Show Notes
This episode is a long-form sit down with Greg Hake - Nebraska farm kid turned Navy SEAL, senior enlisted leader, and now Corporate Operator. We have some fun unpacking a 22-year career that took him from the conventional Navy all the way to retiring as an E8 in the Teams, with combat deployments across multiple theaters. Greg walks us through his not-so-linear road to BUD/S, including early fleet time that built the grit (and motivation) that ultimately got him through selection. That experience paid dividends later, leading to multiple deployments as a Sniper and JTAC - coordinating air assets in combat, managing everything from infil and exfil to close air support, sometimes juggling more aircraft than most people can keep track of Uber rides. We get into the realities of senior enlisted leadership - carrying responsibility for younger guys, the weight of losing teammates, and what it means to stay operational for over two decades. Greg also opens up about the physical toll of service, including emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor the size of a fist, along with enough orthopedic damage to keep the doc on speed dial - and overcoming it all to battle his way back to an operational platoon and deploy again. Naturally, the heavy moments get balanced out with the stories you'd expect - friendly rivalry between other branch's SpecOps units, instructor chaos, deployment absurdity, and the timeless SEAL tradition of talking just enough shit to create problems that you then have to solve. After retirement, Greg shifted lanes through the Honor Foundation into consulting, startups, and corporate leadership development - translating battlefield leadership into boardrooms and business strategy. It's a conversation about perseverence, reinvention, and staying mission-driven long after the uniform comes off - 22 years of service, senior leadership perspective, and what comes next when the Teams chapter closes.
🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️ Our Patreon page is LIVE! 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️ Here you can get exclusive access to the behind the scenes action, the hidden conversations between breaks, a private community chat, and LOTS more, including discounts on Liberty Risk merch as well as some of our partner brands. Come check it out and join the conversation! https://www.patreon.com/LibertyRisk
Get to know Greg more at the link below! ✖️ Greg's Official Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fatal.flaw.nation
Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts
Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc
More from Liberty Risk
🏴☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Cody Hightower, better known as Platoon Daddy, is back with the Liberty Risk boys for Part 2 of our two-part episode, and this time we're getting into life beyond the Army, building a business from scratch, the realities of entrepreneurship, and the mental health struggles that don't always end when the uniform comes off. After 20 years in the U.S. Army, Cody is preparing to trade his platoon sergeant duties for full-time entrepreneurship. We get into how he launched Platoon Daddy during the COVID lockdowns, going from designing stickers on an iPad and celebrating five orders to building one of the more recognizable military humor and apparel brands. Of course, running a military-themed apparel company comes with its own special brand of bullshit. Cody shares stories of cease-and-desist letters from the Army, Marine Corps, Crye Precision, and even Philip Morris, along with the challenges of managing employees, fulfillment, trademarks, and the never-ending headaches of running a business. Ryan brings nearly two decades of apparel industry experience into the conversation as we dive into scaling brands, making expensive mistakes, keeping operations lean, and why sometimes the best business advice is to NOT quit your day job. We also get into some hard-earned lessons about money, taxes, SBA loans, and the realities of keeping a business alive when everything seems to be going sideways. The conversation takes a more serious turn as Cody opens up about his struggles with anxiety, PTSD, and traumatic brain injuries following years of military service. He shares his decision to pursue ibogaine treatment in Mexico, what led him down that path, and his hopes of eventually using the Platoon Daddy platform to help other veterans access alternative treatment options. From military retirement and building a recognizable brand to psychedelic treatments, business disasters, and the occasional completely inappropriate Army story, this episode covers a hell of a lot of ground. Plenty of laughs, some hard conversations, and a look at what happens when 20 years of military service comes to an end and an entirely new mission begins. This is Part 2 of our conversation with Cody Hightower. If you haven't watched Part 1, go check it out first! 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️ WANT TO GO DEEPER WITH LIBERTY RISK? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon Community for the stuff that doesn't make it into the episodes: behind-the-scenes footage, conversations between breaks, private community chats, merch & partner discounts, and plenty more. 🥃 Black Site members also get invited to our monthly Virtual Cigar Night where you can grab a drink, light one up, and hang LIVE on Zoom with Kevin, Nick & Ryan. No livestream. No audience. Real two-way conversations with the guys, other members of the LR crew, and occasionally a special guest or two. 🤫 If you enjoy the show and want to be more than just a viewer, come join the crew: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk
🏴☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Cody Hightower, better known by his Instagram page Platoon Daddy, joins the Liberty Risk boys for Part 1 of a two-part episode covering his wild 20-year career in the U.S. Army, and the journey of what's next. From dropping out of college, partying his ass off, and working construction to enlisting in the infantry at the height of the Global War on Terror, Cody takes us through two decades of combat deployments, personal growth, life-changing experiences, and plenty of military shenanigans. We get into the comic mix of humor, frustration, commaraderie and danger that is Army life at Fort Benning, deploying to Iraq with a Stryker brigade, getting blown up three times, and surviving the frozen wasteland of Alaska. Along the way, Cody shares stories about getting jumped outside a bar, being stranded at a stripper's house in subzero temperatures, and a fellow soldier who ended up involved in a bizarre murder case. Things only get crazier as we get into airborne operations in Australia, partying with Australian Commandos, getting kicked out of a training exercise at Fort Irwin, and the absolute nightmare of Army recruiting duty. Cody also shares an incredible encounter with Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis, the real-life inspiration behind Forrest Gump. From the infantry to the 82nd Airborne, it's a wild ride through 20 years of military service, combat, brotherhood, personal transformation, and the experiences & conversations that shape who we become. Of course, there's no shortage of laughs, dark humor, and the kind of stories you can only get from guys who've lived it. This is Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 on Monday, where we get into life after the Army, building the Platoon Daddy brand, mental health, and psychedelic treatments including ibogaine and ayahuasca.
🏴☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Part 2 with bestselling author Eric Blehm! Eric is back with the boys at Liberty Risk for more incredible true stories, military legends, outdoor adventures, and the usual off-the-rails conversations. We dive into the unbelievable story of Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient and Green Beret Roy Benavidez, who survived a landmine explosion, taught himself to walk again, and later fought through six hours of brutal combat in Cambodia. Shot, stabbed, and nearly declared dead, Benavidez's story is one of the wildest accounts of courage and survival you'll ever hear. Eric also takes us behind the scenes of his bestselling books Fearless, about legendary Navy SEAL Adam Brown, and Legend, sharing what it takes to uncover these stories and why preserving the history of America's warriors is becoming a race against time. Then we head into the mountains to talk about snowboarding pioneer Craig Kelly, whose life and tragic death in an avalanche inspired The Darkest White, and legendary backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, who mysteriously disappeared in the Sierra Nevada after spending decades rescuing others. Eric spent years researching these stories, retracing their footsteps, and interviewing the people who knew them best. Along the way, we get into the golden age of magazines, growing up before smartphones, Eric's Army EOD father, and one of the most ridiculous Hollywood screenplay adaptations ever written, featuring a murderous beaver. Yes, seriously. From Navy SEALs and Green Berets to Vietnam War heroes, survival stories, and mountain legends, this episode has a ton of amazing stories, plus plenty of laughs and the usual Liberty Risk side quests. Come hang with us! 🍻🏴☠️
🏴☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk
🏴☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk