00:00:00.03 nextlevelguypodcast I see these kind of people like being famous and being the epitome of what kids are meant to grow up to. And they should be more like somebody like yourself, you know, somebody who's given back and helping so many people. 00:00:13.24 craig harrison Yeah. 00:00:13.43 nextlevelguypodcast But for maybe people who don't recognize the great that's sitting in front of me, how would you describe who you are and why you're well known or what do you think you're your achievements are? 00:00:27.75 craig harrison Do you know what my wife says to me? um 00:00:32.73 craig harrison She goes, do you realise what you've done and what you're doing now? And i don't realise. And... is it my wife goes, because you're very humble in what you, you know, what you've done and have you achieved in your life. 00:00:49.12 craig harrison And I still don't see it now. just, I try and help as many people as possible, you know, for their mental health journey and PTSD and stuff. And I help people in their military career as well, you know, when I was in and no, I probably, I probably to stay now, probably still do not see who I am and what I have done and what I've achieved. And, 00:01:12.99 craig harrison I just, I don't know, I'm just me. I'm just me, you know, and I've got inability, think, just to to talk to people and to guide people. And when shit hits the fan, when, you know, when you're on tour or you're in a firefight and stuff like that, I don't know. 00:01:35.51 craig harrison Yeah. I've got an ability to keep a level head, you know, and when the rounds are going over and you've got injured casualties and stuff like that, i I'm just level-headed. I'm just calm under that situation, you know, but I don't see it. I don't see it. No, I don't see it. My wife will fucking hell, Craig, you know, but i I don't see it. I'm just me. I'm just Craig Harrison, you know. 00:02:03.91 nextlevelguypodcast That's probably one of the better interactions I've had because everybody kind of goes into their you know their and PR speak. And you always come across as this normal, nice guy who just did a job, doesn't see it as like this or that. 00:02:18.58 nextlevelguypodcast But you're just like ah myself, um listening to my wife, we have a joke about it, et cetera. 00:02:21.14 craig harrison Thank you. 00:02:23.55 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah. I think that's the thing is we all have this identities that we try to maintain and that's why it was more interested in learning about you than the shot or the man who made the shot because you're now finding another identity for yourself and helping others find their versions of themselves outside of that but I've been listening to a few different podcasts about you and while you're growing up you wanted to be a farrier How did you go from that to being an army man? 00:02:53.78 nextlevelguypodcast I know you've got a history of service in your family, but what what was there a turning point that led you out of that? 00:02:55.96 craig harrison Yeah. 00:03:02.79 craig harrison Well, basically, I joined the army and I think the army now is different. I'm not sure how the entry test is. I think it's all computers, but it was all pen and paper when I joined, you know, and it was like simple things like Johnson and End of the Diving Board, where we get more spring, A, B or C sort of thing, you know. So it was quite simple and you're graded on what your um you know what score you got on your your test. And I'm dyslexic. 00:03:39.86 craig harrison And I will and I really wish I concentrated more at school, but I just found it really difficult. You know, I'm more of a practical kind of guy and I rode horses nearly all my childhood and. 00:03:54.58 craig harrison I had a good childhood, a very strict childhood, but I i achieved a lot you know with eventing, trocathlons and stuff like that. 00:04:06.58 craig harrison So oh I'm a very practical kind of man. And my grandfather said to me get a trade, get a trade. And so I was always... 00:04:18.92 craig harrison directed and joining the armed forces always and because my love with horses and animals i thought fuck it i'll join the household cavalry you know and because horses and stuff like that but i never in my wildest dreams thought it would be like it is or was or still is you know how strict it was um how the how they treat the horses and and what they do and all that, you know. And there was no apprenticeships going on where I was born in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. There was no farrier apprenticeships. 00:05:01.88 craig harrison So yeah, so House of Cavalry was the only answer. And luckily, my BARD test, when I did my exam, I got offered the House of Cavalry because what they do when you do your exam, you're graded. And, you know, they would say, right, you're at this level, we can offer you this. 00:05:23.93 craig harrison be a foot soldier, be the rifles, be this, be this. But luckily, for some reason, I must have been intelligent that day. And I got a high school test. And these they offered me the household cavalry. So yeah, my dream was coming true. um And then i became a well, 00:05:42.23 craig harrison I went into the forge to do my apprenticeship and my practical skills were on par, you know, and it was just my written because you do a lot of veterinary stuff as ah as a farrier, especially the armed forces, you know, because obviously you get one vet and they rely on you as well to what to diagnose the problems with the horses. And my written skills weren't up to it, you know. but but make all the latin names and god knows what to do with the horse but my practical skills were good so i didn't make the grade to become a farrier but i didn't have a plan b i didn't have a plan b and every time i do talks or i talk to the younger generation i always say to them always have a fucking plan b always have a plan b because it's not necessarily plan a is going to work out 00:06:36.15 craig harrison Now, me becoming a sniper, I realised now when I was on the ground to have a plan A, B, C, D, E, F, G, because things can go fucking horribly wrong and at a fast pace as well, you know. um So, yeah, I didn't have a plan B. So I went AWOL from London, from the Household Cavalry, and I went to join the French Foreign Legion. 00:07:02.52 craig harrison So, yeah, that's where I am. 00:07:04.86 nextlevelguypodcast As you do. yeah 00:07:06.26 craig harrison As you do, yeah, because I just, I felt very lost, you know, and no one... 00:07:07.32 nextlevelguypodcast yeah 00:07:14.55 craig harrison When you first join the army, no one listens to you. you know You can't have an opinion. And I felt very lost. And I knew about the French Foreign Legion. 00:07:25.49 craig harrison And i thought, fuck it, I'll just go and join. And when I got there, I was very honest with them. And I said, look, I'm AWOL from the British Army. 00:07:35.83 craig harrison And that if I'd have joined five or six years ago, at that time, they would have accepted me. because their criteria had changed, they don't accept murderers, rapists, like they used to years ago. And they don't accept people that are able. yeah, they sent me back. I spent... I went back... um Went back to Knightsbridge and I did four days in Nick there, in they in the prison there and carried on soldiering. 00:08:09.94 craig harrison And then I started prize fighting for money. So yeah, I was just going down a rabbit hole. I didn't really want to go down, you know. But luckily the army saw that, especially my regiment. And they sent me to Windsor because my regiment split into two. So you've got the ceremonial side, which is the horses. 00:08:29.50 craig harrison And also you've got the reconnaissance role, which was which at the time they've moved now. They're in Salisbury, Balfour. But at the time they were in Windsor and they sent me from London into Windsor. And you know what? I never look back. 00:08:44.70 craig harrison Never look back. you know Do I miss the horses? Yeah, do. yeah They gave me so much calmness in my life. you know But do I regret going to Windsor? No, because... 00:08:59.35 craig harrison two things happened. i wouldn't have met my wife, you know, and i wouldn't have become a sniper and I wouldn't be here talking to you now. So... 00:09:08.16 nextlevelguypodcast I love that. The first benefit you think about is the misses. you know yeah 00:09:13.62 craig harrison Oh, I don't... 00:09:14.04 nextlevelguypodcast There are many men that we've gone about accomplishments, achievements, and yours is the one that made you feel pure and whole. And and i think that's that says a lot about you. i mean, was that going, becoming in the reconnaissance side of things? Was that the bit that made you sort of link back to you as a kid, being out in nature, enjoying the horses, being adventurous and doing things? did it Was that the side of you that it appealed to? 00:09:39.83 craig harrison Yeah, massively. i just love being outside, you know. um ah just I just love being in the wilderness and doing stuff. And the the the regiment gave me that, you know. It's a bit of a... 00:09:53.94 craig harrison They call you a camp camp rat. you know When you're in camp, you're just frustrated all the fucking time, you know because you just want to be on exercise. You know you want to be you know running around the area and stuff like that. So as many as much as I did, I spent a lot time on exercise as much as I could. because And if there's an exercise coming up and they needed men volunteers to go on the exercise, I used to volunteer because I just love being at of camp, you know, that routine and back in in the countryside, you know, and I absolutely loved it. And that's why I think I flourished as well, you know. 00:10:34.04 nextlevelguypodcast And do you think that gave you that identity that like that you were looking for, that plan, that sense of belonging? you know Was there a moment that you just looked around and thought, yeah, I belong here. I deserve to be here. This is what I'm this is what i'm here for. 00:10:49.69 craig harrison Yeah, without a doubt. You know, struggle with purpose. um And I think I struggled. you know what? Looking back at it, I think I've struggled for a long time with purpose in myself. What am I here for? 00:11:04.82 craig harrison You know, what am I doing? um I suppose if you asked anybody and you said to them, you know, what is your purpose? They would give you an answer. And I can't give you an answer, you know, um my wife would correct me and see say, I'm your purpose. You know, the dogs are your purpose, you know. and But ah I think I've always struggled with that identity thing. 00:11:34.17 craig harrison Was the regiment good for me? Yeah, it took me out of London. It took me out of that place I didn't want to go down, that rabbit hole, that dark place. because I could have been in so much more trouble. you know and you know I think that's one thing i thank I thank the regiment for, is noticing that and taking me away. 00:11:55.45 nextlevelguypodcast Because everybody thinks that, you know, sniping as the sort of the technical side of it, the the ghost aspect to get into play places to shoot, etc. But it it takes some sort of amazing sense of mentality to work out that fulcrums, levers, you know, trajectories of the shots, etc. But also like the staying for hours, waiting for your shot or getting yourself into that situation. But... 00:12:20.30 nextlevelguypodcast You're very hard on yourself, I noticed, because you said about lack to get through, you know that you don't think you deserve it, et cetera. I've come from someone with depression and intrusive thoughts and OCD. And I know that getting out of bed sometimes can be a living hell. 00:12:36.89 nextlevelguypodcast You know, like it could be the worst day of your life, carrying this internal prison around with you. And not only have you come out of one of the hardest situations, been in some of the worst situations and seen what the worst things humans can do. 00:12:49.94 nextlevelguypodcast You're now using that to help other people find their purpose. And I find it amazing that you're you're so humble about it that you're just like, I don't know my purpose. You know I've got to keep the missus happy. 00:13:01.10 nextlevelguypodcast We've all got to do that. But you have this, ah but you you're doing this amazing thing. You have such a strength of character. And I think that's what makes you you. What do you think it takes mentally to do that job well or to to survive that aspect of it? 00:13:20.27 craig harrison I think, let's go back to when I was a child. I had a brother. I've got a brother. And he's he had no interest in the countryside, horses or anything you like that. And I was a very lonely child because I spent a lot of time with my horse. 00:13:42.42 craig harrison riding on my own and i had my best mate with me, Tom. you know We'd go out on the weekend, we'd just get some sandwiches made up and just fuck off for the whole whole day. you know And then the next day we'd do exact same thing, we'd go into the countryside. So I was a very lonely child um and i was very brought up, strict upbringing. 00:14:11.77 craig harrison But becoming a sniper, see, in my regiment, there was no prospects for sniping because my regiment is so archaic, you know, and they refused to move on with the times. 00:14:26.26 craig harrison But when they had a big shift around um and they said that they were allowed snipers into the house or cavalry, i I pestered them all the time to get me on the sniper course. 00:14:40.50 craig harrison And eventually I got onto the sniper course, you know. And sniping is one phase. There's two phases. Well, there's there's not there's seven phases altogether. But the two phase main phases is be the shooting phase. Once you pass the shooting phase, and then you go onto to the sniper phase. 00:15:01.82 craig harrison And when you're training or learning to be a sniper, you're on your own. You don't work as a pair. You have to be mature enough to get yourself to A to B at a certain pace at a certain time. 00:15:18.10 craig harrison get to that location. We call it FFP, final fire position. And once you're in your FFP, lay there for a certain amount of time and take your shot. you know And you do that over and over and over again. And I think I excelled at that because I've been on my own as a child and I like my own company. 00:15:39.83 craig harrison you know, and I think that's why I get on so well with my wife, Tanya, because it's just me and her, you know, and we don't have many friends to overcrowd us or take up our time, you know, it's just me and her, and and I think that's stemmed from being a child to going on being a sniper to going and on being my married life, you know, and, um, 00:16:06.40 craig harrison Yeah, I think I excelled more because I like being on my own. Yeah. 00:16:12.37 nextlevelguypodcast I think that says a lot about you because it's that side of you want to surround yourself with the right people. you don't You're not just wanting numbers or acquaintances. You want to be surrounded by the right people. 00:16:24.86 nextlevelguypodcast And i think that's something a lot of people struggle. you know We all want the likes and the the numbers to show off our, oh, we're so popular. But give me two or three good friends and I'd happily dump 500 Facebook contacts you know or ever that kind of thing. 00:16:39.58 craig harrison Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:16:41.66 nextlevelguypodcast I mean, when you are doing something that will go out and you'll spend hours getting to position to maybe take a shot that last seconds, or you're going out, you know, crawling into position or waiting for the command, what goes through your head? 00:16:56.57 nextlevelguypodcast Are you just thinking about the sort of the ritual of the shot? Are you thinking about where you are? Like, how do you keep yourself focused and trained, ready to act? Yeah. 00:17:09.85 nextlevelguypodcast Because i I like my own company as well, but do you find, did you struggle with your attention waning or were you always so focused on the mission at hand? How did you deal with that side of things? 00:17:21.30 craig harrison Do you know what? I used to train when I was training to be a sniper. We had a corridor in our accommodation block and it it's a long old fucking corridor. It was, I'd say about 30 metres long because it had different rooms shooting off it. And what I used to do, i used to thing called dry training. 00:17:42.01 craig harrison And basically you manipulate the bolt, load it, cock it, fire it. And you do that every every couple of minutes you would do that. And what I used to do is put my laptop at the end of the corridor and then put a film on and then and go back to my rifle, lay there, look for my scope and just watch the film. 00:18:04.76 craig harrison You know, and sounds sounds horrible, but put the crosshairs on the actors and just say they were the the target that I needed and then follow them around the you know the laptop and then take the shot. And I think more training you do and dry training is so important because sniping is a perishable art. It means you've got to stay on the ball all the time. 00:18:32.50 craig harrison Once you get to your FFP, i used to I used go to my happy place, you know, and my happy place is being with Tanya, being with my dog, and that's my happy place, you know. um And 00:18:55.10 craig harrison close my eyes. I bring myself up to the scope. 00:19:00.89 craig harrison And then... I take the shot, you know, for some reason my heartbeat will slow down. And then what I used to do if I was in a location for a long period of time is give the targets names. 00:19:17.24 craig harrison So say for instance, I was in Iraq or Afghanistan. looking down into a compound i would give everyone a name saying oh yeah there's john coming out with his wonky leg you know and using them little childish things keeps you alert at all times you know because you say to yourself oh where's john gone haven't seen him this morning you know oh there he is coming out now there's his wife yeah there she is look god she's ugly You know, and little things like that just to keep your mind occupied and what you're doing, you know, and and then obviously you get the green light to take the target out. 00:19:57.75 craig harrison So you end up taking that target out and then your mission's done and then you just have to extract yourself. But sometimes after you take that shot, you have to stay there for a little bit longer because they flood the area. 00:20:11.35 craig harrison full of Taliban or insurgents looking for you. And if you if you extract yourself out, you're going to give your position away. So sometimes you have you do everything under darkness anyway. so 00:20:25.68 nextlevelguypodcast I mean, I love the idea of you using films to trade and, you know, you're you're making it become automatic. what What kind of films were you watching at that point? Was it just anything or is there one that stands out that was... 00:20:35.22 craig harrison Anything. Yeah, um I'm a big horror film fan, you know. Recently, I just bought 117 DVDs, horror DVDs from a camper van, you know, and I'll just put a crappy horror film on, sit at the end of the corridor and just watch it, you know, and... 00:20:54.36 craig harrison I was the only one to do that. but Everyone else was getting their heads down and I wasn't. I was dry training, constantly dry training because I think I was the only household cavalryman at the time to be on the sniper course. And failing isn't an option in my head, you know, ah unless I've got a serious fucking injury. 00:21:14.42 craig harrison And when I went for selection with special forces, I got a really bad injury in the side of my knee. So I couldn't carry on. But um if I didn't have that injury, I would have carried on you know. But I'm very dedicated in what I do. And i put 100% in on what I do as well. Because if you don't put 100% in, you're not going to achieve your end goal at the time, you know. And I think that's why I excelled at snipering when I was on tour. You know, i put 100% in finding the target, getting into that location and, yeah, to doing the job. 00:21:56.70 nextlevelguypodcast Because we're very similar in that sense. Like I like one of my and things to go to if I'm stressed is I'll watch like a Halloween film just to de-stress. You know, I like watching films because it's my thing away from people. 00:22:05.89 craig harrison Okay. Yeah. Yeah. 00:22:08.86 nextlevelguypodcast Is that the same for you? 00:22:11.39 craig harrison I watch cartoons. Yeah, not childish baby cartoons, but like Scooby-Doo. I watch Rick and Morty, stuff like that, stuff that is not real, you know, and it takes me out of that. 00:22:26.40 nextlevelguypodcast Mm-hmm. 00:22:29.59 craig harrison stress zone if if that makes sense so if tanya's upstairs watching her i call it watching her crap on telly but if she's upstairs watching her stuff and she comes downstairs and i'm watching a cartoon You know, she knows I'm just, you know, trying to focus and having a bit of a wobble. 00:22:51.06 craig harrison And it's it's finding them triggers that help you um that people need to do to help their mental health or PTSD or even to focus, you know, to take themselves from reality sometimes. 00:23:07.13 nextlevelguypodcast I mean, I know I've had a bit a panic attack the last time was on a plane and I remember putting on the Harry Potter audiobooks, read them tons of times, heard it tons of times, but it was just that similarity, that repetitiveness of listening to it calmed me down and I zoned in on the story, I knew, you know, it kind of controlled it. 00:23:27.70 nextlevelguypodcast Did you do that in the field? you do that when you're struggling? Is there like a particular series of films that you just watch that calms you? 00:23:38.34 nextlevelguypodcast Is there like ah an audio book or anything of that kind of description? 00:23:41.86 craig harrison Not really. Do you know what? I listen to podcasts like the Trailer Park Boys. Have you heard of them? 00:23:51.78 nextlevelguypodcast I've heard of them. I don't think I've ever listened to them. 00:23:52.72 craig harrison They've got a podcast and they just make me laugh, you know. And before I go to bed, I put a headphone in and I lay on my bed and I listen to stuff to just take me out of the reality zone. 00:24:07.70 craig harrison you know Films could be anything. you know, mainly horror, crappy horror, you know, that's got a lot of budget of a pound or something, you know, and you think, fuck, you know, this is awful, but I'm just going to, you know, I enjoy it, you know, and I think that's, that's important. 00:24:19.51 nextlevelguypodcast Bye. 00:24:26.97 craig harrison You need to take that respite from reality, you know, and even on tour, I was on my own. used to, I used to eat with the lads, but when it come down to it, I just got back to my tent. I was just on my own, ah you know, and... some Yeah, I've always been like that. 00:24:48.76 craig harrison I've always been like that. Even when I was, you know, going on the piss with the lads, I used to stop in the pub or in the nightclub and i' think, what the fuck am I doing? 00:25:00.44 craig harrison And just I just used to just walk home, you know, go back to camp. And then was 1.5. 00:25:08.99 craig harrison had an epiphany and I thought, fuck it, I'm just not going to go out anymore. It just doesn't interest me, you know. And when I met Tanya, um I nearly turned around. i nearly turned around and... 00:25:25.11 craig harrison I said to myself at the services, come on, Craig, you always fucking do it. Just go, just go. Because was meeting a friend of mine and he never tipped up. And that's how i met Tanya. So i'm ah I'm not a religious man, but I believe in fate and people, things and people are put in your way, you know, either to help you or, or, um, 00:25:50.19 craig harrison trying to think of a word now, I can't think of it, trying to help you or or stop you. you know mean? Everything there is for a reason. It's fate. That's what I'm a big believer of. 00:26:00.98 nextlevelguypodcast It's like the universe providing or giving you the same the same lesson over and over again until you learn it kind of thing. 