Beyond the Big Red Truck

Welcome to Episode 16 from Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast!  I'm very honoured to have spent some time, and shared an intimate conversation with Pro Hockey player, Wade Macleod and his wife Karly.  Wade has been a star on the ice and on his journey, has been tested both mentally and physically for many years, but what no-one could have predicted with a career that was looking so promising, is that Wade's biggest test would was still to come.  In 2011/12 season, his second year playing pro for the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, Wade was hit into the glass. He managed to get up, but after his captain told him they were on the power play, he blacked out.  Wade then had a seizure in the ambulance and after some tests in the hospital, it was revealed that Wade had a golf ball sized tumour in his head.  This started a massive roller coaster ride for Wade and Karly.  Ups and downs, playing hockey, not playing hockey, almost making the NHL, moving to Germany, having the most fun he's ever had playing hockey, getting married, having a baby and then....another tumour, then another.  Four brain surgeries in five years, two in two months in 2018, and even in between six weeks of radiation and while taking a break before chemo, Wade wanted to share his story, so this his story.  Thanks for listening and please share this story as it is a human story, a story about resilience, overcoming obstacles and living life with purpose despite these massive obstacles.  To help with medical bills,  Wade and Karly's friends have set up a go fund me page and if you would like to donate and help them here's the link:  https://ca.gofundme.com/wade039s-treatment-fund Thank you and I hope you Enjoy,   Brad

Welcome to Episode 15! Today I had a gamechanging conversation with "body engineer" and amazing human, Chris Duquemin.  Chris was a successful mechanical engineer for over 20 years and then, while struggling to find some relief from a shoulder injury, had an a-ha moment.  Using traditional therapy and a "band-aid" approach, Chris found that nothing was actually "fixing" his shoulder.  He was still in pain, so Chris sought out a non traditional therapist to help him truly heal.  The method was to find the "root cause" of his shoulder pain, which they discovered to be an old rib injury.  With the focus on the root cause, and not the symptoms, Chris' shoulder was pain free and he was back doing the things he loved doing!  Chris was hooked and saw an opportunity to use his mechanical engineering theories, to help people truly heal by finding the root causes of their pain and struggles bith physically and mentally.  Thus the "body engineer" was born!  In 2011 Chris open his own practice to help people find and treat the "root cause" so the body can truly begin to heal itself and then the traditional therapies can continue. He has helped numerous people in his practice and is now taking it globally. He is currently focusing on first responders and the Canadian Military, using his practice and hands on therapy to help with  Post Traumatic Stress and trauma.  You can find Chris at his clinic, in Jersey, which is a channel island off the coast of France., and to learn more or to contact Chris, click the link here: http://www.newvisiontherapy.co.uk I hope you enjoy this conversation and please like, comment and share the podcast so that we can all help people together.  You may never know who's day or life you might help change. We are stronger together!   Thanks, Brad  

Welcome to Episode 14 from Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast!  today I had an amzing conversation with Eric Kussin, founder of, We're all a little "Crazy" - Movement To Break Mental Health Stigma.   We’re All A Little “Crazy” is a 501c3 founded by 15-year professional sports executive, Eric Kussin, bringing together Athletes, Celebrities, and Expert Practitioners.  After a successful career that started at the NBA League Office, and led to senior management positions with a number of professional sports teams, Eric’s mental health took a sudden and rapid decline. Due to unresolved personal life traumas he failed to appropriately address at a younger age – life experiences he was unaware were affecting his mental health – Eric developed a severe bout of PTSD, along with symptoms of anxiety and depression. This fall came essentially “out of nowhere” and left him almost permanently in bed, and with severe cognitive impairment, for just over two and a half years. Once he found a way to climb out of his abyss, he vowed to spend the rest of his life focused on changing the global conversation through mental health advocacy. It wasn’t until he met practitioners who taught him methods to actually heal his body and central nervous system, that he began to improve and get his life back. He is determined to spread his message: that EVERYONE in the world is affected by life’s inevitable traumas and losses. Join me and please share this conversation with Eric and learn more about how he, along with numerous celebrity, professional athletes, and influencers alliance members, including myself, are banding together to change the global discussion by sharing the #samehere message of inclusion.  And so much more.  Check out their website https://weareallalittlecrazy.org and follow on all social media outlets.  Thanks for listening and, by sharing this podcast, you might even help someone you don't know is struggling.  Enjoy! Brad

Welcome to Episode 13 from Beyond the Big Red Truck!  Today I shared an amazing conversation with two amazing guys, Dion Gonzales and Jeff Dorchester co-founders from iRel8.  Dion is successful entrepreneur and executive with a proven history of creating and delivering successful products domestically and internationally and Jeff is an experienced and successful designer, entrepreneur, and executive with decades of passion andinnovation in the technology space.  Jeff and Dion used their experiences and skills to create a much needed resource and to fill a gap that they discovered in mental health community.  iRel8 is a mobile application that gives users an open and anonymous platform to receive mental health help, provide relevant advice to others, and relate to a larger community – all in a safe and non-identifiable way so a user’s reputation is not compromised in any way with friends, family members, or work colleagues.  Jeff and Dion beileve people have a visceral need to relate, belong, and feel connected to others in fulfilling ways.  iRel8 was created to help people overcome their problems, get relevant help, and provide help to others.  So how are they doing this? They are doing this by offering a mobile app that makes it easy for users to relate to others with specific categories and access to real-world advice from people who have “walked a mile in your shoes”.  Check out their website https://irel8.org and download the app, it is like nothing you've ever seen before and is truly helping people heal! You can access from the website and is available for both apple and andriod.  Enjoy the conversation and please share this podcast so we can all be part of the change to help stop the stigma and open the conversation so that the conversation about mental health is a just feels normal. Thanks for listening and Much gratitude, Brad  

Welcome to Episode 12 from Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast!  I'm super excited to share this conversation I had with Dan Kerrigan and Jim Moss. Two amazing humans, fitness experts and the authors of the best selling book, Firefighter Functional Fitness.   Dan is a career chief officer, published fitness author and presenter on the local and national levels. A passionate firefighter health and wellness advocate, he works with the IAFC, NFFF, and NVFC in efforts to reduce health-related LODD’s. He is a Russian kettlebell instructor and uses Firefighter Functional Fitness to achieve optimal performance. Jim Moss is a career fire officer, certified personal trainer, and published fitness author. He is a passionate advocate of firefighter fitness and wellness on the local and national levels. He trains, writes, and teaches firefighters how to optimize their physical performance, careers, and lives through Firefighter Functional Fitness.  check out their website http://firefighterfunctionalfitness.com where you can grab their book, Firefighter Functional Fitness, and anything else you could imagine regarding fitness, health and wellness in the fire service to help you be the best firefighter you can be!  Thank you, enjoy, be awesome and please share this podcast.  Every little bit helps!  Brad

Welcome to Episode 11 of Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast.  Today's episode is an epic conversation with Allison Tai or on social media as Yo Mama So Fit.  Allison is another amazing, inspiring human who is not only an entreprenuer and owner of VANCITY OCR ninja gym in Vancouver, BC, she also has the most Toughest Mudder Podiums on the planet, more than any other man or woman, with 7.  7 podiums including 3 wins!  In the past six weeks or so, she has been in Australia where she competed and won the 2018 OCR World Championship Enduro 24 hr race and Australia's Toughest Mudder, came back to Vancouver and finished second in Toughest Mudder Whistler and then hopped a plane to Boston where she won Toughest Mudder East (40 miles)! I'm  exhausted just writing that! We talk about her accomlplishments in racing, being a mom, motivation, training, her battle with PTSD after a horrific bike accident and how she overcame all of those obstacles to race and continue to compete as an elite athlete!  Allison's website is http://vancityocr.com and you will hear how passionate she is about the gym and the kids and people that that train there, it's amazing! You can find her on social media as yo mama so fit and I know that you will be inspired after listening to my conversation with the amazing Allison Tai!    Thanks, Brad

Welcome to Episode 10 of Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast!  In this episode I had an epic conversation with retired NHL Super Star, Theo Fleury!  On the ice, Theo was a phenom at every level he played.  He played on four NHL teams, scoring 1088 points in 1084 games, winning the Stanley Cup in 1989 with the Calgary Flames and won an Olympic Gold Medal with Team Canada in 2002. However, as we find out in this conversation, believe it or not, Theo's biggest accomplishments in life came after hockey.  We talk about how he's chosen to live his life now despite the horrific obstacles and demons he faced and belive me, This conversation is real. Theo proves by his actions, that he is walking the the talk and as he says " helping people overcome obstacles by igniting leadership, action and resilience from within".  I know you will enjoy this so please listen, share and comment.  Also, Check out Theo's website for all the amazing things Theo is doing to make the world a better place.  Much gratitude, BRad https://www.theofleury.life

Welcome to Episode 9 of Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast.  Warning! This episode has some language that might be offensive to some listeners.  Today, I had the honour of having an amazing conversation with a new friend of mine, Gil Mendoza.  We talk about his life growing up in Watts California, influenced by gang life, the only life he knew.  Until his dad wanted a better life for the family and moved to Lakewood California.  That's where his life changed and we talk about the one moment and one person that changed his life forever!  Gil used sports and football as an outlet, and the life lessons from sports and his experiences growing up in Watts, to raise an amazing successful family, coach football, get his masters degree despite having a learning disablity, join the army, serve in Europe, play baseball for the GI's, a contract offer from the Los Angeles Angels, more football, coaching university and high school football, still pounding the weights in the gym!  Believe it or not, we fit all this into 60 minutes and it's amazing!  Please enjoy share and leave a comment or ratiing on itunes!  It really helps.  One more thing, Gil is also excited about a book that his daughtes Jessica and Alana wrote " There's no Base Like Home" , that celebrsates teamwork, family and softball!  So please take a look on amazon and buy this book!  Enjoy the conversation.  Brad

Welcome to Episode 8 from Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast!  Today I share a conversation with another amazing human, Bob Tewksbury.  After playing 13 seasons in the big leagues, making the all-star team, winning 110 games as a pitcher with 6 teams, mostly the St Louis Cardinals, and taking a perfect game into the 8th inning against the Astros, Bob is currently the mental skills coach for the San Francisco Giants.  Not to mention, he was the mental skills coach for the Boston Red Sox World SeriesChampionship Team in 2013!  Bob has written a book called Ninety Percent Mental  - An All-Star Player turned Mental Skills Coach reveals the hidden game of Baseball.  So We talk about his career, his book and how he's using his experience as a major leaguer, along with his masters degree in sport psychology and couselling from Boston University, to help major and minor league players with the mental side of the game.  Please check out Bob's website https://bobtewksbury.com and grab his book wherever you get your books. I recommend the audio book format.  It was awesome!  Enjoy our conversation.  Thanks, Brad 

Welcome to Episode 7 of Beyond the Big Red Truck Podcast!  Today, I share the conversation I had with a good buddy of mine and TSN 1040 radio host, Barry MacDonald or as he’s known on air and to his buddies, BMAC!  From his humble beginning’s at CKWL in Williams Lake to the ground breaking sports highlights show Sports Page and then gracing the airwaves at TSN 1040 as co host on the BMAC, Donnie and the Moj show.  Barry shares highlights from his illustrious broadcasting career,  his ups and downs in mental health while battling with depression for almost 40 years and what he does to live the life he wants, despite these enormous obstacles.  And yes, of course we talk sports!   This is an inspiring and real conversation about how mental illness effects your life but also reflects on how resilient we are as humans, and Barry is truly an amazing human.  I know you will enjoy and thanks for listening!  Brad

  I’m so excited to share this inspiring conversation with Jen Hamilton, CEO of Oxygen Yoga & Fitness!  Jen has been a dynamic and compelling leader in the fitness industry for over 16 years and was the founder of Cardio-Core Bootcamp, a national fitness franchise company that boasted 59 locations at the time that Jen decided to move on to other endeavors. When the opportunity to help build the Bootcamp Program at Oxygen Yoga and Fitness was presented to her, she saw the benefits that were inherent in their style; fusing yoga and fitness combined with FAR infrared heat. It wasn’t long before Jen purchased Oxygen Yoga and began grow it into the Oxygen Yoga and Fitness Brand, opening multiple locations in a short time. Jen’s dynamic and vibrant personality continue to be the driving force behind the brands culture, streng [...]

Welcome to Episode 5!  In this episode we’re switching gears!  Today, I spoke with the King of Awesomeness, Dai Manuel!  So who is Dai Manuel you ask?  Dai Manuel empowers thousands of people to lead a FUN-ctionally fit life through education, encouragement, and community. He models his work based on 5 F’s: Fitness, Family, Finances, Faith with an overarching roof of FUN, built on a rock-solid foundation of Health. Dai is an award-winning writer, executive performance coach and certified lifestyle mentor who inspires clients to lead by example by adopting his #JustDidit mentality. Dai is a super dad, dating his wife, a founding partner and former COO of Fitness Town Inc, keynote speaker, life coach and lifestyle mentor, professional blogger, spokesperson and brand ambassador at DaiManuel.com, freelance writer, podcaster, CrossFit athlete and coach, a BC Children’s Hospital Ambassador, and published author of the Whole Life Fitness Manifesto. His Appearances and contr [...]

Stephen Raghoobarsingh is a Canadian-born therapist residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. He received his Master of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, Illinois after completing his undergraduate psychology program at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.  Stephen has extensive experience in a variety of sports and has dedicated more than 20 years of professional service to the community through his work with athletics, coaches, parents, students, teams, sports academies, clubs and leagues.  Stephen has supported countless athletes and non-athletes at all levels to reach their full potential using his innovative and licensed MENTAL STRENGTH PROGRAM and conditioning techniques.  He has consulted with National Hockey League representatives and continues to work with elite athletes in hockey, soccer, baseball, MMA, lacrosse, rugby, track&field and so forth.  Stephens Mental Strength Training is f [...]

Lionel Crowther is a firefighter in Winnipeg, listen to his story of how with one call, his life and many others were changed forever in less than ten minutes.  He suffered massive burns to most of his body, others did too, and two firefighters did not go home that day.   He shares the impact this has had on him and his family for over ten years and how they are having a positive impact on the world and the burn survivor community as a result.  

Welcome to the Beyond the Big Red Truck Pocast and Episode 1!  This episode will focus on why Beyond the Big Red Truck? What’s in it for you, and a brief rundown on my story and my unwavering desire to inspire!  Listen with an open mind, take what you need, leave what you don’t and after all is said and done,  I’m positive you will be motivated and inspired to make some positive changes in your life.  Here we go