The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader

Sonny is a recently retired special forces commando with the British Military, professional bodyguard and corporate spy who is currently training to be a contender in the UFC.

Sonny has been sharing his knowledge of personal safety and protection through his social media accounts and has just released a FREE self defence without fighting course.

https://www.sixsight.co

https://www.instagram.com/sixsightco/

https://www.tiktok.com/@sixsightco

Learn More about Silvercore

What is The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader?

The Silvercore Podcast explores the mindset and skills that build capable people. Host Travis Bader speaks with hunters, adventurers, soldiers, athletes, craftsmen, and founders about competence, integrity, and the pursuit of mastery, in the wild and in daily life. Hit follow and step into conversations that sharpen your edge.

Kind: captions
Language: en-GB

I'm Travis Bader
and this is The

Silvercore Podcast.

Join me as I discuss
matters related to

hunting, fishing, and
outdoor pursuits with the

people in businesses that
comprise the community.

If you're a new to
Silvercore, be sure to

check out our website,
www.Silvercore.ca where

you can learn more about
courses, services, and

products that we offer
as well as how you can

join The Silvercore Club,
which includes 10 million

in north America wide
liability insurance, to

ensure you are properly
covered during your

outdoor adventures

Today I'm joined by
a recently retired

corporate spy and special
forces commando who

was currently training
for a shot at the UFC.

And he runs a company,
SixSight.co where he

provides situational
awareness training for

the everyday person.

Welcome to The Silvercore
Podcast, Sonny Smith.

Thanks very much
pleasure to be on here.

So we've got a heck
of a lot of accolades

behind your name.

And, uh, I was able to
meet you through a mutual

friend, Paul, who at
some point in the future

will hopefully be on
The Silvercore Podcast.

Cause he's got some
stories to share as

well, but, uh, Paul
speaks extremely highly

of you and he has
some, uh, interesting

backstories that, uh,
that he brought up.

Not all of which I'm sure
we can share on here,

but I, what drew me to
you was originally your,

your TikTok account.

So you've got a, uh,
a TikTok account where

you've been doling out
some awesome information

on situational awareness,
free of charge for

the general public.

I was going to say,
what got you into

that, but why don't we
back up a little bit.

Because if we back up
to, uh, when you were a

bit younger, what made
you want to join the

military and how you
went down that route?

And, uh, what, why don't
I let you take it away

from there before I
just keep yapping here.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I am on TikTok
and on Instagram.

So I do like to give out
a lot of free information

and a lot of it is come
from my backgrounds

and I have a unique,
unique perspective

because I have crossed
different disciplines.

When normally someone
is, becomes a bodyguard,

that's their job.

I started, I was in there
military, and then I

became a corporate spy.

I ended up in the
military doing special

forces selection and,
and being embedded in

the special forces.

Uh, I became a corporate
spy and then I worked

as a bodyguard as well.

And prior to that,
I've always had a,

a, an interest in
fighting and violence,

has been my bread
and bar as a person.

Um, when I grew up,
it was quite a violent

environment uh, going out
when I started going out

to bars and clubs, but
even in my high school

and younger days, some
very old friends of me,

their first memories
of me is me fighting

on the playground
and stuff, which is

an unusual thing.

And I'm not very
proud to say it.

I wasn't, I was never
committing crimes or

anything as a youngster,
but obviously violence

and fighting is a
crime, but I was kind

of fighting with other
combatants that were

agreeing in, I was never
running and hitting

random people and stuff.

Right, right.

But it did, it
was a never ending

cycle of violence.

It was like football
hooliganism without the

football, to be honest
and other towns used

to come and challenge
us and we would fight.

And then there
was challenges in

nightclubs and bars.

Had arranged fights
where people would

come and then I end up
meeting in a parking

lot and having a scrap.

Was there money on those?

Uh, no money actually.

I did end up fighting
for money in a different

scenario, uh, in an
unlicensed boxing

competition in a cage,
in a greek island.

But that's another story.

That sounds interesting.

We could come
back to that.

Yeah.

Um, but I've always had
this like violent um,

piece of out me and I've
always been interested

in fighting and it wasn't
till I was 16 that I

actually started boxing.

So I started amateur
boxing, actually got

a bit of discipline.

I learned a lot about
life in that gym and

it was quite hard like
traditional boxing

gym, where there's
no decorations, it

was underground, it
was murky and gritty.

And I learned a lot
about being a man

and growing up and
discipline myself there.

Um, before that
I was just a wild

man, to be honest.

Why?

Just.

Um.

In your nature or just?

It's probably, we've
got, I'd probably

have to delve deeper
into my childhood.

Right.

Fair enough.

Um, but uh, just have
always had that in me,

but I've always had the
ability to stay forward

when others have froze
or thought, oh, I don't

like this situation
I've stepped forward and

I've always carried the
fight in flag for any

group I've been attached
to, any friend group.

And later in my life,
when I was like 20,

19, I'd be out in
nightclubs and friends

from high school would
come up to me, say

all of these guys, my
ex girlfriends like

friends are over there.

They're, they're looking
at me, they're going

to start and I'll be
like, who are they?

Where are they?

And they'd be like,
oh, they're over there.

Right.

Let's go.

And they'd be like,
oh, whoa, no, we just

want to hang around
with you just to make

sure that we're not
going to get beaten up.

I'm the person that's
out Rocky with me.

Let's go.

Um.

Right.

Um, I've always,
always had that in me.

And I'm not that
person right now.

I'm different,
I'm a family man.

Um, but a lot of my
knowledge of violence and

fighting comes from my
experiences of growing

up in that background.

I can relate to
a lot of that.

And so the boxing that
you got into was that by

your choice, or was that
something that you were

sort of ushered into?

Uh, boxing I've always
had a passion for,

and I really wanted to
do it, but my parents

wouldn't let me do it.

Like maybe my mom
wouldn't let me go until

I was 16 and I was able
to get, I had to get two

buses to get to the gym.

We have quite a famous
gym in my hometown, and

there was an ex, um,
a world champion boxer

who was running it.

So I got two buses to
get there, like three

or four times a week.

And then I started
training and it

was a real like,
mentality that I've

ta-, that was my first
experience of hardship.

And when you walked in
the gym and there wasn't

someone to greet you,
you had to earn your

right to be in that gym.

You started on
the fringes.

No one came and said,
oh, come in, come

in and do some pads.

You didn't get any
training until you'd

shown your face
for a long time.

And then you gradually
worked up the ladder

until you was in
the ring sparring.

And the sparring we did
was hard sparring even

though I was a young
guy, that's the hardest,

I was training MMA now
and that was the hardest

spine I've ever done.

Really?

Yeah.

And, but that was a
good experience and it

showed me that, like
I'm glad I did that

because I learned how
to take a punch and

what the, what it was
like to take a punch.

Um, and even though
I'd had lots of street

fights and I fought, I
was a hard individual,

uh, later down the line,
I knew what hard really

meant, but it wasn't
that fighting when you're

a bit drunk and stuff.

But it was, it wasn't
till I got to the

military that I
actually realized what

a hard man really was.

And I always had
this thing inside me.

I always thought to
myself, I want to be seen

as a hard man amongst
hard men that has been

my driving force for
everything I've done.

However silly
that may sound to

some people, but.

I don't, I don't think
that's silly at all.

Honestly.

I mean, I guess it
all comes down to your

definition of what
a hard person is and

that's an ever evolving
thing, obviously.

Yeah.

Um, so if you were, had
a natural proclivity

towards violence as
a youngster, do you.

It's not like a
light switch, just

switched at one point.

And you said, okay,
now I have containment.

Um, what, uh, how did,
was it the military

that kind of helped form
that and create that

level of containment?

Cause I don't think
you ever outgrow that,

that feeling as a, as
a kid or whatever it

is that you naturally
have the whole nurture

and nature argument,
but whatever it is that

you kind of naturally
have as a, as a child,

I think you just get
better at containing and

managing, uh, managing
it as you get older.

Is that, uh, I find
myself anyways.

Is that what you
find in yourself?

Yeah, I would agree.

Yeah.

And joining the military
when I became a Royal

Marine Commando, that
was a savior in my

life to be honest.

I had friends that did
go down the wrong route.

And one of my friends
did a lot of prison

time for a fighting
related offense.

We were not criminals,
but we always had

scraps and stuff.

But once I joined the
Royal Marine Commandos,

that aggression and
determination that I

had was actually seen
as a positive thing

and it was channeled
and everyone around me.

Uh, I became quite
a good leader in

that setting because
my attributes were

actually a good thing.

Uh, as you can imagine,
the job of a commando

is to close down on the
enemy and kill the enemy

at the end of the day.

Right.

Um, and that is the
be-all and end-all

of the job, although
there's other aspects.

So my, my agression
was channeled and I did

very well in my training
and it shaped me as an

individual and I'm very
proud of my roots and

I'm very happy that I
went down that path.

I don't think I'll be
the same person who I am

today if I hadn't become
a Royal Marine Commando.

When did you join?

Uh, I joined when
it was, I passed

training in 2012.

Okay.

Yeah.

And, uh, that was just
when the last Royal

Marine units were
going to Afghanistan.

So I didn't get my
chance to do the job for

real, um, out in those
deployments, which,

um, anyone that did do
those deployments I hold

a much higher regard
higher than myself.

Way above.

Because they've done
the job for real.

Well, Royal Marines
have got a pretty high

reputation in the UK
and around the world,

but you decided to,
uh, push forward and

do selection as well.

Yes I did.

Yeah.

When I joined the Royal
Marines, I ended up

doing a few, uh, they're
called operations,

but they, after the
wave of the Afghans

who weren't getting
rounds down on target

and stuff like that,
which are to be honest,

that's why I joined,
you know what I mean.

Sure.

You don't jointhe Royal
Marines in wartime just

to float around on boats.

Totally.

Um, so I did
a few things.

Uh, I made the rank
of corporal, and

our ranking systems
different to Canada.

So corporal is in
charge of like a section

of seven men, eight,
including yourself,

and so I had to do a
training course for that.

And on that training
course was junior

command course.

There was to operate,
is on there from the

British special forces.

And I was embedded
with them.

I was working
with them as doing

reconnaissance missions
with them and lots of

different training.

And I became
friends with them.

And at the end of the
course, position one

and two went to them and
position three, went to.

And then they took me
aside at the end of that

course, and they said,
Sonny, what's going on?

When you coming down,
uh, to join our outfit?

And that opened my eyes
to what was possible

for me, because I'd
always seen, first

of all, I'd always
seen the Royal Marine

Commandos when I was
in recruiting training

as this high up godly
figures, which they are.

Sure.

Yes.

But, it is achievable.

If you do put
your mind to it.

And I, I decided that's
what I wanted to do.