00:26:08.73 craig harrison Massively, yeah. My grandfather, Reg Harrison, he was a big father figure in my life, massive father figure. And when he passed away 94, I was in Scotland at the time doing the Edinburgh tattoo, and I got the call that he had passed away. And I went to see his coffin, but my mum wouldn't let me go to see him get buried, which really hurt me. 00:26:38.87 craig harrison And he taught me so much, so much. um And I miss him dearly, you know. And people say I look like him. If you see a photo of him and me, you know, i follow after him. 00:26:56.47 craig harrison So, yeah. 00:26:58.81 nextlevelguypodcast I love that sense of warmth to that kind of pride that you take it. It shows the importance that he he made in your life. I think it's it shows as well. i mean that you You're like me. that you You sit in a pub and you'll be surrounded by people and think, I don't want to be here. I'd rather be with the people I love. 00:27:17.75 nextlevelguypodcast Just sitting in with them. You don't need to be doing anything. You just want to be spending time with that fair few that make you you feel like you. I mean, you you know you talked about wanting eat with the guys, and then you went and sat in your tent. It links back to your kind of that trust, that ability to believe in yourself and to be you. 00:27:37.11 nextlevelguypodcast But for people who are... never been in that environment you know you're trained to think ahead plan a b c d f g you're trained to incredible control under pressure what did it teach you about you know ah managing that adrenaline but also each situational awareness because you've been in some real hell holds what how did you manage to stay in your own like focused but also survive it and just be exceptional at what you do 00:27:59.15 craig harrison Do 00:28:08.12 craig harrison you know what? I used to put my Tanya said to me, be safe, be safe. Don't put yourself in danger. Don't do this. Don't do that. And I said, yeah, I promise you I won't. 00:28:18.68 craig harrison um I had 16 guys to look after, you know, and when you're in a, we call it a tick troops in contact or dust up or there's many names for it. But when you're in a situation and shit's hitting the fan, you don't worry about yourself necessarily. 00:28:37.34 craig harrison You know, you worry about your lads and you worry about their safety. So calm under pressure. ah don't know why. I've always been like that. 00:28:49.58 craig harrison I've always... 00:28:53.53 craig harrison it's hard to explain There's no words for it. Why i am like I am under, under contact, getting shot at and stuff like that, you know, but I always led by the front. 00:29:07.45 craig harrison So if shit was hitting the fan, i would try and like one instant I got shot in the helmet. All right. And, um, it knocked me out for about 20 seconds. 00:29:21.53 craig harrison And when I came around, um everything was in slow motion. And... All I could see was people panicking, shots getting fired, but they're sporadic shots. They weren't aimed shots or anything. People who were panicking because we were getting shot at. 00:29:43.96 craig harrison And I felt that I had to do something. To this day now, I've got no recognition what I've done. To this day now, it's only my driver. 00:29:55.29 craig harrison who told me what I'd done. And apparently I got on the machine gun. I put suppressing fire down in the right direction of the Taliban. And once my the wagon got hit so many times, it hit the ammo box to squash it. 00:30:13.72 craig harrison So the rounds, which was on a belt, stuck. So the the gun stopped. So apparently I got my SA-80 out, started putting rounds down on that. Once I ran out four magazines of 30 rounds of ammo, I got my sidearm out started putting spray. And I extracted everyone off the hill. 00:30:35.29 craig harrison You know, was shouting orders. I haven't got a fucking clue. I haven't got a clue what I'd done that day, you know. 00:30:46.17 nextlevelguypodcast think that it's it's rare but I think you're one of those people that you only find your purpose when people are struggling at that moment you know you you're that person that while the shit's hitting the fan and people are running around like headless chickens you're okay let's do this let's do that you know you it's true leadership you know you find yourself in the moments that everything else is going wrong and the brown stuff's flowing the the true panic and to do that while you're but you don't even remember it shows that that is buried in you that instinct to take control to look after people to protect people it i mean that's a hell of a thing to to do and not even remember it to save lives and to to protect people you know what how how does that make you feel knowing that you've that you did that that that's something you do on autopilot 00:31:44.86 craig harrison we go back to the first question that you asked, you know, um ah don't know. i I feel nothing. I feel nothing. And it does irritate certain people when I say I feel nothing, at you know, because they say, fucking hell, Craig, you've achieved. Like we go back to when we started the interview, you know, I just feel nothing. I just feel done my job and and I've done it. And, 00:32:14.34 craig harrison youin know what? fucking miss it. I miss it. There's... I'll never sniper again. I'll never be in a situation like I've been in an Afghan and Iraq and Kosovo. I'll never be in them situations again. And that's what I thrive on, you know? And that's what I miss. 00:32:34.36 craig harrison um And that's what I daydream about, you know, all the time. But, yeah, I feel... 00:32:45.04 craig harrison It sounds quite, I don't know. Yeah, I feel nothing. I feel nothing, you know. 00:32:51.38 nextlevelguypodcast Is the Mavericks... 00:32:51.64 craig harrison And when, on, sorry. 00:32:55.42 nextlevelguypodcast was going to say, is the Mavericks survival school and the sniping school, are they helping do like give you the aspects of the bits that you're missing? 00:33:07.54 craig harrison The bushcraft does, the the mavericks the Maverick Survival School does. And I really, Tanya always says to me, when I come back from the weekend, I'm a different person. 00:33:20.15 craig harrison you know I'm totally a different person. And then, obviously, i I've got a full-time job in the week. And you know that batters me down, batters me down, batters me down. And I do the weekend again. And I'm back up again doing what I do because I'm outside. I'm teaching. But... 00:33:40.44 craig harrison but Teaching for me is is good and is healthy for me, but oh never I'll never be shot at again or have that rush of that adrenaline in rush of doing it. And I think that's what I miss, you know, 23 years and then it's come to a fucking end, you know. Next year I know I'm mowing lawn, mending washing machines and doing this, doing that. And as I think this is, this is what, I left work the other day and I spoke to Tanya and I said to her, what the fuck am I doing? 00:34:20.31 craig harrison What am I doing? you know, and and she says to me, just come home, just come home. And she gives me a big cuddle and she goes, it'll be all right, it'll be all right, you know. And I thought, I know. I know i do have these moments where I think, what the fuck am I doing? 00:34:37.94 craig harrison You know, and because I've learnt this and I've learnt the hard way, nothing lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever. 00:34:49.75 craig harrison And I think if it did last forever, this world would be a different place, massively different place. 00:34:54.57 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah. 00:34:56.31 craig harrison you know And I'm getting older. I've got my aches and pains. When I got blown up, that's really affected me. I've had two hip replacements fully replaced now. 00:35:08.06 craig harrison you know I've lost a finger. god I get migraines all the time, brain injury. My bones ache, my lower back hurts, you know. So when I do have these things of saying, fucking hell, I miss it. Could I do it now? Probably not. 00:35:25.30 craig harrison Probably not. You know, does a sniper school give me a yeah it? Yeah, does. Because I love teaching. you know It gives me that bit of an edge, but the majority of it would be being in a contact situation and stuff like that, jumping out helicopters, parachuting. You you won't get that anymore. 00:35:44.06 craig harrison you know And I suppose it's got end at some time. yeah 00:35:48.31 nextlevelguypodcast And is there anything that's come close? Is there anything like a healthier alternative that you've kind of found? Or has it just been back with Tanya? Is it teaching? Is it kind of feeling needed in that sense? Because you did all this stuff by yourself. you're you know You're a person who lives by themselves, that does their own thing, you know like when they were out sniping, et cetera. 00:36:13.17 nextlevelguypodcast Is that a struggle to find something that can let you dial in? Because I know of myself, I have no idea who I am or what I am. That's why I started the podcast. A lot of other guys will try commit suicide or drink themselves into oblivion or take drugs. 00:36:28.98 nextlevelguypodcast But you're you're still here. You're still doing amazing work. You're helping others. you know You're giving back. You're giving veterans like stuff a sense of purpose once they've left. You're giving people who have no sense of purpose an ability to find themselves through your course. You do. You do amazing work. 00:36:47.83 nextlevelguypodcast I think that helps because you are just like, I don't know what I'm doing yet. You know, you're you're not living part on past achievements. You're trying to find yourself. And I think that helps you be you. Do you think that hit helps you in a way? 00:37:03.10 craig harrison Yeah, like you like you said, the bushcraft helps massively. The sniper school helps massively, you know, and that gives me some sort of direction. 00:37:17.27 craig harrison And 00:37:20.84 craig harrison I'd never find anything that could replace that rush. 00:37:26.23 craig harrison And I need to come to terms that I am getting old. And like I said before, nothing lasts forever, you know. And and I think age is horrible because you come to a certain point where you've got more years behind you than you have in front of you. 00:37:48.86 craig harrison you know And you think to yourself, I'm 51 now, 20, 25, 26 years probably max sometimes. you know If I lived on more than that, fantastic. 00:38:01.62 craig harrison And it's horrible to think that way, you know but I couldn't keep up that tempo as when I was younger. and And that's what I struggle with in my head, you know that I am getting older. I have got gray hair. 00:38:16.25 craig harrison I am getting a bit chubby now, midlife spread and stuff like that. 00:38:20.21 nextlevelguypodcast I'm not saying a word. 00:38:22.39 craig harrison Yeah, you know, I do. But I tell what helps me as well. I go to the gym every day. You know, I get up at half three every morning and I go to the gym and I train hard. 00:38:35.67 craig harrison And i think Tanya said to me, what you training for? I said, I don't know. i don't know. i just... And I said to her, said, I want to be strong and I want to be physically fit so I can protect you. 00:38:52.25 craig harrison And that's why that was my answer, you know. So maybe, maybe what will replace snipering, protecting my family, protecting Tanya, feeling strong, you know. And yeah, I think that would replace it. 00:39:10.68 nextlevelguypodcast Because a lot of people have heard the story about you know when you fired the longest shot, and you on people associate you with that with that moment. 