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68. Chasing Growth & Becoming An Indiana Smoke Diver - Corey Gotay
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What does it take to become an Indiana Smoke Diver?
In Episode 68, Chris Bauchle and Austin Perry sit down with Corey Gotay to talk about choosing discomfort, pursuing excellence, and refusing to settle for average in the fire service.
Corey began his career with the 128th Wisconsin Air National Guard in 2020 and quickly developed a reputation for pushing himself beyond the standard. After becoming the Top Graduate of the DoD Firefighter Rescue & Survival (FRAS) Course in 2023-where he also set the course record for the air consumption drill-he continued chasing growth by earning the title of Indiana Smoke Diver in 2024.
Now serving as a civilian firefighter in Wisconsin, Corey shares the mindset behind constantly seeking challenge and putting himself in difficult environments to grow.
Listen now on FireDawg.us or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction & Sponsors
00:00:00
Speaker
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Start your design today at rollcallcoins.com and let your coin stand out in the stack. This episode of the Fire Dog Podcast is supported by AOS Services, the one-stop shop for firefighting equipment compliance built for the DoD.
00:00:36
Speaker
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00:00:51
Speaker
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00:00:58
Speaker
This is the Fire Dog Podcast.
Introducing Corey Gauthier
00:01:12
Speaker
Welcome, my name is Matt Wilson and thank you for listening to episode 68 of the Fire Dog Podcast. In this episode, Austin and Chris sit down with Corey Gauthier, who began his firefighting career in the 128th Wisconsin Air National Guard in 2020. He was a top graduate of class eight of the DOD firefighter rescue and survival course in 2023. And he went on to become an Indiana smoke diver in 2024. He's now a civilian firefighter in Wisconsin. and is attending an accelerated paramedic program while competing in CrossFit. This conversation is about choosing discomfort, chasing growth, and being a true student of your craft. It is my pleasure to welcome to the podcast, Corey Gauté.
00:01:51
Speaker
Hey, welcome to the FireDog podcast. We're back for another episode. I'm joined here with Chris and Corey. Corey was once a DOD civilian that has been successfully completed the Indiana Smoke Diver program. So welcome to the show, Corey.
00:02:06
Speaker
Thanks. Happy to be here. Yeah, so let's just start off with a little
Corey's Firefighting Journey
00:02:10
Speaker
introduction. Tell us about yourself, your origin story, if you will. um Yep, started fire school in 2015, graduated in 2018 with an associate in fire.
00:02:24
Speaker
Goal was to work full-time somewhere. At that time, it was very competitive. You were talking two spots, 400 applications on suburban departments. Milwaukee was...
00:02:35
Speaker
I don't know, 2,500 people in that process all the time. So couldn't get in. Started as a private EMT then full-time for a company called Medicare. Doesn't exist anymore. Ran about 90% fire calls, 10% facilities. Roughly 2018 came and I decided I wanted to get my paramedic for sure.
00:02:52
Speaker
So I started gearing my career towards advancing my skills there. So kind of forgot about the fire side a little bit. um and Ended up being an ER tech first.
00:03:04
Speaker
Did that for about a year. Still was having a hard time finding a way to swing paramedic school and that. And I obviously have to live and still pay bills. So can't really just quit my job if no one's going to pay me to go to paramedic.
00:03:16
Speaker
um Ended up getting offered an opportunity to be an anesthesia technician. Uh, so I thought that it would be a great opportunity to start on an
Career Shift & Passion Reignition
00:03:25
Speaker
ambulance. Like I did see patients that come in via us, um, end up in the ER where we now receive the patients, do all the acute care are there, and then end up in surgery where it's kind of like the final stop, right? If you don't make it in surgery, you don't make it. So, uh, did that for four years.
00:03:44
Speaker
Um, in doing that, I had applications and stuff out. I tried to get a job again, maybe i think it was 2020 is when I got hired with the DOD. ah So I took that job.
00:03:55
Speaker
It was my first full-time fire job. um Really didn't really, i guess I didn't understand what it was at first. um Didn't realize there wasn't as much structural stuff other than the structures that were on base.
00:04:08
Speaker
I didn't realize it was ARF. ah Got sent to get my ARF certifications and all that stuff when I got hired. I did that for about three years and then I hit that point where who was either going to I was going to make a move and be on a more aggressive department and run more calls or I was going to stay there.
00:04:27
Speaker
So I decided to make the move. um I ended up doing frass, did smoke diver. Um, and then two years I've been on a municipal department. We ran about 13,000 calls a year.
00:04:41
Speaker
So decently busy and just totally fell in love with the fireside again. So you put down that there was video about the three-year fireman. Can you tell me a little bit about that and what kind of made you, uh, motivated when you watched it?
Career-Defining Decisions & Growth
00:04:55
Speaker
Yeah. So I was at still on 28th and I was sitting down. um I think I was in the bay. And just on my phone and yeah, I saw this, this video that pretty much said, um a three year firefighter is a dangerous position to be in. Uh, at that point you've already had, you know, you went through probation,
00:05:15
Speaker
ah you're kind of starting to get settled in with the guys and you kind of make that decision of what you want for your career. Some people will be a little more aggressive and either make that move at that time to go somewhere busier or maybe get that certification they've been holding off on for a couple of years or whatever it is.
00:05:33
Speaker
um and some people will just sit into it, and they're just going to ride a recliner, essentially, not do anything, be happy with collecting a paycheck and not running calls. And I kind of decided that that wasn't going to be me.
00:05:47
Speaker
That's not who I am in general. And when I first sought out to be a fireman, I definitely had more set out for myself than that. So I kind of caught myself getting into this comfortable position,
00:06:01
Speaker
And I didn't want to do it. So that's when I learned about FRAS. I think that year we had a huge training budget and I did a lot that year. i went to like FDIC, went back home for the weekend, did FRAS the next week. Like i was just trying to take in all the knowledge.
00:06:16
Speaker
Um, but yeah, that three year position was where I was at before. I was like, this isn't for me. I have to change it. i feel like There's so much truth to that civilian side and in the DOD where that, that three year point, right. Civilian side, you're off probation.
00:06:30
Speaker
You kind of know the crews, you're getting settled in the DOD, you know, enlisted side. You're probably a senior airman. You're starting to just kind of get ah a feel for how things are. And dude it's a major level, man.
00:06:42
Speaker
get that five level and you're like, I'm good now. I can relax, play Xbox. I have the same same realization, man. i So I resonate with that a lot. Yep. You're in the E4 mafia, right? You got, you know, kind of lay in the land and It's a real decision-making point of, you know, hey, am I going I'm good now. Am I going to coast?
00:07:06
Speaker
Or am I going to, you know, find what that next thing is? And so that next thing for you was frass, right? You found it in that kind of... That exact time. Yeah.
Firefighter Rescue and Survival School Challenges
00:07:17
Speaker
i um We had did like an air consumption course at the 128th. It was actually interesting.
00:07:22
Speaker
um At this point, I can openly admit my physical fitness was not anywhere where it was. I think... And we just talked about this, right? I'm 30 years old. So I think i wrestled in high school. And once you get out of high school, you almost have this idea. If you were an athlete of like, your metabolism going to stay the same.
00:07:42
Speaker
You can do everything you want to do now. And that's fine. I'll train in a month. I'll train in two months. Um, and when I came to Wisconsin at 19 years old, packed all my stuff, sold blow of my vehicles, but everything in my truck, came up here.