And I achieved that.

And then when these two
guys who are held in

very high regard, took
me aside and said, I

think, we think you've
got what it takes.

And I saw that they
were professional.

They're very good.

I'm not saying that
they weren't good.

They were extremely
professional, but

they also had a
laugh and a joke just

like everyone else.

But when the time was on,
when they were switched

on and they were ready
to go and they did their

job exceptionally well.

And for them to say,
we want you down

here, give it a go.

That changed my
perspective and I've

changed my sights
onto that target.

And that's when I
started to pursue that.

And in preparation for
that, actually did the

Royal Marine, uh, boxing
championships andI won.

Uh, it was light
heavyweight, I'm a

bit lighter than I
was now than I am now.

I was up at one, the
Royal Marine champ

boxing championships.

And I did a lot of
cardio training for that.

So I used that as
momentum to start

building on working
towards selection to

go for special forces
and it ended up being

successful in that.

Can you talk at all about
the selection process?

I know everyone gets
jazzed about the

selection process, but
that's just like step one

and then everything else
happens afterwards, but.

Yeah.

I can talk about
some things.

Okay.

Some things I
won't talk about.

Of course.

But yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

What, uh, so
summer or winter?

I did the summer
selection, which I

was very happy about.

And, uh, so what
did that consist of?

Uh, so first of all,
there's there's pre

selection courses that
you have to pass to

even be allowed to get
onto the selection.

Some of those are
extremely arduous in

themselves, so I passed
those and then I ended up

moving everything towards
going for selection.

And then you do a beat
up and then you did the

hills phase of selection.

And that is in the
Brecon beacons and it's

mountainous terrain
and you're carrying

heavy loads over long
distances, uh, every

day, um, for a period
of time and the weights

and distances change.

And a lot of the time
you don't actually

know the distance of
that day and you just

get to a checkpoint,
you get the next

checkpoint, you get to
that checkpoint and you

don't know when you're
going to finish those.

There's a lot of
mind games involved

in selection.

Um.

So obviously very
physically arduous, a

very difficult process,
uh, but on the mental

side, that seems to be
where people are you

make or break them.

Excuse me.

It seems to be where
people are made or

break broken on the
selection process.

Uh, how did you
prepare yourself

mentally for this?

I have had a few
techniques in my own head

that I developed before
even research personal

development, sort of
self-improvement books.

And there's a lot of
stuff that I don't want

to blow my own trumpet
that David Goggins says.

Okay.

That I was actually
like, Oh yeah.

Well, I called it this
in my own head, like

isolation and obviously
visit, um, uh, what

was it called again?

Visualization.

There you go.

Yeah.

I'd always had this
visualization routine.

When I was trying to
become a Royal Marine

Commando in the morning.

I'd always visualize
getting a green

baret and, and stuff.

And every time I was
doing PT, I'm running on

a treadmill or anything.

I'd always be daydream.

I've had always been, I
had a good imagination.

I've been able to imagine
myself doing things.

And I think that's
quite an important part.

But in preparation
for selection, it

was obviously very
physical, but it's also

a different type of
physical to what most

people would believe.

Cause you're carrying
heavy loads over

long distances.

Um, so there's only
really one way to train

for that is to carry
heavy loads distances.

Right.

But to anyone that's
looking to go on

selection or any other
military sort of course,

it's audrious like that.

It was a look at the
course and what is,

um, required of your
mind is using my legs

to climb mountains
with heavy weight.

So I was doing a lot
of single leg work and

building my legs and
my core and everything.

So I looked at the,
the actual course

and I looked at what
I needed in my body.

So I did look at
it quite, um, and

nail it down to
what was specific.

Very analytical
approach to doing it.

Yeah.

And there's still
no getting around

the actual pain.

Well, dealing
with the pain is a

whole other thing.

And that's, that really
is, I guess it's going

to be a part of it
is going to be your

physical conditioning.

Cause it's going to
reduce the amount of

pain that you might
have, but that really

is a mental process.

Um, you know, most people
don't even experience a

fraction of the physical
and mental pain that

you have elected to, to
go through, yourself.

Yeah.

Um, what advice would
you give to somebody

who's looking at
doing something?

Whether it's, whether
it'd be a lofty goal,

like selection, which
is both physically and

mentally difficult,
or I just something

in their own personal
life that they're

finding is a difficult
task at the moment.

In order to get
through it with, do

you have any advice
for somebody like that?

If you're going to come
across a hurdle that

you, you personally
want to achieve, then

you have to physically
decide in your head that

I am going to do this.

Not, oh, I want
to do this.

The decision has to
be made before you

step into that lane.

Um, if you don't
decide, this is what

I'm going to do, you're
never going to get it.

Uh, that's the
first thing.

And also to look at
it and analyze it,

what you need from it.

And you can't shy
away from the pain.

You can't just start on
the day of the race, the

preparation has to start
way, way beforehand.

And it doesn't have to,
you don't have to go

hard, straight away.

It's incremental
and you just have to

build up over time
towards that goal.

And then on the day
of the race, a lot

of the stress around
it, and now I think

back is actually the
anticipation of the pain.

Totally.

Thinking about it
happening and, but

when you're in there,
you're either going

to quit or you're not.

And I have the mentality,
I'm not going to quit.

Like I'll drop
before I do.

And yeah, it's painful,
but it does end.

And then the glory
comes at the end of it.

It's like uh,
our first child.

My wife's having.

Yeah.

I think it was like
27 hours of labor.

Wow.

And I, I don't know.

She said it helped her.

I know some people
are like Travis, how

could you say this?

I said, I told my
wife, look, this is

one day out of your
life, it will be over,

the pain will be over.

And how will you
want to look back

on this later right?

And man she was a
trooper, but other

people told me is
like, how the hell can

you say that Travis?

It was the right
information at the

right time for the
right kind of person.

Yeah.

And that's a different
kind of pain, which

I'm very happy we
don't experience.

Yes.

I do admire every
woman that does that.

Yes.

Yeah.

Well, when, uh, when
I was talking to Paul,

you know, see if I
can kind of paraphrase

here a little bit.

And he says he, uh, uh,
attributes your overall

success as a human
being to live, to not

living an easy life,
but you've taken what

you've been provided.

You've set very high
goals and you've

achieved them.

Uh, Paul says you
live life by your

own rules and you
do so with humility.

So I don't know if he
knew I was going to

quote him on that one.

That's uh, um, by
your own set of rules.

What, what would
those rules be?

Uh, I kind of,
I don't tend to

follow the crowds.

I tend to just make
decisions based on my own

opinions and the like to
research things in depth

and look at things from
different perspectives.

Yeah, I'm very grateful
for him to saying that,

I've got a lot of good
things to say about

him, hopefully he'll.

Yes.

Say 'em himself
on here um.

Well, not living an
easy life and I know you

and I talked a little
bit about difficulties

off air here, and we
don't have to get into

all of those, but, uh,
do, now, now you're

in a position where
you're able to share

from your experiences
what's worked and what

hasn't, how you've grown
as an individual from

somebody who was just
getting out and fights

all the time to being
a professional soldier.

And now you're operating
the company SixSight.co.

Yeah.

Before we jump into
we're like what

SixSight is all about?

Did you've got one
heck of an Instagram

and TikTok feed.

You come across
really, really well

in your production.

It's really
well polished.

You've given some
fantastic information

and anyone who's
listening, listening

that wants to find that
it's SixSight.co on both

Instagram and TikTok,
but, um, do you find

it easy to be getting
in front of the camera?

Do you find it easy?

Cause I'm looking at
your background here as

a corporate spy and in
the military and special

forces and, uh, you kinda
have to be the gray man,

and you're not really
the gray man when you're

out there on technology.

Right.

It's a very hard
thing for me to do.

I'm normally on
the gray man.

I've always been that
person that stands

back and observes
from the shadows.

I don't like to
be the front man.

Um, but it's come to
the point where the,

the times have changed
and my, my message

is different to what
a lot of people were

teaching out there.

And in the self-defense
realm, there's a lot

of misinformation and
a lot of stuff that

can get people hurt.

It gives people a
false sense of security

of what they're
actually capable of.

My whole philosophy is
based around detecting

threats and avoiding them
in the first place and

having plans that don't
involve using violence.

Um, because I believe
that you can't really

teach a person how to
fight effectively by

watching an online video
or even a few classes.

And even if you do boxing
for many years, if you're

not in the ring sparring,
even if you are sparring,

that's not a real fight.

There's no adrenaline,
there's no real pain

or disorientation when
you get hit and yeah,

you'll do better than
someone that hasn't.

But if you're going up
a true fire and I call

people, some people true
fighters to be avoided

at all times, and a lot
of real criminals out

there, they've grown
up on with a bad life.

They've grown up in
and out of prison.

If they're threatened
in violence to Rob you,

then they're probably
going to use violence.

And they've probably
been accustomed

to using violence.

Yeah, it's good to
have some moves and

some things in your
back pocket, but let's

do everything in our
power not to get there

in the first place.

And that's what I'm
teaching at Fremont

channels and doing
everything for free has

actually been quite, it's
been very welcomed by all

my followers and I've got
a very great following.

The comment is speak
to mepersonally.

And I have a lot of
people message me and

tell me stories of
when they used the

tactics that I've taught
them to get out of

some bad situations.

And that's just amazing.

That's the.

That's pretty cool.

Whole reason.

Yeah.

That's the whole reason
why I've got this online

course, which is called
Women's Self-Defence

Without Fighting
and it's obviously

tailored for women.

Um, but it, the
techniques and training

in there, a lot of
it hasn't been taught

before because it's
coming from, I'm bringing

in training from my
time in the military.

I'm bringing in personal
experiences of being

a violent offender
and have environments

inflicted on me.

And I'm bringing in
training and drills

from body guards,
close protection

operators, which is
the job that I do now.

And also surveillance,
which is corporate

espionage and tradecraft
drills for people that

maybe being followed
on the way home from

the train station.

A lot of us have probably
had that or suspected

it happened and at some
point in their lives.

So I want to give people
some actual drills or

some training to know
what to do in these

situations, without
the usual, kick him in

the nuts and run away.

Or scream, no!

You know, which some
people can do, but

I'm also want to cater
to people that don't

have this fight in
heart ability in them.

And there's a lot
of people out there

that have met openly
that they do not want

to fight, they're
not going to fight.

And that's what
I've experienced.

I've spoken to a lot
of people in my family

and around a lot of
people are just not

that way inclined.

And I want to give those
people options as well.

And even if you are
going to fight and you,

you're not going to
take a step back, it's

always better to do
it on your terms, in a

scenario where you've
got as much information

about that other
individual as possible.

And the most important
information you need is

whether that person's
got a weapon or is

willing to use a weapon.

