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Chasermcnuggets on Navy SEAL Training, Failure, Resilience & Finding Your Why | Security Halt! Ep. 458

• Deny Caballero • Season 8 • Episode 458

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Sometimes you have to get rocked to grow.
In Episode 458 of the Security Halt! Podcast, Deny Caballero sits down with , “Chasermcnuggets,” for a raw, hilarious, and surprisingly introspective conversation about military training, adversity, resilience, and finding purpose when life doesn't go according to plan.
Chasermcnuggets, shares how his journey took him from Texas college life to joining the Navy and pursuing the SEAL pipeline. What followed was a collision of brutal training, COVID-era chaos, injuries, hospital visits, setbacks, and experiences that forced him to confront why he was there in the first place.
But this episode isn't simply another story about military training.
Chasermcnuggets and Deny dig into what happens when failure forces you to reevaluate your identity, why suffering can become one of life's greatest teachers, and why having a strong enough “why” matters when motivation disappears.
They also explore the role of humor in surviving difficult situations, the importance of authenticity, the camaraderie created through shared adversity, and how lessons learned through military service can carry into the next chapter of life.
Chasermcnuggets story is a reminder that growth doesn't always come from accomplishing the original mission.
Sometimes it comes from getting knocked down, figuring out what the experience was trying to teach you, and moving forward with a better understanding of yourself.


Listen now. Follow the show. Share this with the veteran or entrepreneur who needs to hear it.

Chapters
00:00 Meet “Chasermcnuggets”
01:56 From Texas College Life to Chasing the SEAL Teams
04:00 The Chaos and Comedy of BUD/S Prep
08:06 Navy SEAL Training During COVID
12:01 Authenticity, Leadership, and Mental Resilience
19:47 Injuries, Hospital Visits, and Getting Rocked
30:08 Failure, Perspective, and Lessons From Military Service



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Getting Out Feels Terrifying

SPEAKER_03

I just got out of the Navy and people are like, oh, what was your rate? And I was like, I don't know. I on my on my DD214, it just says E3. No rate. Anybody who's getting out of the military, uh, you know, dude, it's scary. It is and I was only in for a little bit. I was only in for a short time, but it's scary because I was like, uh-oh, I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve in the Navy at all. I was like, oh fuck. I just blew four years, you know, a little bit less, four years of my 20s. But in reality, it was the most important thing that I did. I've I've ever done.

SPEAKER_01

Because I learned so much, I learned about myself, bro. You crushing it. And that's a that's a story for everybody listening at home. Like, you may not get, and I want to go back to that one thing you said was so powerful. You didn't have a strong enough why. And that's something that a lot of us can run into in the military, post-military, you chasing down the wrong career for years and years and years, nothing's going right, then you finally admit to yourself, I'm not passionate about this, I don't like this.

SPEAKER_00

That Security Halt Media is looking for clients that need video editing. Have them reach out to info at securityhaltmedia.com.

Meet Chase McNuggets

SPEAKER_01

We'll do it live. This is the show. You know who I am, and you know this, man. It's Chase, otherwise known as Chaser McNuggets from uh social media world. Um everybody. Just an incredible human being that's actor after doing doing what I always advocate for. Telling your story, being authentic, being impactful. And you know what? Does it hurt to make people laugh? Does it no? It's awesome, dude. We need more of that.

SPEAKER_03

Typically not, but sometimes I aim for it, you know. It says in my bio, it says no cowards allowed. And sometimes they seep in, and sometimes they need to be corrected, you know. Anyways, uh, hey, I know we don't have a live studio audience, but hey everybody, I'm Chase McNuggets.

SPEAKER_01

You got two. I uh I have my neighbor sitting in here smiling. Let's go. That'd be so fucking awkward. Hey neighbor.

SPEAKER_03

Well, that's funny. That's that's awesome. I did, I I I want to be honest. I want to start out being honest, as I always am. Um this is, dude, I've never really done I've done one other kind of show like this. I went on uh uh, I don't know if you know Clint Morgan, his his thing on Instagram is Magdumb Morgan. He's a marine vet, and he run, he used to run, I think he still runs on YouTube Classic Firearms, a cool channel. And uh we became pals, and he wanted me to come on, and you know, wheels came off the bus immediately. We were drinking whiskey. Yeah, it was crazy. It was fun. So yeah, those are the best conversations.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Denny, thanks for thanks for having me on the show, dude. Thank you for that. Absolutely, dude. Absolutely, brother. I I think that we do it the service when we just stick to like one thing. And I I'm, you know, I'm still figuring it out. This project is uh constantly evolving, and I realize that there has to be a good mix of advocacy, resources, and some days just laugh, dude. Just fucking laugh, like you're back to the team. And uh I remember watching one of your videos, my wife's like, I haven't heard you laugh like this since last time you were around the dudes from the team. And I was like, he's literally like my buddy Liam. He's literally like any other dude I would have on the team room, just riffing. And I'm like, that from the the voices you use to like everything, I'm like, and that's where I think a lot of the audience, if you've served, you see Chase as one of your former teammates in whatever capacity you served in. Like you've got that the authentic reach back into our community. So but I know that every story begins somewhere. So today I want to dive into that, bro.

SPEAKER_03

All right. Yeah, well, dude, I was gonna say I'm honored for you to say that, man. I I I um I truly, dude, I started, I'm just as I do, I'm gonna start rambling. So Denny, just cut me off. Uh also, if you for anybody who's seen my videos, I usually do them in front of my garage. I'm in my kitchen.

SPEAKER_02

So nice!

SPEAKER_03

Leveled up, dude. Yeah, it's pretty sick. I have a house. Um it's a ramble. Uh no big deal. Yeah, no, immediately. Uh yeah, dude. I well, all I was gonna say is like what we were just talking about before we started

Turning Rants Into Real Content

SPEAKER_03

rolling. Um, dude, I started doing this like a long time ago, and I just I like making the videos. It's mainly, it was just like I like doing it. Because I'm like, maybe I'm just a psycho. I don't know. I've got like crazy, you know, I've gotten thinking about stuff. I like to, you know, I'm on X, I'm just like watching, I just spectate the chaos. I'm like, all right, you know. And then I just started making these videos like a while back, maybe like, like I said, I graduated college, old Miss Rabs, Haddy Tali, in 2016. So I've been making them for a while, but it's like only been on like my private story or like, you know, whatever. And then one of my friends um ends up, he's working for a big he works for like Friday beers and stuff, kind of cool.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And he was like, hey, dude, we don't do this type of content that I'm doing, you know. Uh, but like, I think you have something here. And I was like, okay. And so I guess last year, or I guess I've been doing this for about a year, maybe a little bit more, I just started putting them on Instagram and TikTok. And uh seems that people enjoy my rants.

SPEAKER_04

So although people love them.

Getting Permanently Banned On TikTok

SPEAKER_03

If you don't know, I got banned from TikTok um for reasons.

SPEAKER_02

So let's take a segue into that. What did that how did that go down?

SPEAKER_03

Uh I well, okay, so TikTok's weird because like I was like just I post the same thing. I was posting on TikTok and Instagram, and I was just, you know, synonymous posting. And uh Instagram, or excuse me, TikTok started like clocking me for like stuff like if I said, like, you know, I cut I like talking about current events, so like if I said 70% instead of 69%, they were watching me like a hawk and they'd be like, oh, a misinformation. I'd say, okay. You know, sorry. Uh, but then it was like weird stuff, dude. I don't, you know, look. Every time I talked about some specific topics, Denny, uh, they did not like that. Uh Benjamin Netanyahu. Yeah, dude. If you mention BB, getting clapped. BB, old New York's premier financier, Jeffrey Epstein. Didn't like that. Did not like that. And then actually, the funniest part about this entire thing is is like, um, I'm pretty sure the video that I got banned on was like a couple weeks ago when the SpaceX IPO came out. And I was cracking jokes because I bought one share of SpaceX. And I was like, they're my spaceships now, dude. I've got a spaceship. 135 bucks on a you know, Robin Hood. And I made the joke and I said, you know, hey, look, the world's first trillionaire is an African American man. And uh I mean, talking about Elon Musk, who's from South Africa. Hey, look. It was uh, but uh sh and they just dude, I tried to get on my account and it was just perma banned. Couldn't even log in. So my wife thought that one was funny at least. So that's good. That's a good one. That's a good one. Uh sorry. Sorry, we got off on a tangent there. Sorry, Denny.

SPEAKER_01

Bro, this episode is brought to you by TBI. It happens all the time. Let's go. That's just a common occurrence here. Good, good, good. Usually when it's like a resource or a doctor interview, there's like a, there's a, you can't see it on screen, but there's a nice, there's a nice iPad right here that says, stay on target, you dumb son of a bitch. Okay, so the iPad's a book.

SPEAKER_03

The iPad today says, shoot from the hip, baby. Yeah, I'll I do want to be clear. Like when I do my my videos, if you know somebody's watching this, they're like, all right, let's check out this. I don't have a script or anything. I purely, like I said, I spectate on X or just like wherever. Someone one of my buddies, you know, from the Navy sends me something. And uh, oh hi, buddy. Oh, here's Bandit. Come here, bud. Make an make an intro.

unknown

Come here. Come here.

SPEAKER_03

There he is. There he is. Oh, I am. Is that a giant schnauzer? He no, dude. He is actually okay, go down, buddy. You're a big boy. He's a one-year-old German Shepherd poodle mix. Wow. Although we think we are lied to, and he's actually just uh a uh a wolf hound, but we I dude, I picked him up at a horse farm and I said, You're coming with me. So he's a big dude's 87 pounds, he's huge. Oh my god. Sorry, sorry, like I said, we're 80 ADHD is just ripping. Um it's a perfect mix. Yeah, but yeah, so I've got the he's he's he saw me come home to to do this. Um and uh he was like, oh, it's time for an adventure. And I said, not yet, buddy, gotta hold on. Um but yeah, so so uh bandit helps me with my videos as well. But what I mean, like I literally, like you said, you know, stay

No Script Just Walk And Think

SPEAKER_03

on track. Like when I do my videos, I don't have a script or anything. I just I just find stuff on X that I think is just insane, you know, from the day, and I copy and paste it into a notes thing, and then I just kind of I write like maybe a joke or two. But then I take Bandit on a walk, and the entire time I'm on the walk, I just kind of think about it. I just kind of think.

SPEAKER_01

You know what you're describing? You're just you're actually describing like something that doctors, like like brief service members have TBI on how to like focus and like start their day with clarity. Like that's that is exactly it. And if like, and it's a mix of stoicism because they'll they'll tell you like start your day with a walk. Like, if you need to be creative, you're not gonna be creative sitting in front of the computer. And all this time I thought I was a dumbass.

SPEAKER_03

We're doing right, bud. Unbelievable. You're a fucking genius, dude.

SPEAKER_02

I knew that. Every kid that's been trying to be like a comedian is like, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_03

Jenny, I'm too scared to take an IQ test. I don't want to know my strength or weakness.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we didn't what was your ASVAB score? It was high. It was okay.

SPEAKER_03

Let's let's get into this because I think that's I I since we're we are on a veteran podcast and we're talking about the boys. I have to tell, like, I I had a really funny Navy. Well, I didn't have a funny, I had a very sad Navy career. Um as as many do. Um but yeah, I sorry, Denny, if you had more questions, please ask me.

SPEAKER_01

No, dude, this is exactly the way the the entire conversation is gonna go like this.

SPEAKER_03

All right, great, great, great. As I said before, I just pulled up, you know, your page, and I was like, oh, who did he have on last? And it said Joe Kent. I said, oh fuck.

SPEAKER_01

Surprise. Dude, another great dude, he's just like us, except more, like he's more eloquent, way more educated than I am. But he's still at his heart. And that's the thing I love about not to go on a Joe Kent, I love you tangent, but No, it's great. I'm a genuine good dude. Like, you can literally like take him off the street, put him back on the team room, a guarantee like he'll still be the guy that you want to work with. Like that genuine, that good of a dude.

SPEAKER_03

I don't doubt it. I don't doubt it. I know that uh there's a lot of, you know. Well, as is this world in this country at the moment. There's a there's quite the divide. But I'm like, every time I hear Joe talk, I'm like, this guy seems pretty genuine to me.

SPEAKER_01

You don't have the career that he had on a on an ODA and afterwards uh by being a piece of shit. Like that's the one thing where like I remember like watching all the hate come out, and I'm like, that's exactly the type of leadership you want. Like, hey, I can't be a part of this. Instead of being one of those guys we're just fucking, I I just sit here earning money being a piece of shit, I'm walking away. Yeah, it's admirable.

SPEAKER_03

It's awesome. It's awesome. You you know, you'd think that uh, you know, that's a good example of leadership. Yeah, I wish we had more, but here we are. Yeah. Yeah. So anyways, man, you know, yeah. We love you, Joe.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Well, that's it. Like I said, like I said, you know, when you when we first got on here, we're like, yeah, man, we're just doing it. I said, yeah, dude, your last guest was Joe Ken. I'm fucked. Um yeah, dude, let me get into my let me get into my shambles of a Navy career for the boys here.

Quitting Sales To Join Up

SPEAKER_03

Um, where do I start? Uh okay, so I'm from Dallas, Texas. I'll just give you the whole rundown. From Dallas. I'm a Texan, um, you know, very prideful as many of us are. And uh, and then forever, all the folks at home, we were Denny and I were just talking. He's since he's saying he's living in the south, I went to Ole Miss for my undergrad. Shout out to Hottie Toddy to all the all the revs out there. Uh, and then, dude, I went, I you know, I know this is like common for some people, I guess, but like I got out of college and I went into the workforce and I was just, you know, an ex-frat star piece of shit. I was like, yeah, I'm taking my taking my paycheck and taking it straight to the clerk, dude. I would said, screw it. And I was we were having a great time. I have to interject. Do you watch I think you should leave? Uh yes, I've seen some of it, but it's it's so cringy that it makes it makes me hurt.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I fucking love that show. I was gonna make a sloppy stake joke, but it's never funny. I have seen that one.

SPEAKER_02

I was a huge piece of shit. Huge piece of shit. Slick back hair, sloppy stakes. Sloppy stakes, huge piece of shit.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, five audience members get that. But we were close.

SPEAKER_03

No, no. Me and you know, I was in a good, you know, we had a we had the highest GP on campus. Play hard party aren't you? Um, but so I got out of school. That was like 2016. Benny, hold on, I'm talking to Danny. Oh I got out of school, and man, I went into the workforce. Like I said, I was, you know, I I got a marketing degree from school, and I just went straight into straight into sales, you know, just didn't know what I was doing. Just thought like everybody did, you know, hey, I got a college degree. This is the path. It's gonna work out. And now, you know, you know, this this whole thing about universities is coming out, it's you know, it's insanity. But um like I was probably three years into the workforce, maybe this was like 29, 2018, 2019. I was working downtown Dallas on a sales floor with like 70 people. I was just having a bad day. It was just like, man, this sucks. Fuck this. And I texted one of my fraternity brothers, a dear friend of mine. His name's Harry. Shout out, Harry. Uh uh, old Hare Bear. And Hare Bear, he was a an infantry officer, and he had just gotten back from Syria. And uh he's told me some stories, you know, some fun, some exciting shit. Uh, and I was like, dude, Harry, I know this is you know, I know you just came back from Syria and that probably fucking sucked. Um, but like I want to do cool shit, dude. I'm I'm sitting here, like I've always I'm a patriot. I've always loved this country. Like I go shooting all the time. I'm a hunter, like I I love the military. What do I do? And he goes, What do you mean, dude? You just have to go to the recruiter. Dude, I stood up from my job, quit my job within the net like 45 seconds after, like, duh, quit my job. Drow didn't tell anybody, just walked out. Um, well, it was more I wrote a at least a letter and said, here you go. I quit. Um don't read that right now. Give me five minutes. Yeah.

Boot Camp And BUD/S Prep Reality

SPEAKER_03

I'm a good employee. I wasn't like a shitbag. See ya. I like at least wrote a letter. Um, yeah, and then I left and I went to the closest recruiter uh that I could find, and I did one of those things like classic, like every single other office was closed except for the Navy, and I was fucking ready. I was like, let's go. I was hindsight, should have waited maybe for the Air Force guy to get back. Uh but I dude, I walked in and uh shit. I now I'm reasonable. I'm telling all these stories publicly now, but here we go. I walked in and I was like, yo, dude, I want the hardest job you got, you know? Uh and he was like, that's a seal. And I said, fuck you. Let's let it rip. Sign or sign me up. I did the cool, cool. Where do I sign? You know? Uh and he was like, hey, dude, you gotta like pass all these tests and shit. I was like, ah, fucking lame. Um, yeah, dude. So from there though, I was like, uh-oh, I just quit my job and I didn't realize that this was like a get on the bus type thing. Like, yeah, for anybody watching this and you are like thinking about joining the military, you're gonna learn the terms, hurry up and wait. Okay, that's what you're gonna do. Uh they don't care about your career, um, for the most part. Um, but uh, so anyways, long story short, you know, I did the PSTs and I did everything, and I like found out really quickly, Denny, that I was a good swimmer. Um, you know, dude, taught myself how to combat sidestroke in a in a uh YMCA swimming pool. Oh shit. With the, I think it was um who's that guy? He has all the video, he has like the buds prep book and stuff. Uh either way, I was like watching the YouTube video and I was like, okay, you know, pool. You know, and so I taught myself how to do the pool, ended up, you know, this is my only bragging right because I'm not a seal. Um, you know, swam like a seven-minute 500 after teaching myself in the pool. I was a fish. Yeah, a real fish. And I was like, okay, I I got this. Not a good runner, Denny. Not a good runner, my man. If any of my buddies from Buds or the Navy see this, they're gonna say, hey, that's Jar Jar Banks. Because when I run, I'm six, I'm 6'3, 230, and I'm and so they were calling me Jar Jar Banks on the beach, dude. It was crazy.

SPEAKER_02

Holy shit.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I can picture it right now, dude.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not great. And now and and now like running is like one of my favorite things to do. And people are like, oh, why do you like running so much? I'm like, because nobody's fucking chasing me. Like I can just run at a normal pace. Oh man. So how far did you make it through buds? Not far, dude. Not far. Um, so I'll I'll get to that because we I've got a few more things here. But um kind of like the moral of my like Navy story, though, is like I went into the Navy. Finally, you know, got sorry everybody, I'm I'm delaying the the punchlines here. Finally got into the Navy, but dude, I'm like training all of 2019. And I think we all know what happened in 2020. Oh yeah. So I'm like, I'm and then they push back. I'm supposed to go to boot camp in like January 2020. And like at that point in time, like I said, I'd quit my job. My parents had found out, my older brother was cracking up because he was like, no way. I said, yeah. Um, you know, I'm like living at my parents' house. I'm doing like prison workouts in the in the driveway trying to get ready to go to fucking buds. I'm like, uh-oh, this is might be hard. Spoiler alert, it is. Uh and uh so then COVID hits. I'm like, oh no. But it's good, you know, I have more time to train. I have like six more months to train. You know, felt like I was in, you know, a good spot. And then I went to went to boot camp like in July, actually, of like 2020. So shovid delayed stuff a ton. Dude, went to boot camp. And Jenny, I I don't know a ton about your career, but I'm sure you had a similar thought. Right when you get to boot camp, you get off that bus, you start looking around. I keep in mind, I enlisted with a degree to go to Buds because that is the easiest route to get to the beach. I'm 25 years old, dude. And I show up at enlisted boot camp and no shades, the enlisted men, homies. I'm a seaman E3. Dude, I got to boot camp and I just looked around and I said, uh-oh. What have I done? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Dude. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And they're and you know, you're getting yelled at. I'm getting yelled at by uh they had one of the um, I can't even remember what they're called at Navy boot camp, but like one of them was like a small lady, and she's yelling up at me, and I'm like, she's just giving me the business, and I'm like, what the fuck? What have I done? Um so, anyways, but I was in a cool boot camp class. Back then there was like 800 classes, which were like we were all gonna be in the same either BUDS class or like SWIC class, which was sick. Cause like we were like, okay, cool, everybody's pretty like-minded in here, everybody's in shape. We were every boot camp thing we did, they were like, we just smoked it, you know, we're like crushing the physical fitness tests and stuff. Uh but during COVID, they had some BUDS instructors who were real pissed off because they were stuck at the boot camp uh base. Oh, and they just had our our um you know instructors or whatever drop us off at like 4 a.m. at the at the train. And it was like getting dropped off, and your parents leave, and these SEALs were pissed. And they were like, we're drowning somebody today, you know. And uh, but I mean it was so fun in hindsight. So, like, you know, if you're watching this, you know, it was still fun. It's great. The military is is in hindsight, was the best thing that I ever did. Um long story short, we went to prep. Uh, Bud's prep was still like up there next to the boot camp. Now it's, I think it's in Coronado. I'm not totally sure. I have no idea, but um they put me in charge, Denny.

Morale Chaos During COVID Prep

SPEAKER_03

They put me in charge. They said uh the class before us was leaving, and I was friends with one of the guys who was like in charge of that class. He's probably somewhere doing really cool shit right now. Uh good dude. But he was like, hey, Porter, like everybody knows who you are. I'm fucking loud, clearly. Um, and people liked me. And I and that's great. And I don't want anybody to not like me, you know, it's my personality. I want I want to make your be friends with you. Um, but they put me in charge of this buds prep class, and it's like 400 dudes. And me and my buddy Dan are in charge, and the instructors just love to watch me squirm, dude. They were, you know, we'd do the big like uh Fridays, we'd like get out on the turf field, but this is north of Chicago, so it's like two degrees outside. Fuck that. Two degrees outside. It's like 3 a.m. And and uh they we were the last Buds class ever, or Bud's prep class at least, to get issued um uh woodland. What is it, M81? M81? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we had the we had the woodland, we felt cool. We have these big puffer jackets from like Vietnam that they dug out. But we're freezing. And they're they got us. We had one um we basically did like grinder PT like on this football field at this base. It's fucking frozen ground. But we were there for so long because it was during COVID, we were there for like six months. And we were we were there during um Halloween, diddy. We fucking ordered costumes, like tons of costumes, but like slutty cheerleader costumes and shit, dude. And we and we ordered like 500 fake mustaches. So the first, it's oh it's Halloween morning, 3 a.m. We're on this field like doing grinder PT, and uh everybody's like, put on your fake mustache. And I'm standing like pretty close to the front, if I believe if I'm because I was like one of the guys in charge. Yeah, I was at least in charge of like a book, whatever. I was standing like in the front uh with my buddy Dan, and we all have our mustaches on, and like some guys have handlebars, some guys have, you know, Charlie Chaplin's rocking. Some guys have the pet people, you know. I've just got like a normal whatever. The instructors come out, we do the call-out for the instructors. We're like, yo, instructor, such and such. And it's dark, and they start hitting people with spotlights, and one of the instructors, where the fuck did you get this mustache? And that nobody's saying a word. An instructor on the other side of the field goes, they all have mustaches. So needless to say, we got our asses beat for a while. Uh, worth it. Pretty funny. Um, pretty funny. And then that day we got in a lot of trouble because we started doing like the collaterals at the end of the training day. We all snuck off and changed into these costumes. Oh no. I can never run for political office because there's a picture of me in a French maid outfit, Denny. And I, dude, dude, I'm standing in front of the instructor office, you know, and I'm like standing there, like in this stupid outfit with my broom, and I like knock like a good little sailor, and I'm like, standing by for cleaners or whatever we're, you know, we were supposed to say. Instructor opens the door, takes one look at me, looks down the hallway, and there's just 400 dudes dressed up. Dude, there was a full, there's a full boat crew of seven guys just in BDSM masks. We start getting beat in the hallway. And there's like a full Japanese schoolgirl section doing burpees. They've got me outside doing push-ups in the maid outfit. It was crazy. So sorry, I just remembered that. I'm I'm really on that. I I hadn't forgotten about that until I started reliving that. That was insane, dude. Holy shit. They but they were pissed because they were like, dude, you guys, it's fucking 2020. It's you know, peak woke, dude. We so that instructor was like, one of the instructors comes out and he goes, You guys need to get go change, go change, go change. You know, we got changed, we got to talk into. Um, if anybody from the DOD sees this, clearly this is a joke. Uh this is all alleged.

SPEAKER_01

Alleged if things that happened did not happen.