00:39:23.93 nextlevelguypodcast How does that change? like Because you said you know people just kind of like after you would kill a you know take a shot, take a life, et cetera. you you sometimes sat there and expected somebody to come and tell you off, you know, and you were surprised. It was just like, okay, next mission. There was no kind of depression or depressed time to kind of come to terms with You were just straight out to the next mission. 00:39:46.42 nextlevelguypodcast How did it feel become known as the guy with the longest shot? Do you think it, did it affect you in that way? Because you could never live back up to that sense of achievement. 00:39:57.25 nextlevelguypodcast that now that you're out of you don't have that. Do you know what I mean? Did people talking about it so much affect you because you thought there's more to me than just that shot? 00:40:09.17 craig harrison Yeah, yeah. To be honest with you, i'm people i say to Tanya and other people, am i do I regret taking that shot? 00:40:22.74 craig harrison you know because And I said it's a fluke. and They said, yeah, but you've done it twice. And I said, yeah, well, two flukes. you know And do I regret taking the shot? 00:40:35.99 craig harrison No, because I saved 12 lives who were in the shit and I stopped that contact. um But do i I regret it because it affected my home life, as in death threats and then we had to go into hiding for three years. 00:40:58.36 craig harrison um That affected me and I wish I'd never done it you know because of that. um But on the flip side, I'm glad I've done it because I saved some people's lives. 00:41:13.41 craig harrison you know And I think it's the media again. 00:41:14.80 nextlevelguypodcast Mm-hmm. 00:41:16.17 craig harrison you know The media leaked the story and it put me and my wife and my daughters in a situation that I've never dreamed of. you know And the army abandoned me, totally abandoned me. 00:41:30.30 craig harrison The only people that that were there for me were the Soviet police and they were absolutely fantastic. You know? 00:41:37.63 nextlevelguypodcast Because I think that's the the side of things. like Because you see it now with the the American, in Iraq, and Israel war at the moment. Sorry, the Iranian war. the you know We get all the keyboard warriors saying, oh, we're going to smash them, we're going to kill them, we're going to destroy them. 00:41:52.31 nextlevelguypodcast And not none of them have stepped foot in a battlefield. And you know that the fact that you're looking at that as protecting you know your comrades, you're looking you're not looking at that as a sense of, oh, I did that, I had the record. 00:41:56.17 craig harrison No. 00:42:06.21 nextlevelguypodcast You're looking at that as I saved lives. that That says a lot about you as a person. you know and Do you think that's why you you struggled with it? It's that you were abandoned at the time of need when you had given so much to to that sense that people don't understand the the death threats, the the impact something like that can have on you? 00:42:31.70 craig harrison No one understood. no one understood. no one understood what we went through. No one understood what my wife went through, my daughters went through. 00:42:44.09 craig harrison No one did. Not even Tanya's family understood what we went through deeply, mentally and physically. 00:42:56.38 craig harrison No one did. And it's all right, like you said, sit on the keyboard and call me an assassin, call me a baby killer, call me a fucking murderer. Yeah, you crack on, mate. You crack on. 00:43:06.65 craig harrison Because I'd done my job and I'd like to think I'd done it the highest ability. 00:43:06.96 nextlevelguypodcast Hmm. 00:43:13.02 craig harrison you know breaking breaking the world record that can fuck off you know um i've done my job and i've done it well and it's just a sad matter ah of affairs of when i've come home i've brought afghan home with me 00:43:13.13 nextlevelguypodcast You did? 00:43:30.52 craig harrison you know and it's affected my wife and and my daughters and ah felt abandoned you know after serving 23 years in the household cavalry and giving all to my the regiment because it was always the army first, Tanya second, always. 00:43:53.75 craig harrison If the army said jump, I'd say, yeah, fucking hi. You know, I'd leave on a dime. I'd just fuck off, do my job. And it it was hard on Tanya, and army life is hard. 00:44:02.40 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah. 00:44:05.68 craig harrison But when I left, I said I'll give everything back to her. And I like to think that i've achieved I'm achieving that and giving everything back to her, you know. But with the army, and especially my regiment now, it it's heartbreaking. 00:44:22.06 craig harrison It's heartbreaking. And when people say to me, I want to join the army, I encourage them to join the army. But I always say, get a trade, get a trade, make the army work for you. Don't work for the army. That's what I always say. Join the engineers, join the re-me, join the signals, join the RMPs, you know, get yourself a trade because like I said before, earlier on, nothing lasts forever. 00:44:52.22 craig harrison You know, and you you leave the army, you're going have something to fall back on. You know, after a fantastic 22 years or more, you're going to fall back on and you're going to have a trade. Either join the police force, engineer and engineers, 00:45:08.50 craig harrison ah you know you fucking all your licenses, carpenters, bricklayers, surveyors, everything that it will offer you. and And that's what I say. Don't join the foot guards. don't join the Don't join the regiment. That's not going to support you if you're in dire straits. Don't get me wrong. Some regiments have a fantastic ethos like the paras. 00:45:31.99 craig harrison They have a fantastic support system. Marines, they have a fantastic support system. The rifles do as well, you know. But sadly, my regiment doesn't. 00:45:43.90 craig harrison it doesn't It's just more seats on bums, more than compassion. And it's sad to see. It's sad to see. 00:45:52.43 nextlevelguypodcast And do you think that's the main problem with a lot of guys today is that we've only ever seen war through COD, you know, like um we've only ever seen like war through these films, the media, they glorify battles. No one's ever stepped on it on the battlefield. 00:46:11.51 nextlevelguypodcast you know, like people like who actually have served that. So we we see the hero winning in in the battle at the end of it, but we don't see the guy having to sit come to terms what he's had to do that day, see the horrors you've dealt with that day, and, you know, bringing it home. um I mean, you've talked in another podcast about how no one even came and said to you, okay, this is, are you okay? This is what we need you to do. Here's some therapy we're going to offer you. You were just kind of like, okay, right, see you later. 00:46:41.98 nextlevelguypodcast how how How do you come to terms with that as you're away from the battlefield? 00:46:42.49 craig harrison Yeah, that was it. 00:46:46.55 nextlevelguypodcast Is that where we go wrong? 00:46:50.07 craig harrison Oh, massively. i I think if you... There's a famous picture of a young teenager in the First World War, and they took a picture of him before he went on the front line, and then they took a picture of him after, and he looks like a fucking... 00:47:11.16 craig harrison he looks like an 80-year-old man, you know? 00:47:13.56 nextlevelguypodcast I think another one you mean. 00:47:14.55 craig harrison And, yeah, I don't think the First World War. It have been the Civil War. But um there's another... There's a few pictures of the Ukrainian war that's going on at the moment with Russia, you know? 00:47:29.43 craig harrison um Them guys, they they always show a picture of them before they went on the front line and the picture of them now coming home. They are silhouettes of themselves. 00:47:41.62 craig harrison You know, people don't fucking see that. And that needs to be echoed all the time. And people need to see these pictures of this what war fucking does for you physically, mentally. This what war does to you. 00:47:57.50 craig harrison It fucking shatters you, you know, and you always think that you give you all to a job. 00:47:57.98 nextlevelguypodcast Mm-hmm. 00:48:05.85 craig harrison And you expect them to give it back to you. But they don't. They don't. And do you know what's hard as well is being a civvy and putting 100% into everything that I do. 100% in everything that I do. 00:48:24.44 craig harrison You know, to better my family, to better my mental health. um people And people take the piss. And people... and people don't don't give you that in Civvy Street as well. And I thought it was just the armed forces, you know. 00:48:41.98 craig harrison And I think that's why it's hard as well, you know. 00:48:46.39 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah, I mean, a lot of people, they haven't got a life themselves or they haven't got a purpose or whatever, you know, so they'd rather beat down people who do podcasts or beat down people who serve in any way at all. 00:48:59.16 nextlevelguypodcast And it's easy for somebody who hasn't got a great war to fight or hasn't got to do X, Y, Z, look after a sick family member or whatever to sit there and jump on social media and say, oh, this or the that or that. 00:49:14.81 nextlevelguypodcast And at no point do they they have to justify themselves. you know Back in the day when you would have that community where you would slapped across the head if you ever spoke bad to an adult, look at the society now. 00:49:28.37 nextlevelguypodcast it's We're raising a ah bunch of guys who are messed up in the head. You know, they'd rather sit and drink and like, you know, I was taught to stand up. 00:49:38.68 nextlevelguypodcast If somebody came to shook your hand, you know, you held the door open open for a woman, you you know, for kids, whatever. No one does these sorts of things anymore. Just common decency has gone out of the world. And do you think that's a problem in that a lot of guys, oh people in general, don't understand the sense of responsibility, the the pain, the... 00:50:01.75 nextlevelguypodcast PTSD, the truths of thoughts, et cetera, after you've had to take a life? Is it something that stays with you for so long? 00:50:10.30 craig harrison Yeah, of course it will. And, you know, and Tanya says to me, he goes, you seem better because I was in shit state. You seem better now, but obviously you're going to have your shit days and stuff like that, you know, and you're going to, you're, you still, you're never going to forget on what you've done, but the generation now you of kids coming into this world and teenagers. 00:50:36.98 craig harrison They just want to, and I think social media is massive influence on it where they want to be podcasters. They want to be YouTubers. They want to do this. They want to do that. And, but they don't want to work. They don't want to work for it. They just think it's going to fall into place. You know, don't get me wrong. It's happened to some people and they're doing really well from it. But, 00:50:58.36 craig harrison People just, this younger generation is a nightmare. I opened a door for two women this morning at a petrol station and they just walked straight past me. Didn't even say anything. 