CHAPTERS
- 0:02 – 2:40
Buffalo Trace surprise: gifting Joe a custom single-barrel pick
Justin opens with a surprise thank-you: Buffalo Trace and Fight for the Forgotten are letting Joe select a single barrel that will become custom JRE-labeled bottles. They explain how single-barrel whiskey differs from blended batches and why barrels create unique flavor profiles.
- •Fight for the Forgotten chosen as charity partner with Buffalo Trace
- •Single-barrel concept: barrel wood drives much of the flavor
- •Joe is offered a tasting to choose “his” barrel
- •Plan includes custom JRE branding on bottles
- 2:40 – 8:40
Whiskey tasting chaos: Joe picks barrel #3 (mostly on vibes)
Joe samples multiple barrels, jokes about “whiskey nerd” rituals, and admits he can barely tell them apart. After re-tasting, he ultimately chooses sample/barrel number three—partly because “three is a magic number.”
- •Sampling barrels 1–3 with ages/warehouse details
- •Joe jokes about tasting notes and pretends to be a connoisseur
- •Re-taste between #2 and #3 to “confirm” preference
- •Final selection: barrel #3
- 8:40 – 10:46
Raffle announcement: Buffalo Trace VIP distillery trip to raise $100K+
Justin explains a public raffle on FightForTheForgotten.org offering a whiskey-lover’s “Disney World” experience at Buffalo Trace for the winner and guests. They discuss ticket tiers, the VIP tour, barrel tasting, and the fundraising goal—possibly scaling to far more if the audience participates.
- •Raffle entry levels ($10–$100) and VIP tour details
- •Winner brings up to seven guests; tastes straight from barrels
- •Potential to receive/buy a barrel (≈220 bottles)
- •Fundraising targets: $100K and potentially much higher
- 10:46 – 11:34
Impact update: 73 wells, Uganda expansion, and land secured for displaced Pygmies
The conversation shifts to Fight for the Forgotten’s on-the-ground results: dozens of wells and clean water access for tens of thousands. Justin details moving focus toward Uganda’s Batwa/Pygmy communities, including land purchases and infrastructure projects driven by major donor moments.
- •73 wells dug; clean water for 60,000+ people
- •Expansion from Congo work into Uganda with Pygmy communities
- •Dustin Poirier/Khabib/Dana fundraising catalyzes major projects
- •48 acres purchased to relocate families from slum-adjacent conditions
- 11:34 – 14:53
Why they were forced out: politics, slums, and living on top of a cemetery
Justin describes the Ugandan authorities removing forest people from their ancestral lands under conservation claims, then confining them to about an acre near sewage runoff. He recounts the shocking reality of overcrowding, poor sanitation, and the community’s inability to bury their dead with dignity.
- •Authorities cite wildlife protection; Justin argues it’s political
- •No poaching; subsistence hunting and gathering traditions
- •300 people forced into ~1–1.25 acres near slums and sewage
- •Community lives atop a cemetery due to lack of burial space
- 14:53 – 20:21
Congo wildlife and brutality: okapi poaching, rebels, and witnessing mob violence
Joe and Justin discuss unique Congo wildlife (duiker, okapi) before turning to the region’s dangers. Justin recounts rebels slaughtering endangered animals and describes traumatic experiences, including seeing a body dragged and witnessing a man beaten to death by a mob.
- •Congo biodiversity: duiker behavior; okapi’s rarity and family
- •Okapi reserve violence tied to rebel groups and illegal mining
- •Justin describes seeing a rebel leader’s body dragged
- •Mob justice incident: a man beaten to death after theft accusations
- 20:21 – 24:16
PTSD, grief, and the emotional toll of humanitarian work
Justin explains returning from the Congo with guilt and insomnia, including feeling undeserving of comfort. He recounts burying children, medical evacuations, and exposure to sexual violence cases—describing how these experiences contributed to PTSD and a crushing 2020.
- •Post-trip guilt: difficulty sleeping in a bed after living on dirt
- •Child funerals and ongoing loss (including during COVID era)
- •Exposure to extreme violence, including rape cases and surgeries
- •2020: “hardest year,” followed by a major turnaround and healing focus
- 24:16 – 44:22
Relapse and recovery: oxy addiction, rehab ‘fight camp,’ and Stone Gate’s hard approach
Justin details relapse dynamics—starting with injury and pain meds, escalating through divorce, and culminating in rehab and sober living. He describes Stone Gate’s strict, confrontational structure, the rationale behind harsh accountability, and how he reframed sobriety as training for the biggest fight of his life.
- •Oxy addiction history and relapse triggers (surgery, divorce, shame)
- •Weed as a ‘safe’ substitute that quickly escalates for him
- •Stone Gate rehab: strict rules, infractions, limited phone access
- •Recovery as ‘fight camp’: tools, discipline, and personal responsibility
- 44:22 – 46:34
Root cause story: bullying at 13 and the ‘worthless’ script that fueled self-hate
Justin shares a formative trauma: being humiliated at a middle-school party in costume and told he was worthless and should kill himself. Joe probes how that memory remained a benchmark for self-worth despite Justin’s later achievements, and Justin connects it to relapse spirals and suicidal ideation.
- •Humiliation incident at 13: “not good enough,” “worthless,” “kill yourself”
- •Suicidality and the long shadow of childhood identity wounds
- •Relapse as a return to the same internal script
- •Learning self-love as a missing piece, beyond external accomplishments
- 46:34 – 54:24
Mexico spiral and near-fatal overdose: cartel scene, meth mix-up, and the sunrise ‘reset’
Justin recounts fleeing to Mexico during COVID in a suicidal, shame-driven state, falling into heavy drug use with a veteran, and mixing substances in a way that nearly stopped his heart. A moment in the ocean—gratitude for breath and heartbeat—becomes a turning point, yet he still uses again before finally returning for treatment.
- •One-way ticket mindset: not planning to come back
- •Drug access and cartel-adjacent party setting; escalating use
- •Near-death cocktail and accidental red phosphorus meth exposure
- •Ocean sunrise moment: gratitude interrupts shame, but addiction persists
- 54:24 – 1:47:19
Tools that helped: meditation, breathwork, tribe/community, and learning boundaries
Justin explains how daily meditation and breathwork became core practices for stability, and how finding supportive community (Fit for Service, friends in Austin) changed his trajectory. Joe challenges Justin’s tendency to overload himself; Justin agrees and describes building routines, saying no, and protecting his mornings from reactive phone use.
- •Daily meditation/breathwork as relapse prevention and emotional regulation
- •Fit for Service and Austin community as ‘tribe’ and accountability
- •Joe warns about compulsive overcommitment and fear of stillness
- •Practical boundary-setting: delayed phone use, journaling, fewer commitments
- 1:47:19 – 2:43:16
Physical collapse and recovery plan: parasites, malaria, inflammation, and regenerative medicine
They connect Justin’s relapse vulnerability to years of serious illness: schistosomiasis, cerebral malaria, dengue, blackwater fever, gut dysbiosis, and heavy antibiotic effects. The discussion moves into functional medicine tracking, inflammation reduction, CBD, stem-cell/amnio therapies, and the risk/reward of returning to Africa while rebuilding immunity.
- •Severe illness history: brain fog, gut overgrowth, multiple fevers
- •Functional/integrative medicine: frequent labs and measurable progress
- •Regenerative medicine and amnio/stem-cell style joint treatments
- •Debate about returning to Congo/Uganda safely; malaria prevention and exposure mitigation
