DJ Shipley: His Life as a Tier 1 Operator, GBRS, and Finding Meaning After the Military

On this week's episode of Change Agents, Andy travels to the headquarters of GBRS Group in Virginia Beach to sit down with co-founder DJ Shipley, a 17-year Navy SEAL veteran who has built one of the most respected tier one training and gear companies in the industry. DJ opens up about the mental health void he encountered when he first transitioned out, why nobody was saying the words PTSD, suicide, or depression out loud even as the epidemic quietly destroyed careers and lives, and how ibogaine therapy in Mexico changed the way he sees himself and the world around him. They also dig into the brutal physical toll of 17 years at the tip of the spear, the near fatal electrocution that almost ended everything before GBS Group got off the ground, and what it actually feels like to leave a world where you are surrounded by people capable of extreme violence with no sanity check waiting on the other side.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original.

Chapters

(00:00:00) Cold Open
(00:00:41) The Mental Health Void in the SEAL Community
(00:02:25) Feeling Alone on the Island
(00:05:16) Ibogaine Therapy in Mexico
(00:08:15) Missing the Tribe
(00:11:11) The Electrocution
(00:13:04) Building GBS Group From Nothing
(00:16:11) The Cost of Having No Balance
(00:19:21) Would You Do It All Over Again
(00:24:47) Tour of GBS Group HQ
(00:30:04) What Would You Have Changed
(00:38:49) Supporting Gold Star Families
(00:42:14) The Physical Toll
(00:54:56) Recovery Room Tour
(01:00:20) What Would You Do If You Lost It All
(01:05:20) The Most Effective Way to Talk About Mental Health
(01:11:40) The Veteran Suicide Epidemic - Is It Fixable?
(01:19:37) Closing Thoughts & Where to Find DJ

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