Ep. 23 • LIVE at McP’s Part 1 | Legends & Wild Stories from the West Coast SEAL Reunion
Release Date: 08/22/2025
Liberty Risk
This episode is a long-form sit down with Greg Hake - Nebraska farm kid turned Navy SEAL, senior enlisted leader, and now Corporate Operator. We have some fun unpacking a 22-year career that took him from the conventional Navy all the way to retiring as an E8 in the Teams, with combat deployments across multiple theaters. Greg walks us through his not-so-linear road to BUD/S, including early fleet time that built the grit (and motivation) that ultimately got him through selection. That experience paid dividends later, leading to multiple deployments as a Sniper and JTAC - coordinating air...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
If Part 1 was Navajo roots, SEAL Team life, cryptids, and Brian trying to make sense of God and the unseen… Part 2 is where the mission shifts inward. After leaving the Navy, Brian finds himself standing at the edge of an entirely different world, one that has nothing to do with war zones or deployments, and everything to do with rebuilding a life from the ground up. What starts as a random trip to New York turns into a life-altering pivot, when he realizes the next chapter might not be combat at all… it might be purpose. Brian goes from growing up on the reservation to walking into...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This episode of Liberty Risk goes somewhere we’ve never been before. We sit down with Brian Price, a Native American Indian & former Navy SEAL turned award-winning Shakespearean actor, for a conversation that moves from reservations to war zones, from BUD/S to the supernatural, and from elite military service straight into questions about God, reality, and what exists just beyond what we can see. Brian grew up on a Navajo reservation in Arizona, raised in a deeply spiritual, matriarchal culture shaped by medicine men, ancient traditions, and witnessing firsthand stories most people only...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This episode is a deep, unfiltered sit-down with Kevin Macon, a recently retired San Diego Police Department sergeant with nearly 31 years on the job, 19 of them spent working gang units, and a lifetime of stories earned the hard way. Kevin takes us from a Midwest childhood in Michigan to making a reluctant family move to San Diego, where football became his lane. From Patrick Henry High School to San Diego State, he shares what it was like playing center alongside legends like Marshall Faulk, lining up against the real “U” Miami teams, and walking onto the Rose Bowl field for the first...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This week on Liberty Risk, we sit down with Jonathan Wayne Freeman for one of the most raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly heavy conversations we’ve ever recorded. What starts as jokes and side quests quickly turns into a no-shit, no-filter breakdown of a life built on big swings, spectacular failures, and a late-stage redemption nobody saw coming. Jonathan opens up about stories he’s buried for over 25 years - from washing out of Navy boot camp after a steroid-induced psychotic break, to flaming out of law enforcement and firefighting careers, to spiraling through mental health crashes that...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This week on Liberty Risk, the crew sits down with Nik Hawks - former Navy SEAL, sailor, entrepreneur, and adventure connoisseur - for an absolutely WILD episode with story after story for almost 5 hours. From bouncing between the U.S. and England as a kid, to questionable high school decisions, to chasing the idea of becoming a SEAL thanks to a larger-than-life uncle, Nik’s path was anything but conventional. He breaks down the realities of BUD/S, platoon life, hilarious bar fights, practical jokes, and the kind of lessons you only learn the hard way inside the Teams. And when the uniform...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This week on Liberty Risk, the crew sits down with long time friend and fellow entrepreneur, Peter Lemke for a wide-open conversation about business, relationships, risk, and learning things the hard way. Peter walks through his path from Arizona to Southern California, launching a limo bus business that came with equal parts cash flow and complete insanity - one employee even stole a party bus and some cash, they found the bus 24 hours later with the employee and a h00ker in the back. 😂 Between the party-bus chaos, unreliable employees, legal landmines, and the moment Uber and Lyft...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This week on Liberty Risk, the crew sits down for what may be the biggest and most meaningful episode we’ve ever recorded - a roundtable with six guests bound by military service, Texas roots, and a deep commitment to showing up when it matters most. The episode kicks off the only way Liberty Risk knows how: inside jokes, supporter gifts, custom knives, and the kind of ritualized chaos that comes from real friendships. But it doesn’t take long before the conversation turns heavier. The group shares stories of brotherhood, loss, and remembrance, including a deeply personal account of...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This week on Liberty Risk, we sit down with Mike Mihalski - founder of Sons of Liberty 🔫 Works, underground-casino alumnus, walking Texas legend, and the only man we know who partied so hard he changed state law. 🤘🏼🤠🤘🏼 Mike & Ryan have a long history, from meeting in an internet chat room 20+ years ago because of a mutual love of talking shit, to being ghost roommates, to being the best man at Ryan's wedding - what follows is a fast-moving, unfiltered conversation about entrepreneurship, culture, luck, faith, chaos, and the strange places life takes you when you keep...
info_outlineLiberty Risk
This week on Liberty Risk, it’s just the crew - no guests, no filters, and nothing off-limits. The guys sit down for a full-send, behind-the-scenes session that feels more like a late-night team room hang than a podcast. From the chaos inside the Patreon chat to the origins of the infamous “bat signal” 🍆🪽🔦 meme, the episode kicks off with pure Liberty Risk energy. The conversation rolls into what the veteran community looks like today: the good, the bad, the hilarious, and the downright weird. The hosts swap funny military stories, wild nights in Mexico, near disasters, and the...
info_outlineThis week the Liberty Risk crew takes the show on the road! With the West Coast SEAL Reunion in town, we set up shop next to the iconic Teamguy bar McP’s Irish Pub on Coronado and pulled some legends into our make shift studio (thank you, URT!) for a rotating lineup of unfiltered, shotgun-style conversations and old school stories.
We had an incredibly fun and laughter filled evening and we're excited to share it with you: you'll hear from retired Navy SEAL Master Chiefs and Commanders, Army veterans, and local legends, all swapping raw stories about combat, command, and the kind of camaraderie that only comes from pushing the edge and barely making it out alive. From Vietnam and Korea to San Diego’s wild bar scene in the ’80s, you’ll hear firsthand accounts of missions gone sideways, lessons on leadership, and the balance between hard discipline and harder living.
We dive into the origins of SEAL Team 5’s unique culture, the evolution of Coronado nightlife, and some legendary bouncer and bar fight stories that can only be told here. Along the way, we highlight the mission of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and its impact on the families of fallen heroes.
If you’re here for Navy SEAL podcast stories, veteran insights, or just want to hear real talk from old school legends, this one delivers. Subscribe now and join the Liberty Risk crew for a live session that blends history, humor, and the heart of the special operations community.
You can find out more about Patrick, Jeff, and Tom at their preferred social media platforms below:
✖️ Patrick Ellis Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bluefrog71/
✖️ Jeff Kong Isbell Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kongspinstriping/
✖️ Tom Deitz Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tom.deitz.2025
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 - https://www.industrythreadworks.com/
✖️ Archive 3PL - https://archive3pl.com/
✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com/
✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc/