The Wild Chaos Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#136 - $10K To Live: A Missing Hunter, Two Helicopter Rescues & Three Brushes With Death w/Zac Griffith Nov 02, 2026

Show notes

How many times can someone come close to losing their life before they start looking at everything differently?

This week on The Wild Chaos Podcast, I'm sitting down with Zac Griffith, and this conversation went in a hell of a lot of directions.

When I first invited Zac on the show, he genuinely questioned what he could bring to the table.

He grew up in a good home, had great parents, and lived what he describes as a pretty sheltered Mormon upbringing. But the more we started talking, the more I realized this guy has some absolutely wild stories.

We're talking about a jet-ski accident, a mountain injury that required a life flight helicopter rescue, and a serious surgery that put him in the hospital for weeks and could have cost him his life.

And that's just the beginning.

We get into something I think a lot of fathers need to hear as well: raising kids with accountability, teaching them to work, and preparing them for a world that isn't always going to be comfortable.

Zac also opens up about divorce, the loneliness that followed, losing faith in the idea of a good marriage, and eventually finding love and building a new chapter of his life.

And because Zac has spent years in sales and the mortgage industry, we talk about rejection, entrepreneurship, financial discipline, and the misconceptions surrounding VA home loans for veterans.

One of the things I appreciate about Zac is that he doesn't pretend to have some perfect inspirational story. He's willing to laugh at himself, own his mistakes, and talk about the lessons he's learned along the way.

You don't have to be famous, survive combat, or have a traumatic childhood to have a story worth sharing.

Sometimes the wild lessons are right in front of us.

Why real conversations matter

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**CONNECT WITH ZAC GRIFFITH** Instagram: @zacgriffith_com

**ABOUT THE WILD CHAOS PODCAST**

Hosted by Marine Corps combat veteran Bam Marshall, The Wild Chaos Podcast is built around real conversations with real people. We talk about life, family, faith, adversity, military service, first responders, entrepreneurship, and everything in between. No scripts. No perfect stories. Just honest conversations. Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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What do you think builds stronger adults: a comfortable childhood or one filled with challenges and accountability?

Drop your thoughts in the comments.

#WildChaosPodcast #ZacGriffith #SurvivalStory #Fatherhood #Veterans

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#135 - From Cop To Convict. How This Cop Lost His Badge, His Career, and His Freedom Behind Federal Bars w/Joey Hoadley Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

What happens when a cop who spent 21 years enforcing the law ends up on the other side of it?

Watch it AD FREE in studio here: https://youtu.be/D0YYTHpU8p4

This week on The Wild Chaos Podcast, I sit down with Joey Hoadley, a former Caldwell, Idaho police lieutenant whose career came crashing down following an FBI investigation, federal criminal trial, and felony convictions that landed him in federal prison.

Joey takes us through the 2017 arrest that started it all, the federal investigation, the courtroom battle, and what it was like walking into prison after spending more than two decades wearing a badge.

But this conversation goes a hell of a lot deeper than police work.

We get into losing everything you've worked for, battling depression, nearly taking your own life, finding strength through fatherhood and faith, and rebuilding your identity when the career that once defined you is gone.

And here's where the story gets even crazier.

Joey is now pursuing a presidential pardon and considering running for Canyon County sheriff.

So I asked him the question I think everyone should be asking: Why should the people of Canyon County ever trust you with a badge again?

Joey shares his side of the investigation and prosecution, including why he believes the system failed him. We discuss the jury's verdict, his three-month federal prison sentence, the realities of incarceration, and whether someone who's experienced the criminal justice system from both sides might actually bring a different perspective to law enforcement.

You don't have to agree with Joey. You don't have to believe everything he says. But I think this is a conversation worth having.

**Episode 135 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.**

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Should a former police officer who served time in federal prison ever be trusted to become sheriff?

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#134 - Behind Closed Doors: Breaking The Rules In Marriage, Parenting And Education. The Naked Truth Nobody Wants To Share w/Brit Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

Episode 134 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW AD-FREE FOR MEMBERS on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.

To watch the full episode in studio, visit here: https://youtu.be/9P6S-22cP50

Can a marriage survive infidelity? Can you rebuild trust after cheating? What does it actually take to create a strong marriage, raise good kids, and build a life together when you've experienced some of the worst versions of each other?

This week's episode of The Wild Chaos Podcast is a little different.

I get hit up all the time asking for marriage advice, parenting advice, and how we've managed to build the life and family we have today. But who better to have that conversation with than the one person who's experienced every bit of it alongside me? My wife, Brit.

And believe me, she has a lot to say.

For Episode 134, I'm sitting down with the woman who knows every version of me. The good, the bad, and the versions I'm not particularly proud of. We're pulling back the curtain on our marriage, confronting the lies we've told ourselves, the truths we've had to face, and the realities of marriage that most people are too uncomfortable to talk about publicly.

We're discussing the subjects that are too sensitive to share at the dinner table, the uncomfortable conversations couples avoid, and the things your favorite social media influencers would rather hide behind their picture-perfect marriages and families. Infidelity. Betrayal. Forgiveness. Sex. Intimacy. Faith. Parenting. Homeschooling. Raising daughters.

And the sacrifices nobody sees behind closed doors. I wasn't always the husband I am today. I've made mistakes, broken trust, and had to face some pretty ugly truths about myself. Brit was there through it all. But this isn't just my story. It's hers, too.

You'll hear her perspective on what it takes to rebuild trust after infidelity, why she chose to fight for our marriage, how we've learned to communicate, and what it really means to continue choosing each other when life gets difficult. We're not marriage counselors. We're not parenting experts.

And we're certainly not two people who have everything figured out. We're just two people who have spent years working our asses off to build a marriage, raise our daughters, and create a life we're genuinely proud of.

This woman IS Wild Chaos.

Our journey through marriage, infidelity, forgiveness, parenthood, and everything life has thrown our way has created the wild and chaotic life we live today.

And I couldn't be more proud to share her, her perspective, and our story with all of you. If this episode helps just one person...that's all that matters.

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#133 - Mass Shootings, Burning Buildings, and Falling Babies: How Much Trauma Is Too Much Trauma When You Vow To Protect and Serve w/William Woodstock Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

From Mass Shootings to Saving a Baby: The Trauma Behind the Badge

Watch the full episode in studio here: https://youtu.be/xLkJdoIsovI

Episode 133 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW AD-FREE for Members on YouTube and be LIVE TOMORROW on all major podcast platforms! What happens when a police officer spends years saving lives but can't stop thinking about the people he couldn't save?

William "Will" Woodstock spent years working in Canadian law enforcement, responding to violent crimes, pursuing dangerous suspects, investigating murders, and confronting situations most people will never experience. He helped arrest one of Canada's most wanted fugitives. He responded to shootings, horrific crime scenes, and emergencies where every second mattered.

But one mass shooting changed him forever. Will describes arriving at a scene where three children had been killed, the decisions he had to make while responding, and the psychological aftermath that followed him long after the emergency was over.

Years later, Will responded to a burning home where a baby was thrown from a second-story window. He caught the child and helped during the rescue. It should have been one of the proudest moments of his career. Instead, the experience brought back memories of an earlier fire where he couldn't save the children trapped inside.

In this conversation, Bam and Will go deep into the realities of police work, PTSD, survivor's guilt, first-responder mental health, the pressure to return to duty, and what happens when the people responsible for protecting others need help themselves.

This is a conversation about the human cost of being a first responder, the weight of tragedy, and finding purpose beyond the badge.

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#132 - Cartels, Gunfights, Grows & Poisoned Wildlife: The Hidden War Nobody Sees w/John Nores Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

"As a game warden, what's the closest you've ever been to dying in the woods?"

Episode 132 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW on YouTube and all major podcast platforms! Watch the full episode in studio here: https://youtu.be/MMl49aceTLI

Retired California game warden Lieutenant John Nores spent nearly three decades protecting wildlife and public lands, but his career eventually pulled him into a fight he never expected. What began with traditional game-warden work led John into illegal marijuana grows hidden deep inside California's mountains. John describes sophisticated water diversions, armed growers, toxic chemicals, poisoned wildlife, hidden camps, cartel-linked operations and raids that eventually turned into gunfights.

During one operation, John's young partner was struck by a rifle round that passed through both legs. With the mountainside still unsecured, John and his team fought to keep him alive for hours while waiting for an extraction. John says another armed grower was positioned only feet away and potentially seconds from shooting him before John's teammates engaged the threat.

John later helped build California Fish and Wildlife's Marijuana Enforcement Team, bringing together game wardens, tactical capabilities, K9s and other resources to target illegal grows while documenting their impact on wildlife, waterways and public lands.

John also takes Bam inside the world of game wardens: how much authority they actually have, the Open Fields Doctrine, where that authority can be abused, poaching investigations, undercover surveillance, hunting ethics and why some of the best wildlife officers are hunters themselves.

This conversation goes far beyond illegal marijuana. It's about the hidden dangers inside America's wilderness, the people protecting it and a war most Americans never realize is happening.

To follow John and learn more about his mission, visit: https://www.johnnores.com/hidden-war.html or purchase his best selling book here: Hidden War, 2nd edition: How Special Operations Game Wardens are Reclaiming America's Wildlands from the Drug Cartels

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#131 - How Thin Is The "Thin Blue Line", When One of Their Own Fights Fugitives And The Mayor of City Hall w/Dusty Steele Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Episode 131 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW on YouTube and all major podcast platforms!

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/K5wjqC6dY1Q

Former Blue Mound, Texas Police Chief Dusty Steele spent roughly 16 years working in bail bonds and bounty hunting before becoming a police officer and eventually chief of police. But some of the biggest battles of his career wouldn't come from fugitives or criminals. They would come from inside the system itself.

Dusty sits down with me to tell the story of a career that took him from hunting fugitives through some of Fort Worth's roughest neighborhoods to building the kind of police department he says he always wanted to work for.

He breaks down what bounty hunting was really like before reality television turned it into entertainment, including middle-of-the-night fugitive arrests, suspects hiding in attics, violent fights, tracking people through family members and one fugitive who allegedly tried to run him over.

Then Dusty's story shifts.

After becoming chief of police in Blue Mound, Texas, Dusty says he built a proactive department focused on officer morale, community relationships and aggressive enforcement against local drug activity.

But disagreements between Dusty and city leadership eventually emerged over police funding, employee pay, dispatch services and control of department information.

On September 15, 2022, Dusty publicly resigned during a city budget hearing as officials considered changes to the police budget and outsourcing dispatch services.

In this episode, Dusty gives his account of what happened behind the scenes, why he believed his position had become untenable, what happened after his resignation and why he believes small-town politics can exert enormous influence over law enforcement leadership.

Bounty hunting. Fugitive arrests. Police pursuits. Drug houses. Leadership. City politics. Department culture. Retaliation allegations. And the question underneath the entire conversation:

Who holds the people at the top accountable?

This is Episode 131 of The Wild Chaos Podcast with former Police Chief Dusty Steele.

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#130 - The MMA Demon Hunter: From Cocaine Addiction To Now Saving Kids From Predators In Jesus Name w/Garrett Gross Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

“They Look Completely Normal” | Inside the Mind of an Online Predator

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/cnBcPvSMqa4

Episode 130 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW on YouTube and all major podcast platforms!

Who is Garrett Gross, and what is Operation 17:2?

Garrett Gross is a former professional MMA fighter, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, husband, father, Christian and founder of Operation 17:2, an organization focused on protecting children and exposing adults who attempt to sexually exploit minors online.

But the man doing that work today has a past most people would never expect.

Before Operation 17:2, Garrett's life was filled with fighting, arrests, cocaine, partying, addiction and chaos. He openly shares how violence became part of his identity at a young age, why he loved fighting, his journey into professional MMA, and how success still failed to give him the purpose he was searching for.

At one point, Garrett says he was offered $10,000 to travel across state lines and assault a man he was told was a child predator. He accepted.

That story becomes even crazier as Garrett describes cocaine, dangerous connections, and the world he was living in before eventually confronting the direction of his life.

Years later, Garrett's relationship with Jesus Christ, becoming a husband and father, and his desire to protect children helped completely redirect his purpose.

Today, that mission is Operation 17:2. To learn more about @Op17two visit: https://op17two.com/ or follow Garrett on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialgarrettgross/?hl=en

Garrett takes us inside how Operation 17:2 uses decoy accounts and online conversations to identify adults attempting to communicate sexually with people they believe are minors. He explains the grooming and manipulation patterns he says his team repeatedly encounters, including adults attempting to identify vulnerabilities in a child's home life and asking questions about whether the child's father is present.

One of the most disturbing lessons from Garrett's work?

The people they encounter don't necessarily look dangerous.

They can look completely normal.

Garrett discusses encounters involving fathers, husbands and people who appear to be ordinary members of their communities, reinforcing why parents cannot rely on appearances alone when teaching their children about online safety.

This conversation goes far beyond catching alleged child predators.

Bam and Garrett have an unfiltered conversation about what creates broken men, childhood trauma, violence, addiction, masculinity, Christianity, marriage, fatherhood, accountability, justice, forgiveness and redemption.

Can you have compassion for a person while still demanding consequences for what they've done?

Can someone genuinely change after years of destructive behavior?

What does biblical masculinity actually look like?

How can fathers better protect their children online?

Why are so many men struggling to find purpose?

And what does it mean to actually know God rather than simply claim Christianity?

Garrett argues that protecting the next generation doesn't begin only with catching predators. It also means building stronger men, stronger husbands, present fathers and healthier families.

His message to fathers is simple:

Your kids need YOU, not more things.

This is the story of a man who once used his strength to fight for himself and now believes his purpose is to use that strength to fight for others.

From professional MMA and cocaine to Christianity, fatherhood and Operation 17:2, Garrett Gross doesn't hide who he used to be.

Because without the old story, you can't understand the man he became.

Episode 130 of The Wild Chaos Podcast with Garrett Gross is streaming now on YouTube and everywhere you listen to podcasts.

Subscribe to The Wild Chaos Podcast for raw, long-form conversations about military service, law enforcement, survival, addiction, faith, fatherhood, redemption, entrepreneurship and the stories most people are afraid to talk about.

GARRETT GROSS / OPERATION 17:2 TOPICS:

Garrett Gross

Operation 17:2

Garrett Gross MMA

Garrett Gross podcast

professional MMA fighter

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt

online child predators

online child safety

child grooming awareness

protecting children online

predator decoy operations

Christian testimony

Jesus Christ

addiction and redemption

cocaine addiction

fatherhood

biblical masculinity

Christian men

men's mental health and purpose

marriage and fatherhood

Wild Chaos Podcast

Bam Marshall

#WildChaosPodcast #GarrettGross #Operation172 #ProtectOurChildren #MMA

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#129 - Burn The Ships or Sink With Them: How One Man Spent His Life Chasing Death Without Realizing It w/Doc Haralson Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

Marcus “Doc” Haralson: The Man Who Refuses to Live a Normal Life

Episode 129 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW on YouTube and all major podcast platforms! Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/Mf-C-qkBa3Q

Marcus “Doc” Haralson has spent most of his life refusing to live normally.

A former Navy Corpsman who served alongside Marines, Afghanistan contractor, longtime fly-fishing guide, entrepreneur, sailor and self-described adventure junkie, Doc has spent decades chasing the next challenge, the next destination and occasionally the thin line between adventure and disaster.

Bam and Doc go back years. They met while working in Afghanistan, and Episode 129 is less of a traditional interview and more like two old friends sitting down and unpacking a lifetime of chaos.

Doc opens up about growing up in Corpus Christi, fighting constantly as a kid, leaving home young, complicated family relationships and the experiences that built his obsession with independence and freedom.

They dive into life as a Navy Corpsman attached to Marines, Marine Corps culture, hazing, barracks stories, combat medicine, ridiculous medical calls and why the relationship between Marines and a trusted Corpsman is unlike almost anything else in the military.

Then Doc tells one of the wildest stories of the episode.

While attempting a roughly 200-mile solo sailing challenge in Texas, a storm overtook him. His boat flipped, his gear scattered across the water and Doc spent an exhausting fight trying to recover before reaching the point where he could barely use his arms.

The Coast Guard started looking for him.

Strangers eventually found him.

And afterward, Doc realized something much bigger about the way he'd been living his life.

For years he thought he was chasing adventure.

Looking back, he believes he was actually chasing death just to feel alive.

The conversation also dives into van life, marriage, freedom, entrepreneurship, building Dillo Light from an idea into a real product, leaving conventional careers behind and the uncomfortable reality of betting on yourself.

This episode is funny, reckless, philosophical and exactly what happens when two friends with years of history stop interviewing each other and just talk.

Episode 129 of The Wild Chaos Podcast with Marcus “Doc” Haralson is streaming now.

Watch on YouTube or listen everywhere you get your podcasts.

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#128 - “I Was Ready to Die" An IED Took Both His Legs. Then He Won Gold for Team USA w/Josh Sweeney Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

He goes from “tip of the spear” to starting over in a single blast and he’s painfully honest about what that actually feels like.

Watch here at: https://youtu.be/Np6lE6zrtU0

We talk with Josh Sweeney, a United States Marine Corps scout sniper who deploys to Afghanistan, gets hit by an IED, and loses both legs above the knee along with major hand injuries. Josh walks us through the moments people rarely hear about: the delayed medevac, the tourniquets, staying awake because the wrong meds could make him bleed out, and the strange fog of ICU drugs and hallucinations. Then we move into the harder fight: rehab, loss of control, and the identity crisis that hits when the uniform and the body you trusted are both gone.

From there, adaptive sports becomes the doorway to a new life. Josh explains how sled hockey brought back team culture and accountability, how his “hockey sense” got him onto Team USA, and what it’s like to play for gold in Russia and score the game-winning goal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics. He also shares the real cost of elite competition, stepping away for family, rebuilding after divorce, and later finding a new lane in Para Nordic skiing and Paralympic biathlon, including the pressure and strategy of relay racing at the highest level.

We also dig into performance and recovery details that matter: prosthetics realities, sweating and temperature changes after amputation, sleep and recovery as training multipliers, and why he now builds adaptive sports equipment through JS Adaptive Sports to help others get outside and compete. If you care about veteran resilience, mental toughness, adaptive sports, and what it takes to rebuild after trauma, this conversation delivers.

Subscribe for more long-form conversations, share this with a friend who needs a “what’s next” mindset, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re applying this week.

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#127 - Beating The Angel of Death: How He Survived Being Shot Point Blank by A Child Predator w/Ali Perez Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Former Navy diver and San Diego County law enforcement veteran Ali Perez survived an encounter that should have ended his life. What began as an operation to arrest a suspected child predator turned into a close-range gunfight after Ali entered a darkened apartment and was met by a rifle.

Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/8MHOYdFxiIw

Ali describes being shot multiple times, suffering catastrophic injuries, becoming trapped inside the apartment with the gunman, continuing to fight while severely wounded, running out of ammunition, and eventually believing he was about to die.

Then the story takes a turn that Ali says changed the rest of his life.

This conversation goes far beyond that single day.

Ali takes us inside Navy dive school, including the brutal underwater training and what happens to the human mind nearly 200 feet beneath the surface. He recounts responding to a school shooting and helping apprehend the teenage shooter, the psychological aftermath of seeing children killed, his thoughts on law enforcement response during active-shooter incidents, and the disturbing reality of investigating physical and sexual crimes against children.

He also walks us through the aftermath of his own shooting: massive blood loss, emergency surgery, his family being warned that he likely would not survive, years of recovery, 43 surgeries, faith, forgiveness and rebuilding a life after everything changes in seconds.

Whether you share Ali's beliefs or question what he experienced, this is a conversation about what happens when a man reaches the absolute edge of life and has to decide what comes next.

Watch Episode 127 now on YouTube, or listen everywhere you get your podcasts.

Suicide & Crisis Support

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available. In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. If there is an immediate danger or medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

You do not have to face a crisis alone.

U.S. Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988

Immediate emergency: Call 911

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