I think that's a
good assessment that

most people, they
don't want to fight.

I mean, most law
abiding individuals

are law abiding
because they don't

have a background in
criminality or fighting

or whatever it might be.

And was it a Colonel
David Grossman?

He wrote a couple books
on combat and on killing.

And one of his books,
he says, you know,

people will fight,
it'll, they'll flight,

right, they'll take off,

they'll posture,
or they'll submit.

And he was referencing
like soldiers

going out and just,
you know, firing

rounds, willy nilly.

And they're, they're a
part of the part of the

process, but they're
not actually one of

the true fighters.

Who's, who's taking
the time to aim those

rounds and put them
where they count and, um,

interesting perspective.

But I do think that,
uh, the majority of the

people out there uh, will
posture and then submit

if presented in a, in a
violent confrontation,

uh, knowing how to
flee, I think is a very

important aspect to it.

When to flee,
how to flee.

Who cares if you're
going to be thought of

afterwards, what you're
worried about right now

is your, your own life
and the life of those

around you and your
personal protection.

You know, I've, I been,
I've got a background

in martial arts.

I used to get in a fair
few fights growing up

and who was, I think it
was five different high

schools that I ended
up going through, not

by choice, but, uh, uh,
just due to the process

of growing up in a, uh,
adverse environment.

And, uh, from that
background, people have

asked me in the past it,
can you put together a

self-defense course or
a women's self-defense

course and I've always,
always, always been of

a very similar mindset.

My mindset is if there's
somebody who's bigger

than you, it doesn't
matter what fancy moves

you know, your odds of
winning that fight have

greatly diminished.

Uh, if there's
multiple people and

you're in a fight with
them, your odds of

winning that fight are
greatly diminished.

Uh, if you're putting
together a self-defense

course for children
or for women, or for

people who aren't the
big burly people going

down the streets, I
think your time and

efforts are way better
served teaching them

situational awareness.

Teaching them how to
avoid the confrontation

before it even happens,
or how to escape a

situation as opposed
to spending a day

doing w uh, breaking
out of wristlocks and

kneeing in the crotch.

Um, is, would you
agree with that?

Yeah, I definitely
agree with that.

That's pretty much my
whole, um, approach

to the, to the self
defense industry.

And there is, obviously
everyone should take some

time out of their lives
to train in self-defense

in some sort of martial
art or fighting art.

And that's very
beneficial for

everyone to have in
their back pocket.

But the reality of it
is most people were

not going to do that.

A lot of people are
not going to do that.

So what, what can
the other people do?

And situation awareness
is a very valuable

skill that I've used in
my career because when

I've worked as a close
protection operator or

bodyguard, uh, all over
Europe and in London

is where I started.

We don't have
firearms in London

and we're tasked with
protecting rich people.

Sometimes there's,
there's active threats

and we can't draw a
pistol and get rounds

down on target.

Uh, and we're not
even allowed to

carry knives or any
other sort of weapon.

Knives in London
is a big deal.

We have a lot of
knife crime back

when I was living
there, I was studying

criminology in London.

Knife crime was the
big PA epidemic.

And just carrying a
knife in your pocket

in London was serving a
mandatory prison sentence

at the time that I was
at university, then.

Really?

Yes, and it's taken
me a while to get out

of that mindset since
I've been to Canada,

all the security
operators here carry a

knife on their pocket.

And I'm like, I was
very sketchy to ever

to do that for a while.

Right.

Well, because
I don't want to

get, go to prison.

No.

But it's, it's different
in different countries.

But my nearly my whole
career as a bodyguard,

I've never had a
firearm to protect

my principal, my VIP.

So what do these
professionals use

in these scenarios?

And a lot of it is
situation awareness.

And a lot of the
training I'm given is

the overarching term
is situation awareness.

But under that
term, I've injected

a lot of different
training principles

that I've learned.

Which I'm just, because
I also think a lot

of the traditional
situational awareness

training is very like
acronym heavy and

militarized, um, that you
lose people's interest.

So I'm trying to water
it down to the relevant

stuff that techniques
that people can use

when they're walking
from their gym to their

car, in vulnerable
times of their week.

Or when they spot a
dodgy guy on the train

platform um, up ahead
of them on any Tuesday

night, because for me and
my family, these are the

threats that are actually
affecting us every day.

And I used to live
downtown and there is a

lot of craziness going
on on the streets and

a lot of people want
to turn a blind eye.

Um, and obviously we got
a lot of mental health

issues and we got a lot
of drug addiction, but

with those things comes a
lot of crime and a lot of

outbursts, and I've had
personal experiences in

the city that I live in.

Of people clearly with
mental health issues

and that I feel sorry
for these people,

but they're, some of
them can be a danger.

And I saw one particular
incident in 2:00

PM on a Sunday in
downtown Vancouver

where I was living.

I was walking to my
apartment and there

was a guy about a
hundred meters up

the street, waving
a knife around, just

shouting into thin air.

And he was clearly a
street person, wearing

street attire, um,
mental health issues,

drug abuse, clearly.

That's neither here or
there, there's a man on

the street with a knife
waving around and I saw

it was a few seconds
of me stopped, saw it

looking ahead as you do,
which is a technique that

I could get into later.

A lot of people just
stare at the ground

when they're walking.

And I saw this man and
I saw other people with

headphones on walking
towards this man.

So I ended up.

Geez.

Getting my phone, I
was about to call the

police and all of a
sudden the police arrived

and they tased him.

They take him down.

But how long has that
guy been wandering the

streets with a knife,
waving it around and

people were oblivious
to the situation cause

they're walking around
their own little world

and they don't realize
the danger until

it's immediately in
front of their face

and they're in the.

Totally.

In the s.h.i.t.

You got it.

Well, everyone figures
it can't happen to me.

This is what I read
about in the news that

happens to somebody else.

Not me.

Right.

I'm fine.

It's never happened
to me before.

I'm X age old.

Why would it
happen to me now?

Yeah.

But the issue is, those
people in the news

could be you and it
can happen to anybody

and being situationally
aware, I think is a,

uh, that's a skill set
that I think is kind of

lost in today's society.

I mean, everyone's got
their cell phones out and

they got their heads down
in there and the whole

idea of safe spaces.

And there's, there seems
to be a disassociation

between the reality
of what can happen out

there, for whatever
reason, good people

having a bad day, mental
health, drugs, bad

people doing bad things,
whatever it might be,

that's just reality.

And it always has
been, I think there's

a disassociation
between that a reality

and how people figure
the world should be.

Yeah.

Um, yeah.

So corporate spy.

Yeah.

Tell me about this.

I just think James
Bond type stuff, a

British accent spy.

This was actually the
profession that gave

me the most enjoyment
and uh, it's also

the profession that
I had to sign the

most non-disclosure
agreements around.

I can talk about
some things.

Basically I was paid
by rich people to spy

on other rich people.

And spying on people
it's, it wasn't a

private investigator
sort of setting.

It was a team of
us and we were all

ex military or ex
intelligence agencies.

So we were doing, taken
our skill sets into the

private sector and we
were doing some things

in London and across
Europe that were in the

gray areas of the law.

And it is a gray, it's
not illegal, it's not.

Right.

It was, we don't have
surveillance, um,

licenses in the UK.

So it was very
interesting.

And I sat back and
I watched a lot of

people and I followed
a lot of people.

And in this profession
I also saw how oblivious

to their surroundings
most people are, again.

Oh yeah.

Cause yeah, some people
we could follow for six

months, every day on the
same routes and no idea.

And some people, we
would actually put

on some tasks where
that individual had

designed bodyguard
team, close protection

team around them.

So you can imagine how
hard it is to surveil

and follow someone
who's has a team of

dedicated professionals
to look out for you

and not let you exploit
information from them.

Because that was the
commodity our clients

would want to know
what they were up

to, or they'd want
to know any illegal

activities that they
were getting involved in.

Or sometimes they
would want a lot of

information, which
was hard to get from

just taking pictures.

So we'd have to get very
close to our, our targets

and, uh, we'd have to
do some things that were

kind of in the world of
James Bond, to be honest.

Very cool.

Very interesting stuff.

And there's a lot of
technical capabilities

that are around on the
private, in the private

sector that we think
that governments only

have that ability.

And this is something
else that I'm trying

to say on my social
media, because yep.

The governments are
able to do certain

stuff with electronics,
private entities that

are allowed to able to
do certain stuff with

electronics, but now
criminal organizations

are getting those
capabilities as well.

Personal privacy
and safeguarding our

electrical devices is
a big thing for me.

And I like to advocate
for that as well.

Well, people don't
realize how much

information is just
publicly available.

I mean, I'll
give an example.

I've got a, a trip
coming up in a couple

of weeks where I've
got an older whitewater

raft, a local search
and rescues loaning a

rowing frame for it.

And we're going to take
it down the fraser river.

Oh nice.

And camp at a
couple of spots.

And then, um, just hunt
general open sheep.

Um, but there's some
concern about where we're

putting the raft in.

And the concern is, is
that the property owner

sometimes doesn't let
people on or the gates

close and we want to make
sure we're dotting our

I's and crossing our T's.

And they can't quite
find where this

property owner is.

So uh, anyways, I,
uh, a friend texts

over, he says, well,
here's the PID for

the, uh, the property.

It's just clearly listed
on the, uh, just open

source on, on BC maps.

I go into BC online
and he can pull up who

the owner is of it.

And then you can go
into the corporate

registry because it's
associated with a

corporate, a corporation
and it shows who's

associated with those.

And then you can go
into the personal

property registry.

These are all free tools
that people can use, that

I can see the vehicles
that this person has

taken leases out on
and all the different

and stuff, and finally
were able to find,

okay, we've got enough
information on this.

The only one thing
we really wanted was

like a phone number
and email address.

So we could say, Hey,
can we put our boat

in at your location?

And now we could have to
approach this person in

a way that doesn't sound
too creepy, how we found

all that information.

But it is publicly,
openly accessible.

I, and I find through
social media and social

profiling, I remember
I was in a law firm one

time and they had a,
uh, uh, an investigator

in there and they were
trying to find some

information on somebody.

And well, the
investigator was having

a conversation with
them saying, oh, we

can't find this person.

I'm just pulled up
Facebook and said,

well, in Squamish,
her daughter has piano

lessons on this date.

Have you thought about
going over at this

day and time and, and
serving them then?

Right.

And, uh, the, the
idea of people having

privacy is, um, in
some ways laughable

because peoples tend to
readily give it up and.

Uh, I guess under the,
uh, privacy standpoint,

there's two ways
you can go about it.

You can either age,
just like have nothing

online or B you can
just inundate it with a

whole ton of information
that people like.

Oh, which one's
real, which one?

Isn't.

Uh, what, what's your
approach to staying

safe with information?

Social media is the
big one and we used

it every day, a lot.

And one time actually,
we were following

a target for a long
amount of time.

And one day he comes out
of his residence with

a carry on suitcase.

So we think, okay,
we're going for

a long day here.

Uh, so we follow him.

He gets on a bus, um, we
have different vehicle.

We have vehicles and
foot surveillance,

I was typically foot
surveillance and I was a

team leader at this time.

So we get on a bus
and we have to have

a person on that bus.

Um, so one of the team
members on there, he

goes on the bus, gets
off the bus, goes into

the underground train
station, subway, we call

it the tube in London.

It gets on the tube,
it goes two stops and

then there's a, like
a tube work, so he

has to get out off.

So he comes out of there,
gets in a taxi and then

he takes his taxi all
the way out of London,

uh, to an airport.

Um, he actually takes
it to a train station

on the outskirts of
London and then gets on

an overground train and
goes to an airport on

the outside of London.

And we're following
him this whole time

and I'm like one of
the leads and I've just

got a little bag and
wearing my clothes.

And it was just a little
bag of a few bit, little

bits and bobs in there.

Um, and we always
carry our passports.

So on the way to the
airport, the people in

the office and other
people were doing like

the technical support are
trying to get me tickets

on certain flights.

Um, in the end we find
what flight he's on, we

get me on that flight and
I fly on the same plane.

We ended up going to
a Spanish island and

then, yeah and then
I'm over there in a

hotel following him.

And then I have some
downtime when he's in

his hotel and we get
on Facebook and looking

through what is he doing
over here to dah, dah,

dah, and something he'd
liked to say, uh, uh,

music artists a couple
of years before he'd

liked one of their posts.

And that artist just
happened to be playing

at a local nightclub
at the, at the time.

So we predicted that he
was goingthere and we

recorded it and then we
ended up seeing him in

there photographing him
there, doing some things

he shouldn't have been
doing, and that was a

successful operation.

Right.

But just the fact
of, he just liked

one post a long time.

And that's what brought
us on to where he was.

Uh, but people give up
a lot of information.

It's not just like, it's
also in the background

of pictures and stuff.

So I would say,
keep your friends.

There's no reason unless
you're trying to promote

a business to keep
your Instagram open to

any friends, to reach
out, to contact you.

If you know the
person, then you should

accept them and also
Facebook as well.

Uh, but once your
information is out

there, like when I joined
special forces, I had

to email a few places
to get my, I'll ad some

news articles from when
I was in the Marines and

stuff, uh, that my face
and name was attached

to, I had to get them
to wipe that down.

But they couldn't wipe
it down completely.

Right.

It's not able to be done.

So once it's out there,
it's out there and it's

hard to retract anything.

You know, the, the other
thing that I found was,

uh, the friend list
that the people will

have to like Facebook.

You can have the option
of other people, not

seeing your friend list
while even if you're

really diligent about
not putting out any

personal information
or doxing yourself,

your friends might.

And that was how actually
on this one woman,

cause I was there for
a completely separate

matter, I was doing some
consulting for the law

firm and, uh, that was
how we found that the

kids having piano lessons
out of a certain time and

it wasn't because of this
person saying anything

on their own lists, but
you just start clicking

through their friends
and seeing where they

reference things and.

Yeah.

And that's usually the
weak link is family

members, to be honest.

Yeah.

And even if they're
closed accounts, if

you manage to become a
friend with some of this,

and then you're in to
that circle, you know

everything that's going
on because no matter

how security minded
you are, then it's the

people around you and
not going to keep up

that level of security.

So they are
the weak links.

It's like, why is
this really attractive

woman wanting to
friend me on Facebook?

Okay.

Great, got access
to everything now.

Right.

That's the joke.

But that does happen.

Yes.

Oh, it does.

You know, I've got a
friend who works for a

company and they set geo
fences up around, uh,

schools and institutions.

And it's kinda like
a, pre-crime what they

do is they look at pre
digital occurrences that

follow a trend for, let's
say, school violence

or school shootings.

And he travels all
over the world and

lectures on this.

And, but I just, through
the digital algorithms

that people are posting
and how they're posting

and the frequency and
the content of what

they're putting out.

Uh, they're able to
successfully mitigate

violence in, uh, in
social settings, which

is, which is, and he's
been doing it for years.

This isn't something
that's new and

it's kind of crazy.

Yeah.

That's interesting,
actually.

Yeah.

So it's, um, uh, one
way that they're able

to, uh, just put a pin
in, let's say a school

shooting or a violent
situation like that,

and confront individuals
and get to the bottom

of things before it even
becomes an issue, which

is, uh, kind of, kind
of in line, but just in

a digital way with the
situational awareness,

how can we take a
look around at all the

information that we have?

Why is that person got
his hands in his pockets?

Why aren't they
making eye contact?

Why are they making
excessive eye contact?

Why are they dressed
like in the, in the

way that they are?

Yeah.

Uh, what, what sort of,
uh, what, what are some

of the top tips that you
find that people find

the most useful that.

The most useful is
the most basic stuff

really is like stay
away from distractions.

But there's one thing
that I've pushed quite

hard because I think
it's very important.

There's a fine line
between situation

awareness and being
a bit paranoid.

I am a bit paranoid.

Sure.

I do admit that, but
I have been in some

circles that mean
that these, I can have

some risks, but yeah.

One of the main things
is recognizing when

you're at a vulnerable
time and everybody

has these vulnerable
points of their week.

That for my, for me,
for instances, when

I leave my MMA gym,
uh, around 9:00 PM

and it's in Chinatown,
it's quite a rough part

of town and I have to
walk to the bus stop.

And nowadays I walk
to the parking lot,

a couple of blocks.

Uh, during that time
I am switching on,

I call it, switch on
to your environment

and I am checking my
surroundings in a certain

techniques to do that.

But I'm also putting
my phone away.

I'm not listening to
music on my headphones.

I love to walk around
and listen to music

or podcasts, but
there's a time and

a place to do that.

And as a time and a
place to prioritize

paying attention to
your environment.

And also there's also
a lot of training that

I give, which is based
around how, how to

act to act naturally
in an environment.

Cause there's this whole
thing around situation

awareness is two fold.

First of all, it's
the detection of

threats, which is
an important thing.

The earlier you can
detect a threat, the

more time you have to
think and act on what

to do and avoid it.

If you detect it
very early than the

avoidance tactic could
be crossing the street

and not even having to
walk past this person.

Right.

Um, but this, the second
element to situation

awareness, which I'm
very much pushing, quite

hard is the way that
you're perceived by bad

guys or criminals when
you're on the street,

because there's a lot
of studies and there's

one in particular called
the Grace and Steen

study from 1981 where
they'd two researchers

in America took, um,
some video tape of a busy

New York intersection
of just random

people walking about.

And then they took
that videotape into a

federal penitentiary
and they selected the

most hardcore human
prejudice, like rapists.

Right.

Violent sorts,
um, murderers.

And these people were
selected because they,

their crimes had been on
members of the public.

They weren't gang
related the crimes.

So they're the perfect
test subjects for this.

And they showed this
video tape to these

inmates, and then they
wanted to know who they

would select as victims
and the researchers as

with everyone else had
an opinion, oh, they're

going to select, most
people think women.

Um, but actually
that wasn't true.

They started selecting
people and it

was quite random.

First of all, they
didn't realize, didn't

really understand why.

So they analyze the
data more thoroughly

and they found that
this, the way that

people carry themselves
is a major factor in

why they are selected.

And if you look weak and
vulnerable, then you pose

less risks, risks to an
attacker, so you're more

likely to be chosen or
selected as a victim.

If you can appear
confident and in your

environment like you
belong there, you have

a reason to be there.

We always say the
people in the try and

act like the others in
the environment, the

people who are actually
native there, who

actually lived there
all the time, insiders.

There's a big difference
being between being an

insider and outsider,
if you can appear

like an insider.

And that means that
you conform to the

normal behaviors and
cloven patterns of

the area, you're less
likely to be targeted

because there's, there's
more risks associated

with being an insider
or being confident.

And one of my things is
just, you don't have to

be the biggest fiercest
lion on the plane.

You just not to have
to appear to be the

weakest gazelle.

And if you're in a
crowd of people, when

someone's looking to
rob, stick someone up

for an iPhone, you don't
have to be a hard street

fight in person Krav
Maga black belt, but

you just have to appear
not to be like frail

and weak and nervous.

Right.

And changing
that perception.

And a lot of that is
fake it till you make it.

And a lot of the
professions I've been

in, I've been around
people that are really

faking it and you
can see through it.

But when you're younger,
you kind of don't really

see through it but.

Yeah.

If you're not confident
in yourself, then the

certain techniques that
I teach in my course,

uh, that can make you
appear like, you know

what you're doing, you
know where you are and

you're not faced by
these other threats

that around in the area.

And in big, one of
that is actually

addressing threats early
and not shying away

and trying to avoid.

If you're forced to walk
past a, a person up ahead

of you on the street,
who is a threat profile,

uh, maybe this person
has decided, right, I'm

going to rob you and
you don't know that yet.

You're going to walk
past that person.

You have to, let's say,
you, if they've already

decided that they're
going to Rob you, what's

the harm in giving them
the brief bit of eye

contact to show that
you're aware of them

and you're not fazed and
then continue walking.

The the opposite side
to that is you shy

away, you look at the
ground and you close

in on yourself and
you hope for the best.

That's not in my
experience, the way

to get out of that
situation unscaved.

To address the threat
early and you don't

have to go guns blazing,
but to show that you're

confident, just looking
at them eye contact,

and then look ahead at
head, eye level to where

you're about to go.

It shows that you are
not an easy victim.

You're not phased
by them being there.

And if you don't look
like an easy victim,

then maybe you're not the
ideal victim type that

they are looking for.

I've always found that
eye contact is such

a delicate tightrope.

You don't make
eye contact.

Okay, soft target.

Yeah.

You make too
much eye contact.

Okay, threat.

Right.

And like I'm, I'm
6'6", 250 pounds

and I think when I.

In my early twenties,
I was 6'6", 225

pounds, right.

So not, not a heck of
a lot of fluctuation.

I could probably lose
a couple of pounds.

Maybe it's muscle,
I'll tell myself that.

Weighs more.

There you go.

Um, but I found in
a bar situation, I

would think, and most
people would think, I'm

the last person that
somebody would want

to go up and have an
altercation with because

I'm a bigger guy, right.

But time and time
again, I always found,

I was almost always,
growing up, through

elementary, through high
school, through a young

adulthood, the first
person that people always

wanted to go up and
prove their metal against

or to push, to see how
far I would push back.

And I've always had
very good containment.

Up until a certain point.

But, um.

Yeah, from my
perspective, if I was

to walk into a bar,
this is something

that's ingrained in me.

I do size people up to
think who is the biggest

threat and there are
certain indicators that

I look for in someone's
facial features and the

shape of their nose, the
scar tissue around their

eyes, and also the way
they carry themselves,

as in their posture.

Um, but for yourself,
yeah, I would notice you

and think right, if this
goes down in here and

I'm on the like, like,
like the receiving end of

attacks, then that guy I
need to deal with first.

Right.

Unfortunately.

But that's a compliment.

Well, growing up
it didn't feel

like a compliment.

It was fight after fight
and getting good at

being able to verbally
deescalate a fight,

which is something I
was never, ever good at.

Some people have
the gift of gab and

they're super social.

This whole podcast thing
is a whole training

process for me, really
in, uh, in conversation,

it's been quite a,
quite a challenge.

Having ADHD, I reach
a certain point in the

conversation, I'm bored,
I usually just get up

and walk away, right.

But that was something
that I think, uh, the

deescalation tactics
is something that was

never something that I
was very strong with.

And I would either a just
push through, which means

you get in the fight
or they, they leave.

Right.

Or, uh, B, I'd have to
make the decision whether

this is something that is
worth, worth getting into

it, just walking away
from which I'm stubborn

and pigheaded and that
very rarely happens.

Yeah.

I know the feeling of
that definitely myself.

Um, I've had a gap in
my skillset, which is

the deescalation aspect.

So a lot of my
trainers on the,

the buildup and the
approach to, uh, uh, an

altercation or a threat.

And then there's
the deescalation

conversation, which in
my youth I hated it.

I was actually
very scared of it.

I think that's part of
the reason why I would

go forward, because I
hate that, when someone's

challenging you in your
face and you're just

there like, oh, okay.

Back down here
or you know, that

was my go time.

Right.

I'm not that person
at the moment.

And now I know
it's stupid.

It is literally
stupidity.

Um, but I know
that feeling.

I know some people
still stand their ground

in that situation and
you know, you can do

that, but there's also
other factors at play.

And especially when
you're a family man,

and there's weapons like
knives and that involved.

But to go back to the
eye contact thing, that's

a very in-depth subject
and I have a lot of

training to give on that.

And it's hard to give
them this training

through an Instagram
post, which what I

usually do because there
is a lot of factors and

I wouldn't recommend
eye contact with someone

who's mentally ill or
on drugs on the street,

because you need to avoid
any sort of altercation

with that person.

So they're the kind
of eye contact I'm

talking about is, is
just a glance at the

person in their eyes.

And then a glance
ahead to where

you're about to go.

And that's just to
show that you're

aware of them.

You're not trying to shy
away, but there is a lot

of situations where eye
contact is a bad idea.

And it's hard to get that
information across in

such short snippets, in
like an Instagram posts,

which is the main source
of what I've been doing

over the last two years.

So do you have more that
I contact information and

your, your online course?

Yes, I do.

Nice.

Okay.

I have a lot of deterrent
techniques and that is

one deterrent technique.

Um, so if some, if
my whole premise is

that come from that
same study is that it

takes a lot of these
inmates that the average

time of assessment,
whether they're going

to choose to target
that person over the

other was seven seconds
of assessment time.

And seven seconds
sounds like not much

time, but it actually
is quite a lot of time.

And if someone's looking
at you, first of all,

they're going to see what
valuables are on display.

If they're looking
for purpose of getting

money or for whatever
reason, they're going

to be looking at you to
see it's a reward, risk

versus reward factor.

And if you're showing a
lot of reward as by way

of valuables or whatever
their sick disposition

is, then they're going
to take more risk to get

their, what they want.

But if you are keeping
valuables out of the

eyes of the people,
then they're less

likely to go and try
and take more risks.

And that delves into
the body language sort

of aspect of it too.

If you're more confident,
then why is that person

so confident when
you should be scared

in this situation?

Yeah, I know I, I was
traveling through Europe

when I was younger and
I ended up picking up

a book by Alan Pease.

And I think he's put
a few of them out in

his wife as well now
on body language.

And because I figured,
you know, I'm not going

to be able to speak all
the different languages

of the places I go to,
but if I can perhaps

pick up on the body
language and communicate

through body language,
I may have a better go.

And I found that
quite useful.

Yeah.

Seven seconds so
that they have seven

seconds and they make
that determination.

And that's 1-1000,2-1000,
3-1000, 4-1000,

5-1000, 6-1000, 7-1000.

That's a long time.

Yeah.

And the whole time
that they're, they're

making that they are
in that environment,

standing there most
likely or sitting there.

So you do have
opportunity to, to

spot them, to detect
them and to deter them

and to evade them.

And that's the basis of
a lot of the training

that I'm giving.

Yeah, smart and not
having flashy things out.

You know, my grandfather
used to say opportunity

makes the thief.

I don't know if it
makes it thief, but

if you provide that
opportunity, a thief will

be bound to pounce on it.

Yeah.

And the biggest
opportunity, and one of

the biggest things they
look for in this day

and age is cell phones.

If you're walking along
listen to music or

scrolling on your phone,
then you are a perfect

target because you're,
you're just shoutin' I

am completely unaware
of my surroundings.

Right.

With your hands by
your side, casually

looking around that you
can't be crept up on.

And that is a big deal.

There's no element of
surprise and they will

always want the element
of surprise no matter

what their goal is.

Um, there's a lot of
little things like

that that can make
a big difference.

And I have felt that
in my own life, before

I joined the military
or anything, I moved

from my hometown on
the south coast of

England, up to London
to study criminology

at university because I
was really interested in

why people commit crimes
and violent crimes.

And wasn't really
understanding my

own sick, like
attachment to it.

Um, so I studied
criminology, but that

meant that I moved to
London, the capital

city, and there's a
lot of knife crime

as we discussed and
there's a lot of other

elements as gang culture.

And I moved to a part of
London called Brixton,

for those of you that
don't know, it's got a

bad reputation, they had
some riots back in the

day it's a great place.

I love it around a lot
fun there, but there is

a dark element to it.

And the thing is with
London and the UK,

we don't have as much
space as you have

over here in Canada.

So things go up and
people are all in

enclosed environments.

Even the streets are very
tight and we have what

are called counselors
states in this government

housing, and they're just
tower blocks and there's

a lot of gang activity
in these environments

and I moved the air from
an L being an outsider

from my hometown, and
I'd had a bit of a

different accent as well.

So I was noticeably an
outsider and I looked

and dressed different
cause there's different

cultural, uh, clothing
norms in different parts

of different cities.

Right.

Um, so I moved there and
then I had to get the bus

to my classes every day.

And we literally have
gangs, I don't see it in

Canada, but in the UK we
have gangs of youths and

literally gang members on
the streets and outside

stores and on corners.

And you have to walk
past them if you

want to use public
transport, which I have

done most of my life.

So I was very nervous at
that time, even though

it was a fighter, and I'd
done some boxing, I was

nervous because of the
reputation of the gangs

and street crime, knife
crime in particular.

So I'd walk past and I
would get challenged.

And one thing with the
gangs in London is it's

territorial based in
this different codes

for different gangs.

And they would say, what
ends are you from bruv is

this is the saying that
they would always, what

ends are you from bruv.

And I'll be like, ah,
I'm not from round here.

And that was kind of
like, uh, there was

that actually a bit of
a, like gave me a safe

haven that they were
looking for threats

from other tutorials,
territorial gangs mainly.

But it still was an
uncomfortable situation

and I'd walk up to these
groups of youths and

some of them like 18,
20 my age at the time.

And it would be nerve
wracking experience, even

though I was comfortable
with fighting.

I didn't like
doing it obviously.

And no one got me
wondering why is other

people in this area,
same ethnicity, same

sort of look as me just
walking past without

being challenged or
stopped or anything.

And after, after I
acknowledged that I

could say this I'm
not from around here.

Um, it kind of gave
me a safe pass.

I had this new found
confidence and I

just walked past.

And then after a while
I was never challenged

and I'd go to visit
friends in other boroughs

of London and I wasn't
challenged there.

And it's because I was
an insider and I was

really an insider and my
body language, my whole

aura had changed and I
was confident, but I had

a place to be and I was
just going about my life.

Interesting.

Um, so yeah, I've also
studied that aspect

and thats embedded in
my training as well.

And that's from
personal experience

and also working in
surveillance and stuff.

You get some training
in these areas too.

So if you're going into
a new location and you

want to set back and
take a look at your

surroundings and get
a bit of a temperature

check for what it's
like, what, how do you

quickly a climatize,
your personality, your

attitude, your, uh,
your demeanor to, uh,

to your environment.

I it's called
establishing a baseline.

So if I was going to
start a close protection

bodyguarding job, then
in the days before

the client arrives,
a lot of my stuff

was taking clients on
vacation around Europe.

So I'd arrive at the
location and I'd have

to adapt the way I dress
and the way that I talk

and look to blend in
because a lot of my uh,

close protection stuff
from the UK before I came

over here was on my own.

And I was, I came
into cause I did the

surveillance stuff they
wanted to like covert

surveillance protection.

So I'd be in the shadows
behind, but they didn't

want me intruding on
their family vacation,

but they were like
wealthy individuals and

they wanted me there to
observe them and look out

for them and have plans
and things in place.

So I'd arrive in a
location and then you

establish a baseline.

So you sit down in
a cafe and you just

observe the environment.

And you're looking at the
ambient noises and the

sounds that dress and the
customs of the people.

And you're literally
noting down mentally,

what's going on around
you, how people behave,

how they act, what
they look like and you

just try and conform
and adapt to that.

So one particular job I
was in Italy and ended

up going to, from Naples
um, I took my client

over to the island of
Capri, which are very

wealthy and exclusive
island, staying in five

star hotels and all that.

That's the perks
of the job.

Rough.

So that was, uh,
a very good job.

Uh, so I, I adapted
my, my clothing

and the gray man
philosophy over there.

And I was actually
getting spoken to in

Italian and I was quite
proud of that because

they feel I was an
Italian and I was just

over there on vacation
or whatever, but I had to

stay away from the family
and just like usher them

around and make sure
everything was okay.

And then I took
them back to Naples.

They got their plane back
to where they came from

and I had one night in
Naples on my own um, just

to do whatever I wanted.

I wasn't going to
waste that time, a

successful operation.

So I went out from the
town, bearing in mind,

I dressed completely
for this exclusive,

wealthy island.

I was wearing like
flowery shirts, I

was wearing white
linen pants, had

like gold sunglasses.

Course, yeah.

Yeah, I was
playing the part.

Sure.

But it was successful.

And, but now I was
walking through

Naples, which is a
notoriously rough town.

There's a lot of
crime networks, then

there's from the
research I've done.

And that's
also one thing.

