Denny LaVé survived childhood abandonment, sexual trauma, poverty, shame and suicidal thoughts. He then rebuilt his life from the ground up.

In this episode of Raw Minds, Denny shares the personal story behind the construction company, the United States Senate campaign and the legendary beard.

At four years old, Denny was taken across state lines and separated from his mother for six months. He grew up surrounded by instability, emotional neglect and experiences no child should have been forced to process.

Those early experiences created patterns of shame, compulsive behaviour, emotional numbness and self-condemnation that followed him into adulthood.

Denny became a union ironworker, spent nearly two years living in a monastery in France and co-founded Precision Precast Erectors with his father. The company grew into an award-winning business employing hundreds of ironworkers.

He became a husband, father to six sons, business leader, author and candidate for the United States Senate in Idaho.

But success did not erase the trauma.

Denny speaks openly about suicidal thoughts, therapy, faith, marriage, masculinity, fatherhood and stopping generational trauma from reaching his children.

This is not a political debate. This is the story of a wounded child who became a man determined to build a better life for his family.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

02:42 Men’s mental health

04:17 Blue-Collar Blessed

05:17 Writing a vulnerable memoir

08:14 Earliest childhood memories

09:30 Separation from his mother

11:10 Early exposure to pornography

12:25 Trauma and the developing brain

13:57 Shame and self-condemnation

15:00 Erick’s childhood food trauma

16:49 Why shame makes addiction worse

18:45 Emotional numbness and joy

20:29 Masculinity and accountability

21:23 What real strength means

23:06 Humility and self-worth

25:18 Accepting compliments

27:03 Knowing you are enough

28:18 Burnout and recovery

30:03 Rest and high performance

33:36 Children and smartphones

35:32 Entering therapy

36:13 The therapist who predicted the book

37:11 Writing the memoir in five weeks

39:16 Reopening old wounds

41:05 Searching for purpose

43:55 Considering the Marine Corps

44:25 Heat stroke and near death

45:24 Living in a French monastery

46:16 Generational trauma

49:42 Breaking the cycle

50:10 Telling his sons the truth

51:04 His children’s response

53:08 Marriage and the past

54:38 The book’s central message

55:14 Denny’s suicidal episode

56:07 When someone says nothing

56:52 How Joey supported Erick

57:59 Holding space

58:26 Recent suicidal thoughts

59:08 The golf invitation

59:17 Erick’s mental-health struggle

01:00:47 Five ways to handle sorrow

01:03:18 Why men need permission to cry

01:03:57 Grieving the father Erick never had

01:05:29 Raw Minds around the world

01:06:07 Trauma crosses borders

01:08:15 Healing is a process

01:09:45 Recovery has no finish line

01:11:28 Final message

CONNECT WITH DENNY LAVÉ

Website:

https://www.dennylave.com/

Blue-Collar Blessed:

https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510786172/blue-collar-blessed/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/denny-lave-38315a5

Precision Precast Erectors:

https://www.ppe-llc.com/

CONNECT WITH RAW MINDS

Website:

https://www.rawminds.ca

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@RawMinds-cs3ci

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3I7hBJgYDdS8UQpbMl9bdt

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

All links:

https://linktr.ee/rawmindspodcast

Email:

rawmindspodcast@gmail.com

Raw Minds features honest conversations about men’s mental health, trauma, grief, addiction, fatherhood and rebuilding your life.

Follow and share this episode with someone who may be suffering silently.

For the ones we’ll never meet.

Healing out loud.

CRISIS SUPPORT

If you may hurt yourself, call emergency services or call or text 988 in Canada or the United States.

Canada:

https://988.ca

United States:

https://988lifeline.org

#MensMentalHealth #ChildhoodTrauma #TraumaRecovery

Blair tried to turn a discussion about a child’s safety into a personal attack, calling me a woman-hater instead of addressing the facts. That tactic might work on people who confuse outrage with evidence. It does not work here.I advocate for men’s mental health, responsible journalism, due process, and the protection of children. None of that equals hatred toward women. It means I refuse to stay quiet when serious situations get twisted into social-media entertainment.This video breaks down her claims, her choice of words, and the convenient attempt to attack my character when the argument stopped holding up.You can disagree with me. You can criticize me. But bring facts, because labels are not evidence, insults are not journalism, and volume does not make someone right.Raw Minds Podcast. Healing out loud. For the ones we’ll never meet.#RawMindsPodcast #MensMentalHealth #ChildSafety #DueProcess #ResponsibleJournalism #Accountability #MediaLiteracy #OnlineHarassment #MentalHealthAdvocacy #FactsMatter

Toxic Relationships | Trauma Bonds | Emotional Addiction | Narcissistic Abuse | Relationship Patterns | Men’s Mental Health | Healing After Abuse

Why do intelligent, successful people stay in relationships they know are destroying them?

Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards returns to Raw Minds to discuss The Venus Fly Trap 2: Enough Is Never Enough, the next chapter of his true story about desire, obsession, manipulation, emotional dependency, sex, money, power, and the slow loss of identity.

The first book showed how the trap opened. This conversation explains what happens after it closes.

Stephen breaks down why chaos can feel more exciting than peace, how childhood wounds shape adult relationships, why givers attract takers, and how love can become a trauma bond.

He also explains gaslighting, isolation, boundary testing, emotional manipulation, self-abandonment, and why leaving a toxic relationship can feel like grieving a death.

This episode is about more than one destructive relationship.

It is about the patterns inside us that keep choosing the same pain in a different body.

Stephen speaks openly about four marriages, wealth, status, sexual obsession, emotional burnout, therapy, accountability, and the moment he finally accepted that loving someone was costing him his mind.

KEY TOPICS

Why people stay in toxic relationships
Trauma bonds and emotional addiction
Narcissists, empaths, givers, and takers
Love bombing and manipulation
Losing your identity in a relationship
Why boundaries disappear
Childhood trauma and relationship patterns
Why chemistry is not compatibility
Grieving the relationship and your former self
Rebuilding self-worth, trust, and inner peace

The central message is direct:

You do not have a relationship problem.

You have a pattern problem.

Healing starts when you stop asking, “Why did this happen to me?” and start asking, “What is this showing me about myself?”

GUEST

Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards

Author, counselor, speaker, and relationship expert

THE VENUS FLY TRAP SERIES

Website and free chapters:
https://vft23.com

Coaching and counseling:
https://vft23.com/coaching-and-counseling

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/stephen_sapereaude/

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@vft23_official

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Stephenedwards2323

X:
https://x.com/vft23official

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vft23

CHAPTERS

00:00 Enough Is Never Enough
03:41 Where to find the books
05:14 Four marriages, one constant
09:23 Money does not heal the inside
13:17 Carl Jung, mirrors, and attraction
15:41 How toxic partners isolate you
18:33 You have a pattern problem
22:56 Technical break
24:39 What the mirror really means
27:22 When enough finally becomes enough
33:38 Manipulation and boundary testing
34:02 What happens after the trap closes
36:41 The Ritz Carlton story
43:39 The stolen Rolls Royce key
47:41 Finding the lesson after chaos
56:50 Why narcissists target givers
58:08 How childhood wounds repeat
01:01:48 Chemistry is not compatibility
01:09:52 Accepting the relationship will not change
01:11:22 Why leaving takes time
01:15:37 Grieving the relationship and your old life
01:18:21 Books, coaching, and free chapters
01:22:59 Closing

RAW MINDS PODCAST

Raw Minds delivers honest conversations about men’s mental health, trauma, grief, addiction, fatherhood, relationships, recovery, and the battles people carry in silence.

Subscribe to Raw Minds.

Leave a comment.

Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Canada and United States:

Call or text 988

RAW MINDS LINKS

Website:
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YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@RawMinds-cs3ci

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rawmindspodcast

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

For the ones we’ll never meet.

Healing out loud.

MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH, YOUNG MEN IN CRISIS, PORNOGRAPHY ADDICTION, GRIEF, MASCULINITY, BROTHERHOOD, FATHER WOUNDS, FAITH, DISCIPLINE, MENTORSHIP, PURPOSE, DEPRESSION, TRAUMA RECOVERY

Why are so many young men angry, addicted, isolated, and searching for purpose?

In this episode of Raw Minds, Erick sits down with Colonel Jesse Boulden, Commanding Officer of the International ALERT Academy, for a raw conversation about grief, addiction, masculinity, faith, brotherhood, discipline, mentorship, and the crisis facing young men.

Jesse grew up as one of six children in a military family. His father served as a submarine commander, and Jesse moved 18 times before turning 18. Constant change, dyslexia, bullying, insecurity, and his father’s time away left him searching for identity and belonging.

When Jesse’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, his family entered a 15-year battle that ended with her death in 2015. Jesse explains how pain, fear, loneliness, and anxiety contributed to a long struggle with pornography addiction. He opens up about the cycle of secrecy, shame, and using the same behaviour to numb the pain it created.

Jesse joined the International ALERT Academy in 2008. What began as a search for adventure and direction became an 18-year journey through discipline, service, brotherhood, and leadership. He eventually became the first graduate of the academy to reach the rank of colonel and serve as commanding officer.

Erick and Jesse discuss the “dad deficit,” father wounds, male loneliness, masculinity, gangs, addiction, aggression, and hopeless isolation.

They also discuss what healthy masculinity should look like. Real strength includes self-control, responsibility, honesty, service, emotional maturity, and the courage to ask for help.

The conversation becomes deeply personal as Jesse describes losing his mother and the men who drove through the night to support him. Erick shares his experiences with depression, suicidal thoughts, losing his best friend, his dog, and his fiancée.

They discuss why grief cannot be rushed, why holding space can matter more than giving advice, and how helping someone else through pain can give suffering a new purpose.

Jesse also explains ALERT Academy’s training in Christian discipleship, emergency response, trades, leadership, and disaster relief.

This episode is for young men who feel lost, fathers worried about their sons, families dealing with addiction, and anyone trying to understand what becoming a healthy man requires.

CONNECT WITH JESSE BOULDEN AND ALERT ACADEMY

Official website:

https://alertacademy.com

About Jesse:

https://alertacademy.com/about/

Apply:

https://alertacademy.com/apply/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@ALERTAcademy

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/alertacademy/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/alertacademy/

CONNECT WITH RAW MINDS

Website:

https://www.rawminds.ca

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@RawMinds

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/rawmindspodcast

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/rawmindspodcast

RAW MINDS

Raw Minds creates honest conversations about men’s mental health, trauma, grief, addiction, fatherhood, faith, recovery, and rebuilding your life.

Healing out loud, for the ones we’ll never meet.

If this conversation helped you, share it with someone who needs to hear it and subscribe to Raw Minds.

Canada and the United States:

Call or text 988 for immediate suicide crisis support.

Mental toughness, Yukon Arctic Ultra, leadership, discipline, resilience, extreme endurance, achieving big goals, men’s mental health, executive coaching, overcoming adversity, purpose, personal responsibility, anxiety, pressure, mindset

What does it take to keep moving when you are alone in the frozen Yukon, temperatures fall to minus 55°C, most competitors have dropped out, and you still have hundreds of miles ahead?

Neil Thubron is an executive coach, leadership and sales trainer, author, keynote speaker, former IBM sales leader, British Army Reserve veteran, sailor, and extreme endurance athlete.

In this episode of Raw Minds, Neil takes us inside the brutal 300-mile Yukon Arctic Ultra. Only six competitors made it through the first freezing night. Neil explains how he managed frozen clothing, exhaustion, isolation, dangerous temperatures, and the mental battle that began when the excitement disappeared and survival became the priority.

During that race, Neil developed the foundation for his 7P Formula for Success and his book, Yucan: Achieve Any Big Goal Using the 7P Formula for Success.

Neil also opens up about being adopted as a baby, becoming one of IBM’s youngest managers, training as an officer at Sandhurst, crossing the Sahara Desert, sailing from Australia to China, and coaching leaders through pressure, anxiety, and major life challenges.

Erick and Neil discuss purpose, grief, victim mentality, personal responsibility, morning routines, discipline, leadership, and why focusing on what you can control can change your life.

This conversation is about more than extreme racing. It is about becoming the person who keeps going when the pain starts, doubt gets louder, and nobody is watching.

