Nick Lavery

All the guests on the KNOW FEAR® Podcast are hand-selected. This means every one of them has a story, an expertise, and a message I want you to learn about. I interview people from all walks of life, but of course, you know I have a love and deep respect for those who serve. Just look back at the list of some of the amazing people I’ve had on the show: Mike Glover, Andy Stumpf, Pat McNamara, Clint Emerson, JC Glick, Dutch Moyer, Craig Sawyer, Brian Chontosh, Dave Grossman, Ryan Michler, Jack Carr, Steven Pressfield, and Byron Rogers, to name a few. When I heard the interview between Nick Lavery and Shawn Ryan, I was blown away on so many levels… The story is nuts…but it’s Nick’s personality and his story-telling skills that make this even more powerful. I hadn’t even finished the Ryan interview and was already reaching out to Nick’s team to set up an interview. KNOW FEAR family, I’d like to introduce you to Nick MACHINE Lavery. Let’s start with this: SILVER STAR THREE PURPLE HEARTS TWO BRONZE STARS BRONZE STAR WITH V FOR VALOR 5 MORE AWARDS AND THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND EXCALIBUR AWARD 👉 If you don’t know what these awards represent, I suggest you look them up online and learn about them. And if you're not familiar with Nick, then you need to read this and wrap your head around this feat: “In 2013, on Nick's second combat rotation to Afghanistan, he and his Detachment fell victim to an insider attack ultimately resulting in the loss of his leg. Following a year of surgeries and initial recovery including the use of a prosthetic at Walter Reed National Medical Military Center, he returned to his unit.” Nick refused a military medical retirement and returned to operational status! “In 2015, at the conclusion of a challenging, comprehensive assessment designed to evaluate Nick's abilities to operate, he returned to his Detachment and was subsequently deployed once again to Afghanistan conducting full-spectrum combat operations.” Nick is the first Green Beret to return to combat as an above-the-knee amputee! I love this quote. “If army scientists and tattoo artists had hijacked a DARPA LAB to create the ultimate soldier, they would’ve created Nick.” -Connor Narciso from Wired Mag. You won't know who Connor is unless you know the story (which Nick explains in our talk). When you learn who he is, the quote is even more remarkable. Be sure to check out NIck's book: OBJECTIVE SECURE