Colin Gibson on Military Contracting, PTSD & The Power of Being Yourself

 

Colin Gibson is an ex-soldier, military contractor, scuba-diver, and owner of Talon: a security training company based in Northern Ireland. He’s served in Iraq and Afghanistan, lived in Belize for 6+ years and has been on a rollercoaster journey of dealing with combat-induced PTSD and childhood trauma.

In part one of this epic four-part special we talk about:

  • The effects of growing up with an abusive father

  • How violence dominated his early years

  • Getting in trouble with the police

  • The moment his life changed and all the anger disappeared

  • Walking through fields barefoot in the rain

  • The one positive male influence on his life

  • Moving to Belize

  • Scuba diving stories: manta-rays, blackness and pica-pica jellyfish

  • Finding happiness for the first time

  • And a few teasers to what you’ll hear in part two.

In this part two we talk about:

  • Getting his feet washed by an Iraqi driver

  • Being challenged to a fist-fight by his girlfriend’s dad

  • Getting thrown into a Belize prison cell with 20+ other people

  • What led him away from Belize

  • Why he ended up joining the military

  • And a few stories from his deployment…

In part three we talk about:

  • The specific combat-event that “sent him down the rabbit-hole”

  • Dealing with survivors guilt

  • And battling with suicide.

In part four we talk about:

  • How his experiences affect his life today

  • Why he’s thrown himself into serving others through his new teaching business

  • (Talon Security Training)

  • What he’s focused on

  • Why he started opening up about his experiences

  • And advice he’d give to an 18-year-old version of himself

Check it out.

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— Matt

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Matthew Thompson