David Rutherford Show: Green Beret On Pain, Faith & Becoming | Gabe Gaines

Former Navy SEAL and CIA officer David Rutherford sits down with active-duty Green Beret Gabe Gaines — the man who dove across a Special Forces qualification course finish line at 2:59:59 with a core temperature of 107.8°, a number that kills Olympic athletes.

But the ruck isn't the story. What happened in the hospital bed afterward is: the moment Gabe buried the quitter he'd been his whole life. You'll hear how a preacher's kid and former missionary nearly lost his faith in the dark underbelly of SOF, how his father's stroke planted a "root of offense" with God, and how pain became the mercy that brought him back.

David and Gabe break down the audit process Gabe uses to kill inherited limiting beliefs — the same process that took him from high school dropout in remedial math to the top 1% on his GED and a 137 GT score — and why he tells every young soldier to go through their career "with your eyes open." Gabe Gaines is an 11-year Special Forces veteran, former ODA team sergeant, and writer. Find him on X and Substack.

Follow Gabe on Substack: https://substack.com/@thegabegaines

✅ Sponsors: ☕️ Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/

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00:00 – Introduction

03:17 – Why Gabe started writing

07:39 – His father's stroke and a crisis of faith

17:18 – Lessons from his father: mercy and perspective

22:51 – The Q Course ruck march and heat stroke

38:12 – Pain, purpose, and mentoring young soldiers

54:07 – Overcoming limiting beliefs

1:00:38 – Finding peace, family, and what's next

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