00:51:09.88 craig harrison Younger generation, you know, and i just think, oh and it makes me feel, what the fuck am I doing? You know, why am I still nice? Why am I still like this? 00:51:22.17 craig harrison Because I've been brought up like that. I've got my granddad's 00:51:27.39 craig harrison views and the way he's taught me, you know, to respect and do things. And they say, what about bring national service back? That would never work. 00:51:38.10 craig harrison That would never work. Not with the attitude of the younger generation. That would never fucking work. And it'd be the worst thing that this country could could do is bring national service back. 00:51:50.60 craig harrison You'd have more people's able. And what they're doing now in the British Army, they're um encouraging people to join. And what they're saying is from 18 to 24 years old, you can have a gap year. 00:52:05.14 craig harrison and they will pay for it. You'll have full pay for a year, just have a gap year, to encourage people to join the military. um Can you imagine that? Having a year off, having such a fucking good time, not working, but getting paid still, and then you've got to go back. They're not going to go back, are they? Do you know what mean? Because... 00:52:26.38 craig harrison They're going to put on weight. They're not going to stay fit. They're going to get in drama. They're going get shit-faced. It'll be a nightmare. The worst thing the Army could have done is come up with that idea. you know And the Army's been the lowest, the highest ever recruiting we had is in 2010. 00:52:46.42 craig harrison And I think the Navy is doing better than us because no one there's no incentive anymore. And I'll tell you one thing. right there's When the pension came out, there was a 1974 pension scheme. okay And when I was in still, they encouraged everybody to turn over to the 2000 pension scheme. 00:53:10.36 craig harrison But we thought, no, we're going to stay on the old scheme. Because they figured right that when you leave the army, your pension starts straight away. But the old the new scheme is when you leave the army, when you're 65 and 70, your pension will kick in. 00:53:28.63 craig harrison They worked out that veterans die between 65 and 70. So the army saving themselves money because that person is going to pass away. 00:53:40.32 nextlevelguypodcast Fuck's sake. 00:53:41.12 craig harrison Absolutely ridiculous. So I'm so glad i got advice to say on the old scheme, you know, and I got my pension when I left the army. 00:53:51.70 craig harrison There's no incentive anymore. There's no incentive anymore, you know. And it's gone so PC... You can't do anything. And I've i've got friends that have recently left and they said, it's Craig, it's an absolute fucking nightmare. 00:54:08.41 craig harrison And and i say to Tanya, I miss it. And she says, do you miss it you then do you miss it now? And I say, probably then, because it was a good laugh, you know, camaraderie, buddy-buddy system. But now it's totally different. 00:54:25.72 craig harrison You know, when I was in, you had a room full of six blokes. you know, and and then they brought the single slam accommodation in where you're on your own. So you come off a tour and you just sit in your room on your own. 00:54:40.01 craig harrison There's no camaraderie. There's no banter. And the army doesn't think that. They just think they're doing the best thing, but it's the worst thing. 00:54:49.69 nextlevelguypodcast And do you think that's part of what you miss? Because when you you seem to come alive in other chats I've listened to, you've done one podcast, where you talk about the people that you but you know the u were on missions with, or like the guys that you went and did excursions or checks, etc. with. It it was more about the person, um they're kind of the jokes, the camaraderie, the the silly nicknames, you know, the all that side of things. Do you miss that part of it? Like you were saying that, you know because your tone changes when you talk about that. 00:55:23.93 nextlevelguypodcast Do you miss that kind of pulling togetherness? 00:55:24.66 craig harrison Oh, massively. 00:55:29.35 craig harrison Billion percent. Billion percent. Trillion percent. Yeah, the banter, the camaraderie, the working as a team. You know, um don't get me wrong. I enjoyed being on my own. 00:55:42.20 craig harrison But when when you are down, people bring you out of that scenario and come on, we're going out. Come on. 00:55:53.21 craig harrison All of us are going out. you know And don't get me wrong, you know i did get to that while I stood there and thought, what the fuck am I doing and go home on my own? But at the time, when you there's about 20 of you in a bar and you know everyone and you're just having a laugh and a bit of banter. It's brilliant, the dark humour. And I think that's what the Maverick School's about, about my bushcraft school. you know It's about coming down and talking about your mental health. 00:56:20.32 craig harrison If you want to talk about it, but it's also about black humor over an open fire, you know, and having a bit of banter. And that's what I enjoy as well. And you see people that have been depressed and stuff. They come alive, you know, when, 00:56:37.46 craig harrison you give him so You give them a bit of banter back, you know, they come alive. And they leave on that Sunday after spending a weekend with you, a total different fucking person. And I think, yeah, that's what I miss. it I miss the banter, the camaraderie, the lads, you know. But it's weird, you know. the I don't speak to anyone. 00:57:00.21 craig harrison There's 23 years of my life and I don't speak to... I lie, actually. I must speak to a select hand for you. Probably, yeah, I can count on my hand. And I'm missing a finger, so there's only four there. So that's probably four people that I can reach out to if I need it, you know, to talk to people, you know. 00:57:22.27 nextlevelguypodcast I love that idea of like the dark humour, how like guys communicate with some of the most obscene jokes possible. And do you think that's that that fire that out in the wild, you know it takes you back to who you were back as a kid, but it also maybe sometimes it's the first time a guy's stepped outside a city or has stepped outside the role of provider or executive or whatever it is, and you're going back to the caveman days, standing over a fire, 00:57:29.56 craig harrison Oh, yeah. 00:57:49.71 nextlevelguypodcast eating, catching, shooting, et cetera, we're actually being men again in that sense when you're in the Maverick school? 00:57:58.27 craig harrison I think it's about the atmosphere. You know, if you want to become anal with it and be strict with it, you're not going to get people that can open up to you. 00:58:10.87 nextlevelguypodcast Hmm. 00:58:11.07 craig harrison But as soon as they see you and see how you, mate, how are you doing? I'm a cuddler, mate. Come here. You know, and get their trust. 00:58:22.90 craig harrison And then that's when they start opening up. And that's when, you know, 00:58:29.43 craig harrison And you can't be in open fire where you're nice and warm, sitting around there, your belly's nice and full, you know, and you feel relaxed. And that's when you start talking and people feel more confident when they get relaxed to start opening up about their mental health, you know. 00:58:47.49 nextlevelguypodcast You'd be amazed at how few people ever have that opportunity. You know, there was a video on, was it TikTok or something, where they were like, girls were saying, and who do you go to if you have any problems? Who do you go to and talk if you're struggling or if you've got problems? And every guy came on and went, no one. 00:59:06.05 nextlevelguypodcast I'm just a guy. i meant I've been raised to, I've got to be strong, tall. I'm not allowed to speak my problems. you know and We've got to be strong, tough men and We've raised this generation of men who suddenly go, fuck, I feel rage, hate, horror in my head, but I don't know how to say it. 00:59:25.05 nextlevelguypodcast And then now you have this opportunity to let people come together and you're giving them a chance to actually express how they're feeling. 00:59:26.16 craig harrison Yeah. 00:59:31.69 nextlevelguypodcast You're giving them that release valve. that is an amazing purpose that you're doing. How how does that feel now that you're giving those people that sense that you maybe didn't have yourself when you were coming out and not getting somebody to talk through what happened on a mission with you whatever, you were just sent back to your barracks till the next time? 00:59:53.91 nextlevelguypodcast you know You're giving people these this opportunity to talk about their mental health. Does that not fill you with a sense of warmth that you're helping so many people change their lives? 01:00:08.06 craig harrison we go back to purpose again. You know, well go back to that. And 01:00:19.34 craig harrison I'm happy, well, more than happy, and I'm ecstatic that I'm helping people with their mental health. You know? 01:00:32.12 craig harrison I think sometimes I'm a bit of 01:00:37.50 craig harrison I contradict myself because I struggle, you know, and I forget sometimes that I struggle with my mental health and helping others. 01:00:53.43 craig harrison I seem to, doesn't take the limelight off me a little bit with my mental health, but with my experience and how I've been treated with the military, how 01:01:11.32 craig harrison my upbringing a child, how strict it was and stuff like that. i I've got empathy for a lot of people, you know, but 01:01:22.34 craig harrison I think I struggle. I struggle to see what I do. And... It frustrates Tanya a lot. 01:01:33.34 craig harrison But i yeah ah I just like helping people, you know, and I don't want anything for it. 01:01:38.93 nextlevelguypodcast Mm-hmm. 01:01:41.62 craig harrison And I don't want to. 01:01:45.77 craig harrison I love to feel in a different way, but. 01:01:50.59 craig harrison Yeah, I just don't. 01:01:53.21 nextlevelguypodcast I mean, ah you I can definitely feel that. I mean, I know there's days I can sit there and look outside and see my nice car and think I'm in a nice flat and go, I've got the best job I've ever had for ages. And I'm like, what's the point? 01:02:09.08 nextlevelguypodcast You know, when you feel numb and people say to you, what do you mean? You've got a beautiful family. You've got this, you've got that. And you just sit there and you just think, but you know Why am I here? What's the point? What's this? 01:02:22.49 nextlevelguypodcast And the strength to fight that every day is phenomenal. 01:02:22.90 craig harrison Yeah. 01:02:28.93 nextlevelguypodcast And I know just from my side of things how knackering and exhausted and distraught you can be and feel like getting out of bed can be the hardest thing or smiling at a family thing when all you want to be is on your own. 01:02:43.42 nextlevelguypodcast And you've seen true horrors. You've dealt with some horrible shit and to think that you're able to get up and do this every single day. It's fucking phenomenal, mate. You should be super proud of yourself. 01:02:57.69 nextlevelguypodcast Because everybody thinks, oh, you know, sir. 01:02:57.94 craig harrison i 01:03:00.38 nextlevelguypodcast Oh, sorry. 01:03:02.49 craig harrison I take medication, you know, and I'm a big, I'm a big advocate for taking medication, as in it helps you. 01:03:15.83 craig harrison Now, it's took me I would say 10 years to find out the right pills to help me, you know, and these people that go through this Hushalinik stuff, the mushrooms and micro dosing and stuff like that. If it works for you it works, you know, but my medication I'm on now helps me and I'd rather be straight, 01:03:44.38 craig harrison instead of dipping and I'll do I miss the uprise of happiness or massively massively the pros and cons of taking um medication low sex drive obviously my wife she's a beautiful fantastic woman but I just feel numb I feel numb My love is there for her and she knows how much I love her, how much I give for her, how much I, you know, ah provide for her. 01:04:20.73 craig harrison But affection wise, it's just numb. But she would rather me have me like that than on the end of a rope, you know. 01:04:33.53 craig harrison And if anyone's struggling out there, you know, and say you're on medication and you think your medication's not working, you need to see your GP, have a med review and keep hounding, I need a med review. 