Ephraim is the man! Thanks for rocking the hat bro! And thanks Evan for the kind words dude!

Shout out to Mr. Ballen. He’s the one who sent me down the Ephraim Mattos rabbit hole which ultimately led me here 👏

Ephraim is the epitome of a hero. Genuine af, unapologetic, doesn't accuse anyone of NOT doing something, and goes out there daily to do the right thing.. sounds simple... but always doing the right thing is hard.

The world needs more Ephraims.. this dude is the definition of hero.. I think he needs to be a household name more people should know his story.

Ephraim is one of the best humans there is out there. Shot out to his brother Zeb for being a positive influence on him.

Ephraim is so goddamn matter of fact about things, you'd never know just how badass he is by just watching him.

I am proud to be a fellow wisconsinite. God bless brothers.

This dude is literally a modern day saint

Thank you for sharing this story with us, and allowing non-combat citizens to appreciate all the work special forces do for humanity! Very inspiring and makes me wish I can also be boots on the ground with people like Epharaim, but I'm no ex Navy Seal.

Fantastic interview. I've been following Strong Hold for a minute now. This is the first in-depth on what they are doing. Thank you! After taking early retirement in healthcare🇨🇦 I decided I wanted to move abroad. As someone who had studied so much on the Vietnam war, that's where I went to settle in. 6 months later the pandemic kicked off. I stayed. 2+ years. Initial plan was 5 years, but they were not so generous with the visa stamping at the end of 2021. So home to Canada I came😢 While there was able to volunteer as there were virtually no foreigners left. I can tell you this guy and his foundation are operating at the highest level of what it means to be a good human! Id love to back over there and continue to work/volunteer as I did previously. Nothing compares to helping out our fellow brothers and sisters. Bless this man and his org ❤🙏🙏🙏

What a hero for saving that girl's life 👏

Some dudes just can’t tell a story or keep you interested but this dude was great well spoken crazy stories and just a good listen n watch really enjoyed this interview

His book, CITY OF DEATH, is a must read. Riveting and heartbreaking.

I'm glad that Even took the helm on the podcast. I like the others guys, but I will actually take the time to listen/watch when Mr. Haffer hosts.

I love that @MrBallen is gettin appreciation

You guys should reach out Dave Eubank (the guy who carried the girl in the viral video). He is part of another non-profit called Free Burma Rangers that has very similar goals to Stronghold. He is a former Ranger and has a lifetime of crazy stories to tell after spending most of his life living in South East Asia.

Stay safe when you go back out there, Ephraim. You’re one of the best among us. The world needs you.

Mattos is a fantastic communicator via story and Evan is knows just what we need to have unpacked and ask secondary questions and and inputs. This was a great podcast! Thanks guys

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE & SERVICE!!! MUCH LOVE & RESPECT!!!

So good! Really enjoyed this episode. Will recommend.

There are a lot of us who served before 9/11, who were not let back in to the military, who have been locked out of the community in some way and struggle with this. Thank you for talking about this. Evan, you bring on some really cool people. In regards to suicide... "Suicide becomes possible when the pain of living exceeds the pain of dying." This pain stems from the belief that there are no other options. Giving someone who is suicidal more options and then challenging them to at least try is the challenge. Someone needs to call. The problem often is these guys are usually divorced, alone and no one ever calls. Someone needs to compile a mail list, phone numbers, whatever tio make sure someone contacts them. Does such a list exist? Who would compile it? I bet Kara Smith could come up with an algoryhthm for this. Thank you for what you guys do.

I literally just finished his book and was hoping to find out what he's up to. Incredible human being.. A few more Ephraims in the world and evil wouldn't stand a chance.

I need to find this man and thank him personally I live in Milwaukee Wisco and it would be a damn honor.

Mrballens video on this guy is great

Super humble guy

love the podcast..

mr ballin has a story in buds. he got pulled out of the water and told to go sit down so ballin was huffing and being all loud like "look how hard i had it" and he said ephraim turned around and said "shut the fuck up, we're all going through it" lmao he then went on to say ephraims comment pissed him off at first but later it sunk in and became a valuable lesson. then told shawn ryan a little about ephraim saving people as a civilian in iraq. so that got me to look up the footage and learn more about ephraim. and now the algorithm brought me this video

that was a good podcast

YO! His skin broke out recounting the story and then chilled out. That is wild to see.

Nice.

I have a dream story . I got out of the army 3 months after my last deployment and went out west to take care of my suck mom . I had this dream I’m in my city near Boston shooting my 240 b fighting the Taliban and I still remember hitting one as he scaled the stone wall of a neighbors home . It was so vivid . I think it was a mixed dream a little home sick with some ptsd war stuff mixed in . That’s all I remember idk how it ended

The headline i loved was when ppl said u were an Obama lover because u lost a bet and had to donate money,fucking epically hilarious,i dont give a fuck abt politics,i love coffee and BRCC CAF and cleared hot is all i drink

Shout out to Ephraim from central Wisconsin, wwjd is something I try and live by and it seems you are doing that and then some🫶💛 Good luck and God bless

I had back surgery in 2021 and MrBallen took up a ton of my down time 🤣 how I heard about Ephraim

BRCC ads on the political debate..... very nice

1:34:27 -- i TOTALLY get what you mean. Here's a bit of a cheat phrase for you: "the feeling of unsafety is internalized, I think. I just startle easily at everything. Fireworks, loud noises, etc. Like even the news and all the unrest and PROTESTS (don't use the word riot or antifa, so you don't get bogged down in a political debate...) is very triggering for me! It's not rational at all, maybe PTSD?" And then they answer with some version of "awww, well of course, bc you were in combat zones", etc, So, that's what you say in the moment...and then you get a different therapist :)." ALSO, super protip: ALWAYS ask for a COPY of your FILE! prior to leaving 😉😉😉😉😉😉😉😉 *wink, wink* You gotta be on your toes with this stuff. And when they ask why you need a copy, it's bc you're military and filing and organizing stuff just makes you happy. It's your happy zone, like making your bed super tidy in the morning. You ask for this prior to leaving your therapist. And then next week, you had to move. But will definitely give your NEW therapist the file, so there's no break in your therapy and you don't backslide on your progress. Mental health is pretty notorious for incompetent quacks and/or ''creative interpretation of information". You adapt, you overcome, you don't freak out about what may or may not be in the mystery file. Never forget that experts disagree all the time as well, so 1 iffy sentence in a file is not the end of the world. You're allowed access to your own records. If they say no, you can then pursue it via some sort of freedom of information request. But as long as you maintain a good relationship with your therapist they have no real reason to say ''no". Especially since you mention you will keep in touch and would maybe like to reconnect with her when you move back into the area. This = future therapy💰💸💸💸...and so everyone plays nicely :). And you're gonna give her referrels possibly as well, bc you have LOTS of repressed, traumatized male buddies... suggestion is a powerful thing . Don't argue, don't debate, ADAPT. Upgrade your situationship Plan B (bring a recorder with you and record your own sessions)

ok, can someone tell me if the suicides are just a common problem, why people don't want to work on this problem? Like, everyone keeps mentioning it like you're commenting on a lake or a lamp post...it's just there, a feature of the landscape... but no one seems to actualy want to treat it as a problem and try to solve it. Why? whenever I even try to mention solutions, i'm talking to myself basically. Do you get that it's a choice yeah, but when you start breaking it down it does have contributing factors and you can get better outcomes by focusing on those factors?

I got the likes to 556… youre welcome

Not trying to give anyone life advice, but for BRCC dude with the recurring dream, what are you doing prior to going to sleep? And are there nights when you would not get the dream? Is it stress-related, or totally random? It's recurring bc you "hate it", as well. Your ''dillemma" is emotional trauma, so your brain is trying to help you work it out. They could scatter if you throw it AT them. You don't know that there will always be more left to come after you afterwards. You're assuming that part.

is his wife also military? bc if not , does she have any other training in this area? It's not a good idea to take a complete novice and dump them into a trauma environment. She can come back more traumatized than him...that part is not clear. I saw later that she was from that area originally, but, not sure if that makes it better or worse, tbh.

BS