If you're going to
go on vacation, then

you can find a lot
of information online

about what the customs
and the dress, and even

looking on Google street
maps, you could see

people when you go down
on that and see what's

going on on the ground.

Good point.

Yeah.

Well, I, I deal with
that before, and then

I, so I thought I'll go
around and have a look

at the bars and stuff,
and I wasn't going to

waste the, uh, time I
had there, but I knew

that I, I stood out and
I was, uh, looked like

I was wealthy and I
looked like a tourist,

but I didn't care.

You know, do as I
say, not as I do.

Sure.

So I have my headphones
in as well, which.

Oh common.

Is a big no-no.

Because I love to, I
listen to like rock

music and stuff.

When I'm walking around
and podcasts, cause I was

just sightseeing anyway.

So I start walking
and I'm walking into

the shopping district
and up ahead, I've

got my sunglasses
on too, I see a guy,

uh, Eastern European
fitting the profile

and he's standing in a
good tactical position.

And tactical position
in, in situational

awareness sense is, is
somewhere where you can

observe the goings on
and someone where no

one can creep up on you.

So he's, he's up against
the building and looking

around and he's showing
situational awareness.

Typically the only
people that are aware

of their surroundings
are the good guys

and the bad guys, the
protectors, the police,

the security, us, like
we know, we're trained.

And then there's the bad
guys who are also looking

for prey and looking
for the authorities

who could apprehend
them and they're

out, they stand out.

So once you start
practicing situation

awareness, you see
these things stand out.

Anyway, I saw him
looking around and I

was walking towards
him, there's other

people on the street.

And then I had my
headphones in and I saw

him notice me and I saw
him gesture to someone

else behind me, but I
didn't see this person.

So I continued walking
and I noticed on the

side, it was a big
department store window.

Um, so check myself
out in the window.

Not checking myself
out, it's called a

reflectional look back
and it's actually shown

in the movies quite a
lot, but I use them.

So in a parallel window,
you can see quite

clearly behind yourself.

And then I see a
guy sharp scurrying

up behind me.

Um, probably a
pickpocket attempt is

that's what they do
around these parts.

So I continue walking
and then I see a bus

shelter up ahead of me
and it's got the big

glass advertising panel.

So I start walking
directly towards that,

so then I've got a
clear view directly

behind me, another
reflectional look back

and I see the guy getting
very close behind me.

And then as my, I'm
walking, I walk past

the bus stop and then
I'm out in the open

and I can no longer
see where he is, but I

should have mentioned
before, too, that I

turned the music off.

Right.

Past my headphone, my
hand was in my pocket.

So I still looked unaware
to these criminals, but

I was actually monitoring
what was going on.

And also I have a
fightin' background as

I was, had a few beers
at that time as well.

But it's a bit of a
training exercise for me.

Sure, yeah yeah.

So I walk a few steps
further, and then I

can hear the footsteps
right behind me.

And then I'll just take
a deep breath and all

of a sudden, bam, I spin
round and I'm face to

face with the guy and I
say, my thickish British

accent, British accent.

All right, mate,
how's it going?

And he was like a rabbit
in the headlights.

He was like, oh, but he
didn't speak English,

but he is shocked.

And then he smiled as
well cause he knew, like

we had that knowin thing.

Yeah.

What is it?

It's not going
to be anything,

cause I'm ready.

Yeah exactly.

But yeah.

And then he ran off
scurried away and I

carried on with me
drinking session.

Yeah.

I wouldn't advise
anyone to do that.

Well, that's a bit
of an example of

the skills that I'm
teaching in play.

I could have turned
around and deterred

the guy at any time.

And I would advise
sometimes to do that.

I could have just looked
at him and that would

have been that, over,
because he wanted the

element of surprise.

He wanted an unaware
tourists, but.

Right.

Uh, I played it a
bit differently.

A little cheeky, but
had more fun out of it.

Yeah.

That's it.

Oh man.

Well, we talked about a
size of an opponent can

make a big difference
and the number of

opponents can make
a big difference.

But the one that
you've brought up

is weapons, right.

And we've had some
shootings here in the

lower mainland, uh, we've
had a, some stabbings

that have been going on.

Um, you know, I
saw one, I think

it was in Toronto.

Uh, there was a news clip
and this person's I think

it was a gun I'm trying
to remember back here,

anyways, waving this
thing around and another

woman just walking by
completely oblivious

as somebody's acting
completely erratically.

Um, similar to the story
that you told earlier,

but what would, uh, what
would for most people in

a security profession,
you're always going to

assume that the other
person has a weapon.

Um, that's just a
no-brainer, if they

don't, hey that's gravy.

Right.

But if you're going to
make the assumption, this

is probably a weapon.

If they have one
weapon, they probably

have two weapons.

Um, what, uh, what are
your thoughts on that?

I mean, in Canada,
we don't seem to have

the, uh, well, I hate
how they call it knife

crime or gun crime.

Cause it's just
crime and they happen

to have a certain
type of, of weapon

that they're using.

Yeah.

Um, on avoiding
that, detecting that,

uh, do you have any
thoughts on that?

Yeah, I do have a lot
of thoughts on that and

that's another reason
why I've started this

training because it
all came about that

in my youth, when I
was, when I moved to

London to do that um,
criminology degree.

I actually took my
attitude to this new

playing ground, this
new, more like a war

ground, to be honest.

And I would never back
down, but that didn't

fare so well when there
was gangs and knives

involved and people
would, just didn't

care about using them.

So I had an altercation
in a bar, uh, looking

for my friends or
walking down the side

side of the dance floor
in a bar I used to go

in all the time again.

I'd had some drinks
myself, um, a guy

just barges straight
through my shoulder and

I stepped back, look
at him, it's dark, the

lights are flashing.

I don't recognize
the guy, but I do

have enemies at that
point in my life.

Um, and there's
another guy behind him

and he's posturing.

He's got his hands
down by his sides

and he's doing the
old typical, like.

Yeah.

Pushing out his chest,
which is for me is a

telltale sign that,
yeah, you may have had

some fights before,
but you're not trained

fighter because you
are exposing yourself.

Right.

Anyway.

So I don't know if
I should say this.

I headbutt him.

Yeah.

As you do.

The Glasgow kiss.

Yeah.

Because, oh, there's
two against one,

in my opinion.

And at that time in my
life, I've experienced,

you have to go hard,
fast and aggressive.

And I knew that that
fight was on, I didn't

know why maybe I'd
had an altercation

with him before.

Maybe didn't like the
look of me, but the

barge and then like the
posture, like either I'm

going to back down, which
I wasn't going to do.

Nowadays, yeah, I
would, but then, I

wasn't going back down.

So it's either throw
the first punch or

get hit with the first
punch was my mentality.

Anyway, so we have
a bit of a scuffle

on the dance floor.

A few seconds, the
doormen are on us and

they've thrown me out.

They'd thrown me outside
the front and they just

throw me on the ground.

And this happened
a lot to me, to be

honest, it was nothing,
nothing unusual.

Yeah.

Um, I'll get back up
and then they throw

him out and he's
standing next to me.

And there's a big
lineup of ladies and

men queuing to get
into this bar club.

And, uh, I stand there
and looking at him and

his friend comes out as
well, stands behind him.

And he's looking at
me and I'm looking

at him and he's doing
something down here and

I'm not registering,
I'm a bit drunk anyway.

And I'm like, thinking,
why is he not like

going for it now?

Because we just
had a fight and now

we're clear and the
bouncers stepped back.

Like, they're literally
two cornerman just

ready, ding, ding, ding,
because it's out of

their jurisdiction now.

Um, and then it goes,
so I'm fighting this

guy and I'm a boxer.

So straight punches
down the middle he's

wildly swinging and
I noticed that he's

actually hit me in the
body, which is unusual

in a street fight.

Um, and anyway, I'm
hitting him and I am

hitting him hard, but
he was like, he was a

solid structure of a man.

I remember him not even
stepping back or moving.

I was just thinking,
wow, this is all right.

He can take it so.

Yeah.

We're fighting.

Anyway, he decides that
he's getting lit up a

bit and he charges me and
takes me down, which is

another common occurrence
in a, uh, in a street

fight cause quite often
when two big forces

collide, they go down.

Yep.

Um, so he ends up
on top of me and I'm

flailing and I hadn't
done any jujitsu or any

ground fighting at that
time, I was a boxer.

So that's another element
that is completely alien

to most people and when
you know a little bit

about ground fighting,
you know, how hard it

really is, isn't it.

Sure.

And, um, so I'm fi
floating around trying

to fight on my back
and all of a sudden.

I can feel this hot
water, what it feels

like someone's tipping
a coffee cup, a cup

of tea down over my
head and shoulders.

Anyway, I'm not really
thinking about it.

There's a cold like night
and in London and then

all of a sudden I hear
a scream from a woman in

the, in the lineup, which
is only a few feet away.

He's got a knife,
he's got a knife.

Um, and at that moment
I was all, I will

admit I was consumed by
true fear, I thought,

oh my goodness, what
is going on here?

I'm going to die.

Right.

I thought I was
going to die.

Right.

So he's on top of me
and I'm just trying

to hold on for dear
life, basically.

Um, and luckily the door
security team intervene,

they grabbed him off
and as they grabbing

him off, I kick him and
then I just, I sprint

off that, which was
a natural instinct.

Right.

Which is another thing
comes with fighting

a lot on the street,
you get out of there

before you arrested.

Yeah, exactly.

So I just run,
I just run.

And then I ended up
slumping down in, in

an alleyway, um, a
few streets back to

look at what's going
on, and I'm covered

in blood all over me.

Um, and it was coming
out of my face.

I nearly it lost my
eyes and the corner

of my eye there.

Um, one of the wounds
and I realized that I've

obviously been stabbed,
but the, the moral of

the story is that I
didn't see the weapon.

And that's what happens
in most knife attacks.

If someone really wants
to do damage to you and

they're not going to
run over to you wielding

it above their head.

And it's, it's so
sporadic and fast

it's bam, bam, bam.

And that's how
it happens.

And I've watched lots
and lots of footage of

prison attacks and knife
fights on the street.

Cause I do want to have
a good opinion on it

and I want to be able
to teach this stuff.

Right.

So, and that's
how it happens.

And most of the time, the
defendant doesn't know

that a knife is being
used against them until

they see their own blood
flowing or afterwards

the blood pressure drops,
they actually drop.

And that's what
happens a lot of times.

So the way to get around
that is you have to,

you have to identify
the hands, but there's

also body language cues
that you can go into

quite in depth, but
for me, it's the hands.

It's always, the hands is
the most important thing.

Um, and not getting
into altercations.

Now I do advise to comply
in a lot of scenarios

because there's no point
in dying over an iPhone.

Right.

