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Liberty Risk

Liberty Risk

By: Ryan Williams Kevin Kent Nick Betts
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Mostly true tales of barroom brawls, bad decisions, and near misses. From former Navy SEALs to your average badass, every story walks the line between chaos and comedy. It's the stuff that happens when the uniform comes off and the liberty clock starts ticking. Some made it out clean. Some barely made it out at all. Either way, it's one hell of a ride. Pull up a stool. This is Liberty Risk.2025 Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ep. 63 • Dave Swarts • A Navy SEAL's Long Road Home. 🔱🇺🇸

    Ep. 63 • Dave Swarts • A Navy SEAL's Long Road Home. 🔱🇺🇸
    Jun 4 2026
    On this episode of the Liberty Risk Podcast, the boys sit down with Dave Swarts. Some people have one defining chapter in their life, Dave seems to have had about six. Before becoming a Navy SEAL, he was collecting DUIs, assault charges, and enough waiver requests to make joining the military an adventure all by itself. Then came BUD/S, deployments at multiple SEAL Teams, leadership roles, raising a family, NCIS investigations, building businesses, and eventually figuring out what life looks like after the military. The challenges changed. The process didn't. Along the way, Dave shares stories from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the fight against ISIS, including the recovery of an American pilot's remains nearly a decade after he was lost, serving alongside legendary Team Guys like Mike Day, and navigating some of the highest highs and lowest lows of a life spent in service. But some of the most memorable parts of this conversation have nothing to do with combat. We get into fatherhood, losing parents, building a family while constantly leaving home, getting older, starting over, and the realization that success starts to look a little different with every chapter of life. We also get into: • Growing up, screwing up, and finding a path forward • BUD/S, Team life, and lessons learned the hard way • Iraq, Afghanistan, and the realities of twenty years at war • Bringing an American service member home after nearly a decade • Leadership, investigations, and protecting your reputation • Marriage, fatherhood, and balancing service with family • Building Red Watch, Dirty Frogs, and life after the military • Purpose, identity, and finding the next mountain to climb Same Liberty Risk format - engaging conversations, dark humor, plenty of side quests, and the kind of perspective that only comes from someone who's lived through a few different versions of life. This one felt less like a military interview and more like sitting around with an old friend who's finally had enough time to figure out what really mattered through all of it. This one isn't really about being a Navy SEAL, it's about the challenges we all go through in this crazy game called life. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Come check out our Patreon Community! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Here you can get exclusive access to the behind the scenes action, the hidden conversations between breaks, a private community chat, and LOTS more, including discounts on Liberty Risk merch as well as some of our partner brands. Come check it out and join the conversation! https://www.patreon.com/LibertyRisk Get to know more about Dave at the links below! ✖️ Dave's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/davidswarts249 ✖️ Dirty Frog's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dirty_frogs ✖️ Red Watch Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/red_watch Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Bulkhead Energy Drink - https://www.bulkheadenergy.com ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc
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    3 hrs and 24 mins
  • Ep. 62 • Dave Maynard • 50 Years Behind The Gun: SEAL Teams in the 70's, Blackwater, GRS, & Everywhere In Between.

    Ep. 62 • Dave Maynard • 50 Years Behind The Gun: SEAL Teams in the 70's, Blackwater, GRS, & Everywhere In Between.
    May 28 2026

    On this episode of the Liberty Risk Podcast, the boys sit down with one of the oldest (but not old!) Teamguys we've had on the show - Dave Maynard.

    Dave went through UDT/SEAL training in 1972 before BUD/S was even called BUD/S, back when the Teams were still figuring out what modern special operations would eventually become. From old-school training stories and early Team culture to Iraq, Blackwater, CIA work, and even the notorious Hurricane Katrina, this episode covers 50+ years of adventures & chaos behind the gun.

    Dave shares what SEAL training looked like in the early '70s - when Hell Week was briefly shut down, instructors had zero interest in your feelings, and somehow the solution to almost every problem involved more running, colder water, or explosives.

    The conversation eventually shifts into Dave's time doing CIA GRS work in Iraq, including a massive firefight in Basra where his team got trapped in an ambush against a huge militia force. Shot up vehicles, malfunctioning weapons, taking a round in the helmet without realizing it, and a wild hero story at the end - the kind of story that sounds ridiculous until you remember these guys actually lived it.

    We also get into:

    • The origins of modern VBSS ship boarding tactics
    • Hallucinations during Hell Week and demo accidents at San Clemente
    • Blackwater operations during Hurricane Katrina
    • The breakdown of New Orleans after the storm
    • CIA contracting, leadership failures, and combat in Iraq
    • Divorce, rebuilding life later in life, and starting over from nothing
    • Veteran suicide, purpose after service, and staying connected

    Same Liberty Risk format - engaging conversations, dark humor, nonstop side quests, and stories you usually only hear around last call after a long night with the boys, if ever.

    This one feels less like an interview and more like sitting around hearing stories from a man who's spent the last 50+ years doing things in real life that most people only hear about in books.

    🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Our Patreon page is LIVE! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Here you can get exclusive access to the behind the scenes action, the hidden conversations between breaks, a private community chat, and LOTS more, including discounts on Liberty Risk merch as well as some of our partner brands.

    Come check it out and join the conversation! https://www.patreon.com/LibertyRisk

    Get to know more about Dave at the links below!

    ✖️ Dave's Website - https://maynardgunfighting.wixsite.com/maynard-gunfighting

    ✖️ Dave's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/howtogunfight

    Liberty Risk Hosts:

    ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326

    ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent

    ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts

    Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by:

    ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all

    ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com

    ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com

    ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com

    ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc

    Show More Show Less
    4 hrs and 4 mins
  • Ep. 61 • TJ Webb • "Stripper Cop" Shot 6 Times, & 19 Years of The WILDEST Police Stories! 🇺🇸

    Ep. 61 • TJ Webb • "Stripper Cop" Shot 6 Times, & 19 Years of The WILDEST Police Stories! 🇺🇸
    May 21 2026
    On this episode of Liberty Risk, the guys sit down with TJ Webb - former K9 officer, US Marshals Task Force Officer, SWAT operator, author of Just One More, and a man whose law enforcement career sounds like a mix of all the best cop movies you grew up with. This dive into some crazy territory here, with some WILD new stories! TJ tells the story of responding to a house full of Russian women who mistook him for a male stripper and started ripping his police uniform off at the door - til they found out he was a real cop. A naked guy covered in Vaseline sprinting through Section 8 housing with a cell phone shoved up his 🍑 (apparently this was his hobby). Officers hosing down a drunk guy behind the police department with a garden hose before his girlfriend arrived. Pranking a fellow cop by putting his car on blocks while he was snoozing and then initiating a "shots fired" call. 😂 And somehow… those aren't even the craziest stories in the episode. Beneath all the chaos and dark humor is the night TJ was shot SIX TIMES during a fugitive warrant operation in 2020 - a gunfight that nearly killed him and taught him the meaning of what it means to FIGHT for your life - both during and after the bullets are flying. TJ breaks down the mistakes, the adrenaline, the recovery, and the mindset that carried him through nearly two years of rehab, surgeries, and rebuilding himself from scratch. Along the way, the conversation dives into: US Marshals fugitive operations and undercover narcotics work. SWAT, K9, and old-school policing stories. Getting shot six times and surviving against the odds. Mental health, resilience, and recovery after trauma. What he learned from David Goggins, Jason Redman, and the power of the "Just One More" mindset. Whiskey-fueled side quests and over the top cop stories Like every Liberty Risk episode, it's hilarious, profane, unfiltered, and all over the place - yet somehow finds a way to balance the raucous & outrageous stories with genuine human connection and camaraderie. One minute you're laughing at the "stripper cop" story, the next minute you're hearing what it sounds like when someone refuses to die. Thanks for being a part of what we're trying to build here, we appreciate you hanging out & spending your time with us! 👊🏼🏴‍☠️ 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Our Patreon page is LIVE! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ Here you can get exclusive access to the behind the scenes action, the hidden conversations between breaks, a private community chat, and LOTS more, including discounts on Liberty Risk merch as well as some of our partner brands. Come check it out and join the conversation! https://www.patreon.com/LibertyRisk Get to know more about TJ and his Podcast & book at the links below! ✖️ TJ's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thetjwebb ✖️ TJ's Podcast "Change Catalyst" Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/changecatalyst_podcast ✖️ TJ's Podcast "Change Catalyst" Website - https://changecatalystpodcast.com ✖️ TJ's Book "Just One More" - https://hamptonsbookpublishing.com/products/just-one-more-soon Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc
    Show More Show Less
    3 hrs and 11 mins
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