Struggle Well Podcast
Boulder Crest Foundation
Welcome to the Struggle Well Podcast from the Boulder Crest Foundation, a series focused on transforming struggle into strength and growth. We believe every person has the capacity to live a great life filled with passion, purpose, and service. Through real stories from veterans, first responders, and others, this podcast explores what it means to live well through life's challenges.
Episodes
Darrell Demers: 28 Years on High Alert
For 28 years as a paramedic, Darrell Demers learned to anticipate the worst before it happened. Eventually, that instinct followed him home, affecting his sleep, his health and the way he moved through everyday life. Darrell shares what happened when he finally began talking about what he had carried for decades, and how Struggle Well helped him stop living as though the next emergency was always around the corner.
Carnadi Ford: Giving Back Brought Him Back
Navy veteran Carnadi Ford has spent much of his life helping others — as a father, coach, mentor and now Warrior PATHH Guide. But for years, pouring into other people also gave him a way to avoid confronting his own struggles. Carnadi shares how the end of his military career and marriage brought him to one of the lowest points of his life, why he initially believed he didn't deserve help, and how Warrior PATHH gave him practices that helped change his life. Today, he’s giving back to the program that once helped him find his own way forward.
Brandi McBride: There’s Strength in the Struggle
Air Force veteran Brandi McBride has faced combat deployments, divorce, career transitions, and a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. Through it all, she has learned that struggle isn't something to simply endure — it can also be something we grow through. Brandi shares how her experience at Boulder Crest changed the way she understood the weight she had been carrying, why her garden has become a living metaphor for Posttraumatic Growth, and how she chooses to find joy and purpose in the life she has today.
Art Grau: The Long Journey Back From Vietnam
Vietnam veteran and author Art Grau spent decades carrying experiences from war that he rarely spoke about. Art shares what he has learned about growth after trauma, the role storytelling has played in his journey, and how serving fellow veterans through Gilchrist's We Honor Veterans program has given him a renewed sense of purpose.
Jesse McQueen: It Gets Better From Here
Jesse McQueen enlisted in the U.S. Army just days before September 11, 2001, beginning a career shaped by war, service, and constant readiness. Years later, he was succeeding professionally while quietly struggling at home. Jesse shares how Warrior PATHH and Posttraumatic Growth changed the way he understood his experiences, strengthened his family, and helped him discover that asking for help wasn't the end of his story. It was the beginning of something better.
Dana De La Rosa: Removing the Mask
What if the thing everyone admires most about you is also the thing that's keeping you stuck? Army veteran and musician Dana De La Rosa spent years hiding behind excellence, discipline, and service while silently carrying grief she never allowed herself to face. In this powerful conversation, Dana shares how Warrior PATHH helped her uncover the beliefs driving her life, confront years of hidden pain, and discover that real strength begins with honesty.
Andrew Dotas: Surviving the Fargo Ambush
On July 14, 2023, Fargo Police Officer Andrew Dotas was critically wounded in the ambush that claimed the life of Officer Jake Wallin, injured Officer Tyler Hawes and forever changed the Fargo Police Department. Three years later, Andrew reflects on the road back — from the ICU to full duty — and how faith, community, and the principles of Struggle Well helped transform the worst day of his life into a foundation for growth.
Travis Gribble: Who Helps the Helpers?
After more than two decades in law enforcement, Travis Gribble had spent a lifetime taking care of everyone else. In this episode, the former SWAT team leader shares how years of service, accumulated trauma, and a deeply held belief that he had to handle everything alone nearly cost him everything — and how Warrior PATHH helped him discover a different way forward.
Tony Hofmann: Team Leadville and the Race to Save Veteran Lives
What started with seven runners and a simple idea has grown into a movement that has impacted hundreds of lives. In this episode, retired Army Colonel Tony Hofmann shares the story behind Team Leadville, why challenge brings people together, and how a marathon became a vehicle for connection, purpose, and veteran suicide prevention.
Dr. Richard Tedeschi: The Question That Changed Everything
Before Posttraumatic Growth became a global field of study, it was simply a question.As a psychologist, researcher, and clinician, Dr. Richard Tedeschi became fascinated by people who seemed to emerge from life's most difficult experiences with greater wisdom, deeper relationships, and a renewed sense of purpose. Alongside colleague Dr. Lawrence Calhoun, he began exploring a possibility few researchers were studying at the time: Can people really grow through trauma? This episode explores the origins of Posttraumatic Growth, the question that sparked a global movement, and how that work continues to impact thousands of lives through Boulder Crest Foundation.
Ben Iobst: "The Warrior Culture Is Waking Up"
After years serving in combat zones and high-crime streets, Ben Iobst discovered a truth that changed his life: healing does not happen alone. This episode explores war, policing, anxiety, recovery, and how community became the foundation for a healthier way forward.
Sheldon Creed: Life at 200 MPH
Sheldon Creed shares the journey that took him from a kid obsessed with racing to competing on some of the biggest stages in NASCAR. This episode explores ambition, identity, fatherhood, and what it means to build a life beyond the track.
Josh Goldberg: Finding Meaning the Hard Way
Before leading Boulder Crest as CEO, Josh Goldberg was on a very different path. In this episode, Josh shares his story — from growing up in Texas to building a career in international business, and ultimately confronting the question that would change everything: Is this the life I want to live?
Britt Myers: A Childhood Shaped by Service—and What It Cost
Britt Myers shares her deeply personal story of growing up without her mother, navigating instability, and learning to make sense of the experiences that shaped her as part of a military and first responder family. It’s a conversation about identity, strength, and the long road to understanding your own story.
What is Posttraumatic Growth?
What is trauma — and what happens after it? In this episode, Josh Goldberg breaks down the concept of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), explaining how life’s most difficult experiences can challenge our core beliefs and create the opportunity for meaningful transformation.
Intro to Struggle Well Podcast
Struggle is part of every life — but what if it could lead to something more? In this episode, Britt Myers and Josh Goldberg introduce the Struggle Well philosophy and the science of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), exploring how difficult experiences can become a catalyst for meaning, purpose, and transformation.It’s also the starting point for the season ahead — a series of real conversations about navigating life’s challenges and discovering what it means to live well through them.
About the Show
What if struggle isn’t something to avoid, but something that can shape who we become?Welcome to the Struggle Well Podcast from Boulder Crest Foundation.In this series, you’ll hear real stories from veterans, first responders, and others, exploring what it means to live well through life’s challenges. Grounded in the science and practice of Posttraumatic Growth, this podcast offers a different perspective on struggle — one that recognizes the possibility of growth and transformation.Follow the show so you don’t miss the first full episode.