01:04:49.05 craig harrison Try different meds. That's not working for me. Right, go for another fucking med review, you know, until you find the right ones that really work for you. I think I'm on like six different pills for, 01:05:04.28 craig harrison And they they help me. You know, they they're spot on. They really help me, you know, and I'm happy for them. Now, taking a medication is not the answer. 01:05:15.79 craig harrison It's not the answer. It's just putting a mask and a plaster on what the actual problem is, you know. 01:05:22.93 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah. 01:05:23.08 craig harrison So talking is a major thing, you know. So when you do take that plaster off, all you've left there is a scar. There's not an open wound there. 01:05:34.52 craig harrison you know and and And that's your road to heal and be healed. 01:05:40.63 nextlevelguypodcast That hit homes because I mean um i take phloxetine and that's for like intrusive thoughts, OCD, like depression. And the number of times I'd hear people say, oh what have you got to be depressed about? And you're like, I can't explain it. 01:05:57.53 nextlevelguypodcast Because we were never taught to be able to be emotional, talk our feelings or, you know, people always just said, oh, man up. It's the fucking worst thing you could possibly say to somebody. 01:06:08.76 nextlevelguypodcast And, ah you know, i would the world is happy to hear that you're doing better with them. You know, we we all want you here. And I think that's the... 01:06:20.09 nextlevelguypodcast the downsset people are afraid to talk about medication and sometimes it can be what you need but like you said it doesn't fix the problem it fixes the symptoms of the problem have you tried like nlp you know cognitive behavioral therapy i found these kind of ways of interacting with the thoughts and dealing with them in a different way or understanding where they're coming from really helped me have as any sort of talk therapy really helped you 01:06:47.99 craig harrison Do you know what? I stopped therapy because 01:06:54.48 craig harrison I... It sounds bad, I know, but I found my mental health boring um because I'm going over it constantly and constantly and constantly. 01:07:08.76 nextlevelguypodcast you keeping it alive yeah 01:07:11.19 craig harrison Yeah, and I feel that the more I talk about it, it's not it's not healing that wound under that plaster. you know what mean? 01:07:20.42 nextlevelguypodcast it's like scratching the scab yeah 01:07:20.91 craig harrison It's still over. Yeah. Yeah. and And I thought to myself, this is shit. What in the fuck am I doing? I go to therapy and I leave therapy more angrier. 01:07:33.98 craig harrison And then I ring Tanya up crying and I'm sat in my car and I thought, this is not a what what I don't want, you know. 01:07:43.86 craig harrison Now, all my... um All my visions, my voice in my head, and the stuff that I've seen, the stuff that I've done is in my head. 01:07:56.63 craig harrison But now it's going down into my stomach, if that makes sense. And I'm trying to depress it as much as I can. you know um Don't get me wrong, like I said before, I have my days where... 01:08:11.34 craig harrison I'm just not with it. I think I went for a meal with Tanya and she says to me, she goes, you're here, but you're not because was just miles away, you know. 01:08:22.42 craig harrison And i've I've learnt myself, not through EMDI, not through talking, I've learnt myself how to cope with it. 01:08:35.51 craig harrison you know And what works for me. Cartoons, go for a walk, the woods, um watching a shitty horror film. 01:08:46.68 craig harrison Stuff that I've learned that will help me in the long run. And people need to find out what helps them. Everybody will be different. You know, everyone's different, like yourself watching um Halloween. 01:09:02.58 craig harrison You know, um but everyone's different than what they do. You know, and I think the more videos that I post on my Instagram, trying to get people to understand what works for them and to get them to do it. 01:09:22.46 craig harrison But the first step is, is leaving that front door. That's the first step. You know, go for that walk. Put your headphones on, put your head down and go for that walk. Get some fresh air in your lungs. 01:09:34.64 craig harrison Don't coop yourself up all the time in the house and stuff. You know, have a med review, sort your meds out. but I shower, I shower about four times a day um because I feel when things get heavy on me, if I have a shower, I'm cleansing myself. 01:09:54.42 craig harrison and then i feel all right for a couple of hours afterwards, you know, cause I feel quite clean and yeah. 01:10:02.85 nextlevelguypodcast washing the thoughts away of thing. Yeah. 01:10:05.72 craig harrison Yeah. 01:10:07.87 nextlevelguypodcast What's it they say? if you if you hate If you think everything's gone wrong, speak to somebody. You know, there's like a whole rhyme of like if you're struggling with this, you'd go out for a walk. If you feel like the world hates you, you'd go for a shower. If you feel like this, then yeah I'll have to find it and post it in the show notes because... 01:10:26.04 nextlevelguypodcast For me, it was there when I found out somebody had said to me in one of the interviews, you're not your story. You can change your story at any time. i was like, what the hell? i read Somebody me in c a b to and a CBT book that you'rere you're not your thoughts. 01:10:42.45 nextlevelguypodcast That's your brain just saying, okay, this is what you were thinking about. I'll find any bias or any kind of link to that so I can support your view of the world or whatever you think is happening. 01:10:54.33 nextlevelguypodcast And I can remember going, Fuck. I used to always believe everything in my head. i just ah assumed it was true. And suddenly somebody's saying, no, that's not true. It was like so opening. I was like, whoa. 01:11:06.81 nextlevelguypodcast But people always assume that when you come back, you know when you transition to civilian life, that you're given support by the army. They give you a fund. They give you training about life and stuff like that. But the number of soldiers I've spoken to have said, 01:11:22.03 nextlevelguypodcast You're just like out the door. Nine. You know, some of them are coming out not knowing how to balance a checkbook, not knowing how to set up on an electricity supplier. What was that transition to SiviLife for you? that Did you get any support at all? 01:11:38.59 craig harrison No, Paul. noteton No support at all. No support. And I think Tanya had a house, before you know, and she sold it. 01:11:50.17 craig harrison And her advice how to do gas, electric, water was second to none. you know, to have met her and she had life experience on how to do this and that and that, council tax and things was fantastic. But these lads that leave the army and have got no one, it's fucking difficult, absolutely fucking difficult, you know, and your regiment do not do anything, anything. In fact, how many years you do means how much money you get to do a resettlement course. 01:12:29.72 craig harrison So say, for instance, I want to do my HGV and I've done 16 years in the army. Yeah, they would send me off and do a HGV course for my resettlement. 01:12:42.90 craig harrison But if I did only five years, I haven't got enough money to do that. I can only do this, you know, work in a fish and chip shop or something because that's all I'm qualified to do. 01:12:53.46 craig harrison So they have they do not in what's it called in? 01:13:00.77 craig harrison It's called something in it, but into into civilian life, integrate you into civilian life. That's it. Not at all. Not at all. And especially when you get medical discharge, it's even fucking worse because you're just fucking left. You're at the regiment and from the regiment you go to a wounded unit and that unit will sort your army pension out for you. And that's it. 01:13:24.47 craig harrison And then you're gone. Once your dates come, you're gone. And that's you got out. The army may have nothing more to do with you. Me, I reckon every veteran every person leaving the military to become a veteran should be tracked for two years, should have MOD or military support for two years. 01:13:47.86 craig harrison And I think that will stop homelessness, that will stop drug addiction, being alcoholic and stuff like that if they're constantly monitored. 01:13:58.30 craig harrison But to do that will be take a lot of work. Logistically, it will take a lot of work. But if their regiment will follow up on them, you know, some people just want to leave and forget. 01:14:11.26 craig harrison Like me, I just want to leave and forget. But if the support was there, say I'd never took up and it was a I got out a year ago, but I still had a year left. I can always go back and say that I need help. Do you know what mean? And I think that should be a thing every two years when you leave the army. 01:14:34.39 nextlevelguypodcast Do you think that's the scary part is that they ask so much from you and they give you so little to the, you know, it's just kind of, you're almost treated like ah a unit, a tool of the, like for them to use and they forget about you as a person and the kind of the emotions, the, the dealing with it, because you you know, you can leave mates and stuff like that, but that it follows you home. 01:15:01.56 nextlevelguypodcast You know, like ah they they ask you to go into these situations, but they don't provide for you after these. how How did you deal with the anger when you first? 01:15:10.07 craig harrison But you've got to think as well, you know, you signed up to do that job, you know, so you must... you must think at some point you will go to war. 01:15:24.18 craig harrison You will do a tour at some point. And some people never do, you know, but at some point you will, you know, shoot your gun in anger and you signed up to do that. And I think when Afghan and Iraq kicked off, I think the recruitment went through the roof because people wanted to go to Afghan and Iraq, you know, and have a bit of action. And, you know, and I think it's naivety to think that you, 01:15:50.36 craig harrison that that to ignore that point that at some point you will see some action you know but the only point is you can't help how your brain reacts in different situations so PTSD you shoot in many multiple people over a tour and And then you your brain works in a mysterious way where you feel depressed, down and anxious, anxiety, hypersensitivity, hypervigilancy and stuff like that. You can't help that. You can't stop that. That's not your fault. That's how your brain works. you know So these people that say to you, well, you join the army, what do you fucking expect? 01:16:39.03 craig harrison Well, yeah, I joined the army, but I didn't know my brain was going to do this, you know, because like I said, you know, people join to think that at some point you will see some action, you know, and, but you just, yeah, oh massively, massively, you expect them to look after you, you know, but like I said, you can't help how your brain works, your brains, and everyone's got different brains, haven't they? 01:16:52.44 nextlevelguypodcast But you expect them to look after you. 01:16:56.64 nextlevelguypodcast Yeah. 01:17:06.22 craig harrison So it works in different ways. 01:17:08.90 nextlevelguypodcast I think mine's pickled, to be honest. i mean How do you... But what was the like a strange moment you know when you came out? Was there a moment when you're maybe sitting in a Tesco on a busy Saturday? Or you know were you doing something that we take we take for granted that you suddenly... You just had that moment of like, what the fuck's going on? I have no idea. you know like Was there anything strange that you found when the uniform came off? 01:17:37.24 nextlevelguypodcast Who were you then? how did you kind of re attribute ah re-attribute yourself to normal life? Being in ah situations like Tesco, going for a walk with the dogs, whatever it was, when and you're used to shells coming in, bullets flying, your mates that you're going toe-to-toe with the world with, standing side-by-side, suddenly when that comes off, 01:18:04.79 nextlevelguypodcast Did you lose part yourself? Did you find part yourself coming out the army? How did you find that transition? 