Which can happen and
people are so they're

not concerned with using
weapons anymore in,

in places like London.

I'm sure over here in
certain parts as well.

Sometimes it's easier.

It's like, uh,
armed guards.

Armed professionals, they
carry a gun on their hip

here in Canada and they
transfer money around

everyone figures hey,
that, that gun is there

to protect the money.

No, you want the money?

They'll give you the
money, the guns there

to protect their
life or life from a

third party, right?

Yeah.

Um, similar mindset
I think is beneficial

in, in most people.

They want the
iPhone, okay, we can

get a new iPhone.

Most, I see, uh,
knives in Canada.

I carry a pocket knife
have carried a pocket

knife, oh geez, I was
in elementary school.

Had a pocket knife I
took the school and I

remember I lost it, go
into the office, grade

one I think it was.

And the admin there
come out and they

said, oh, we think
we found it for you.

And it's a big
blue plastic knife.

No, no, no, no.

It's, it's black,
it's folding and

it looks like this.

And you mean
like a real life?

Yeah, right.

So I've carried
a pocket knife.

Most of my life
it's become more and

more, uh, common.

They just a little clip
on type knives, it's

perfectly legal to do.

And I see some people
look at it as something

that might be a good
self-defense tool.

And I have to wonder if
they've ever seen what

a knife can do because
at close range it's

absolutely devastating.

And if you think you're
using it just to get

yourself out of a little
fight, I mean, you don't

have to step too deep
in certain areas and

you've killed the person.

Yeah.

And yeah.

These people that are
carrying the knives

they might be have, they
might not necessarily

be, uh, criminally
minded to begin with.

They might just be the
average, joe blo who's

out there carrying a
knife, who's now having

a bad day, you get in
a road rage incident

and they decide, okay,
I'll use this as my

self-defense to or
whatever it might.

Um, what do they say?

God made man, Sam
Colt made man equal.

It is a great,
these weapons are

great equalizer.

I would think though,
although illegal, uh,

dog spray, which isn't
illegal to carry for

dogs, but if you carry
a pepper spray for

people, a dog spray
would probably be a

pretty effective tool.

Yeah.

I think that's quite
a good equalizer.

Um, and it gives you
that time to escape

because the goal is
always to escape is not

to stand and engage.

Right.

Yeah.

And also with knives.

Um, yeah.

I don't ever recommend
people to carry it for

self-defense because
you're bringing in that,

that weapon into the
fold and it's going to,

if you're not willing
to use it, it's going

to get taken off and
used against you most

likely and then legal
repercussions as well.

Although a lot of
people focus on the

legal repercussions.

I think you need to do
what you need to do to

survive, first of all,
deal with that after.

But that's my
personal opinion.

I agree.

Um, but yeah, I, I
never really promote

the use of these weapons
because I try to have

a global audience.

Situational awareness
is complimentary to

firearms training.

For instance, there's
no point in having a

firearm if you can't
see the threat early

and then draw and get
rounds down on it, if

you're allowed to do
that in your country.

Right.

Do you know
what I'm saying?

Yes.

Um, are you allowed?

Yes and no, that's a
whole other conversation.

Yeah.

But yeah.

The weapon, use of
weapons, like pepper

spray for instance,
we don't have this in

England, so I've, I've
grown up with a warped

perception of even
firearms, even though

I was in the military,
I've had, I haven't

grown up with it.

So it's been a bit
alien to me for

civilians to have it.

And now that I'm
in a country that

civilians allowed it.

I do like it a lot to be
honest, even if we're not

using it for self defense
purpose, I think it's

got of value in it to
have it in society for.

I agree.

Well, that kind of,
kind of segues into

a Instagram posts
that I think you

released yesterday,
which I thought was

incredibly relevant and
I couldn't agree more.

Okay.

Albeit a little
bit cryptic,

intentionally, I'm sure.

And you said, hold the
line and you're talking

about situational
awareness and less, less

of personal individual
context and more of

a global context or
global thought context.

Um, if I'm picking up
on what you're saying,

is that something
that we can talk?

Yeah, I'll openly talk
about, I didn't know

if you'd want to talk
about that, to be honest.

Oh hey I'm, I.

Yeah.

Cause I see from my, I
have a very investigative

mind and I see that we
have a lot of things

going on at the moment
and there's a lot of

other things going on.

I feel like the playing
field for international

conflicts or any other
sort of conflicts has

changed our minds,
our perceptions and

where we're giving
our attention or our

opinions are the real
commodity these days.

Yes.

And whether you're
following the mainstream

media or you're following
other sources on

social media, there is
propaganda, is a scary

word to say, and there.

Sure.

Is misinformation
and information

on both sides.

And I don't really
know what's going on.

I think there is
something else that

we, the people are not
savvy to and I don't,

I just see things that,
uh, are not normal.

Like the last two
years are not normal.

Right.

Um, so I just, my, my F
I follow a lot of people

on the right, in, um,
in America and stuff.

And a lot of my
self-defense injuries

on the right.

And they're very
much sound about

freedoms all the time.

I am actually, my
opinions have been left

leaning, but I don't
follow any political

party, but at the
moment I'm standing

firmly with the right.

Um, just because of, I
think history shows us

some things that have
happened in the past,

and there's certain
issues that we do need to

like, hold the line on.

Um.

Yes.

And I, it's a very
hot topic and.

You're talking, I think,
about personal privacy.

Is that in relation
to a COVID passports?

It is.

Yeah.

Yes.

And it's hard to
talk about these

subjects without
conspiracy theory.

Without wearing a label
of a tinfoil hat or flat

earther or whatever.

Exactly, because I do
follow, I follow the

left on Instagram, I
follow the right, I

want to be informed
about what's going on.

And I don't think we get
in fully informed or the

full picture of every
scenario and everything

that's happening.

Uh, I just like to
take a step back and

see is this really?

There's a lot of fear
mongering and I have

personal experience
of being around.

I can't talk about, but
being around the owners.

Uh, I've seen
some red flags all

along this journey.

I don't know.

I like, I don't think
there's a lot of people

out there saying this
is the way it is.

This is the way it is.

There's pipeline
information these days.

Like if there's Netflix
documentaries on it and

the creators of these
algorithms on Twitter

and that have openly
said they didn't want it

to go down this route,
but it has, if you're

giving your attention
to one platform, if

that platform starts
giving you information,

you disagree with,
you're going to discard

that platform and
go to another one.

Right.

So why would they
give you opinions of

the opposite side?

Even if we're not
talking about government

conspiracies, we're
talking about business

models as well.

Um, I don't
know a solution.

I just, I just feel
like there's something

else to this picture
that we're not knowing

what's going on.

I, you know, I look at
it and part of it, it

looks like a marketing
problem, right?

Some of it is how do
we get information out

in front of people in
order to provide them

with all the information
so that they can make

informed decisions.

And that has not been
executed well, in any

country that I've seen.

And most people will
get their information

traditionally
through new sources.

And now through social
media or through search

engines, which are all
tightly intertwined,

the, like Google owns
YouTube and Facebook

owns Instagram and
they're, they're very,

fairly well intertwined.

And I think that there
is a, uh, a fundamental

desire in these
organizations to provide

people with the best
possible information and

maybe some altruistic
ideas of how, how people

should be living or
how people should be

treating each other.

But it gets scary
when they sort of

take on the role as
the arbiter of truth.

And they will say,
well, this is the true

information, and this
is untrue information.

So we won't show this
one when we will show

this or we'll alter
this information.

And that, from a history
perspective, is scary.

And I don't know if it's
necessarily some deep

seated conspiracy or
more just human nature

playing out in a way
that it has played out in

the past, and will play
out again in the future.

Yeah.

And.

Oh, it's quite refreshing
to hear you speak

and we should have
these conversations.

I think that's the
most important thing,

cause everyone I've
spoke about, spoken to

about this issue has
had a similar opinion.

And so you've got valid
points in this issue.

Um, but I don't think
we're allowed to have

these conversations and
it's a strange time that

we're in at the moment.

Um, that like people
are so attached to

beliefs a lot of the
time it is because

they're on a political
side, um, that no one's

really looking at the
issue independently.

And without the, the
big C stuff, last year,

mainly in America,
there's a lot of stuff

that's happening that
has outside influence,

in my opinion, coming
from a military sort of

intelligence mind and the
tactics that are being

used inside of America,
wherever that, I don't

know who it's from, are
actually some of the

tactics that America has
used to, uh, influence

other governments in
third world countries

for, for a long time.

Um, and my opinion
is, I don't know

what's going on.

Right.

But I am, I'm starting
to question some

things and, um, I don't
know what, I don't

know what's going on.

That's the, uh,
the big issue.

I think that's an
important point.

I mean, it's not like, I
haven't heard anyone come

out with what I think to
be the definitive answer

and I'll agree that some
people that come out

with some, uh, ideas
can sound really cooky,

on both ends of the
spectrum, but the ability

to have that conversation
and to carefully weigh

all of the information
that's readily available

is the point that I
think is currently,

uh, the difficulty.

I mean, so many people
are, they seem to have

their whole lives and
personalities, um,

intertwined with either
a political idea or

some sort of an idea.

Whereas if you question
that you're now

questioning them and
their life and who they

are, and they can't
seem to separate that

from themselves and look
at it objectively and

come up with objective
ideas on one side or

the other, or rebuttals,
and maybe they're,

maybe they're a thousand
percent right and you're

a thousand percent
wrong, but the evidence

should stand on its own.

Rather, it seems to be
the knee jerk reaction.

If you're not
with us, you're

obviously against us.

Or if you asked a
question, it's because

you're not with us
and from a situational

awareness at a much
larger scale, I think

that is a very important
conversation that people

need to be having.

And I'm not going to
say one way or the

other, cause I just like
you, I don't have the

information and I don't
have the ability to

separate the wheat from
the chaff on it, but to

be able to discuss it
and try and gather that

information, I think is
a very important piece.

And when we start
looking at restricting

people's ability to,
uh, of movement and

to attend, I guess,
discretionary activities,

whatever that is.

I mean, there's a list
of, I think, 13 things,

which is very broad and
very narrow at the same

time, depending on how
you want to interpret it.

Yeah.

Um, based on, uh,
your medical history.

But not applying that
same logic to any number

of other medical issues
that are out there.

It starts to get scary.

I mean, it's um, yeah,
I think it's definitely

something people need to
be keeping their eyes on.

Yeah.

I think there is some
weight to question.

And, uh, the biggest
thing that stands out

for me is the shutdown
of any sort of debate

about the topic.

Right.

Which is a red flag
in my opinion, we

should, we're all
adults here, we should

all be able to discuss
and, and debate on it.

Um, and I think
that some arguments

are not being seen.