SPEAKER_03

I've got I have head trauma, guys.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know. Okay. I'm making I'm making all of this up.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Shout out to the boys, though. That was a fun day. That was a fun day. So long story short, though, I get to we get to Cornato. Finally, some officers show up, so I'm not in charge anymore. Dear God. Uh I'm not the look, I am, I like to feel like I'm I'm a uh I'm a morale leader, clearly. I like to keep the I like the vibes have to be up for the boys. Like I just want everybody to be, you know. That's who I am. I I I'm, you know, I just want the Chief Vibe Officer. Don't be sad. Let's be happy, you know. But, you know, like we could have been a little bit more punctual to a few things. It's fine. Uh dude, we got there though. This is kind of this is a story that I tell everybody, and I'll and I'll do it quick because I know I'm burning daylight here. But uh, dude, you're good. Dude, first buds class.

BUD/S Injury And Bay Infection

SPEAKER_03

Um, I guess I can say numbers now. I, you know, I've I guess I'd have never told these stories really on like someone like this, but shout out to 347, the real the in the trenches. Uh class 347, dude, was a gnarly bad class. It started in like February. It was it was like one of the only times. Maybe they were just saying that. Maybe it's not one of the only times. We can have AI figure this out. Dude, we got hailed on uh during a swim. It was like, you know, 40-degree air temp. Coronado Beach, you think Southern California is gonna be a nice time? And it's also I just bonked my dog. But yeah, so I mean, I have so many good friends from that class, and like I like I said, I didn't make it through, but a bunch of the guys did, and that you know, they're hopefully having great careers. I still talk to a lot. I just I got married in January, and and a bunch of the guys got to come, which was sick.

SPEAKER_01

Hell yes, dude.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, dude. I had two of the guys in my wedding party and like didn't think he was gonna shoot, didn't think they were gonna be able to show up, and they did, which was so, so sick. So very blessed uh on that front. But um, yeah, so that first buds class, that was 347. Um, many people know this story that know me personally, but uh I got like one one day was a super gnarly day. You know, people are dropping like flies. You know, dude, guy next to me, we're running out on the grinder. Uh this is when the there's a new buds compound being built. So there's a lot of construction on the buds compound. So we're like running off the beach and we're like coming into the grinder and we're doing our three, four, seven hoo-yah. And we're I'm fucking terrified. I'm running. The kid next to me hits a piece of concrete from the thing, knocks himself out first 20 seconds of yeah, DQs himself. I said, Oh, we've already got one casualty, dude. Uh, so then we just start doing burpees. I can, you know, hear the bell ring, and it was you know nightmarish fun in the in in uh in retrospect. But that night, so this is just one one day, that night, we're like doing one last surf hit. It's like a quarter mile from the grinder to the surf. And I'm running, and I'm like, oh my god, you know, one day under my belt, like we did it, you know. Fucking took one step, Denny, and I just felt my leg go and I said, Oh, dude, no. Fracture underneath the knee. Not only that, though, this isn't the worst part. They misdiagnosed me and said I didn't have a fracture because my leg was so infected. Dude, we did a swim in the bay that day. Hey, shout out. If you ever go to Coronado, do not swim in the bay. The Tijuana sludge comes in there. So there, I don't know if you know that. Yeah, there's been a lot of reporting lately on that. Yes, dude. I got my leg got so infected. Any doctors listening to this, I got a thing called necrotizing fasciitis. No.

SPEAKER_01

But you know, I mean, were you uh Oh, bro, yes, that is the the they start talking about just lopping the friggin' the legs or the like wherever it's at. Like holy shit.

SPEAKER_03

Yep, yep. But it gets it gets worse because this is during COVID. So we my so my swim buddy, dear friend of mine, I can't, he's doing other things, so you know, shout out to the homies. Uh he um, dude, he had to cut my pants off, cuts my cuts my boot off that night, uh, because medical's closed, the instructors are gone, it's like midnight. We're trying to do collaterals. We got to be up at 3 a.m. to set the logs up. You know, it's fuck now, now I'm scared. Now I'm like, uh-oh, I've got a broken leg. Because uh one of the officers was an EMT. We had a couple other EMTs in the class. Every single one of them was like, you got a broken leg. I said, uh-oh. Uh dude, I'm so dehydrated though, that I'm delirious and I'm like, fuck, this hurts so bad. One of my friends comes in and gives me like 2,000 milligrams of Tylenol to try and cut this. Dude, it dehydrates me so bad. When I wake up in the morning, this infection hits, I'm blasting like a 103 fever, and I'm like, but I still got to get out onto the beach. So like I'm trying to shave my face. This fucking beard grows like a weed. I'm trying to shave my face. I'm like, duh, people are trying to help me. I get ready. There's a fucking magical crutch at the bottom of the stairs, and nobody told me I couldn't use it. So I just grab it and I'm like, okay, I found a crutch. I'm being resourceful. Dude, I get out onto the beach and the instructors show up and they are pissed.

SPEAKER_02

They're like, why the fuck does this guy have a crutch? I'm like, no.

SPEAKER_03

They take it from me, they throw it into the water. I'm like, oh. They're just, you know, every all hell breaks loose. Um, all in good fun. Uh finally, one of the instructors and one of the corpsmen come over and they're like, hey, your leg looks pretty bad. And I said, I would have to agree with you, instructor. Uh so then I'm like, in my head, I'm like, okay. You know, I didn't, I didn't just get DQ'd like, and but it was also one of those things in my head, as you know, Denny, it's like, my adrenaline's pumping so much. And I'm like, I don't want to be, sorry, family show. I don't want to be a pussy. I'm like, yeah. Am I injured or am I being a wuss? And then they're like, and then they tell me all this at the hospital. I've got necrotizing fasciis. I said, I guess I wasn't being a wuss. Success. I'm not a pussy. Yes, dude. I was like, so amped. I was like, yes, I'm the fuck. I knew I was, you know, injured. But this is COVID. So uh long story short, one of the instructors is like, Porter, get over the berm and get to medical right fucking hour. Like, we're gonna keep, you know, water immersing you. And I said, Okay. And I'm I crawl up the berm and I just roll down the other side and I get up on one leg and I'm just hopping to the barracks. I change, I get to medical, and I'm like, I gotta go to the hospital. They say, uh-uh, not so fast. We gotta check you for COVID. I said, Oh, we don't have time for this. We don't have time for this. Um, don't have COVID. I like start blacking out because I'm like, you know, I'm tired, I'm, I'm, I'm blown, I'm having a fever, and I'm like dehydrated. And that's the last thing I know, I dude. I wake up in the back of the duty van in front of Balboa hospital. The only thing I'm wearing is my white shirt with my last name on it, my tri-shorts, like my underwear, my socks, and my fucking helmet. So do that first. I stumble into the ER. I'm still like pretty wet. I'm just wearing a t-shirt, underwear, and I have my buds helmet, and I stumble into the ER, and this lady and this little girl in the ER, and she just goes, oh, and like covers her. I'm like, sorry. They take me back immediately. They're like checking out my leg. They, you know, X-ray, MRI, the whole the works. I'm like, okay, I have a broken leg. That's probably the worst of it. Dude, they come in with 20 nurses and like four doctors and a captain. And the captain walks in, a Navy captain, and I was like, oh. So I try to stand up, and he goes, No, son, stay there. And I said, nope, yes, sir. He goes, son, we're gonna have to take that lag. I said, What? Oh, well, oh, I'm freaking out, Daddy. Admin revealed. Dude, they had, I'm so freaking out that they had to hit me with a morphine drip. I mean, I wasn't like, I was in a lot of pain. But they hit me with a morphine drip, and I'm like, whoa, you know, I start getting loose. And I was fucking leg. I'm good. I was like, sure, Cap, pop, toss over a pin. Let's sign this thing, you know? Signed amputation paperwork. Uh, they wheel me into the uh, you know, into the, I'm sure you know plenty, I'm sure everybody watching this knows people with worse injuries, but they wheeled me into the uh uh, you know, the operating room, and I'm so whacked out on morphine. There's a guy in the corner like sharpening the saw. And it was like the scene from that Harry Potter where the guy has the scythe, and he's like, and I'm like, ow! He's probably so stoked. He's been waiting to do this forever. He's like, oh my god, I'm gonna get to cut one off, dude. Um last thing I did before I uh got put put under was I stood up from the chair. They had already, I didn't realize they had already taken my my hospital gown off. So at this point, I'm just butt-naked. And the place is full. There's like 10 nurses in there and the doctors, and they're ready to go, like steriled up. And I said, Doc, I'm using this leg one more time, baby. I walked over to the toilet in the corner and I just started peeing. And I turn around and they're like, Are you ready? I said, Okay. Long story short, everybody, sorry.

Amputation Paperwork And Waking Up

SPEAKER_03

I wake up and uh they didn't have to take my leg off. So, yeah. Still got her. But to this day, like all of my friends, I got sent to the hospital, and all my friends in 347 were like, dude, we were getting beat. You know, we were doing a run. We saw you in the water, you know, solo, just you know, you know, the instructors were doing what the instructors were are supposed to do. And they were like, dude, we thought you died. And then and then the instructors started telling them that they had to chop my leg off, and they're like, No!

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so um Dude, how much did they end up having to like remove? Was uh the a lot of necrotic tissue or yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So so this is I dude, I'm su I'm just the luckiest bastard on the planet, apparently. And um, but they went in, you know, orthoscopic with the thing, and they're like, hey, dude, we caught it right at the front. And they had to take out a little bit of tissue, but they were like, they told me they were like, hey, because all day I was like, oh my God, dude, I just left, I just left buds. Like, I I just made a huge mistake. And they're like, dude, if you would have waited another 12 hours, they're like, we're taking that thing off at the hip. And I said, okay, good. Thank God I'm here then. Um God's plan, man. He's got a plan. I know. I yeah, I I I would have to say, uh, I re-found the Lord in the Navy, dude. I'm like. So the next, there's some other funny stuff, but I've I've already taken too much time here.

SPEAKER_01

No, dude, this is your story. I'm we're we're this is there's no look, man, like the um the reality is like you're sharing your story right now, and there's somebody out there saying, like, oh shit, I can relate to that. Like, bro, that fear, that fear of I didn't even have a fraction of that. There's moments in a cue course where I thought, like, I took um the one thing is like always wear your fucking safety glasses or your your iPro while you're going through the woods. I remember one day, I'm like, fuck, these things are all scratched up. And I'm like going through patrols, like, all right, your point, man. Of course. Boom, stick right in the fucking eye. I'm like, fuck. Just walk it over. I just lost my eye. Yeah, I'm like, I'll just fake it. I'll I'll just fake it. I'm fine. Kadri walks by. He's like, what the fuck's wrong with you? Nothing. What do you mean? I had these glasses on the whole time.

SPEAKER_03

Totally blessed, though. Totally blessed. That's one thing, and I that's one thing that I would have to say about the military. Like, uh when I say the military, I'm talking, I'm still talking about NSW. I'm still talking about buds. Like, I learned so much in buds, but like one of the things is like, like that, dude, the attention to detail, dude. I still get scared. Like, I sharpen my knife because I'm like, what happens if, you know, it's like, dude, gotta sharpen them up. Um, dude, I always I loved it so much. It was so fun. But uh, like I said, I was not successful. Um, so the only other funny thing that happened in the hospital really fast was uh I woke, I wake up the next day from the procedure. I'm fine. None of my family, dude. My girlfriend, who is now my wife at the time, had no idea what was happening. My now wife found out because my older brother called her and goes, Can you believe it? We've already got a lieutenant Dan. No. My older brother's a savage. He's a savage. Um, so that happened. And then uh also, I guess it was it was probably only day three of that, because I was in the hospital for at least a week and a half or two weeks, just on, you know, hooked up to all the IVs they had trying to get rid of this thing, which, you know, whatever. Um I wake up one morning, they're trying to test vitals on me, Denny, and they're and they they turn on the TV and it goes straight to the weather channel. And the first words out of the weather guy's mouth is, it's gonna be a bad day in Coronado.

SPEAKER_02

And I went, oh, I freaked out.

SPEAKER_03

I freaked out, and all my friends in the class were like, yeah, dude, we were on a swim and it was like 12 foot swells in out just off the coast, you know, where the dude we would do the swims. And they said they started hailing, and like the instructors had to cancel the swim. That's how bad it was. And I was like, oh no. And I even asked one of the nurses, I said, Am I gonna go back? And the nurse goes, No, sweetie, you're here for a while. And I said, Thank God. So um I'll get I'll get off this, I'll get off this soapbox. But that's that's like one of my that's like the best story I probably have from the Navy.

Rehab Duty And A Second Attempt

SPEAKER_03

But you know, long story short, I went into the the the rehab PTR or the physical therapy, rehab rehabilitation. Um we had many nicknames for that, obviously. Uh and um uh actually kind of a cool thing, I was house mouse for Commander Geary at the time, who was the uh CO of BUDS. And uh he was the he's the officer in the Buds documentary, um, from a long time ago. Yep. Commander, he's now Captain Geary, I guess. I don't know. Um Had some interesting conversations with that man. Uh he he also liked to watch me squirm, which dude, I'd I'd answer the phone. I'd I still know the thing. You know, this is NSWBTC. This is Eman Porter. How may I help you, sir, Member Chief? This is an on-secure line. And they dude, I'm feed, dude, Denny, I'm fielding calls from like the Pentagon. And Commander Geary's like, no, tell that guy to F off. And I just go, sir, I cannot tell him that. Sir, sir, please don't make me.

SPEAKER_01

I said, fuck and tell him the fuck off.

SPEAKER_03

Sir, I'm an E3 with broken legend. Mr.

SPEAKER_01

McConnell? Mitch.

SPEAKER_04

Literally.

SPEAKER_03

Literally, dude. I was like doing shit like that. Um so then, long story short, this, you know, this is when the when the the tough part comes. But like I went into the next class. I went into 350, which is another class with all my pals. A lot of us got hurt in 347. Like, I think it was like a 70%. Dude, we had like 70% of the guys were in the hospital. It was a gnarly class. I've got a lot of friends that have, you know, some things to say about that, but that's not what this podcast is about. Apparently, we were told that uh some of those classes in that three, like 346 to like 352, because 352 is when our classmate Kyle Mullen passed away in Hell Week, which Oh, yeah. Yeah, R B to Kyle, dude. He was my boker leader in 350. It was a good dude. No shit. Um, but like that's some guy was like, Yeah, I told somebody there, I was like, I was like, Yeah, dude, I'm I didn't make it. Like, I'm you know, but like I was in 347 and 350, and they some guy was like, Oh yeah, the dark ages, and I said, What? We don't speak of those times. It was the COVID classes, dude. Oh, dude, they fucking were giving us these COVID shots mid-class. I'm talking like, hey, out of the water, unzipped your wetsuit. Johnson and Johnson, baby. Yeah. Yes. They were like, uh, they were like, hey, it's this or you have to ring. I mean, essentially. The instructors, the instructors weren't saying that. The instructors were like, fuck. But, you know, big Navy was saying that. And so I was like, dude, I'm not gonna fucking, I just got here, you know? I'm so I guess I'm getting the J and J. And you know, here we are now. Uh, but uh yeah, that that's a crazy deal. So, anyways, going to 350. Long story short, get clapped, Deddy. Just I'm not ready for it. And and it's one of those things too where the I think the injury psyched me out a ton. I was like, dude. Yeah, yeah, dude. That's a lot to try to come back from, man. Well, it's not only that. I I lost faith in myself, which which is which is the killer. It's the killer curse. So anybody watching this, if you think I'm a pussy, that's fine. Uh, but if you're trying to go to a selection, or I'm I'm sure there's been plenty of discussions on this podcast about that. And like, dude, don't lose faith in yourself. Fuck.

SPEAKER_01

We see it in athletes, we see it in high performers all the time, man. All the freaking time.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And it just, it was one of those things where, you know, as stupid as it is, it's not stupid. It's serious. Like, I just didn't have a good why, man. I was like, I want to be Charlie Sheen in the skylight. And I was like, that's not gonna do it, dude. That's not gonna fucking cut it. So I left. Uh, and then that's when the real troubles start in the Navy because the Navy, I'm not sure if people know, they put you on a boat.

