59.360
and then Tempe Firefighters. Please make sure  to throw him a follow on Instagram to stay up

01:04:59.360 --> 01:05:02.480
to date on everything that he's doing. We appreciate your time. Cannot wait for the

01:05:02.480 --> 01:05:06.800
next update on how the pilot research project's  going. And for those listening in, thank you and

01:05:06.800 --> 01:05:11.360
have an awesome day. All right. Thank you, G. Appreciate the opportunity, man. Got it.