You train to pull people out of fires…
cut them out of wrecks…
stabilize the worst days of people’s lives.

But who trains you to pull your own people out of silence?
Who teaches you how to see the signs no one else is looking for?

Today’s guest, Russ Reimer, has spent more than 25 years in the fire service Assistant Fire Chief, Firefighter Paramedic, Canadian Fire Service Exemplary Service Medal recipient and yet his greatest impact isn’t measured in medals. It’s measured in the marriages he’s helped save, crews he’s helped soften, and the responders who didn’t give up because someone finally saw them.

Russ is the founder of We See You, a proactive peer support movement built on one radical belief:

No responder should ever feel invisible.

And in this episode, Russ doesn’t bring theory—he brings truth.
He talks openly about losing a firefighter friend to suicide… about almost taking his own life after a moral injury and a call that shattered something inside him… about the cues nobody noticed… and about how simply being seen might have saved his friend’s life.

This conversation is raw, emotional, fiery, and absolutely necessary. You will feel it in your bones.

WHAT YOU’LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

• How “We See You” was born from tragedy

Russ shares the suicide of a colleague and friend on his platoon—how it unfolded right under everyone’s noses, and why it convinced him that the culture needs more than awareness… it needs action.

• What ‘being seen’ actually looks like

He breaks down the real cues responders miss every day:
dead eyes, long pauses in the truck before going inside, isolating, zoning out, somber music, couch-sleeping, over-deflecting, and the quiet ways people check out.

• Russ’s own near-suicide story

After donating a kidney, experiencing moral injury, and facing the worst call of his career, Russ spiraled into suicidal ideation—even planning how to die without a responder finding him.

• Why vulnerability is the leadership skill no academy teaches

Russ explains how sharing his own struggles changed his entire crew—and why people won’t open up until someone goes first.

• Crew culture: the small shifts that save lives

From “What’s your number?” to actually sitting down and listening, Russ shows how proactive peer support works in real time.

• The We See You wilderness retreats: healing in the pines

A weekend of breathwork, cold plunges, fireside honesty, and connection—$50, first responders only, and already life-changing.

• Why emotional survival is as urgent as physical survival

And why changing the culture doesn’t start with policy—it starts with one person willing to notice.

MENTAL FIREPOWER OF THE WEEK

Stop asking “How are you?” Start saying “I see you.”

Once a day this week, pick someone—at work, at home, or in public—and practice seeing them instead of just looking at them.

Take the tactical breath Russ recommends.
Look around.
Notice the posture, the eyes, the heaviness.

Then say the words that change people:
“I see you.”

WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR

• First responders who feel invisible inside their own crews
• Spouses trying to understand the emotional shutdown
• Leaders ready to build healthier firehouse culture
• Anyone who has ever felt alone in a crowded room
• Responders carrying silent pain
• Humans who want to learn how to sit with someone’s hurt without trying to fix it

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/needmospace/chill-power

License code: QUUZB4TP7STKMLJN