00:07:54
Speaker
um I had this idea of like, I'll be fine. You know, it's not a big deal. Went through all the fire school. I ought to be fine working full time. not a big deal. Never really touched the weights, hit the gym.
00:08:06
Speaker
And was ignorant of me to think that I can maintain the level that I was at when I was 16 and 17 years old, you know, weightlifting three hours a day, running, and wrestling for four hours a day. It's impossible. Right. And then I kind of,
00:08:23
Speaker
it opened my eyes when I hit like, even just the CPAT, you know, where I was just like, wait a minute, like what's going on here? You know? So I think it was funny at that time when I hit, saw that video and had that turning point and I found frass, we had this little air consumption course, our training chief had made for us. Um, the whole department did it and I had beat everyone on the air consumption course, but like,
00:08:49
Speaker
I didn't have at all the stamina that I used to have, you know, so that was kind of an eye opener to me. And I'm just like, what is going on? And then Frass was a thing in motion. I remember my training team saying like, hey, you're going to get the patch. And I'm like, what is the like, what do you talking? I had no idea was going for. I just told you guys I signed up for a ton of training classes. You know, to me, it was just like, yeah, this is like rick training and stuff like that. Cool. Sign me up.
00:09:12
Speaker
And he's like, oh, it's like the no slack patch. He's like, you know, essentially you have to get everything done. And I didn't know this at the time, but like the way they want it done and then you can get the patch. And he's like, it's kind of like a hard thing to do. And I was like, well, yeah, if I'm going, i'm you know, I'm going for the patch.
00:09:27
Speaker
And um yeah, I went i went to Frass with like a month's notice.
Top Performer Recognition & Achievements
00:09:33
Speaker
I was training a little bit and yeah, had no idea that was like a train.
00:09:39
Speaker
Like once I got the frat, I was like, this is not what you think it is. I mean, I remember sitting on that line just with everyone else, just with my pack, just like staring into what was like the obituary. So I'm like, it was just a wake up call. It was a mess. And people are going to take that two different ways. People are going to sit there and they're going to take that up call and going say, don't need to do this.
00:10:03
Speaker
This doesn't prove anything. This doesn't mean I'm not going a bad firefighter. This doesn't mean I'm not going to be able to make that grab. This doesn't mean that if a guy goes down, that I'm not fit enough to do it. Those who should really evaluate that.
00:10:15
Speaker
And it's going to, the other end of that is I need to fix something. you know what I mean? People are calling on me to come get them in this kind of situation. Or, you know, people are calling me on the worst day of their life when a child's stuck in a house. And like, I want to be this guy. And this takes work. And when I was at Frass, I was this guy. And I was like, it needs to be fixed.
00:10:37
Speaker
And I figured that out quick. um And it just like changed. I mean, my career, my whole outlook, just listening to ah Chris talk, like in the morning when he would give the speeches, I'm like, I was locked in. I was i was ready to go. But yeah, I had no idea about Frass. I just three-year firefighter video.
00:10:57
Speaker
Grass came, and then we were in it, that was pretty much it. That that was class eight of the DOD Firefighter Rescue and Survival School. You not only earned the no slack patch, you were recognized as the top performer in your class.
00:11:10
Speaker
And i know you would never brag on this yourself, but Austin, Corey still has the air consumption course record. for the entire DOD firefighter rescue and survival school. It hasn't even been close to being touched now after 17 classes. There's an air consumption drill where guys start with the equivalent of 3,000 PSI on a 60-minute cylinder. You do an air consumption obstacle course until your low air alarm activates.
00:11:40
Speaker
And then your job is to call your mayday and shelter in place, simulating you're trapped, say, in a commercial structure you're waiting for command you know. Right. get somebody to you, right? You're able to isolate. And Corey's total time on air was one hour and 51 minutes. It was one.
00:11:57
Speaker
I don't even know. Wrestlers, they're a different beast. I don't know. That was, I was sick as a dog. Dude, had like a sinus infection. I remember trying to breathe and like snot was just pouring into my mask.
00:12:11
Speaker
i i I had no idea I was down that long. I just remember people coming up to me and they're just like, keep going. And they're just like, some people would ask, like, is he awake? Is he taking a nap? And I was, I was very much awake. I just was after that drill we had did at work. I'm just like, oh man, I had it locked in my head the way I was going to breathe. I did it. And I mean, i think if you put yourself in the actual scenario, um which maybe some people didn't, you know, some people were probably just tired and they probably were just leisurely taking a breath. But like I was in the scenario, like you said, like, that's it
00:12:44
Speaker
You're done. You have 1150 pounds left. Somebody's got to come and get you. You know what mean? And going through the course and after you get to day five, you kind of realize how much time it actually takes to get somebody down that's that's in it bad. You know what i mean? It can take some time. You need every bit of that air.
00:13:02
Speaker
ah So I think I was in the scenario and I believe that. And yeah, i I dragged it out as far as like everyone hated me because we extended the class by like two hours. that that You know, Chris comes out he goes, all right, we got stuff to do. And I'm just like,
00:13:17
Speaker
not enough if oxygen getting to my brain. I'm like, wait a minute. yeah I've been breathing like a fish. it was It was insane. Yeah. Fun times. that's say That's a resting air consumption rate of 13 PSI per minute, by the way. Yeah. I don't know.
00:13:34
Speaker
I don't even know a bottle could last that long. So tell us how how your perspective changed after Frass.
Post-FRASS Reflections & Instructor Role
00:13:44
Speaker
I knew when Frass was done that I would have a target on my back. Anyone who finishes it is talking mediocrity. Like people are going to look at that and it's almost like a projection of themselves not going or not wanting to do something like that. And it's an immediate target on your back of you think you're better than somebody else.
00:14:03
Speaker
I knew that that was coming. So my life after Frazz immediately was, you know, you think you're top of the line because you went through this course and you're not in it. Nothing from me. I didn't go back and tell people I broke the record. I didn't go back and say anything. I went back and I told people, you should try the course.
00:14:19
Speaker
Like, it's ah good it's a good course. You know, I think you learn a lot. um And it was it was honestly tough. It was tough for me with other people. But internally, after Frazz, I was like hungry.
00:14:31
Speaker
I was like, get me the next course, the next, whatever it is. I was excited to go back as an instructor. Now that you had the patch, you're allowed to go back and teach. I was super excited about that.
00:14:42
Speaker
Um, because you learn when you go back, you know, I'm not, I don't go through frass and then remember everything. You know, every time I go back, depending on who's the lead, you might learn how to do a skill in and a totally different way, which is great. It's another tool in toolbox. So as an instructor,
00:14:59
Speaker
And almost every instructor that I know of will tell you, like, you will learn almost more when you go back. So that changed. It made me want to get into the teaching world a little bit more and be a good resource for that.
00:15:12
Speaker
And again, going back is what even got me into Smoke Diver. I went back my first time. um I met some of the other Smoke Divers that weren't there because some Smoke Divers come to help out.
00:15:24
Speaker
Uh, and I asked some questions about it and you can just tell when you, when I saw some of these guys in black shirts, like these guys are, you know, they got it. they're They're not walking on the fire ground, even though they're the instructors. If there's something needs to be done, these guys are hustling, they're moving. You can just tell when you see a smoke diver on the work ground, it's just a totally different animal. And I'm like, man, I want to be like that guy, you know?
