In this episode of Tune Up Your Warrior, I sit down with Brandon, an Ottawa guy who grew up in the suburbs, played sports, went to Carleton, built a career in consulting, and was living a normal life until everything changed in June 2020. While walking into a barbershop in Bayshore, he was caught in a drive-by shooting and hit three times, including a life-threatening injury that severed his femoral artery. What followed was an eight-hour femoral bypass surgery, a brutal recovery, panic attacks, exposure therapy, and the long road back to both physical and emotional independence.

What makes Brandon’s story so powerful is not just what happened to him. It is what he chose to do next.

In this conversation, Brandon shares how his father’s values shaped his mindset in the hospital, why he refused to live as a victim, and how he pushed himself from trauma recovery to running marathons, triathlons, and now preparing to compete in this year’s Ironman in August. He also opens up about the moments that broke him, the people who helped him heal, and the quiet determination that transformed pain into purpose.

That purpose became Hit the Ground Running, a charity Brandon created after realizing how many trauma survivors do not have access to the quality physiotherapy, recovery support, and practical resources they need to rebuild their lives. Inspired by the care he received from his friend Frank, a physiotherapist who helped him regain function and confidence, Hit the Ground Running now supports survivors who are motivated to recover but lack the financial means or systems around them to do it alone.

This episode is about survival, mindset, masculinity, fear, resilience, second chances, and what it really means to keep going when life gives you every reason not to.

We are also launching this conversation just ahead of Brandon’s Ironman this August, and all of us are rooting hard for him.

To learn more about Hit the Ground Running, support the charity, or get in touch, visit htgrcharity.com or reach out through the contact information Brandon shares in this episode.