We've seen this in
America and that's

the problem with the
way the information is

given around now, that
censorship can happen.

From my perspective,
I like to see all the

angles and step back
and look at everything.

Um, if the intelligence
agencies look at my phone

and the groups that I
follow, I follow some

crazy stuff because I
want to see these people

that have the opposite
view and they're real

diehard on it, I want
to know, there must be

something that they're
seeing that I'm not.

If they really believe it
then like there's gotta

be something to that.

I want to talk to
these people and

understand where
they're coming from.

Right.

Not really cool and
call them stupid or.

Right.

Um, and I'll see, I
just see red flags

and I, I am just a
bystander watching.

Sure.

Um, but I feel my duty
as a, as a human and I'm

a family man, everything
I do now is to lay

the foundations for my
daughter to grow up in.

And I don't want to
cross any boundaries

where, uh, in the
past, when we give away

certain rights, we don't
typically get them back.

No.

Um, and I've come from
a government high-end

government, um, having
like clearances and

stuff, but, you know,
every individual person

should be able to make
decisions on their own as

long as they get the most
information balanced.

And I don't necessarily
think it's a, I don't

think it's a, uh,
overall government

conspiracy or corporate
conspiracy, but there's

always going to be
money and power, right?

The two big corruptors,
money and power or

perceived, perception
of money or power.

And there will be some
that will take advantage

of these situations to
one side or the other.

So there's always going
to be those elements,

but I think it's a
level of group think

that is happening
right now, which is

very, very concerning.

And when I guess it would
be kind of like, um, uh,

collecting a baseline and
going into a new place.

And we've, we've come
from a couple of years

ago, a certain mindset
and a certain attitude

and if we were to drop
two years ago into right

now and take a look
and take a baseline, I

think there'd be quite
a shock to most people.

Whereas the whole boiling
frog here, you turn

the water up slowly and
more and more rights

are starting to go.

Um, yeah, I think, uh, I
don't have answers to it.

It was, it was an
interesting post that

you put up there and I'm
just very delicately,

delicately speaking about
this, and I'm sure we'll

probably have some people
that comment on this.

Um, just because the
whole point of The

Silvercore Podcast
is to, uh, speak with

passionate people.

People who have done
extraordinary things and

share that passion and
information with others.

And I don't necessarily
want to be taking it

into some, uh, divergent
area, but it just tied

so well into the whole
situational awareness

and the fact that it
was timely that you

posted it last night.

Um, I do think that
people should be taking

a moment to separate
their ideology, their

ideas, putting it out
in a separate place

and looking at it with
the pros and cons of

all the different sides
and making a measured

decision before just
jumping on the wave

of what everyone else
seems to be saying.

Yes.

Cause this pendulum
will swing.

Yeah.

I agree.

That, that's part of the
attention, the reason

I've put that post up to
try and draw attention,

because I don't want to
go through, I've always

been someone, like I
said to step forward when

other people were a bit
like, mm I'm not sure.

And this is something
that I think we just

need to talk about
with our families and

the people we know.

Right.

Discuss, because
I'm going to be

wrong on any issues.

And the reason why
I'm I've moved up, I'm

not right thinking,
but I've changed.

I've been speaking with
people and I did a long

job with, uh, one person
in particular who's a

Canadian military guy,
um, right leaning.

And we had a lot of
discussions, we had

spent a lot of time
with each other.

And a lot of the stuff he
was saying was very true

and I changed my opinion.

Right.

Did and I respect
his opinion and we

did disagreed on
some things as well.

That's healthy, that's
how it should be.

Right.

We should, I think the
left, I am not left.

Right.

I am not, uh, at
the end of the day,

but I did have some
views of the left.

I have some
views that right.

And I kind of pick,
to be honest, I see

a broken system here.

Um, but that's
another conversation

for another day.

I think so.

No, I, I believe the
way it should work, like

left to kind of bring new
ideas in and the right

is really holding society
and keeping things going

and strong work ethic,
work ethic and create

occasionally the left is
going to say some things

in the right's coming out
right now, wind it back.

Right, right, right.

Bit silly they're okay.

But sometimes they are.

Okay.

Yeah.

That's a good idea.

And, and vice versa,
but that was my kind of

opinion traditionally on,
on the left and right.

Um, and at the moment,
I think we're, we're

not getting that, uh,
debate cause everyone's

just wants to shout
down at each other.

Right.

And that's global
and it's not just

here in America.

I could see that
back home in England

as well and the UK.

Like being able
to be open to

reasonable persuasion.

And I tell that
to my kids.

I said, don't become
positional, right?

If you have, unless
it's contrary to your

core values, your
morals, your ethics.

Great take that position.

Cause that's, that's
what defines you, right?

But on most issues,
don't become positional,

make your decision
based on best available

information, but be open
to reasonable persuasion.

And it's that one last
piece of the puzzle

being open to reasonable
persuasion that I find

most people are missing
on both sides of the

argument, the will
take their position

and it doesn't matter
what comes in, what

information will come
their way, they then will

defend that position.

And that's a sure-fire
way to find yourself in

a situation where you'll
eventually end up losing.

You gotta be able to
be adaptable and you

gotta be able to always
position yourself in a

way where you can't lose.

And the best way to do
that is to be open to

reasonable persuasion.

And don't be positional.

Yeah, I

agree.

Yeah.

That's a good way
of putting it.

Um, so yeah, interesting.

I really liked that post.

I'm glad that you put
it up there cause it

forced the conversation,
well it didn't force

it, but it brought the
conversation on this

podcast because it's
something that I do feel

strongly about and it
is a little bit of a, a,

a sidestep from what we
normally talk about, but

I think it's an important
thing to, uh, bring up.

Yeah.

It's a hot topic.

It is.

It is a hot topic.

So your course, that
you're selling on

SixSight.co isn't
being sold anymore.

No.

Tell me about that.

I took some marketing
advice, I'm going

to be honest, I'm
a genuine guy.

And like I've done
a lot of things.

I've pieced together
a training platform

that was very, I
think it's very good.

I put my name behind it.

I've put my face on it
now, which I never put

my face on Instagram
until I started

launching this course.

But traditionally for
me, I started my SixSight

as an information hub to
give out the skills I've

learned throughout my
career and the experience

I've picked up.

And I was given
it out for free.

Um, and to put a price
tag on it, it didn't

sit well with me.

It didn't, and I've had
some time to think about

it and now it's free
to those who need it.

And if anybody has, is
doing okay, because some

people aren't doing okay,
they can get it for free

and they can learn and
they can hopefully get

out of bad situations.

And those of you out
there that could pay

a little bit, then
there's an option to

pay a little bit, and
I'd appreciate that.

Totally.

But If not, that's fine.

You know, and that's
the kind of person

I am, to be honest,
I like to do this.

And because of the stuff
that I'm teaching is

a bit revolutionary.

And I do believe that
because I'm not seeing

it out elsewhere.

And also a problem I
had every time I was

given out my stuff,
people were stealing it.

Totally.

And they had loads
of followers and

taking credit for it.

So that was a bit
of an egotistical

thing on my part.

But you know, you kind
of want to be credited

when you spent, uh,
spent six months on this

course, locking myself
away, working on it,

learning new skills to
fill my, do scenarios

on the street where I
show the techniques so

you can learn easily and
also have given off quite

a lot of information
that has never really

been taught to the
wider public before.

Um, and I've pieced
it together and

I'm happy with it.

And I did a test group of
a load of ladies that I

know, and I've got great
feedback coming back.

And they told me
that they've, they've

given testimonials and
stuff, so I'm happy.

And I'll just hope that
people take the course

and learn from it.

And also, the big problem
here is the people

that need this aren't
actually looking for it.

Cause they don't even
know what situational

awareness is.

Right.

So it's up to us as
protectors to learn this

information and then
teach it to our families.

Um, and we already do
that, but why not bolster

what we know and also
when other people who

are teaching tactics and
things on Instagram, on

TikTok or self-defense
instructors and military

people to take the
course and to analyze

it and give me feedback.

Cause I want it to be
the best it can be.

And we've, we've this,
I do have a band of

brothers who I've worked
with, who are highly,

highly, I've landed
on my feet in Canada.

I work in the close
protection industry

and I've got a lot of
professionals around

me and I work in a
crew where we, we help

each other out and I
have bounced ideas off.

So I have had this kind
of, how would you say

this, a reference group
to help me make sure that

I'm not straying away
from the goal and stuff.

So, but I want to
expand that and get

it critiqued as well.

I think that's an
incredibly, uh, bright

way to approach this.

I've seen so many people
put together products

and then throw a price
tag on it and wait for,

wait for the big bucks
to roll in, right.

Only to find that
they've just choked off.

They're a
distribution stream.

They can't get their
information out.

They can't get their
brand or whatever

else they need out
to everybody else.

And you know, there's
a, uh, a local fellow,

one of the guys, the guy
who recorded the first

podcast with me and he
runs a business and does

some, some similar things
to what we do here.

And he created an
app for an iPhone and

I sat down with him
after the podcast.

I said put it out
for free, like

what are you doing?

Right.

Make it free as many
people downloading

that thing as possible.

And then you've got
that, you've got a

captive audience.

You've got that
information at the front

and it's the whole jab
jab jab right hook.

Right.

And it's like, give,
give, give, give, okay.

Now have an ask.

Right.

And it's just a matter of
making sure that you've

got the ability to have
that ask at some point.

But I think, uh,
especially for any

business, that's
just kind of starting

off and getting the,
getting things rolling.

I think what you're
doing here is brilliant.

And I think it's going
to put it in front of

a much larger audience
and it's going to

create more brand for
you and your company.

And so when the right
hook does come, then

it's going to be
a much bigger one.

Oh, thank you.

I appreciate that.

That's just my, my
perspective from

an outsider looking
in at things, but

I think that's a, I
think that's quite

a good way to do it.

Great.

Yeah.

Wow.

Full steam ahead.

And this is the first
time I've announced

it as well on this
podcast here that is

free for everyone.

So you can just go
to my SixSight.co on

Instagram and or the
website, which is of the

same name and link in
bio or on the website.

And you just sign
up and it's free.

And I'm going to put
links on the YouTube

and on the podcast.

Anyone listening to this
can give it a click.

It's fantastic
information on there.

Uh, highly, highly,
highly recommend that

anybody listening to
this check it out,

share it with others.

It doesn't cost
anything and it

could save your life.

Sonny, I think that's
probably a good point,

good point here, place
to wrap things up.

Um, unless there's
anything else that

you wanted to get
out before we did so.

No.

I'll just like,
say thanks for

having me on here.

It's been fun.

Hopefully see you again
later down the line.

We do another one.

Oh, we're definitely
going to do another one.

I know it.

And thank you very much
for making the time.

I really enjoyed it.

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What is The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader?