mental fitness

Heroes Are Also Human: Mental Fitness and Culture Change in High Intensity Industries with Brandon Evans

Heroes Are Also Human: Mental Fitness and Culture Change in High Intensity Industries with Brandon Evans

What if we trained for mental fitness the same way we train for physical fitness?

In high-intensity jobs like firefighting, healthcare, and construction, resilience is a survival skill. But the cultural story of “toughness” often silences the very people we count on to save lives.

In this powerful episode, I chat with retired firefighter and mental health researcher Brandon Evans, founder of Fire to Light, to explore what it really takes to turn workplace wellness from just awareness into daily action. Using lived experience and global best practices, Brandon helps us rethink what it means to be strong, how to build psychological safety, and why incorporating mental health into our training routine—rather than just reacting to crises—must become standard practice.