00:15:47
Speaker
Even when Chris would talk in the mornings during Frass, I'm like, I want to be with that guy, like that guy. Or Bender, I want to be like that guy. And when you surround yourself with these people, which for me happened a lot after Frass, you kind of just almost feel a pressure to be better.
00:16:03
Speaker
Now, that that could be a good for some people. It could be bad. I think it's great. if I'm the smartest person in the room, the strongest person in the room, i'm I'm doing it wrong. Like I want to be at the bottom of the barrel and I want to try and to get to the top. You know what i mean? And I want people that are constantly, because you almost feel obligated to do that and I, to train whatever it is. And that's good because we need that. That's our profession. So I think after frass, really hungry for knowledge to be a better fireman, my like fire side, like sparked again. I told you guys it was mainly yeah EMS. I kind of started forgetting about fire. Like I was really eager to get back to that at the time.
00:16:36
Speaker
Um, one of the guys who was in my last team and he ended up being my partner in the beginning of smoked at Rosson, uh, who recently passed away was, um, talking about how he was going to go to smoke diver, him and another guy. And I had no intention of going now, although I was talking to these guys and I was still trying to learn, I was still in this realm of, even though you pass fast, I didn't feel like I could like be on the level with these guys. You know what I mean? But Rostin's like, dude, I'm signing up.
00:17:07
Speaker
And was like, oh, really? And he's like, yeah. And I almost felt like I got to do it then, right? Like Rostin was in my class. Me and him were in the ah final scenario. i was like, got to do it. So I put my name on paper. i put pen to paper because I knew if I did,
00:17:23
Speaker
that if the opportunity came, I would train. Like I know myself well enough to know if someone says, okay, you wanted it, here it goes. The only excuse I have is not training. It's me. The only one I can blame is me.
00:17:37
Speaker
So I put my name on paper. And then after I did that, I remember I started training like kind of a little bit here, a little bit there. Didn't really know what I was doing. And then Chris called me one night and he's like,
00:17:49
Speaker
Hey, or you know are you so if are you serious about going to Smoke Diver if you get in? And I'm like, well, yeah, you know I can swing the vacation time or whatever. And he's like, okay. And we had a conversation. That was the end of that.
Smoke Diver Program & Personal Growth
00:18:01
Speaker
I remember the Smoke Diver list got released and I was number one the alternate list. So I didn't even make it.
00:18:09
Speaker
initially. And I was like, okay, I got time. No big deal. You know what mean? And next day came and I got an email that said, you've been moved to the list. And I was like, oh, i was like, there's no getting out now. You know what mean? I was like, it was like a totally, I you have goosebumps thinking about it. Now I remember looking at my name and I was just like, like, that's it.
00:18:29
Speaker
Like it's go time and training totally shifted. i mean, I was training six to seven days a week. At that point, like my mobility increased, my strength increased.
00:18:41
Speaker
I went from 152 pounds 170.
00:18:46
Speaker
i was like, everything changed for the three and a half to four months. I was working out twice a day, some days. It was insane. So after fast, that's the answer that question is hunger, hunger, And we're going for it.
00:18:58
Speaker
That's what it was. So backpedaling just slightly for the people that might not know like what a smoke diver program is. um So you signed up for this thing and you were like kind of like on an alternate list kind of deal. And then if somebody falls or drops off, then you're kind of put in um on the, you know, on the roster more or less.
00:19:19
Speaker
Yeah. So they pick a certain amount of in-state guys and they pick a certain amount of out-of-state guys. I was an out-of-state guy for Indiana. Depending on where you are, I mean, I think that year they got like 200 some applicants.
00:19:30
Speaker
Once you get selected, there's an alternate list because people change their mind. Like once the list comes out, a guy might get that list and be like, I'm not doing this or I got a promotion. I can't go. They're like, okay. So they move that person off the list and then yeah, they go they go to an alternate.
00:19:45
Speaker
So my guess is as soon as they put out the list, somebody got back to him hey, I can't do it. And they pulled me. And then also just for some of the listeners that might not even know what even is a smoke diver program?
00:19:55
Speaker
Well, smoke diver, the best way to explain it from my perspective, honestly, Chris would probably be much better explaining this, but six-day course. I'm not going to tell you 60 hours. It's when you're done, you're done. Six-day course.
00:20:10
Speaker
um Very, very, like, vigorous PT and pretty much you're kind of, you're going to be in the situation of training where you need to learn how to make decisions.
00:20:21
Speaker
Um, when you're absolutely at your lowest, you're talking about a day where you just got beaten to the ground and then here comes that fire that's coming out and you just gotta, you just gotta work. You just gotta know what you're doing. Um, but more or less, it's like the ultimate test in my opinion of you.
00:20:36
Speaker
I tell people all the time, if you want to learn something about yourself, go to smoke diver, right? This isn't for like the weak minded and I hate to say it like that. Cause I'm not like saying anybody's weak minded, but like, this isn't for the person that's like, you know, coming in thinking it's going to be all hugs and sunshine and rainbows. is This is for the the guy or gal that like works good under pressure and understands the job, understands what it takes and that it's serious. Cause there are some of us out here that understand that going to a burning building,
00:21:09
Speaker
with 60 to 70 pounds of gear and a limited amount of air and not being able to cool down because your entire body's covered is hard work and it's not going to be easy. Like some of us understand that. And if you understand what a fireman actually is and like what could be called upon you one day, like this is that course. This is the one that's like, we're not, this isn't a joke. You know what i mean? This isn't meet the minimum standard. This is, you need to be up here.
00:21:34
Speaker
So when people say, Hey, you're a fireman. When a kid looks at you and says, Oh my God, you're a fireman. Like, It makes you like feel like you fulfilled that. You know i mean? Like, yeah, I have like this actual like title. So if you're going to go or to Smoke Diver, it's like, that's what it is. It's hard to explain words, but you're going to learn that about yourself. They're not going to, they're not pushing you out.
00:21:54
Speaker
Smoke Diver is not in the business of making people quit. Smoke Diver is in the business of you discovering yourself. And that very much was me, even though I pass the course.
00:22:05
Speaker
Oh, I learned. So I left. There's a part of me that's still on that spade Indiana. It's insane. I'm not even joking. I go back there and I look at that and I'm like, that's a battleground. I look at that spade and I'm like, who there was a guy here that died, a part of me that died. I was just like, it's insane. And I'm bought into it. Like, I believe it.
00:22:24
Speaker
But, you know, some people hear that and they're just like, ill smoke divers. It's just like, you don't get it. You weren't there. An ego death per se. Yeah. Oh, for sure. Oh, yeah. Oh, man. Yeah.
00:22:37
Speaker
so It was insane. You know, and I've heard you talk about that before. the this idea of seeking opportunities to put yourself on a battleground. What, what do you
Mental Battlegrounds in Training
00:22:48
Speaker
mean by that? Um, so i think in Frass and A&M Smoke Diver, like,
00:22:55
Speaker
When you're standing there in the morning and you have no idea what's coming, just like can be our lives, right? As a fireman, you have no idea. The next call can be toe pain at 3 a.m. The next call could be this building's on fire. The next call could be x kid got hit by a car. You literally have no idea. It's like the fear of the unknown almost. So both those places were battlegrounds for me.
00:23:15
Speaker
um And what that means is is like I went like there was mental warfare going on with myself. it Again, it wasn't me against any of the instructors. It wasn't me against Chris. It wasn't me against Stuart, you know, in in Indiana Smoke Diver. It was me against me.
00:23:30
Speaker
Every single morning when you wake up and you get out of bed, you have a decision. You stay here. It's comfortable. You're in pain. You don't have anything to prove or you get up and you just start.
00:23:42
Speaker
So every morning for me, when I either sat on that line in Fraps or I sat on that spade, like I felt like it was a battleground and you see not so much in frass, uh, cause some people are still allowed, even if you don't get the patch or like you injured, you know, you get an injury, you're allowed to like follow the course and like learn from it.
00:24:02
Speaker
But in Indiana, like you watch this group get from this to this, to this, to this. And it seems like you would think maybe people would be like happy, you know, like, Oh man, I made it this far. And like, there's some of that, but a lot of it's like,
00:24:17
Speaker
i was just next to I was just next to this guy yesterday. And like I watched this guy break. And it almost breaks your heart. Because if this was a fire, like is that the end for this guy?
00:24:29
Speaker
you know Going back as an instructor in Frass, I've seen guys get left in scenarios. And I've heard them scream. Like, hey, where are you guys at? And I've heard the bottle scream.
00:24:40
Speaker
And you you hear the bell and you hear the bell slow down and you just hear the and the mass sucks. And like, it's a scenario. Great. I hope you take that lesson with you. But like, understand what just happened, even though it's a scenario. That guy's dead.
00:24:52
Speaker
Right. One breath. He's he's gone. He's not going home to his wife. He's not going home to his kids. Like, it's a very serious thing. So the people that are there and they don't understand that or they're not looking at it like this, they're not taking it serious. like When I'm there and I watched this group get smaller and my spade got moved and I got shifted to where there's little people, it's like my heart like felt heavy because it's like we lost all these guys to themselves. like They couldn't, who knows what they're thinking in their head. And going back as an instructor, again, you see how they are afterwards post-interview.
00:25:24
Speaker
And it's just like, it breaks your heart. So it's ah it's a battleground. Every day you go out there, it's warfare with yourself. What are you going to do? Are you tired? Yeah. Are you going to do it anyways? You know what I mean? Like, that's a big thing I hear all the time. I'm tired. i don't I don't want to do this. Or you didn't do it anyways. The house starts on fire next door. We got to go. We got to get the kids out. We don't get a choice. If we're tired, you have to move.
00:25:45
Speaker
It's a battleground every day. Even when you go to work and you're tired, doesn't matter what's going on in your life, stress, whatever it is, medical issues, it's a battleground. And you're either going to be there and you're going fight or you're just going to you're just goingnna become ah a regular Joe Schmo that sits there and complacency is going to kill. What a good reminder of how important instruction is, man. and Like your fire service instruction is we're teaching people life, potentially life-threatening skills or skills that you're going to be used in a life-threatening event and how serious it can be.
00:26:18
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. um so Dude, you you touched on something i think is so valuable in training of like putting yourself in the headspace of, you know, doing any of those skills and drills that you work on at Frass or at Smoke Diver for real, right?
Visualizing Real-Life Scenarios
00:26:35
Speaker
Bailouts, ah you're in the wire box, like trying to put yourself where you would be mentally, where you're entangled you The rooms flash over and you've got seconds to go and your life is flashing before your eyes. Your fight or flight response is kicking in and you're just acting like trying to picture yourself there when you're performing the skills and drills. Because if you just go through the motions and any kind of training, even just a ah basic structural scenario. All right. Let's go check the box.
00:27:04
Speaker
the value you're going to get from that is exponentially less than if you're visualizing yourself in that situation, visualizing yourself making decisions and overcoming setbacks.
00:27:17
Speaker
It's such a powerful tool to make um those low risk, I'm sorry, those high risk, low frequency events like charted territory just a little bit. right Yeah, that's powerful. I get made fun of all time for that.
00:27:33
Speaker
well, you're taking it too serious. I'm like, ah, maybe you're not taking it serious. That's true. ah What did you do maybe physically or mentally to prepare
Preparing for the Smoke Diver Program
00:27:41
Speaker
yourself for smoke? Obviously, you have kind of like a glimpse ah through frass of like what it might be like to do one of those courses. And then obviously, you're kind of like, you know, maybe moving moving up slightly to the big leagues to do the the actual smoke diver class. um What was your your preparation like for that?
00:27:59
Speaker
um I followed a little program with Soft Fleet, which is pretty good. Very eye-opening for me. Again, i told you at that point, past Frass, like I... My physical training wasn't much since I was younger. thought I was like an instructable. I'm not.
00:28:14
Speaker
Just checking. I'm not. um It's the program. And then I started getting into like two days. So with the program, it kind of it does a really good job, in my opinion, for anyone that's looking to go to Smoke Diver. or Even if you want to go to Frass, you want to start out. That's like the Soft Leap Indiana Smoke Diver program is great.
00:28:30
Speaker
It builds you up in a way that you start with nothing, like just body weight, easy to buy stuff. Like you don't have to have a full gym. I was able to get a sandbag, some sand, jump rope. I got a cheap Aurora, Facebook marketplace, all the stuff that they require you to have a foam roller and you needed a screen for YouTube. And I started with that and it builds you up from nothing, you know, doing these movements,
00:28:54
Speaker
with no gear on it, then you're going to start putting your gear on in like week two or three. Some of it, think by week four or week three, one of them, you have full gear on with the mask and you're doing training. So for me, it was every Wednesday was a run day.
00:29:07
Speaker
and never knew it was going to be anywhere from three and a half to five miles. That was like your rest day. I know that for some people that like resting, like you're running five miles. Trust me, if that's a rest day. um Monday, Tuesday, you have some sort of strength state like warmup.
00:29:21
Speaker
You usually have like a stamina piece. um And then you have like a piece in gear. So they make you do like some sort of workout, whether it's with sandbag cleans or whatever it is, tire flips, squats, um pull-ups, whatever. And then you do your gear workout, whatever your gear workout is for that day. Hose Hoister Incorporated. Wednesday run, Thursday, same thing. Friday, same thing.
00:29:41
Speaker
um Saturdays were like the worst day of the week. That's usually where you do like a deck. The way I did my deck was not the way you were supposed to do a deck. You were supposed to do one flight of steps per diamond. I did one flight per number.
00:29:54
Speaker
So every time I did a deck, I did 84 flights of steps. Indirectly helped me tremendously. um It was wild. And the program builds. So you almost feel like you're not getting strong.
00:30:06
Speaker
And that was a big thing for me mentally, which i learned and taught me a lesson in life too. I would go through the program and I'd be like, man, I still can't. I still can't do this hose hoist. You know, I don't know why I can't do it. And then the next week would come and I'd be like, I still can't do this hose hoist.
00:30:22
Speaker
Like, why am I still getting tired? You know, the next week would come. Why am I still getting tired? Well, by the time you're done with this, it's like 11, 12 week program. They bring you almost back to the beginning and they make you do one like the beginning workouts. And I mean, that's when you'll see the difference. The quantitative measure of where you were after after you're like at the end is insane.
00:30:43
Speaker
But the thing is is, it's like, it's cumulative, right? So it gets harder and it gets harder. It's progressive, as Chris would say, it gets harder and harder and harder and harder. So even though you think you're not making progress, you are, it's just you never feel like you are.
00:30:58
Speaker
Because a lot of people get comfortable with, say, I started at the beginning with the same weight and holds always in the same number. Well, if I'm able to get it up, is there any stimulus? No. So then you're not growing.
00:31:09
Speaker
So it's good at causing that stimulus and progressing to where you are getting stronger. You're just doing more reps. So by the time I said, man, I can't do a hose hoist. Oh, I was doing 60 up downs, 30 flights of steps, 60 pushups, 60 mountain climbers, 200 chops, 10 tire flips, nine hose hoists. And I'm telling myself, well, you're getting tired. well Well, yeah, like they've added a ton of work, you know? Right. So it's actually a beautiful thing to see. So that was part of the training for that.
00:31:37
Speaker
And then once I hit like two months, um I ended up hiring a personal trainer to like dial my nutrition in because I i had no source of like direction for like where is my nutrition needs to go. so I ended up coughing up the money. i didn't know about it. I was tired of looking on the internet and hearing different things or talking to different people. So I hired a personal trainer, um said, what do I need to do to gain a weight?
00:31:58
Speaker
They gave me this entire equation. I was eating like 225 grams of protein a day. I was eating like 3,500 calories a day and it still wasn't enough. Like I was just starting to plow through food now. um And then at that time I started to get into a little bit of CrossFit. It wasn't a CrossFit affiliated gym.
00:32:16
Speaker
but a little bit of CrossFit. So I would do my gear workout in the morning and then I would do CrossFit at night. And there there was my two days, whether that's heavy lifting, dead lifting, cleans, anything on the bar, your Metcon, Metcons and CrossFit are really good. It stands for metabolic conditioning. Super good for you. Like heart high heart rate, low heart rate, high heart rate.
00:32:34
Speaker
helps you anticipate how you're going to do, how you need to perform to keep your heart at its lowest so it's most efficient, which 100% transfers to the fire ground. That's air consumption right there. Everyone's working so hard when they don't need to.
00:32:46
Speaker
They cut the hole already and they're all up there. You don't need to do that anymore. You're done. The hole's cut. wait Wait till you're told to do something else and take that time to be like, I'm not working right now. Slow the breathing down, you know, like get the heart rate to go down and you'll be able to work, you know, further.
00:33:01
Speaker
But all that was learned in that period. So like that four months of gaining the 20 pounds and training and whatnot, I did not look at all like I felt. Like I felt totally different, like a new person, way stronger. Stamina was way better. Mile times are going down. Mile and a half times are going down. Three and a half mile times are going down. I felt great.
Psychological Preparation Tips
00:33:25
Speaker
Didn't look like it.
00:33:26
Speaker
Did not look like it because my body wasn't like used to taking on that much weight that fast. Haven't lost it. I'm still in the 170 to 180 range. um But that's what the training looked like right there. And then a lot of mental, just be ready for it. You know, I mean, nothing will prepare you mentally. Absolutely. Nothing can fully prepare you mentally. But the program does a good job at mentally frustrating you. And they tell you that right in the beginning of the program. They say this is meant to challenge you mentally.
00:33:58
Speaker
Because when I felt like I couldn't advance and I felt like I wasn't getting stronger and like I couldn't make it, that directly is going to translate into when you feel terrible and you're sleeping and day two of Smoke Diver comes and you make the decision to get up right now.
00:34:11
Speaker
All right. Well, I feel terrible, but going to do it. you know Are there things you read or, you know, if you you were to advise somebody on how to prepare psychologically for a program like this? Oh, man.
00:34:27
Speaker
Recommendations? Get rid of the ego. It's got to go. You're not the top dog in the field, um nor should that be the goal is to be the top dog. The goal should be to have a team, a great team, right? Or for everyone to know their weaknesses and their strengths.
00:34:43
Speaker
I might be faster on a ladder than some people. You might be better at chalking than You might be better at search than I'm at. You know what i mean? everyone's got different, you know, understand that about the people.
00:34:54
Speaker
The people next to you is so much more important than you think. You go to work and you work with some guys you've never worked with, you rarely worked with, and no one ever talks. No one ever says, hey, if we have this, what do you do? What are you good at? This is what I'm good at. This is what I, prove no one does that.
00:35:06
Speaker
You get there, you make the decision, it's a little too late. So psychologically, be ready to get rid of the ego, talk to people, understand you need to communicate. It's one of the highest causes of death on the fire ground is communication. So you need to be able to communicate.
00:35:21
Speaker
And um understand that no one's out to get you. It's you versus you. You know, that's the biggest one for me psychologically. These instructors don't care about sending you home. The program's going to do that for them. That's what the program's designed to do. Trust the process. They don't care.
00:35:39
Speaker
They were there to set the standard. That's all they're there for is to make sure that you aren't getting it any easier than the last guy did because then it gets watered down, right? Then what does it mean to be a smoke diver? So once you understand that, you know, I'm not saying you're going to pass, but like understand that and just go bit by bit.
00:35:57
Speaker
Psychologically understand you're going to want to quit. Quit tomorrow. Don't do it today. you know what I mean? Just get through the day. Go to sleep, wake up and decide if you want to quit. Well, at least you made it to the next day. Go to PT. At least you made it to the next day at PT.
00:36:10
Speaker
You know what mean? After PT is done, okay, I'll quit at the end of this day. Before you know you're through day two. And then it's just like, all right, you know you're going to do it again. The most dangerous part of smoke diver mentally, in my opinion, and this is an opinion, not a fact. Some people tell you different. Some divers will tell you different.
00:36:27
Speaker
The most dangerous period is when you're in that hotel room. That's it. You're free. You're not on the fire. You're not on the battleground anymore. It's just... all the time for you to be in this dome by yourself and think and just contemplate and predict what's going to happen. And that's almost dangerous. It is very dangerous because you're creating the scenario that's totally bad. I'm not going to make it I'm going to fall on this. My knee hurts. What if this happens?
00:36:54
Speaker
and What if I look like this? All these things pop in your head and guess what? None of it's happened. Not one of those things has happened. You haven't even had the chance to go in the morning and see what's going to happen. And it's crazy because so many times I had those conversations with myself where I'm like, this is it.
00:37:09
Speaker
Like, you know, some nights I couldn't even talk to my wife. Like I called my wife and like just hear my wife's voice. I was like, I can't, I got to go. You know, like it's just all these things are going to be pulling you in multiple directions. And had I listened to any one of those things, it was just like, but I'll just save myself now and leave. If I'm not going to make I would never, would never been there.
00:37:28
Speaker
You know, I would have never gotten to experience what I got to experience. So psychologically, be ready, drop the ego, quit tomorrow and stop thinking about the future.
00:37:40
Speaker
Compartmentalize, do one thing at a time, one skill at a time. and just take it for what it is. You are not going to be the best at everything. The end of it, there's not one person I have seen yet in any of the classes I've went back that are the best at everything.
00:37:56
Speaker
Even the top performers are not the best at everything. They're just very good at a lot of stuff. feel like that's, I mean, that's such a powerful message for so many people that listen to this podcast or are interested in Frass or Smoke Diver, where a lot of times they're already the go-to guy in their fire department,
Growth in Challenging Environments
00:38:16
Speaker
right? They're passionate about this job and it's easy to um <unk> a plateau if you don't have maybe mentors or people that are pushing you to to be even better than you are at your fire department or you know whatever environment you're in.
00:38:36
Speaker
And so that's that was an eye-opening thing for me to be around groups like that where it's like, you're not the best at anything. And it's this this iron sharpens iron experience where you kill your ego. like You don't even care about being the best at anything. And you just can't help but be better from being in an environment like that. It's such a cool, ah yeah, such a cool environment.
00:38:59
Speaker
But I want to dig into, you know, so you've got a lot going on, right? From you're instructing at FRAS, Smoke Diver, you're in an accelerated paramedic program, um competing in CrossFit.
00:39:12
Speaker
You know, a million things have happened in your life over the last couple of years. What's your why behind everything that you're driving for? You know, like what's what's what's the fire inside that's, you know,
00:39:24
Speaker
That's burning. That's, you know, driving you to to do everything that you've you've done over the last couple of years. Right. um Man, the why is so important, right? Why we do a lot of the stuff we do. If you don't have a why, then it's going to be tough to make it in some of these things.
00:39:42
Speaker
um My why now has definitely shifted. after going through smoke, diver and frass, I kind of understand myself better. And I know what will happen to me if I don't do things like lift or stay fit or like stay in the program. Like i just want to be happier with myself. And I think a why for me now is I don't want to go back to who I was prior to frass. I don't want to be that guy that's lazy.
00:40:05
Speaker
i don't want to be the dude who rides a recliner. I don't, regardless of what people think about me or whatever, like I don't want to be that person. And another part of my why now is in Castro's citizen, Georgia's program is, you know, he says how you have to go back and, you know, teach this stuff. And he says, you know, to approach it like a scalpel and not a hammer. Right. So I shouldn't come back and hammer people about smoke diver. You got it it's finesse. Like some people might not be ready to take that in all at once. But more importantly, he clearly says the road's not easy for you anymore.
00:40:37
Speaker
And like, that's a big why for me now is regardless of who I run into, you or the things I deal with, or the people I deal with, who whatever they say to me, or however they make me feel, it's that there's a bigger message here.
00:40:49
Speaker
I could leave anywhere I'm at, and just say, i'm going to go somewhere where the grass is green, or will it be? Probably not. But like, what am I doing? At what point do I stop and actually make a change?
00:41:00
Speaker
Or do I just go through everything I'm going to go through now, like Castle explains, like how it's going to be hard in the path for people that have great success, and that want to be big people and like,
00:41:12
Speaker
you know, put important messages out. It's hard. It's, it's a rocky road. It's a lonely road because there's all these firemen that are trying to do this. And you're the one fireman that's speaking up and is like, this isn't right. And they're like, shut up.
00:41:25
Speaker
And you're out, you know? So my why now is like, remember that. Remember what the overall mission is, is that you have to stay at the place you're at to get to a place down the road. Hopefully that you can change the fireman underneath you. The fireman above you aren't going change. You're not going to change. You know what mean? But if I leave now,
00:41:41
Speaker
they're going to turn into into this. You know what mean? You have to stay there and ride out that wave in order to change this. You know, that's a big why now. But my more important why when I was in cross and smoke diver, I didn't, my biological dad was, i don't know, my parents divorced I was young, five years old, something like that. I said, dad, ah we were we were kind of close, but like, it's not the same.
00:42:04
Speaker
You know what i mean? My parents were working all the time and stuff like that. So I feel like I didn't really have At the time when I was like a teen, like ah i don't want to say a father figure because like I love my stepdad, you know i mean? But like I didn't have someone to teach me everything, you know what i mean? It wasn't like spoon fed to me or anything like that. So for for me, that purpose or that person was filled by my wrestling coach.
00:42:24
Speaker
I wrestled when I was in high school. So that's when I learned about that camaraderie and that like cohesive bond. And man, there was nothing like it. And that's like part of the fire service, right? I mean, two of the guys I wrestled with were both my best men. Like I still talk to him to this day. We pick up, like we left off at the same place. Like we're great friends. And um when I wrestled, I hit a point where we didn't have a lot of money. Our family didn't have a lot of money. So I had to work.
00:42:51
Speaker
um And the weekends is when we wrestled. That's the only time I can work because i was in school. So I ended up having to quit wrestling. And I kind of hit this phase where i like i was like, man, do i do I want to still wrestle and try and keep this job?
00:43:05
Speaker
yeah, this is hard to balance. Am I going to be good at wrestling? Am I going to make states? Is it worth it? And I ended up quitting. And when I quit, my wrestling coach um told me, and I quote, he said, if you quit now, you'll be a quitter the rest of your life.
00:43:22
Speaker
He said, it gets easier to quit. I understand the message he was trying to get across, you know, and maybe I should respect him because he thought that I was tougher than that. I have no idea. Tough love, you know, but like that was hard for me to take as a kid. You the 17, 16 year old kid, I was just like, dang.
00:43:40
Speaker
Right. So that hung over me a lot in my life. Like you can call me a black cloud and some things in life. Everything I went through, I went back to that. And I was just like, every time I had a bad or a downfall in life, you know, like a bottom of the peak, I'm just like, He's right.
00:43:54
Speaker
You know, yeah, I'm going to be a quitter the rest of my life. So what's the point in going, you know, and that hung over me for years, ah years until I went to, france I mean, when I went to Frass, what was it? 2023. was nine years when that guy said that nine years ago.
00:44:09
Speaker
And I still had a piece of that in me after even in Frass and after Frass until I went to Smoke Diver. And that was probably the biggest part of my why was I'm not going let this guy be right. I'm like, this guy's telling me I'm going to quit, you know,
00:44:23
Speaker
and this is my time to prove him, right? If I quit, he's right. You know what i mean? So I almost had like this internal, that battleground that's internal. Like, are you going to, to let this guy win? Every time I was in a pushup hold, that guy was in my head, go ahead, quit.
00:44:37
Speaker
You know, you did it when you were this young, do it now. And I'm just like, nah, like it's not going to happen. You know? So that was a huge why for me was not even proving someone wrong, but like understanding that I was in a place where when I was younger that like i had no control over it you know what I mean so it almost was like a way for me to forgive myself too like it wasn't my fault what happened to me when I was younger you know what i mean that was a very powerful why for me and then after I passed smoke diary like that was it I don't think about that guy anymore I'm just like whatever you know what mean I have control over my own life I determine whether I'm going to at least push
00:45:14
Speaker
And try it or not try it. Not necessarily pass because there's standards for that, but like I can at least make the conscious decision to drive You're almost able to like pivot that and use it for for fuel almost and, you know, use that for good rather than bad, which is awesome.
00:45:30
Speaker
I feel like that's a great example of how impactful words can be, right? where I'm sure his intent was like a tough love motivation, but not understanding your situation, right? It's like, hey, I'm a kid. i got to I have to go work. My family doesn't have anything. Yeah. Yeah.
00:45:48
Speaker
um well And so so now that you know your why has evolved, right you don't think about
Techniques for Maintaining Motivation
00:45:56
Speaker
that guy anymore. You've accomplished some some things where you were tested to quit. You didn't.
00:46:03
Speaker
And now your why is more about, you know, this this constant improvement of yourself and those around you. but What are some things you do to stay motivated, right? To stay consistent when you don't want to go do the workout for the day or you don't want to get up and study, whatever it might be. What what to but are some some tools or techniques you use in your life?
00:46:30
Speaker
Man, I don't even know if it's a technique. I just start. that's what I learned from smoke diver and frass is like, and I, you know, I've talked about this before too. Like nothing, nothing is stopping the whooping that's coming. Absolutely nothing.
00:46:44
Speaker
ah You're either going to be there you're not. You're going to be there with these guys to get, when they get destroyed or you're not, you know, and I understand that very well now that the days that i don't feel like lifting, with exceptions, right? Like if I'm completely sick. I don't want get anyone else sick. we We're touching barbells and yeah, I won't go. But like, with the days I'm tired and I'm just like, i just want to sit on the couch, watch a show and do nothing. i just tell myself, you have to start.
00:47:12
Speaker
You will feel better by the end of it. Even if you tow the line at Smoke Diver or Frass, you will feel better that you towed the line and it's a push in the right direction.
00:47:23
Speaker
Again, stop thinking about the finish line and if you're going to get there, just tow the line. You're already better than everyone else who wouldn't tow it. So that's my motivation for myself is I understand that I will feel better. And not once in my life have I like physical fitness anyways, towed that line and felt worse.
00:47:41
Speaker
Not once have I towed that line and be like, you were right. You didn't need this. It never happened. It has never happened to me. I've towed that line. I've sat down at the end and I've been like, glad it's over. But yeah, I did it, you know? And That happened to me even with this. I just competed in the CrossFit Open for the first time.
00:48:01
Speaker
And even then, like, I'm just like, why am I doing this? I know I'm not going to be at this level, the level I want to be because I set a goal for myself. And I just had to, I just had to toe the line. I just had to start it. And you'd be surprised each workout I got better. Like I, I progressed in the ranks. I think in my first rank workout, I was like 49 percentile. And then my next one, I was like 60 something. And then I went to like 70 something.
00:48:24
Speaker
um And my goal is to qualify for quarters in five years. um This would be the year I'm starting. So this is my baseline of where I'm going to be at. And I finished at like 66 percentile.
00:48:36
Speaker
So I have five years to close 9 percent essentially. But even in that, like, I'm just like, just start, man. Just go, just pick up the bar. You know, my coach asked all the time before the Metcon,
00:48:49
Speaker
I don't know if you guys do CrossFit, but in the Metcon, like you're going to do some sort of HIIT workout, whatever it is. And then they start the clock and there's a countdown. And it's a joke, but like she understands me a little bit better now. And she's like, are you ready? And I say, no. And she says, 10 seconds. That's it. That's all that needs to be said.
00:49:06
Speaker
No, I'm not. But it's not going to stop me from going. You know, when that alarm comes out at 3 Are you ready? No, but I'm getting my shit on. I'm getting in the truck and we're going. Like, I don't care if I'm not ready. I'm going to do the job that I'm here to do. if that's That's what I'm here for, quite literally. So ah that's like, it's this running thing between me and her. She just knows that that means Corey's ready. Like, that's as ready as he's going to get. And that's that's like my mind and everything. now That's my motivation is people are starting to understand.
00:49:34
Speaker
you know, ask me if I'm ready, I'll give you a certain answer, but it doesn't mean I won't perform. I want to touch on one thing with the CrossFit
CrossFit Training Significance
00:49:40
Speaker
stuff. I started doing CrossFit back in 2017. I've been, you know, in the space. I don't necessarily go to a box, but I i'd try to train that way. And for me personally, it was the best way that I could find to train. Like I remember because I was when I was younger bodybuilder you know like that's all I cared about was just being jacked and lifting in as heavy as I could and then I put this gear on and I'm gassed and huffing and puffing and then I kind of like transitioned to our found CrossFit and it kind of like remember like reminded me of like doing like football or wrestling like uh conditioning and I I really like that and then also the competition aspect of like working out next to somebody and you're like I'm going to beat that guy. Right. How important do you feel it is for firefighters to be training in this manner of like adapting or, um you know, developing those three different energy systems that the body has? um Because when we're on the fire ground, you know, you're not just a runner. You're not just a lifter. Like it's you're using everything. So do you feel like it's important for firefighters to be training that way?
00:50:51
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. ah It's like a big the big argument of gear workouts. sick People are like, do you do gear workouts? well PFOS, PFOS, and you gear. ah It dumps a ton of cortisol into the system.
00:51:03
Speaker
you know It's not good for your recovery afterwards. It's I'm the big a big fan of everything in moderation, you know, but like, I think it's very important to work out in gear. You know, if, if when we're in gear, we don't bend the same.
00:51:16
Speaker
I don't bend down to pick something up the same when I'm in gear. Therefore I'm using different muscles, which is a huge part of when people get in gear, they get down, they get something and they look stiff almost. and it's like, it's not that you're not a strong dude or you're not flexible. You're just, you're not used to doing this and this year, and that's our job.
00:51:34
Speaker
Like when it comes to like the hardest part of our job, that's it. So if you're going to learn anything in gear, even if it's not stamina, it's, you're going to strengthen those muscles that, you and in different ways, like you're going to use this muscle in a different way. And I think that that's something I learned the most when I was in gear is I was so comfortable being in it that it was just, it felt not, I felt weird when I was outside of gear. You know what i mean?
00:51:56
Speaker
Like when I was in frass, I felt bad not having the pack on. i was like, why my shoulders are, they they were hurting because the pack wasn't on. And then you put that pack on, you settle in, you're like, Oh, that's what we're supposed to be. That's home right there. You know, like it's, you gotta get in it, you know? So I think it's very important to,
00:52:13
Speaker
to work every aspect of it, be in gear to get comfortable with those motions and work those little muscle groups that you think you didn't. Even if you just put on the gear and you do something simple calisthenic wise, do a deck of cards, plug in whatever you want to it. You can do lunges.
00:52:27
Speaker
You can do pike pulls. You can do side lunges. i mean, you can do air squats and just that stuff's going to get you used to being in that gear. Um, but you also got to train the cardiovascular system. You got to train the strength.
00:52:39
Speaker
Um, that's when your HIIT workouts come into play afterwards. Get used to being all the way up to the top with the heart rate and then lowering it down. Um, I met one of the smoke divers my first time going back, Elizabeth Wishart, and she's, she's a absolute beast in CrossFit and she's very high ranked.
00:52:58
Speaker
Um, And when I was talking to her and she was telling me about some of the stuff she did, I had just started CrossFit and she was explaining to me how doing CrossFit and training at lower temperatures like improves your cardiovascular health essentially. And it trains your heart to like stay lower at a lower rate. Because once we get in gear, our heart's going to plateau with the heat. Like that's it. And once your heart plateaus,
00:53:22
Speaker
Whether you think you got more in you or not, you don't. That's it. That's your stroke volume, buddy. Like your heart's going to put out what it's going put out at this rate. But if you can train that to be lower at this temperature, then when you do that same amount of work, your heart rate will naturally be lower. And at the end of the day, if it's lower, your ejection fraction is better. You're getting more blood out, not to be nerdy. But... it's better for you so that goes to just show you that it's just as important to do that and not just gear i know some guys that only work out in gear anymore everything's like we're doing a gear workout it's like yeah great but again there is a fine line between doing only gear and yeah dumping all that cortisol into your blood all the time like that's also not good either you know um so there's definitely there needs to be a balance in my opinion
00:54:07
Speaker
of of what you do as well as well as your health, right? Your health should be at the top of that and eating. and We all know how we eat at the firehouse. I get stuff all the time for not wanting to eat a certain way. And people were just like, ah, you're going to wedge.