01:18:12.60 craig harrison um I'm the army. Do you know what mean? They used to be a saying, if you cut me, I'll piss blue, red, blue, because that's my regimental colours, blue, red, blue. If you cut me, I'll piss blue, red, blue. 01:18:23.63 craig harrison I haven't got blood in me. you know And yeah, I'm army, through and through. And it's hard to integrate into civilian life. And if it wasn't, And I feel sorry for people that um have left the military and haven't got no one, no support or no one to be with because nearly, i would say 70%, probably a little bit more, 01:18:49.66 craig harrison of marriages end when they leave the army because you think you're away half the time you're on exercise or on tour and then you leave the army and you're under that person's feet for a lifetime you know, and they don't, they can't hack it. So the younger getting divorced, luckily I landed on my feet and I found a fucking corker, you know, and she's been absolutely brilliant and she's helped my transition. She helped my transition and don't get me wrong. I still stand in Sainsbury's gobsmacked and I look around and I think, what the fuck am I doing? 01:19:30.17 craig harrison Look at these people. They're fucking animals. They're animals. you know We've lost our in in instinct to hunt a gatherer. And Tani goes, Craig, come on. You get the bananas, I'll get this. And I think, okay. So, yeah, sort of she kicks me out of it. And that's what I need, you know, because I'm not in the army anymore, even though I miss it so fucking dearly. 01:19:58.58 craig harrison I'm not in the army anymore. I am a civilian. And to integrate, and I feel sorry for people that haven't got that integration with a supporting spouse. 01:20:12.55 nextlevelguypodcast mean, do you think that's the... the good the best thing about it is that she brings you back into yourself. she lets She takes you out of that environment and kind of brings you back into connection with her. how like What is it about your relationship? Because mean I'm single at the minute, but I know looking like this, big surprise. But what a advice would you give to people to find their version of that? 01:20:38.07 nextlevelguypodcast And how did becoming a father, how did becoming ah a married man change you? Did it give you a sense of purpose that you've been missing? 01:20:47.45 craig harrison Yeah, and I would say don't go looking for it. don't go It will happen naturally. you know Some people are meant to be on their own. Some people are meant to find somebody in this. And there's all that saying in it. There's always somebody out there for somebody. And it will happen naturally. 01:21:05.53 craig harrison you know you You could be out in the supermarket and bump into someone and that spark would start straight away. you know And it will happen. um But I don't regret... 01:21:17.50 craig harrison getting married at all and we've been married 20, 21 years now, just had our anniversary, you know, and we're stronger than ever. 01:21:24.31 nextlevelguypodcast awesome. 01:21:29.37 craig harrison um We always hold hands. 01:21:29.54 nextlevelguypodcast Hmm. 01:21:31.13 craig harrison I always kiss her. We're always together. We do everything together and I try and involve her as much as I can. And she's really good with me. She gives me my space. 01:21:42.17 craig harrison So she'll go upstairs and watch telly and I'll stay downstairs with Steve, my dog, and we'll just chill out down there and I'll watch my crap on telly. You know, she gives me that space. since she She's a big believer that I need that. 01:21:56.34 craig harrison And then that's what I love about her. You know, she does that. And that's why I say I found the right one, the right one. And it will happen for everybody. 01:22:04.85 nextlevelguypodcast She does sound an amazing person. Somebody that can actually understand you and knows when you need to be pulled back to give your space to decompartmentalize. 01:22:12.38 craig harrison yeah yeah 01:22:14.10 nextlevelguypodcast And, you know, do you find just going for a walk with the dog sometimes is what you need? Just, you know, put some music on to chill, to go out into that moment. mean, what does a normal week look like for you when you're not doing a survival school? 01:22:29.94 nextlevelguypodcast how How do you adapt to that? 01:22:30.54 craig harrison so i'll get it So I get up at half three in the morning. I go to bed at about half nine. I get up at half three in the morning. I go to the gym. I train until about half five. 01:22:44.66 craig harrison And then I go to work for six. I work till half three. And then from half three, I come home. I walk Steve. 01:22:55.61 craig harrison for about an hour come home and then i'll answer emails to people that need me or phone calls to people that are in like who need a chat and who want a little or booking people on the maverick school and then usually tanya cut me some scoff and then uh 01:23:09.41 nextlevelguypodcast Good mod. 01:23:18.49 craig harrison have a shower and just sit down and watch telly for a while. And then an hour sitting down and then go to bed again. Same thing. Weekends, totally different. I don't train weekends. Eat what I want. 01:23:32.85 craig harrison If I want a donut, I'll have a donut, you know. 01:23:35.22 nextlevelguypodcast good bo 01:23:35.42 craig harrison And then i feel like I'm at that age now. thought, what the fuck? I can eat what i want and do what I want, you know. And then ah give I try and give the weekend to Tanya as much as I can, you know, without me being at school, because the school I do weekend on weekend off. 01:23:55.03 craig harrison I used to do every weekend, but I found out that I was burning myself out a lot. So I do weekend on weekend off. Now this weekend I'm off. So, and, but I'm traveling, picking up gear for the sniper school, but Tanya's coming with me. So she's a big part of everything that I do, you know, and she's this year, she's just started coming down the school as well to do the cooking. 01:24:22.30 craig harrison So, which is really good. 01:24:22.87 nextlevelguypodcast Awesome. 01:24:24.44 craig harrison So yeah, so she's, she's getting herself involved, which is absolutely brilliant. And, Yeah, that's my day. that isn't that That is my day, you know. There's nothing exciting, you know. I'm not jumping or digging trenches in the garden. I'm just, I train hard, I work, work hard and I come home and just be with my wife. 01:24:47.22 nextlevelguypodcast It's great that you found a new version of yourself or what makes you comfortable, you know, like the that you found what works for you and you found this amazing person and you've joined now to this new venture to help other people. 01:25:02.04 nextlevelguypodcast But do you ever switch off? Do you find that situational awareness kicking in when you're in the bananas at Sainsbury's? Do you ever kind of look around and analyze targets? 01:25:12.50 nextlevelguypodcast Or are you kind of now, you know, after you've been in such an intense environment, is life too quiet for you now? 01:25:13.46 craig harrison yep Yeah, massively. I try and listen to as much stuff in my ears, trying to drown a lot of stuff out. 01:25:30.87 craig harrison But yeah i yeah i am yeah, it's hard to switch off. I'm always thinking. And that's that's where that prime example You know, when Tanya said you're here, but you're not here because I'm always thinking about the school. I'm always thinking about past things that I've done. I'm always thinking about the sniper school. I'm always thinking, what do I need to buy to make people more comfortable in the woods? I need to do this. I need to do that. 01:25:59.93 craig harrison Like to tonight, I was eating my dinner. It was half six and thought, I've got a podcast at seven, you know, and things sort of click in. But yeah, I never switch off. 01:26:12.12 craig harrison you know, and I take sleeping pills to help me sleep because I think this week alone, I've had three night terrors and I've called Tanya's name out three times and she's come into the bedroom because we don't sleep together because I have bad night terrors. 01:26:31.89 craig harrison So, and she just comes into my room and to make sure I'm all right. But yeah, it's been three this week. So, but, Yeah. 01:26:45.75 nextlevelguypodcast And what do you do after that? mean, are you a journaler? Do you write them out? you try to see where it's come from? mean, I've started using AI to look at my dreams because sometimes I'm like, what the fuck does that mean? And then you kind of go, whoa, that's what it's coming to terms with. Or, you know, do you journal at all? Do you... 01:27:06.39 nextlevelguypodcast have any kind of like when you do have these terrors that you can kind of try to see where they've come from or deal with it have you tried any kind of supplements that help with that sort thing 01:27:19.05 craig harrison I've got a journal and I've had it for many years now. it's It's really thick. It's like a telephone book. And it's got the most vilest, horribleest thoughts and intrusive thoughts. 01:27:35.26 craig harrison So if I am depressed or down, i write in it. It's got a lock on it. Tanya got me years ago and I write in it. and And I'm too scared to finish it. 01:27:49.62 craig harrison So I write over pages that I've written over before, but with a different colour pen, you know. And I'm constantly writing it. There's nothing positive in that book at all. 01:28:02.51 craig harrison It's all vile stuff. Fucking vile stuff, you know. 01:28:07.03 nextlevelguypodcast Do you think that helps you because you're letting it out that you're writing it to give its energy out of you to put it onto paper? 01:28:07.29 craig harrison And that's the only thing I... 01:28:15.65 craig harrison massively but it's unhealthy to look back at it and read you know because you're just opening in that wound again so the best thing is to write it in that page and then lock that book up and then put the bookmark on a clean page you're not looking back at the past you're always striving forward you know but yeah it does help and that's the only journal i keep is that it's nothing to do with dreams or you know i know what my dreams are about I know what my dreams are about. 01:28:50.26 craig harrison and 01:28:53.35 craig harrison I just called Tanya's name out for so just to make sure she's there. you know what I mean? 01:28:59.83 nextlevelguypodcast And she always will be. And I think that's that's the beautiful thing about your relationship is that you understand each other, that you can be open, honest, vulnerable with her and like when you need her. 01:29:10.84 nextlevelguypodcast But do you think that's why you started your fantastic show, Beyond the Scope? 01:29:11.61 craig harrison Yeah. 01:29:15.47 nextlevelguypodcast It lets you now talk about other things and... you know, like discuss it with people and learn from them and to talk about your stuff as much as to help other people. It's helping you by being a kind of an audio journal in a way that you can talk it out rather than just keep it buried down at your chest. 01:29:38.91 craig harrison Oh, massively. And i think beyond the scope was I just wanted to interview people that have got an interesting story. 01:29:50.81 craig harrison Not necessarily that people know who they are, you know, like no one knew who Darren was. um But he was a copper that hunted paedophiles down. 01:30:03.00 craig harrison you know, and horrific fucking job. And he'd done it for a couple of decades. And now, you know, the Home Office saw my podcast. 01:30:15.64 craig harrison They called him in into the Home Office. And now they're changing in the rules and procedures, how police are discharged at the Army, as sorry, at the police force, um and with support and a good pension just from beyond the scope. 01:30:31.38 nextlevelguypodcast That's amazing. 01:30:33.24 craig harrison Yeah, yeah, just from beyond the scope, you know. And that's what this beyond the scope is all about. isn' For me, it's not about making money. It's not making, it's about getting the word out there for people that are struggling, you know, and people that have got an interesting story. And that's what that's what the beyond the scope is all about. 01:30:57.43 nextlevelguypodcast So, i mean, if you had the younger Craig listening to your show, you know, ah the guy who was just going out to war or the guy who was just going through, like you who's still in the army or, the you know, what message would you have wanted to hear from a podcast or from as show or just speaking to you? 01:31:17.27 nextlevelguypodcast what What do you think you needed back then that so many guys would benefit to hear from? 01:31:25.69 craig harrison You need to stay positive in what you do and stay committed to what you do. um And whatever you focus on and whatever you want to achieve, it's doable, massively doable. 01:31:45.78 craig harrison And you need to concentrate on your dreams and what you want to do. you know And I think if I had... if I had a father figure, like when I do my talks, and I've done a lot to schools and stuff like that, and if I had somebody stood in front of me when I was a kid saying what I was saying, I think I would have gone further. I wish I'd done gone back to do special forces more, you know, but I got married and then 01:32:16.70 craig harrison I heard that there was like 90% divorce rate in the SF community and I didn't want to be one of those statistics. So I never followed up with it, but that's one of my biggest regrets that I never really followed that. 01:32:31.42 craig harrison But, Everything that I've achieved, I put 110% in. And that's what you need to that's what people need to do. Don't go in half-cocked. 01:32:43.03 craig harrison If you go in half-cocked, you're not going to have your dreams. You're not going to achieve it. Go in 110%. 01:32:50.81 nextlevelguypodcast I love that. 01:32:52.63 craig harrison And don't let the people take the piss out of you. you know Have a voice. If something's wrong and you think it's wrong, fucking say it's wrong. you know Because if you end up doing it and it's wrong, it's going have bigger consequences. 01:33:08.86 nextlevelguypodcast And you've worked with, is it Ross Hoare, the psychologist in the show? Has that helped you, like, 01:33:14.65 craig harrison Yeah, yeah. 01:33:18.65 craig harrison ah don't I don't see Ross anymore. He's a friend now, more than anything else. and he comes down to the school every Saturday night. So if people are struggling down at the Maverick School, even if they're not struggling, he comes down. But if you want to talk to him, he takes you on little walk and you go for a little chat with him. And what's good about Ross is he won't abandon you. So for instance, if you lived in Glasgow like yourself, and then he would find somebody in the Glasgow area 01:33:53.22 craig harrison qualified to talk to you and try and arrange a decent payment scheme for you to go and see that therapist so there's no abandonment you know as soon as you open up to Ross don't feel you you'll be abandoned because you won't it would always be followed up you know and you' would always be cared of but Ross is fantastic you know he's helped me So much. And even if I rang him straight off this podcast, he will say, come down or I'll come to you. 01:34:20.60 craig harrison You know, they'd always be there. But I think, like said, in my feet my mental health boring. And to go over and keep talking about it is not healthy for me. 01:34:33.85 craig harrison You know, and it's took me a long time to realise it's just not healthy for me to do that. So I'd rather sit and talk to Tanya about it. And I've been very open to Tanya. 01:34:44.63 craig harrison You know, she she knows everything. so And then I think that's a good thing as well, not not keeping things locked up in a closet or a box somewhere. You know, just be open with your partner and then they'll understand you more as well. 01:35:00.29 nextlevelguypodcast I think that's the amazing thing about it is that you're providing like a father figure to those who haven't got one, or maybe had a dad in their life, but who's never helped them in that sort sense. 01:35:06.58 craig harrison Yeah. 01:35:11.64 nextlevelguypodcast I mean, I probably would say the same about myself. You're providing people the opportunity to be in the wilderness, to talk about their feelings, to... to have a bond with other men who they've never maybe have any opportunity to do before and to have somebody like yourself who can say i've been in the shit but i'm standing know i'm helping here i'm here for you and that sometimes can be enough to kind of let the floodgates open you know to let the wall down and for them to change their lives and is that the benefit of mavericks like why if somebody's listening and really struggling 01:35:26.94 craig harrison yeah 01:35:42.87 craig harrison Oh, sure. Without doubt. 01:35:47.61 craig harrison Yeah, yeah. 01:35:49.94 nextlevelguypodcast what Give us a great sales pitch for Mike. We've talked about how amazing it is, but what would somebody get from coming on the course? 01:36:00.57 craig harrison So down at the Maverick School, you will come down and I always say you learn about yourself and then you learn about Bushcraft Second. you know It's all about getting together, a group of guys or group of females, doesn't matter whatever, and having banter, having that banter that... 01:36:21.21 craig harrison he they miss and bringing people together and strangers together and leaving as friends at the end of the day and that's what the maverick school stands for is bringing people together and enjoying what they're doing and working as a team because what i do as well when i'm down there i break them off into pairs sometimes but if they come down with a mate I'd take him away from their mate and join him with somebody else, you know, so you get to know that person. 01:36:49.51 craig harrison And on the Friday when you come down, you could hear a pin drop, you know, because everyone's sussing each other out. On the Saturday night, you can't shut the fuck up. 01:36:56.86 nextlevelguypodcast Hmm. 01:36:59.06 craig harrison Everyone's talking. Everyone's having banter. Everyone's having a laugh because they've worked everyone out. And I think once you've been in the military, you know even if you don't know that person who's been in the military next to you you'll always have that camaraderie and dark humor because that you still served you still served and that's what the maverick school is all about it's about helping people it's about helping people's mental health and it's about helping people come out that dark hole that you're in to make you a better person and the maverick school will never ever abandon anyone so if you need help 01:37:37.73 craig harrison He's always there for you. 01:37:40.12 nextlevelguypodcast I love that. And you should super proud of that, you know, because we see you as a British hero. And i know that you you don't like that. you kind of sit you You just want to be you and have like your life the way you want it to be. But I think that something is like the fact that you can turn your in your internal darkness and shine a light on it to show other people how to find and be better people. 01:38:08.16 nextlevelguypodcast It's truly amazing. You should be super proud of what you do, mate, because I find it remarkable. 01:38:12.50 craig harrison Thank you 01:38:14.96 nextlevelguypodcast And I interview a lot of great people, but the stuff you do is truly breathtaking. What would you want people... i mean, I know I've used up so much your time, and I can really apologize. 01:38:26.02 craig harrison you. 01:38:26.12 nextlevelguypodcast I'd love to have you on again, and we can do other rounds and go into other things. 01:38:28.60 craig harrison That's fine. Anytime. 01:38:30.58 nextlevelguypodcast um But what would you want people to remember from this? 01:38:30.85 craig harrison anytime 01:38:34.66 nextlevelguypodcast You know, is there... about their mental health, about remembering you're a person, not a finding the, how you know, fixes for themselves. What would you want them to take from this? 01:38:51.64 craig harrison I've done a lot of things in my life and I've done a lot of things as a sniper that I've seen and done. 01:39:02.65 craig harrison Some things I'm not proud of, but I'm still here and I'm still here. And I was 01:39:16.41 craig harrison at an end of a rope. I've been at the end of a rope. I've been pils in my hand and I've had a gun into my my hand as well, ready to check out and delete myself. 01:39:33.46 craig harrison And I'm still here. So anyone out there that's struggling, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. No matter if it's any tunnel in the world, there's always a second exit. 01:39:52.44 craig harrison And people need to find that. And there always is. If I can sit here and talk to you about my life experiences and about what I've done and achieved, there's always hope for people. 01:40:09.94 craig harrison And people should never, ever, ever give up. Never, ever give up. And I think you need to talk. People need to talk about what they're going through, what what's to a friend, to a parent, to their sister, to their brother. 01:40:31.74 craig harrison You know, they need to talk. And that's the hardest thing is to to start that line of communication. That's the hardest thing. You know, but once you've done it, 01:40:45.38 craig harrison Don't shut up. Keep talking. Keep talking. They might not understand, but there's somebody there listening to you nodding their head. And they that could save your life. 01:40:59.17 nextlevelguypodcast Beautifully put. And for those who want to follow you, you know, like connect with you on social media, who want to come and join the Maverick School, who want to be part of the Sniper School, who, whatever but it is, even if they just want to send you a kind of like, a listen to this and I found what you said really helpful. 01:41:20.18 nextlevelguypodcast how can we get in touch how can we keep in contact with you and what the amazing things you're going to be doing like ted talks websites all these things that you deserve to be doing 01:41:28.28 craig harrison Yeah. 01:41:31.06 craig harrison So my Instagram, C-O-H Craig Harrison, that's howson that my instagram um My wife helps me a lot on that Instagram as well. So there's not a message that we don't read and get inundated, but we try to answer every view message. 01:41:51.32 craig harrison And I try to voice message everybody instead of texting, because hearing a voice rather than texting is more personal. And if they go on to Google and put the Maverick Survival School in there, um the website will come up. There's a donation button there as well. So if anyone wants to donate to the school. to help a veteran, it goes us such a fucking long way, you know, because it's self-funded by me and everything helps. And also there's a booking system there as well. So if you want to come down and experience all veterans, come all veterans it's that all I expect them to pay is £50 to come down for the whole weekend just to cover the costs of food and stuff like that. But anyone else that wants to come down, just give us a yeah give us a shout out on the webpage. There's an email address there, which I read. so and And if you're really struggling, and get down to the school. We can sort money out later on. 01:43:00.23 craig harrison Let's get down to the school and get you sorted and get you on the straight and narrow. 01:43:05.31 nextlevelguypodcast I love that. oh