SOFREP Radio

Three-Hundred and Eighty episodes deep? It's hard to believe myself! As always, I greatly appreciate you guys, the listeners, loyally checking out what we're up to week after week. Well, this is a good one, as promised, both Jim West and Ernie Emerson join me for an epic discussion. Both of these gentlemen, Ernest Emerson (the founder and CEO of Emerson Knives) and Army Green Beret and favorite of the show, Jim West, have an extensive background in martial arts dating back to the 1960's. They're also one year apart in age, so as you'll hear, there's a lot of overlap in their backgrounds. We dig into their introductions to fighting, through publications like Black Belt Magazine, and studying the greats like Bruce Lee and Joe Lewis. From there we also discuss knife fighting. Both guys are very candid and call out some of the bullshit in the industry. You don't want to miss this one. Emerson is currently doing his own podcast which we you hope you check out, simply titled The Ernest Emerson Podcast. Emerson Knives always has some excellent product, some of which has been featured in our premium tier Crate Club, and you can check them out at EmersonKnives.com. Jim's personal site is AmericanExtensionFighting.com. Enjoy, and we ask that you follow us to keep up with the latest through our feeds on Instagram and Twitter @SOFREPRadio. Ian is on Twitter @IanScotto. Also, be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

22 Aug 20181h 22min

Every job in the military has it's negatives, but even with the high risk involved, many civilians look back on their lives wishing they'd served their country in some capacity. They often glamorize titles like Sniper or Medic, but I don't think anyone would envy the title of Mortuary Affairs Marine. However, that is the job that was given to L. Christian Bussler, and many of the horrors serving in that position followed him after his military career, leading him to drink, and desiring a permanent end to his life. Needing a therapeutic outlet, at the advice of an older combat veteran, Chris started writing, eventually leading to his self-published memoir last year, "No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor." The book documents Chris being raised in a military household, pursuing a career in the Marines, and the unexpected turn of events when the country went to war during his service. A lot of tragedy endures as you could imagine, but as you hear him speak about in this interview, through the honor he had for the job, he finds a way to pay tribute to fellow service members that has continued to live on. A portion of the proceeds for the book and audio book go to benefit great charities like EOD Warrior Foundation, Semper Fi Fund, and WWIA. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Aug 20181h 8min

It would be a fair statement that there is no name more synonymous with mixed martial arts than Royce Gracie, and no family with the impact on the sport than the Gracie family. The Gracie family created Brazilian jiu-jitsu, were integral in starting the competition among different forms of self-defense now known as mixed martial arts, and Royce fought in all of the early major UFC events. The Gracie's continues to introduce fighters to the sport, now including a 4th generation member of the family, Neiman Gracie who is fighting in Bellator. Well, who better to conduct this interview with me than fan favorite Jim West? We get into Royce's thoughts on watching the sport evolve, and it's deep history including a challenge to Royce from kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez that never went down. We also hear about Royce's attendance at SHOT Show in recent years with the company Pack'n Heat Products. Gracie currently does a lot of events which you can keep up to date with at RoyceGracie.com. In addition to that we discuss the re-brand of SOFREP over to NEWSREP. Jim is working on a new book, and also still selling his signature weapons over at his website American Extension Fighting. These weapons include The Talon, and on that note, we have a great video up on Instagram of Jim demonstrating what it can do. We hope that you enjoy, and as always please leave a review at Apple Podcasts. We want to continue to raise our visibility and bring on A-list guests like Royce Gracie along with our kick ass staff of writers at NEWSREP. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Aug 20181h 27min

CEO of Hurricane Group Brandon Webb has been long overdue for an appearance on the show. Now that's he's wrapped up The Power of Thought podcast, and is out promoting "Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL's Guide," his latest book which came out this week, I was able to get some time out of him for us. We start off the show addressing a recent controversy with Navy SEAL Andy Stumpf, and why Webb declined an invitation on his podcast. We then talk the oncoming name change of SOFREP.com to NEWSREP, the reasoning behind it, and how it will impact SOFREP Radio. From there, we get into "Mastering Fear." You'll even hear a great excerpt from the book. "Mastering Fear" includes some excellent stories from interviews Brandon's conducted and stories of colleagues. Included in these stories are Kamal Ravikant, C.J. Ramone, James Powell, and Captain Jerry Yellin. If you are looking to conquer a challenge in your life and crush new goals, you need to pick up this latest work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Aug 20181h 17min

CJ Woodruff is best known as a fitness content creator, and he has some impressive credentials at that. Between creating The Fitness Trainer Academy, being a personal trainer himself, competing as a bodybuilder, and most recently becoming a spokesman for supplement company Primeval Labs, he knows the industry well. Prior to that however, he served as a Marine in combat, and it was there that he discovered fitness as an outlet which kept him in a positive mind frame. He discusses all of this with me, as well as topics like which muscle building supplements are effective, and some more personal issues like his divorce and custody battle, and how this is rampant in the veteran community. Beyond fitness content however, he has a veteran podcast that is putting out some killer work. CJ along with G (G, best known for creating the popular veteran run apparel brand Zero Foxtrot,) host Zero Bunker. The guys have had some stellar guests on including our own John Stryker Meyer. Be sure to subscribe to CJ's own Youtube channel, and you can find all of his social media on his website, CJWoodruff.me. I also give an update on SOFREP's transition over to NEWSREP, and how it will effect the podcast, so don't miss it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Aug 20181h 24min

The last time Pat McNamara was on the show, he gave the most passionate review of his experience seeing Judas Priest play NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum. Ever since than, I knew we had to get the former Army operator and current shooting instructor back on to talk metal a little more in-depth. Well, who better to bring on for that discussion than my friend Shawn the Butcher? Shawn's the voice of Ozzy's Boneyard, and a host on Liquid Metal, both on Sirius XM Radio. I got him to walk over from their studios to Hurricane Group's headquarters, and have a really fun discussion that we hope you'll be entertained by. We get into topics like the recent death of legendary Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, our favorite concerts, and some of the reasons why Metallica continues to reign supreme after over 35 years in the music business. So, this is a break from our usual special operations and foreign policy discussion, but if you're a metalhead, you'll dig it! I know a lot of operators can attest to metal being the soundtrack for war. Be sure to listen to Shawn over at Sirius XM, follow him on all platforms @ShawnTheButcher, and check out his site, Hails From the Crypt. As for Pat, he's always staying busy. You can visit him over at TMacsInc.com, and sign up for shooting instruction from the best in the business. Pat's also very active on Instagram @TMacsInc. So crank it up, and rock out! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 Aug 20181h 16min

If you heard the last episode with Sam Faddis, than you know we've started rolling out the Intelligence field edition of Inside the Team Room on The Spec Ops Channel. Sam's featured on that along with several other of our other authors who have worked in intel. Well, just because I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to give you all a preview of some of that great audio. This is just a few minutes of the hours of footage that members can see. Some truly great discussions you won't get anywhere else with these veterans of the field. On this preview you'll hear about the obstacles of living a compartmentalized lifestyle, and habits from working in intelligence that become hard to break. After you check this out, take advantage of a limited time offer to join The Spec Ops Channel for only $4.99 a month. Along with these great Inside the Team Rooms such as our Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Special Forces series, you'll also get content you won't find anywhere else like our premiere show Training Cell. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Aug 201855min

Charles "Sam" Faddis is a former CIA operations officer and national security commentator with extensive experience on the ground in the Near East and South Asia. He's also one of the guys you'll see on the intelligence edition of Inside the Team Room which we're currently rolling out in segments on The Spec Ops Channel. Since Sam has written for the site, but hasn't been on the podcast, I figured no better time than now to have him on. On this episode we get into some of the recent diplomatic relations happening with the U.S. and hostile nations. Sam's analysis of President Trump's strategies in dealing with Russia and North Korea are very insightful. It's also interesting hearing Sam discuss these topics with the background he has, and how he certainly doesn't echo a lot of the talking heads and so-called "experts" you'll see on TV. Sam is also starting work on a book about where the U.S. stands in a post-9/11 world in preventing homeland terrorism. We get into that topic, and you'll hear why he's very cynical about our current homeland security strategies.  Sam has both authored and co-authored several books including "Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA," and his next book which is finished and will be out soon deals with the invasion of Iraq. Visit him at SamFaddis.com and follow him on Twitter @RealSamFaddis, let him know how you liked his interview. In addition, we hope you check him out along with some other great SOFREP personalities on the Inside the Team Room available on The Spec Ops Channel. If you're not already a member, we encourage you to become one. It's up now, and if you're enjoying the series, let us know. I also check your emails being sent to sofrep.radio@sofrep.com on this episode; and as always, follow us on Instagram and Twitter @SOFREPRadio. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 Jul 201839min