The Returning Warrior Podcast
The Returning Warrior Podcast
Adam Gornall
This podcast is about the human story, and there is no greater story than the hero's journey. Each of us face our own particular challenges, trials and tests, and it takes the courage of a warrior to overcome them. Adam, your host, will be interviewing some of the most inspirational people, who recount their hardest 'calls to adventure', how they completed their hero's journey, and what inner gold they found as a reward. Adam is a Resilience coach, relationship coach, business mentor & trauma informed therapist. Find out how Adam can support you here: bit.ly/ReturningWarriorFlow
#6 Samantha Lou - Rare Resilience
Samantha's story is best told in her own words - "Between the ages of 30-32, I was given 3 ‘terminal’ diagnosis following a series of events. The first one had an 8 week deadline to raise the funds, avoid death and travel 5,000miles for the surgeries. I was internally decapitating. Surgeons refused to operate in the U.K. but neurosurgeons in the USA could help - at an immense cost. It was a price I couldn't afford. Facing a monumental task and armed only with a small group of friends; The ‘Save Samantha’ campaign was created. I had 8 weeks to fund & travel for the surgeries. Despite never having campaigned or crowdfunded before, the 'Save Samantha' campaign was incredibly successful and raised approx >£500,000 for my lifesaving Neurosurgeries. One surgery became four, each one requiring crowdfunding & a need to relearn how to walk, talk and function again. Each surgery left me with less and less movement of my head and spine. This was just the beginning of a series of unbelievable, emotional and life shattering curveballs that my family & I overcame."
Apr 5, 2021
1 hr 10 min
#5 Alex Flynn- Putting Parkinson's On Top Of Everest
Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE says of Alex: "RARELY DOES ONE HEAR ABOUT SUCH AN INSPIRATIONAL AND HEROIC BRITON AS ALEX FLYNN. THE CHALLENGES HE HAS SUCCESSFULLY UNDERTAKEN WOULD BE CONSIDERED SERIOUSLY HARD BY ANYONE’S STANDARDS AND ARE, IN MY VIEW, INDEPENDENTLY WORTHY OF RECOGNITION". Being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 36, has had a profound and life changing effect on Alex. Not only is he a father, he is also an Adventurer, Speaker, Writer and so much more. In this episode we hear the tremendous capacity to withstand pain that Alex has, describing every morning like being encased in concrete. His motto is Keep Moving! And he has inspired many to do the same, including me. His next planned adventure is probably the greatest of them all, to put Parkinson's on top of the world by climbing Everest, and help raise awareness of the decease with the aim to accelerate the finding of a cure.  Find out more at www.alexflynn.co.uk,  follow him on on Instagram @alexflynn 
Mar 29, 2021
1 hr 8 min
#4 Ram Patten- International Man Of Mystery & Service
There are those among us that seem to accomplish way more in a life than the rest of us. A variety of experiences across multiple disciplines. Well Ram is this person in my life. Let me give you a snapshot of what I mean; born in London to a Jamaican biological father and an American white mother. Grew up in Athens, Greece, attended boarding school in Switzerland, he speaks 5 languages, was part of the Swiss Junior Racing Team Cadre and snowboarding freestyle competition sponsorships. All this before he left school. He returned to the UK to dedicate the next 12 years to the Royal Marine Commandos, when at the rank of Lance Corporal he organised The March For Honour, the biggest fund raising event a single person ever has (Until Sir Tomas More), raising over £1.2M for the Royal British Legion. He was involved in several "sanctioned opposition efforts against Daesh", finally leaving the Marines due to severe PTSD after several tours of duty, Ram set out to reinvent himself as a senior member of a Texan petrochemical company operating out of Kuwait. Moving on to becoming a senior executive member of a Kuwaiti Critical National Infrastructure engineering company. He received his MBA after four years, in Leadership & Corporate Environmental Sustainability, eventually responsible 8000 employees and a portfolio worth over £30Bn. Ram returned to the UK to take up a role as CEO of a green energy company. Eventually leaving that role to return to his hearts mission of being of service. He now works for the civil service in Defra and willingly sacrificing the salary someone of his experience can attain in the private sector, in order to come inline with what he was here to do, serve others. He has his eye on the big office, and I am sure he will one day become a member of parliament where he hopes to support the vision of a more inclusive, diverse and prosperous country for all. 
Mar 25, 2021
2 hr 8 min
#3 Emile Ghessen- From War & Death To Camera & Truth
Former Royal Marine Emile Ghessen, joined the Royal Marines and serve his country for 12 years. After several tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, it was time to move on. But his visits to war zones did not stop there. Inspired to discover how Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, who went to the same school as his and lived 400 metres from him, could join the ISIS Islamic terrorist group, Emile swapped his gun for a camera and decided to document that story, and the story of volunteer fighters leaving the comfort of their normal lives in Europe, to fight ISIS. What he discovered turned into the documentary Robin Hood Complex, The Fight Against Islamic State. He has gone on to make two more documentaries covering the war in Ukraine and recently returned from Armenia. He brings the human story to life, with raw and powerful accounts of war and the capacity of the human spirit. 
Mar 7, 2021
55 min
#2 Mark Ormrod MBE- From Death To Champion
A former Royal Marine Commando. He became the first triple amputee to survive the Afghanistan war. He is an Invictus games Champion, author, motivational speaker, mentor and coach. He was awarded his MBE for services to the Royal Marines charity and veterans community. He has a new book on the way, with the story of his life coming out on the big screen in the near future. He is also a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu. 
Feb 26, 2021
51 min
#1 Karen Darke MBE - Paralysed At 21 To Paralympic Gold
Karen Darke is a powerhouse of an adventurer, athlete and inspiration. After becoming paralysed from the chest down following a climbing accident at the age of 21, Karen went on to achieve incredible feats of endurance, performance and bravery; Climbing Monte Blanc, Matterhorn and El Capitan. Skiing across Greenland. Hand cycled, skied and swam the length of Japan. Has won Paralympic silver in 2012 and gold in 2016. In 2017 was awarded the MBE for services to sport. She has written three books and founded Quest 79, a global campaign to help others find their inner gold through challenges and adventure culminating with the Pole Of Possibility in 2022 where she plans to reach lat/long 79 in Antartica, the final continent left for her to traverse. 
Feb 26, 2021
55 min
Introduction to Adam and The Returning Warrior Philosophy
Through Adams life of extreme adventure, trauma and war, he was able to amalgamate his experiences and philosophies into a powerful experience he calls the Returning Warrior, a series of programs, courses, book and now a Podcast. All aimed at supporting the modern man and woman through some of life's biggest challenges, enabling them to undertake their own hero's journey. In this first episode Adam, recounts the harrowing tale of his brush with death, life in the Marines, and the power of framework known as the hero's journey, and how it may be the answer to solving life's biggest challenges. 
Feb 25, 2021
40 min