00:54:20
Speaker
You're not going to eat food. It's like, hey man, like don't want to wake up one night and after the big one, just sit down and be like, wait a minute. think I got some chest pain. i don't I don't want that for myself. So I don't want that for my wife. I don't want that for my future kids.
00:54:33
Speaker
So also got to get the diet right. You know, it's part of it. of it Man, to kind of put a bow on this thing, what what would you tell maybe the the firefighter listening that can kind of identify with the three-year fireman,
Advice for Complacent Firefighters
00:54:47
Speaker
right? Or maybe they're feeling a little stuck, little unmotivated, a little complacent.
00:54:52
Speaker
Like, what advice would you give them? Man, I would say just start somewhere. You know, try and improve whatever it is in your life, mental health, again, the diet, physical fitness, whatever you want to be, whatever this idea of a fireman you have in your head of being and everyone's done it.
00:55:10
Speaker
You just have this idea of like, I want to be this guy one day. I want to be the fireman, this big fireman, or i want to be the guy that gets on a scene or picture yourself going to that big fire you want to have. Picture the amount of work it's going to take and just understand it's not meant to be easy.
00:55:28
Speaker
That's my biggest piece of advice to somebody is this is not supposed to be easy. Okay. When you understand that and you understand why you feel the way you feel when you start working, it's going to allow you to take that and make changes and not quit because you think that you're not cut out for this. It's hard work.
00:55:49
Speaker
That's okay. All right. You're going to be tired. I still am tired. If I am going to the roof, I am going to be tired. I'm going to do it in a way that I'm i'm hauling. i'm trying to I'm trying to get this hole cut, you know what I mean? But it's okay to feel tired. It's what you're going to do when you get there that matters.
00:56:11
Speaker
Everyone in Tiver is going to get tired. Everyone in Frass is going to get tired. It's what you're going to do when you get there. So understand that that just because you are tired and you feel a certain way, that's normal. That's supposed to happen.
00:56:25
Speaker
Just keep going, right? I mean, I'd rather have a guy that three minutes into his lift or into this Metcon, he is already shaky.
00:56:35
Speaker
You know i mean? you Maybe he can't hold the bar any longer, but he does. I'd rather have that guy than someone who doesn't move at all for four minutes, but after that is just 10 down.
00:56:48
Speaker
This guy's going to operate at 70% for 30 minutes. You're going to operate at a hundred percent for four. And then you're going to give me 20% for the rest. you know what I mean? So like that would, that's what I would tell someone, understand it's not easy.
00:57:00
Speaker
and you're going to feel this way, that's okay. That's normal. yeah I would never work out with anyone like that, that thinks that about themselves and thinks, well, I'm not good enough. No, just keep going. You're fine. you know I might work out with Chris, and Chris might hold a plank way longer than me or look much better in his plank than I do, you know but that we might switch to a different workout, and it might be different. likes Stop comparing yourself to everybody.
00:57:24
Speaker
Stop watching the videos that are saying that look cool and you want to be that or stop watching the video and you're saying, I can't do this. Stop trying to be like anybody else. Figure yourself out and just start and understand it's not going to be easy. If you can do those three things, start, understand it's not going to be easy and stop comparing yourself, you're, man, you're already going to be set aside from so much.
00:57:48
Speaker
That's like my biggest piece of advice. And that's just, that's a battle that I i still battle with to this day. ah Sometimes I'm around other people and there's a fine line between competition, like you were saying, in Austin, where it's like great competition and that like motivates you. But there's also a part in the back of my head that's always like, man, I got to try and keep up with this person. But like that could be good, but it also could be detrimental if you let it get too far because then you just don't try. i mean, when I go to the gym, I'm competing with a girl that is 96 percentile. She just made it to semifinals for the CrossFit Games.
00:58:18
Speaker
You know what I mean? I love it. Because when I look at her, I'm like, there's no way I'm keeping up with her. But even if I can just be a minute behind her, that's a success. If I can come in next month and I can be 56 seconds behind her, that's, you know what I mean? Like be that person. Don't look at her and be like, I'm not going to try.
00:58:34
Speaker
That way it makes it seem like i'm not trying and I really wasn't. And that way I'm not supposed to get close to it. Like that's a terrible, don't be that person.
Embracing Firefighting Challenges
00:58:42
Speaker
I feel like so many firefighters, it's easy to lose sight of what drew you to our profession, right? no Nobody is here for the money. No one, no one enlists in the military becomes a firefighter, you know, as part of a get rich quick scheme. Almost everybody does it out of some draw to be,
00:59:03
Speaker
challenge to do something hard to serve. And it's easy to lose sight of that where it's like you're exhausted. Well, that's what hard freaking feels like. a hundred Right. That's good.
00:59:14
Speaker
That's what drew you to this. Right. but Love that advice to just pick something and start because there's never going to be a perfect time. There's never going to be a perfect environment. You just start with one little decision at a time. Love that.
00:59:27
Speaker
Man, so this has been an awesome podcast and thank you for coming on, sharing your experience. and Any final thoughts before we wrap this thing up? Last thought. And I, is this is something, it's more of a freeze, I guess. I don't know.
00:59:42
Speaker
A guy told me this when I was in college he was a fireman and I stand by it to this day. No matter what you do, in life and being a fireman or whatever it is. But in this case, we're going to about specifically being a fireman. The reputation you should strive for is somebody saying you're a great fireman.
00:59:59
Speaker
This guy told me when I was younger and I didn't understand it, the highest accolade you could have is at your funeral, somebody saying, Gauté was a great fireman. That's it. Like that's, be the fireman that's striving for that. You know, try and just be the person that everyone understands and is like, this was the guy. You know what mean? That doesn't mean you have to be a captain, chief, boss, whatever. don't have to be any of that. You can be a senior fireman and leave an amazing and massive impact on the fire service.
01:00:29
Speaker
So be the person that's trying to leave an impact and simply, that's all I want. i just want people when I die to know that I was a good fireman. I don't need anything else. I don't care about anything else, any medals, whatever it is. I just want people to understand that. So if you're into the fire service, ah That should be all of our goals is be a great fire. Right on, dude. Austin, any saved rounds? No, man. hi Awesome episode. I think one of the biggest takeaways, right, is just try and stack those micro wins up and just keep pushing, um you know, even when it gets tough. So, no, man, I appreciate you coming on. was awesome.
01:01:03
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Fire Dog Podcast. If you've enjoyed this conversation, you can find this episode and many more like it on our website, firedog.us or wherever you listen to podcasts.
01:01:15
Speaker
You can also follow along on social media, on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn at the Fire Dog Podcast. That is the Fire DAWG Podcast. This episode was supported by Roll Call Coins, telling the story of fire departments and teams through premium custom challenge coins. Learn more at RollCallCoins.com.
01:01:31
Speaker
It was also supported by AOS Services, helping fire departments stay mission ready with worldwide firefighting equipment compliance. Find out more at AOSServicesInc.com. If you like what you're hearing, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you found value in this conversation, consider sharing it with a friend, a coworker, or someone in your firehouse.
01:01:51
Speaker
This episode was recorded with Chris in Austin and guest Corey Gote. Until next time, stay safe.