CONNECT WITH NEIL THUBRON

Official website:
https://neilthubron.com/

LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thubron

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/neilthubron/

Yucan: Achieve Any Big Goal Using the 7P Formula for Success:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yucan-Achieve-using-formula-success/dp/1981773657

Whiteboard Value Selling:
https://www.amazon.ca/Whiteboard-Value-Selling-Neil-Thubron/dp/B08TFZ4QDG

CONNECT WITH RAW MINDS

Website:
https://www.rawminds.ca

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@RawMinds

TikTok, Instagram and Facebook:
@rawmindspodcast

Raw Minds creates honest conversations about men’s mental health, grief, trauma, addiction, fatherhood, recovery, leadership, and rebuilding your life.

For the ones we’ll never meet.

Healing out loud.

If this conversation helped you, subscribe to Raw Minds, leave a comment, share the episode, and send it to someone who needs to hear it. You never know whose life could change because you pressed one button.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 in Canada or the United States. Contact emergency services when someone is in immediate danger.

USS Cole survivor, military PTSD, veteran mental health, childhood trauma, fatherhood, resilience, therapy, Navy leadership, suicide prevention, and healing after trauma.

Amaury Ponciano survived the terrorist attack on the USS Cole, but surviving the explosion was only the beginning of his battle.

In this powerful Raw Minds conversation, Amaury takes us inside the October 12, 2000 attack that killed 17 American sailors and injured 39 others. He explains what he heard, saw, and felt after the explosion, including finding a fallen friend and helping his shipmates fight to save the damaged ship.

Amaury also opens up about being diagnosed with PTSD, learning how trauma can return without warning, and why therapy remains part of his life more than two decades later.

Long before the Navy, Amaury experienced poverty, political violence, abandonment, anger, and childhood trauma in the Dominican Republic. After immigrating to the United States, he joined the Navy, served for more than 20 years, earned two master’s degrees, and rose to the rank of Master Chief.

We also discuss fatherhood, teaching boys to express emotions, controlling anger, vulnerability in relationships, accountability, finding your purpose, building resilience, and leaving a legacy your children can respect.

Amaury shares the story behind his memoir, Anchored in Resilience: Overcoming Adversity through Mental Health Awareness, and explains why he finally put his most difficult experiences on paper.

This episode is for veterans, fathers, trauma survivors, military families, immigrants, and anyone fighting a battle that other people cannot see.

CONNECT WITH AMAURY PONCIANO

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amaury-ponciano

Buy Anchored in Resilience on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1662965109

Listen on Audible:
https://www.audible.com/author/Amaury-Ponciano/B0D322QG58

ABOUT RAW MINDS

Raw Minds creates honest conversations about men’s mental health, trauma, grief, addiction, fatherhood, recovery, faith, and rebuilding your life.

Subscribe to Raw Minds:
https://www.youtube.com/@RawMinds

Visit:
https://www.rawminds.ca

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rawmindspodcast

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rawmindspodcast

If this conversation helped you, subscribe to Raw Minds and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Leave a comment and tell us where you are watching from.

For the ones we’ll never meet.

Healing out loud.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 in Canada or the United States. Contact emergency services if someone is in immediate danger.

Vietnam Veteran PTSD
Marine Corps Combat Veteran
Burnout Recovery
Military Trauma
Faith After Trauma
Veteran Mental Health
Men’s Mental Health
Raw Minds Podcast

How does a man survive war and still carry the battle inside him for more than fifty years?

In this Raw Minds Podcast episode, Erick sits down with Keith A. Cole, a United States Marine Corps combat veteran, former CPA, author, husband, and father.

Keith served in Vietnam as an M60 machine gunner and was wounded three times.

He survived mortar fire, rocket shrapnel, jungle ambushes, and an incendiary round while riding on the side of a tank.

After Vietnam, Keith was assigned to inspector and instructor duty. Part of his job was notifying families that their son or husband had been killed or wounded in action.

Keith says that duty could feel harder than combat.

For decades, he carried grief, nightmares, alcohol use, trauma, burnout, and PTSD.

From the outside, he built a successful life.

Inside, he was still fighting.

After more than fifty years, Keith reached his breaking point.

He did not surrender to an enemy.

He surrendered to God.

Keith explains why surrender is not weakness, how faith became the foundation of his recovery, and how he found a new purpose helping people facing trauma, burnout, grief, and silent emotional pain.

He also shares the story behind his book:

Burnout: God’s Recovery Plan

This episode is for veterans, fathers, men taught to stay silent, and anyone dealing with PTSD, grief, burnout, trauma, addiction, faith struggles, or emotional exhaustion.

Recovery is possible.

Faith can rebuild what trauma tried to destroy.

GUEST LINKS

Official website:
https://www.RecoveryByFaith.com

About Keith:
https://recoverybyfaith.com/about

Book page:
https://recoverybyfaith.com/books/burnout-god-s-recovery-plan-a-marine-s-story-of-trauma-surrender-and-healing-through-faith-keith-cole/9798868528996

Amazon paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Burnout-Recovery-Marines-Surrender-Healing/dp/B0FWH2LT32

Amazon Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/Burnout-Recovery-Marines-Surrender-Healing-ebook/dp/B0FWLNRJNC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/kacolecpa

CHAPTERS

00:00 Erick returns
02:05 Introducing Keith
05:00 Book and website
06:19 Life before the Marines
09:38 Why he joined
11:54 Boot camp
17:34 Vietnam
20:17 First wound
30:43 Second wound
34:04 The ambush
35:00 Believing he died
38:35 Notifying families
42:22 Drinking to cope
47:49 PTSD
50:13 Breaking point
50:51 Surrendering to God
56:52 Writing the book
01:03:00 Closing

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Canada and United States:

Call or text 988

RAW MINDS LINKS

YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@RawMinds-cs3ci

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rawmindspodcast

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@rawmindspodcast

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1CRWJaV5qh/

Website:
https://www.rawminds.ca

Email:
rawmindspodcast@gmail.com

For the ones we’ll never meet.

Healing out loud.

Toxic relationships

Toxic love

Shame

Relationship trauma

Emotional healing

Men’s mental health

Trauma recovery

Self awareness

Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards

The Venus Fly Trap

Raw Minds Podcast

Why do people stay in toxic relationships even when they know they are losing themselves?

In this powerful episode of Raw Minds Podcast, Erick sits down with Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards, author, international speaker, spiritual counselor, and the creator behind The Venus Fly Trap, Sex, Lies, and Repercussions.

This raw conversation goes deep into toxic relationships, toxic love, shame, emotional wounds, relationship trauma, childhood trauma, self awareness, desire, control, attachment, identity, and rebuilding after chaos.

Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards opens up about growing up in Blackpool, England, carrying pain from childhood, being shaped by shame, building success, repeating painful relationship patterns, and learning how to stop running from the truth.

The Venus Fly Trap is not just a book about love.

It is a story about obsession, toxic patterns, desire, shame, emotional truth, and what happens when someone gets pulled into something that looks beautiful but slowly becomes destructive.

Erick and Stephen talk about why people ignore red flags, why toxic love can feel exciting at first, why shame keeps people silent, why men shut down emotionally, and why real healing starts when you finally look at your own patterns.

This episode is about toxic relationships.

It is about shame.

It is about emotional healing.

It is about self awareness.

It is about rebuilding after chaos.

It is about learning why the same patterns keep showing up in your life.

If you have ever stayed too long in a toxic relationship, ignored red flags, carried shame, chased chaos, lost yourself trying to save someone, or wondered why the same emotional patterns keep repeating, this episode is for you.

Guest:

Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards

Author, international speaker, spiritual counselor, and founder of VFT23

Dr. Stephen Paul Edwards Links:

Website: https://vft23.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen_sapereaude/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seemiracles/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vft23_official?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575468609762

X: https://x.com/Stephen_Edwardz

Free first 3 chapters:

https://bit.ly/4aYmzP8

Coaching and counselling:

https://vft23.com/coaching-and-counselling/?utm_source=Erick&utm_medium=+Raw+Minds+Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast+Interview+-+Erick

Discount Code:

VFT23!

Raw Minds Podcast:

Raw conversations about men’s mental health, trauma, addiction, grief, fatherhood, healing, recovery, discipline, and personal growth.

Follow Raw Minds:

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@rawminds-cs3ci?si=GyaUB-JNhmxF-tv1

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Email: rawmindspodcast@gmail.com

Mental Health Support:

If you are struggling or feel like you might hurt yourself, call or text 988 in Canada or the United States for immediate mental health crisis support. You are not alone.

Subscribe to Raw Minds for more real conversations that cut through the fake stuff and get into what people actually carry.