How To Build Your Life After Tragedy - Michael Smoak (HigherUp Wellness)

Michael Smoak / @higherupwellness is a coach, creator, podcaster and online voice known for helping people turn pain into purpose through faith, fitness, discipline and brutally honest conversations about grief, masculinity and healing. In this episode of Origin Story, Michael sits down with David McIntosh Jr in Long Beach, California for a deeply honest and surprisingly life-affirming conversation about grief, faith, heartbreak, masculinity, death, purpose, family, emotional expression, and what it really means to become a man. From caring for his dying father, to processing young parental grief, to rebuilding his life through faith and service, Michael explains how the worst thing that ever happened to him became the foundation for his work, his message and his relationship with God. David and Michael also explore the “Dead Parents Under 30 Club”, why men struggle to talk about heartbreak, the danger of suppressing emotion, the difference between real strength and performative toughness, and why “you only live once” might be the wrong way to look at life. This is a raw, emotional and powerful conversation about grief, God, love, letting go, and learning how to turn pain into purpose before it breaks you. Follow David McIntosh Jr: Instagram: @davidmcintoshjr Follow Michael Smoake: Instagram/TikTok: @higherupwellness Sponsored by Neutonic — the nootropic drink designed for focus, energy and getting stuff done. Use code DAVID at checkout.

David McIntosh JrhostMichael Smoakguest

May 27, 202652mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: May 27, 2026
Duration: 52m
Channel: Origin Story w/ David McIntosh Jr
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Michael Smoak / @higherupwellness is a coach, creator, podcaster and online voice known for helping people turn pain into purpose through faith, fitness, discipline and brutally honest conversations about grief, masculinity and healing. In this episode of Origin Story, Michael sits down with David McIntosh Jr in Long Beach, California for a deeply honest and surprisingly life-affirming conversation about grief, faith, heartbreak, masculinity, death, purpose, family, emotional expression, and what it really means to become a man. From caring for his dying father, to processing young parental grief, to rebuilding his life through faith and service, Michael explains how the worst thing that ever happened to him became the foundation for his work, his message and his relationship with God. David and Michael also explore the “Dead Parents Under 30 Club”, why men struggle to talk about heartbreak, the danger of suppressing emotion, the difference between real strength and performative toughness, and why “you only live once” might be the wrong way to look at life. This is a raw, emotional and powerful conversation about grief, God, love, letting go, and learning how to turn pain into purpose before it breaks you. Follow David McIntosh Jr: Instagram: @davidmcintoshjr Follow Michael Smoake: Instagram/TikTok: @higherupwellness Sponsored by Neutonic — the nootropic drink designed for focus, energy and getting stuff done. Use code DAVID at checkout.

SPEAKERS

David McIntosh Jr
host
Podcast host of “Origin Story w/ David McIntosh Jr.”
Michael Smoak
guest
HigherUp Wellness founder/creator and podcast guest discussing grief, faith, and rebuilding life after tragedy.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Origin Story w/ David McIntosh Jr, featuring David McIntosh Jr and Michael Smoak, How To Build Your Life After Tragedy - Michael Smoak (HigherUp Wellness) explores turning grief into purpose through faith, service, and presence daily Smoak frames suffering as an opportunity to consciously “alchemize” pain into growth, drawing on Carl Jung, scripture (James 1:2–4), and the discipline of non-negotiables during grief.

RELATED EPISODES