Meet Joe Spector | First Responder Resilience Training CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Spector and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The starting of my business was less of a thought process and more of an evolution. After retiring from the fire department in 2017 and having my own mental health struggles, including a near miss with suicide, I started sharing my journey and the tools that led to my recovery and trying to create awareness. That led to a lot of people opening up to me about their journey, sharing their own struggles and encouraging me to continue on the path. That transitioned to me starting a podcast and just kind of making it my mission to speak vulnerably and authentically to first responders, parents, and human beings in general to try to normalize this type of dialogue. That led to fire departments and other organizations asking me to speak publicly and create training, and that’s what led to me converting my experiences in my content into this entrepreneurial venture.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business (Grit, Growth & Gratitude LLC) is a training company for first responders that specializes in resilience and mental health emergency (PTSD, suicide, and addiction) prevention. There are several factors that set us apart:

Almost all mental health in the sphere of first responders is reactive and designed for post crisis response. Reactive mental health care is mission critical, but so are coping skills, emotional processing & regulation, family conflict resolution, mindfulness and other prevention skill sets.

First responders are more likely to die by suicide than any other line of duty death, and the addiction and dependency rate is almost at 50%. Just like when a building catches on fire you need a fire truck, but it’s even better to have a good smoke detector and fire alarm to prevent the emergency from happening in the first place. This is the missing component and why we’re in the middle of a first responder mental health epidemic, and we’re so proud to offer it.

Another thing that sets us apart is that everything that we teach is evidence-based and validated by a psychiatrist and team of counselors, but it’s delivered by me, a firefighter, with on the job experience as well as vulnerable and authentic sharing from my own personal mental health struggles and near miss with suicide.

Lastly, our training (video modules, mental health journals and printed training manuals and meditations tailored for first responders) is also available via app and free for retirees and family members. This bridges a huge gap.

I got here by first struggling and then overcoming my own grief, PTSD, and suicidal ideations after my retirement, and then obsessing over normalizing this dialogue and putting the skills that helped me out into the hands of my brothers and sisters to shift our culture, and prevent the pain and suffering that our people, the citizens we serve, and our families at home are experiencing.

On the one hand this was easy, because I feel so lucky to be standing here and I care so deeply about my people, but on the other hand this was a huge undertaking because nothing like this has really been done in the sphere of first responders and it’s somewhat counter-culture. Also, there was a lot that went into creating media that was actually engaging and impactful and developing our app and so it’s definitely the most challenging and difficult thing that I’ve ever done but also the most rewarding and I’m so grateful to be part of it.

One of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned along the way is that everybody is human, and even warriors suffer and struggle, and that when one person is willing to be vulnerable and share their pain and their hardship as well as their perseverance, that opens the door to so many others who need space to learn and grow and heal, and teamwork makes the dream work.

What I’d really like the world to know regarding my story and our brand is that your resilience, happiness, and mental health are tied into your emotional fitness which is not too different than your physical fitness. These are skill sets and muscles that you can develop and grow, and you can regulate your emotions and not only survive the difficulties that life throws your way, but thrive.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Places we’d go visit in Phoenix:

Hike North Mountain and Piestewa Peak
Visit the MIM, the Heard Museum and the Desert Botanical Gardens, and the Hall of Flame Fire Museum
Catch a concert at The Van Buren (shoutout to my Uncle, Jim Kuykendall who bought and renovated that building with his business partner and turned it into an amazing concert venue partnering with Livenation, Head up north to check out the pines in Flagstaff & the red rocks in Sedona

Places we’d have to eat at:

Windsor
Cheese N Stuff
Phoenix City Grill
Miracle Mile
Little Miss BBQ
Spinato’s
Richardsons
And of course, Carolinas

If we could catch a musical at Gammage, that’d be awesome too!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My dear friend and fire department union chapter VP, Mike Payne

Website: www.ggg.training

Instagram: @thejoespector

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-spector-39b3b8295/