Adz sits down with former Royal Marine PTI turned actor Martin “Dixie” Dean.

The pair first met more than 20 years ago on a Royal Marines free-fall parachuting trip to Florida. They revisit the chaos of that trip before talking about Dixie’s decision to join the Corps at just 16, following two generations of his family into the Royal Marines.

Dixie reflects on 24 years of service, from Northern Ireland to Afghanistan, the long wait to be tested in combat and the trust between the men standing beside you when that moment finally arrives.

The conversation also explores the mental aftermath of war: compartmentalising difficult experiences, the unexpected guilt some veterans feel when they don’t develop PTSD and how method acting has started bringing emotions and memories back to the surface.

After leaving the military, a cancer diagnosis within Dixie’s family changed his perspective completely. Realising he hadn’t pursued the things he truly wanted, he enrolled on an acting degree and began building an entirely new career, proving it’s never too late to start again.

They discuss his journey from appearing as an extra in productions including Rogue One and Transformers to chasing his ambition of being part of a BAFTA-winning team.

There are also stories of deploying to Afghanistan with basic equipment, improvising vehicle armour, the military habits that never leave you and why Royal Marine PTIs may have been acting long before they ever stepped onto a film set.

Finally, Adz and Dixie ask why British military achievements rarely receive the Hollywood treatment, and why there still hasn’t been a major Royal Marines Commando blockbuster.

Funny, honest and occasionally raw, this is a conversation about service, identity, ambition and finding a new purpose after the military.

Contains strong language and discussion of combat, cancer and mental health.

• 00:13 Introducing Martin “Dixie” Dean
• 00:43 How Adz and Dixie first met in DeLand, Florida
• 02:30 Pool parties, road trips and chaos on the parachuting course
• 06:34 Joining the Royal Marines at 16 and continuing the family tradition
• 07:34 Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and waiting to be tested
• 10:16 Combat, trust and the mental consequences of war
• 11:33 Compartmentalising military experiences—and acting bringing them back
• 12:15 Feeling guilty about not developing PTSD
• 14:34 Why showing emotion isn’t weakness
• 14:57 Royal Marine PTIs were already performers
• 16:30 Life after the Corps, self-employment and constantly chasing new ideas
• 20:35 Dixie’s first acting work on Rogue One and Transformers
• 21:31 The cancer diagnosis that completely changed his direction
• 22:20 Starting an acting degree and why you’re never too old
• 22:38 Military pensions, opportunity and having the courage to change careers
• 25:34 Adz’s book, cutting 200,000 words down to 95,000 and knowing when to stop
• 28:45 Two possible follow-up books and the unique surfing-and-military angle
• 30:50 Why being a PTI translates naturally into acting
• 31:55 Leaving the Corps and maintaining a connection to military life
• 34:35 Trying not to become the old sweat constantly spinning war stories
• 38:20 Deploying to Afghanistan with basic equipment and no modern body armour
• 40:20 WMIKs, improvised protection and being blown up
• 42:43 Stunt work, old-school action films and the changing film industry
• 45:31 The “Adz show”—turning on the performance when people are watching
• 47:10 Timings, kit and the military habits that never disappear
• 51:09 Dixie’s acting goals and his ambition to be part of a BAFTA-winning team
• 53:42 Luck, auditions and the work ethic veterans bring into civilian life
• 56:40 What military films get right and wrong
• 59:33 Why Britain doesn’t make more major military films
• 63:40 Why the Royal Marines deserve a Hollywood blockbuster
• 65:44 Final thoughts and what comes next

The Grumpy Surfer Podcast is back after a six-month break, with Adz joined by new co-host Mo Morris.

What starts as a conversation about Mahara Jiujitsu and building an academy from a village hall into a full-time gym quickly becomes something much bigger.

They talk about why success is usually earned rather than lucky, the unseen work behind other people’s “good fortune”, healthy obsession, self-doubt and the strange inability to stop and appreciate what you’ve already achieved.

They also get into the similarities between surfing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, chasing the dopamine hit of progress, protecting your ego on the mats, deliberately training the things you’re bad at and why the environment surrounding a sport can matter as much as the activity itself.

Then there’s adulthood, responsibility, military identity, BJJ competition, social-media dogpiles and the surprising question of why criticism from strangers online can sometimes feel harder to handle than actual danger.

Honest, funny, occasionally controversial and completely unscripted.

Contains strong language.

• 00:00 The podcast returns and Mo Morris joins as co-host
• 01:00 Building Mahara from a village hall into a full-time academy
• 05:40 Growth, debt and whether a bigger gym would actually be better
• 08:00 Juggling Mahara, the book, podcast, marketing and family
• 11:40 “You’re not fortunate. You’ve earned the right.”
• 14:20 Healthy obsession, failure and the cost of becoming exceptional
• 16:00 Mo’s mentorship work, self-doubt and feeling like a fraud
• 18:40 Why age, experience and responsibility can create more overthinking
• 21:20 Success, dopamine and needing an ever-bigger sense of progress
• 22:40 Why surfing and BJJ attract a similar type of person
• 27:20 The environment, community and having somewhere you can be yourself
• 31:20 Size, ego and learning to train intelligently in BJJ
• 39:20 Conditioning your sparring and deliberately practising weaknesses
• 43:40 Do people genuinely tell others their ideas will fail?
• 45:40 Why children are praised for trying while adults are judged on outcomes
• 47:40 Social media, negativity and knowing when to switch it off
• 50:20 Why social-media criticism can feel as uncomfortable as gunfire
• 53:00 Mo’s decision not to compete and the online backlash it created
• 58:00 Adz’s upcoming book and preparing for greater exposure
• 60:40 Opinions, resilience and the gloriously abrupt ending

Ben Powis is the CEO of Surfing England, he along with his team have put English surfing back on the world stage. Ben has made it his mission to source out sponsors, investors and funding streams to facilitate the multifaceted layers of the surfing community in England.

In the podcast Ben and Adz discuss surfing and AI, judging, coaching and much more.

Ben is an amazing guy, and in the conversation you can hear Ben's passion for growing surfing in England.