Life As An Undesignated Sailor

SPEAKER_03

I didn't realize that I don't like boats, man. Um, dude, they made me an undesignated sailor. I was 26 years old. 26 years old. I had a 92 ASVAB, you know, just came out of buds. I was like, oh, cool, they're gonna make me like air. Master barbs, at least, at least. At least, or maybe like, fuck, maybe I could get Corman. That could be cool, you know. Fuck yeah. Fucking walked in there. This chick took one look at me and said, I've got the job for you. Undez. So I spent the rest of my time undez on the USS Nemets. And uh, I'll tell you what though, dude. In hindsight, like it was the worst of times, it was the best of times, but it was one of those where I was like, you know what? I'm gonna take this time to fucking wrestle with this failure, you know, and also kind of figure out what the fuck I'm doing. And, you know, in hindsight, I wish I was a little bit nicer to some people on that boat because I was pissed. That's how it goes, man. Come on, Chase. Fuck you. Dude, but I Denny, that's what I realized too, though. I'm an undesignated sailor. You can't gain rank as an undesignated sailor. They can't take rank as an undesignated sailor. And I'm on this boat, baby, 10 months out to sea. And if anybody told me to do something, I mean, I was a good sailor. I was still doing the job. I was plunging toilets, baby. Those toilets have never been cleaner. But like, if somebody got in my grill, I was like, nah, fuck you. And they'd say, You can't say that. I said, What are you gonna do? Take rank? I'm fucking untouchable, dude. I'm undesignated sailor. I'm just here. Now, excuse me, I got some skin marks to clean. Yeah, I was like, excuse me, uh, they're starting Lord of the Rings in the Chow Hall, and I gotta get in there, you know? Um so that's just some that's just a personal thing. Like, it, you know, fuck man. Undesignated sailor is not. That's hard, dude. That's hard. And like I said, I I I could have been a better sailor in hindsight. Um, but dude, coming at, you know, not making it through the selection was a personal choice that I made. But it was also like one of those who was like, fuck, dude, how do you pick up these pieces? And now I'm and now I've just been told that I don't even have a a career in the Navy. Like I just got out of the Navy and people are like, oh, what was your rate? And I was like, I don't know.

unknown

I don't have a rate, dude.

SPEAKER_03

I on my on my DD214, it just says E3, no rate.

SPEAKER_01

Wow, dude. Yeah, that's nuts. Yeah, and like how do you stay motivated? How do you find a way forward when it's like, and that's a that's a brutal thing about the Navy. Like, you're just gonna be on this boat and you have no job.

SPEAKER_03

I read so many books, so many books, dude. But I read all the good ones. I was like, I'm reading the Bible now, which probably should have started there. Uh, but like, dude, I read every anybody was like, dude, this book's really helpful. I was like, fuck yeah. Like, you know, Man's Search for Meaning, all right. That's a great one. Old Victor. Dude, in hindsight, I'm like, dude, I sat on the fantail in the middle of the ocean and read books. Pretty nice time. You know, if I could go tell my past self to stop being a coward, I would. I'd be like, hey, dude, this is not bad here. Three square meals. I got to work out, I learned a lot of stuff on the boat. And you know what, dude? The best thing about the entire what I tell everybody about the Navy. In BUDs, you learn a lot about yourself and you learn fast. Uh, one of the one of the most insane, yeah, two things that I took away from BUDS, two things that instructors said. Uh, one of the instructors said, You're gonna find out more about yourself in the next 30 seconds than you have in the rest of your entire life. And I said, And I said, Well, that's possibly not true. And then we did logs, and I said, I'm finding out real quick how tough I am. And it's not as tough as I thought, dude. We're getting cranked.

SPEAKER_01

First time we do log PT in the pit at um at selection. Yeah. That's different. That's a different thing.

SPEAKER_03

Um, dude, I I didn't I was like, surely these logs aren't that heavy. I grabbed hold of it and I said, Oh, that's not fucked. That's a real fucking log, dude. That's a fucking I've always wondered what a telephone pole feels like. I looked at one of my buddies and I was like, is y'all's this heavy? Can I tip out your holster?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, man.

SPEAKER_03

It's Julia, man. The other, the the other thing that I actually got my thing here. I got my little fucking notebook. I always, one of the our first proctor in our class, dude, he stands up in front of everybody and goes, your class motto is Seek to Suffer.

SPEAKER_02

And I said, What the fuck did this guy just say?

SPEAKER_03

But dude, I write it on my, I'm on volume 11. Seek to suffer volume 11. And dude, that's just like one of those things where I'm like, dude, I keep everything light. Like all my videos, even the videos I'm talking about, I almost lost my leg. I was fucking laughing. I keep it light, but there's some times where I'm like, seek to suffer, dude. Let's let's get a little, you know, like, you know, even just a workout or something, it was such an important uh learning curve for me. Like I truly think God said, Chase, I'm gonna send you to the Navy and you're gonna get your ass kicked. Bad. And I said, Okay.

SPEAKER_01

I think I got I got pumped out the other side better for it.

Seek To Suffer And Grow

SPEAKER_01

So dude, that's let's fucking let's dive into that because they talk about that a lot. Um you do life, we everything that we see on social media, on TV, Netflix, whatever, it's just all about comfort. Every ad. You could sleep better if you have the comfort plus platinum package for your bed. Get this new, new, new seely comfort chair for your butthole to feel even better. My lower back is fucking shot.

unknown

You know.

SPEAKER_01

Everything's about comfort. But um, you're not gonna grow. You're not gonna find the best version of yourself unless you understand that suffering is a part of life. Suffer well. Like, we're in regardless of not becoming a seal, of not achieving that goal, you found something even more important, and that was the understanding of suffering, the importance of that. Even if in the moment, even if if in those remaining months on the Nimitz, you weren't keen in on that, that's a lesson that's paying out now.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, dude. You're Denny, I know you've known this, and I and I'm I'm probably saying stuff that people are probably listening to this right now and be like, yeah, no shit, dog. Well, not everybody, though. That's the important thing. Not everybody. Dude, I I had to. You're never gonna learn unless you get, you gotta get, you know, you gotta go find it. You gotta seek the suffer, dude. Yeah, you gotta get fucking rocked, dude. You you gotta get rocked. I've been rocked a couple. That was, you know, that's the big one. And I and and now that I've wasted this entire time talking about that, I will have to say though, like coming off the nimits too, dude.

Privilege Perspective And Serving Together

SPEAKER_03

I come from like a nice uh my dad has done well, he's worked hard. I'm I'm I come from a great family, and I'm definitely spoiled. I've been I've traveled all over the all over the planet. I've you know, we go hunting, we go on vacations. Dude, when I got into the fleet on the Nimitz, the one, the number one thing I learned about human nature, I said, holy shit. Dude, I learned a lot about people and I learned a lot about myself, and I said, I've got a very privileged life. Like, I'm like Yeah, dude. Dude, I've met a bunch of guys who are, you know, dear friends on uh on the ship. One of them was like, dude, I was fully gonna be homeless if I didn't join the military. And I was like, fuck. And I'm complaining about my situation. What an asshole I am. And dude, I had no idea. Now I'm like, so that's something that the the other thing about the Navy that taught me. I was like, dude, even when I'm driving around my car and I fuck, I'm like, hey, screw you, asshole. I'm like, dude, I don't know this person. This person could be having the worst day of their life, and I'm yelling at them from my car for no reason. Yeah, that's it's just I learned so much about people, especially in this country. Um, and then I talked about it on one of my videos the other day. Uh, I was rackmates with this kid from the Philippines. He's just trying to get his citizenship. I'm like, dude, like he's putting in the work to get his citizenship. I'm like, I've I've learned so much. I'm like, dude, I'm so blessed to be an American and like in this country. It's awesome. I loved it. At the time, I was like, fuck this. You know, I thought I was getting less patriotic, but no, I was learning more about this country. And I was like, hold on. This is a beautiful, we have a beautiful society. Um, we have a beautiful country. So, you know. And and there's a lot of people there's a lot of people that are willing to put their life on the line, the military to be a part of it. That's badass. So that was sick.

