Ep. 177: SBS Special Forces Veteran on Violence, Awareness, and Self Protection

Violence arrives fast and leaves a long shadow.

Former British SBS Special Forces veteran Sonny Smith returns to the Silvercore Podcast for a grounded conversation on awareness, personal safety, and the realities of physical confrontation.

Drawing from experience in UK Special Forces, executive protection, surveillance work, and professional bare knuckle boxing, Sonny talks through how people are selected as targets, how situations escalate, and where confidence drifts ahead of capability. We discuss awareness as a practiced discipline, avoidance as a measure of competence, and the responsibility that comes with force.

As the conversation deepens, it turns inward. We explore life after high risk work, mental health, identity, and the weight carried once the external danger fades. Sonny speaks openly about his personal experiences with ayahuasca as part of a broader reflection on trauma, accountability, and integration, without instruction or advocacy.

This episode is a clear-eyed look at judgment, restraint, and what survival demands, both in moments of danger and across a lifetime.

Buy Man Protect Here - https://a.co/d/2C4SVkx

Follow Sonny - https://www.instagram.com/sixsightco/

Six Sight Training Wing - https://www.instagram.com/sixsight.co

Six Sight Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@SixSight

_____
Silvercore Club - https://bit.ly/2RiREb4
Online Training - https://bit.ly/3nJKx7U
Other Training & Services - https://bit.ly/3vw6kSU
Merchandise - https://bit.ly/3ecyvk9
Blog Page - https://bit.ly/3nEHs8W 

Host Instagram - @Bader.Trav https://www.instagram.com/bader.trav
Silvercore Instagram - @SilvercoreOutdoors https://www.instagram.com/silvercoreoutdoors

____

Timestamps

00:00 – Why most people misunderstand violence
03:45 – Bare knuckle boxing and reality versus fantasy
08:55 – Confidence, competence, and dangerous gaps
13:40 – Awareness without paranoia
18:25 – How predators actually select targets
23:10 – Situational awareness beyond buzzwords
28:00 – Subtle cues people miss before violence starts
33:15 – Why most self protection training fails
38:05 – Avoidance as a trained skill
43:20 – When violence becomes unavoidable
48:10 – Knives, firearms, and uncomfortable truths
54:30 – The psychological cost of physical confrontation

Mental Health and Psychedelics

01:00:05 – Life after violence and high risk careers
01:04:30 – Trauma, identity, and suppressed damage
01:10:15 – Why some people turn to ayahuasca
01:16:40 – Expectations versus reality
01:22:30 – Integration, responsibility, and accountability
01:28:10 – Mental health without shortcuts
01:33:40 – What survival actually means long term