SPEAKER_01

Um, man, that uh I I challenge everybody, especially not the, you know, I say kids, but every young man, every young woman, like go serve. Like, not just National Guard, not reserve, nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying go active duty, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Army, go explore and and be exposed to another part of the world, be exposed to other cultures, other people. That was that's it's it's so amazing to be able to look back at the friendships, the camaraderie, the being exposed to where everybody else comes from around this world, man. Like your experience is just that, just yours. There's a whole side of this country, very various parts of our country that you don't know anything about. Get to know them, get to know people. I will tell you, like everybody talks about how bad this country is, but I will tell you, like, the greatest place I've ever been on to show you how like united you really can be is Fort Brag. Like to make some people you will meet at Fort Bragg. You have dudes from the inner city, from Detroit, dudes who are gang members in LA with country kids from Iowa, and they're all hanging out on a Friday night. They're all hanging out on a Saturday night. Like it's like the people that you think that don't belong together, they're sitting there making bonds that will last a lifetime, dude. Dude. A lifetime.

SPEAKER_03

Truly, truly some of the best, just just unbelievable experiences. Like, there were some bad stuff that happened on the ship. Like people always ask me, like, oh, everybody was so squared away on the ship. I was like, no, there's some still some sh serious shitheads out there. But like, dude, you know, I learned how to shoot dice on that ship kind of thing. I had to tell the boys in the barber shop, I said, hey guys, look, I'm not trying to get a fade. I'm I'm way too white for that, you know? Yes, dude. But dude, it was awesome. And like I said, I, you know, I've I've probably forgotten. I've just my wife is, I'm so glad my wife is is not here. She's like, oh my God, you're just going on a rant about the name. But like, when I get to talk to guys like you who you've served at such a high level, Dinny, and then like I was, oh, you know who I was talking to when my DMs say is I'm uh I become like kind of pals with like Chris Fettis.

SPEAKER_02

Um No way. Yeah, dude, we're homies.

SPEAKER_03

We're homies in line. Um and I was like, yeah, dude, I'm going on Dinny's secure hall. He was like, oh yeah, dude, I have some mutual friends with him. I was like, okay, cool, cool. It's like not gonna get but like but like what I'm I guess what I'm saying is when I get to talk to you guys now, like, now let me, you know,

Post Military Fear And Career Drift

SPEAKER_03

sorry, gang. I got I've gotten out of the Navy. I've been out for probably three years now. So it's been a little while, and I've been I've just been doing some tech sales. I work uh for our family business. My dad's trying to retire, God bless him. And uh he was like, I don't know how he made it this far, Denny. He doesn't know how to turn on the computer, but I'm there for him, you know. So, you know, I'm I'm I'm helping the family. I'm also um I'm trying to, I I've been trying to join a fire department. Uh way. It's coming along. I don't I don't want to, you know, if I talk about it too much, you know. Don't want to jinx it. We don't want to jinx it. Right, right, right, right, right, right. Okay. Um yeah, but uh I guess that's what I'm saying is now I have like I've gotten out and I've and I guess anybody who's getting out of the military, uh, you know, dude, it's scary. It is, and I was only in for a little bit. I was only in for a short time, but it's scary because I was like, uh-oh. Like I I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve in the Navy at all. I I was like, oh fuck. I just blew four years, you know, a little bit less, but four years of my twenties. But in reality, it was the most important thing that I did I've ever done. Because I learned so much, I learned about myself, I you know, fuck, it was awesome. Uh I mean it was horrible, but it was awesome.

SPEAKER_04

There you go.

SPEAKER_03

And I yeah, I guess what I'm saying too, Denny, is now that I have gotten past my stubbornness, like I said at the beginning of this absolutely insane rant of mine. Uh, my buddy was like, hey, dude, your videos are good. And I said, maybe this is something I could do too. So, like, and then I've sort of been doing this for about a year and a half, year, year and a half. And dude, now it's gotten to the point where I'm having a conversation with you. I'm talking to Chris in my DMs about his ice cream shop in V in VB. Dude, it's it's so it's just insane. And um, you know, it's been awesome. Uh, I still gotta figure out some stuff about this. Like, I've got to clearly gotta get into the YouTube game here. But um, you know, getting getting honestly getting banned from TikTok was awesome because like that was finally ripped that band-aid off. I can get off that commie app, you know. No, dude, I was cra The best part of the best thing about TikTok is though, like they would, if you make a video over one minute and you have over like 10,000 followers, they start giving you a little bit of change. They start paying you out, and I was like, fuck yeah. I have all my videos are like three minutes maxed out. So I was like, all right. Uh so you know, but this is great. Like I said, now I've transitioned out of the military with everything that I've learned. I've had a couple jobs, you know, they didn't stick. Like I said, I went back into sales. I was like, fuck, I'm doing this again. But I learned, I was like, dude, I need to be grateful for this opportunity because like, you know, I'm making money, I'm having a good time. I I get to hang out with my family every day. Even though me and my brother and my dad, specifically butt heads, uh, you know, I'm happy to be in the office with them and we're and we're having a good time. And like, um, and then and then they they think my videos are funny too. So I'm like, okay, you know. I'm sure I will have to say this. I'm sure that my parents, my mom and dad, you know, they're in their 60s, you know. They've got Fox News rolling, you know, 24-7. And I've said some things that, you know, they've made me, maybe they don't agree with. But dude, I'm 32, you know, I'm like, I'm a I've had different experiences. So I, you know, I'm just my the entire basis of my videos uh is I like to just talk about stuff that I'm interested in. I'm I'm interested in what's happening in our country and in this world. But at the same time, I don't want to be a doomer. You know, I want to like, yeah, dude. Hey, this horrible thing happened today, but like, is your life going good? You know, here's a little joke. I've hijacked your podcast, dude. I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_01

No, you haven't. You're doing exactly what I need you to do, which is talk and share your story, man. Um I think you go, you go. You're doing a great job. Um I I think, honey?

SPEAKER_02

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_04

Sorry, sorry.

SPEAKER_01

No, dude. No, it's perfect, man. It's perfect. It's you're supposed to be the one talking and sharing your story, man. Um the perspective that everybody has for the most part is you'd go into the military and it's this long-ass career and it's punctuated with tons of awards and and great accolades, but a lot of times it's not. A lot of times it's what you need in the moment. What you need is a lesson, a lesson in finally being challenged, finally being held to like understanding that, okay, life isn't supposed to be perfect. How do I pick it up? Because I'll tell you, there's two stories that could have unfolded. Chase could have just rallied and said, fuck this, and I hate everything about this. You could have drug your heels and just been a real pain in the ass for everybody. And uh maybe you would have gotten uh a dishonorable discharge and gotten booted out that way. That would have been infinitely worse. And and your story would have been, you know, you're that chase is not gonna be telling stories and making people laugh, uh, laugh. It it would have been the chase of maybe you know being pretty pretty much a dick and pretty bleak.

SPEAKER_03

Pretty bleak, yeah. There were some dude, I watched some dark some people took some dark paths. Uh Um like you know, guys who didn't make it through buds, fucking I'm sure you know some guys that didn't make it through the uh selection or Q course and you know, dude, fucking s you know dark some guys got dark. I mean, I think we had we had some guys, you know do the take the easy way out, I think. I don't know. I you know, it's horrible. But and then on the ship, I had some guy we knew some guys who were like, you know, turn to drugs and alcohol. I'm like, fuck man, you know, it's not that bad. I I'm I'm lucky to not. I I decided, I said, I'm pissed off. I made a decision, I'm going to own the decision. I'm pissed at myself and at the world, but I'm gonna try to find the good in this. And uh now it's been like shit. I was in Bud. I mean, shit, it's four or five years now since I left Buds. And uh, I mean, shit, that's kind of a long time now when I think about it. But it was a seriously pivotable moment in my life, and like I feel like I've done pretty good since then, I guess.

SPEAKER_01

Bro, you're crushing it, and that's a that's the story for everybody listening at home.

Find Your Why And Bet On Yourself

SPEAKER_01

Like, you may not get, and I want to go back to that one thing you said was so powerful. You didn't have a strong enough why. And that's something that a lot of us can run into in the military, post-military, you chasing down the wrong, wrong career for years and years and years, nothing's going right, then you finally admit to yourself, I'm not passionate about this, I don't like this, I don't have a why. Dude, find your why first. And don't take it like a character flaw that you didn't figure it out soon enough. These things aren't taught to us, man. I had to pick Simon Sinek's book up and read it and literally have the workbook too. Start with why. It's a foundational workbook. I knew the word it was so coloring section for me. Actually, there is. Anything's a coloring book if you try hard enough. Simon Sinek told me it wasn't a coloring book, but I disagree. Agree to disagree. But I had to start with why. I had to figure it out for myself after, because surprise, surprise, becoming a becoming a Green Beret and getting to do that, for as long as you get a chance to do that, it's just a chapter of your life. At some point, you have to walk away from it, and you're gonna have to go back to that why. And that's what I had to do, man. I had my I had the same situation. And when I came down to that question, none of the things that were being offered to me made sense. And I had to gamble on myself. I had to be willing to say, you know what? I'm I'm gonna try this podcasting thing. And and maybe that's not gonna put food on the table. Maybe I can get up producing shows. And when I figured that I could get money for doing it and I could figure out marketing and get paid to do that, I realized that's my why. It's all interconnected, it's all surrounded. Poop and cum jokes can be your why. And it is for me. And it could be for you too. In fact, I know a good producer. Hit me up, psychopodcast at gmail.com. I'll produce just about anything except spooky stories. And I don't want to do that. I don't know why. It's just not my thing. I don't want to skip the spooky.

SPEAKER_03

I don't like, I don't do the spooky. No spook.

SPEAKER_01

No, I don't I don't want to do the haunting stuff. Maybe a YouTube channel where I'm where I'm producing somebody walking around with those like face cameras, like, oh, I'm startled. Little ghost, a little ghost hunter action.

SPEAKER_02

Are there spirits in here?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Maybe. I just have to say, Denny, you know, man, I'm uh I'm honored that you invited me on. I've hijacked your show. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01

You did exactly what you're supposed to do, man. It's been a blast.

SPEAKER_03

You keep saying that, but I I'm I'm one of those guys in my head, I'm still like also another, probably another reason why I didn't do well in a selection is because I'm I overanalyze. I'm like, fucking talking too much. Am I running fast enough? Oh, they're calling me Jar Jar Banks?

unknown

Fuck.

SPEAKER_03

Fuck.

SPEAKER_02

Move my arms a little bit more. Oh, dude, I was at the back of the pack.

SPEAKER_03

The whole giant boat was at the back of the pack, and I'm oh, it's okay, buddy. Oh, man. You say hi to Denny again?

SPEAKER_01

Come here. Yeah. See the handsome boy.

SPEAKER_03

Look at that boy. Look at him. Look over there. Look, look, look. Look at Bannon, look at the screen.

SPEAKER_04

Okay, buddy.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, there he is. There he is. You call him Bannon because he's got looks like he's got a little mask on.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I got mine too over here, but they're they're fast asleep. Cherubs over here. Bannon, we're I'm I'm I'm almost done. I've taken Denny's all of Denny's day, but no, dude. You you crushed it, man. Um I'm just thrilled that I was able to get you on, man. Seriously. Um like it's so fucking awesome being able to follow you and laugh my ass off uh when I'm not fucking, you know, juggling five million things. So you're you're doing it, man. Like I can't wait to see where you

Where To Follow Chase

SPEAKER_01

go from this. But uh, you know, for those that aren't following you, where can they catch you? Where can they uh find your content?

SPEAKER_03

Definitely on TikTok. Okay, that's good. Yeah, you cannot find me on TikTok anymore. I'm not on there. Um yeah, gang. Follow me on on Instagram. I I just it's that's just at Chase McNuggets. Dinny knows my real name. I'm sure, I'm sure it's super easy to find out. I don't know. Stephen Baldwin. Who would have thought? Yeah. It's this is my legal name. Uh yeah, at Chase McNuggets on Instagram. Uh I am, I do, I am posting a little bit more on X, uh, because like I'm on X. I typically have been an observer, like I said, but now I'm like, I post a little bit, you know, you know, get, you know, who knows, a spicy, spicy post here and there. But but mainly I just post one time a day and I do it like in the evening. Um, and it's typically, I try to do like a rundown of like all like the you know top stories of the day. Sometimes, sometimes I might just tell a Navy story or talk about some some BS or something. But like typically I do like a like a daily rundown. Um today's Tuesday. Yeah. Today's actually, I have theme. Monday's the Monday rundown, covers the weekend. Tuesday's Titty Twister Tuesday, so get ready to pop your tops because we're getting twist. Uh Wednesday, Wednesday is what the half Wednesday. Thursday is dick Thursday. Friday is uh, I'm doing a combo. We're doing freedom, Freedom Friday, Friendship Friday, or Freaky Friday. Um Saturday is White Boy Summer Saturday. Uh I was at the range last Saturday, got some uh got some new toys. Uh yeah, dude. I actually got a really nice rifle. I got a I got a new uh I got a Knights Armament KS3. Uh yeah, yeah. Gucci, I can I'm not a good enough shooter to have one of those. Uh and uh and then Sunday, oh Sunday at Sunday is Salvation Sunday, praise Christ. Um I still talk about horrible things and I make horrible jokes, but you know, Sunday. So Sunday. But yeah, you can follow follow me on Instagram. That'd be sick if you know, if you guys want to. Uh you might find me annoying now. Who knows? Uh I am gonna try and start doing YouTube though. I got dude, I have to. You got to, man.

SPEAKER_01

You got you're gonna you're gonna crush it. Um you know, I've been starting to do live, so I'd love to have you on a weekend live with me. So I'm gonna throw you that invite. That'd be great.

SPEAKER_03

That's that's probably even more my vibe. I like you know, just shooting it. Uh oh, the the one last thing I was gonna say, Denny, is if you want more of Bandit, uh every day, Bandit is in my stories.

Bandit’s Hat Of The Day

SPEAKER_03

So when Bandit and I walk around the block or we're just hanging out, he picks a hat of the day. So like I've just been having people just for free, purely. My wife is pissed I'm not making more money off this thing. Uh just if you DM me uh and you have like a small business, if you're a veteran, uh if you're a first responder, like send me a hat and I will wear it. Oh, actually, I've got one right here. Hold on. Boom. I'm doing this. Yeah, it's just called hat of the day, dude. And Bandit and I do hat of the day. Like this company sent me these sick hats. Oh this is uh courage of man, dude. This is a I'm giving them a free shout out. They're a small account on Instagram, but they're sick. And uh their whole thing is hunt, evil, do good, dude. Dude, okay, I'm sending you some swag because um Yeah, and I'll rock and bandit and I rock it in uh on my stories. So a lot of people don't want I've got, you know, I've got a lot of people that watch my stories, but like every day bandit and I just like shoot the shit, and he picks a hat and I wear it on our walk. And then when I post my daily video on Instagram, I'll typically be wearing the hat. And if people want to buy a hat or check out that company, you know, or like non-I've been doing a lot of stuff with uh there's one nonprofit that I've done a few things to rock their gears. Um Heroes for Humanity. They're a cool, cool organization. So a bunch of old um ex-Special Forces guys, uh Marine Raiders, and they uh they they do they go hard, they do badass shit um you know behind the scenes. So it's all right. Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_01

That's that's my that's my entire thing, though. Hell yeah. Well, dude, guys, do me

Final Charge To Laugh And Share

SPEAKER_01

a favor. Pause. The episode's almost over. You know how to spiel. Go to the episode description, click those links, support my sponsors, support Chase, send him some swag to wear on his walks, but do it after I send him my swag because I want to get some primo story time. Yeah. Um yeah. Dude, I can't thank you enough for being here, brother. Um keeping us happy, keeping veterans and first responders laughing. It's one of the greatest things we can do. You know, we can talk about every resource, talk about all the things we can do to get better, but it's gonna take a while for somebody to click those links and start. So if we can just get them laughing, if we can just get their minds away from what they're thinking about doing, that's a win. That's a small win, and we can all do that today. So if you can put some good content out there and help combat the dark, horrible, depressing stories that are out there, please do so. And if you don't want to content create, we'll support my guy. Go follow Chase and uh give him some love. And uh stop by my Instagram too. We're we're putting some good stuff out there. Chase, thank you so much for being here, brother. Guys, thank you for tuning in, and we'll see you all next time. Till then, you know the deal. Take care.

Head Shot

Deny Caballero

Host