"My Career Was an Idol" | A Retired RCMP Leader on Life After the Uniform

Seb served 23 years in uniform: three in the military, then more than 20 with the RCMP, 12 of them on the Lower Mainland's Emergency Response Team as a breacher and team leader, before retiring in 2021 as Divisional Sergeant Major for E Division. What came next nearly broke him. In the final episode of The Guardrail Series, host Sach Latti sits down with a friend of more than six years to tell a part of their story that's never been told publicly. Sach first reached out to Seb in the middle of a divorce, looking for a way to stop being self-destructive. Seb was quietly facing his own crossroads: leaving the structure that had shaped his entire adult life, nightmares about financial collapse, and a surgery he didn't need that left him 28 days in a hospital bed in Toronto. This is a conversation about what it takes to ask for help, what it takes to actually show up for another man, and why accountability, not comfort, is what real friendship looks like. Seb also shares what forced stillness taught him, why he now sees his career as an idol he built his life around, and how jiu jitsu teaches kids and adults to breathe and work their way out of tight spots. Seb and Shaun Taylor both have books on the way, including The Warrior in the Garden. The Guardrail Series is produced by Sach In Motion in partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion BC/Yukon Command and the Legion Foundation. If you or a veteran you know is facing housing, financial or transition challenges, the Legion Foundation can help. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 0:41 Meet Seb 4:06 How a podcast and a DM started a friendship 14:11 Leaving the RCMP after 23 years 23:48 28 days in the dark: when life forces stillness 27:04 Why did I really join? A career as an idol 29:53 It takes guts to ask for help 37:08 How do you help when you're struggling yourself? 47:16 What it means to actually be there for another man 51:32 Jiu jitsu, pressure and getting out of tight spots CONNECT WITH THE LEGION FOUNDATION Facebook:   / legionfoundationbcyukoncommand   Instagram:   / legionfoundationbcyukon   RESOURCES Legion Foundation — Veteran Homelessness Program https://legionbcyukonfoundation.ca/vhp/ Legion Foundation — Leave the Streets Behind Program https://legionbcyukonfoundation.ca/le... Veterans Transition Network — Military Cultural Competency Course A free, self-paced course for professionals working with Veterans https://vtncanada.org/culturalcompete... Built for Zero Canada — Veteran homelessness services and national statistics collected in one place https://bfzcanada.ca/veterans/ Veterans Affairs Canada — Mental Health and Wellness https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/mental-... If you're a Veteran or family member and need to talk to someone now, the VAC Assistance Service is free and available 24/7: 1-800-268-7708 #TheGuardrailSeries #Veterans #RCMP #LegionFoundation #MensMentalHealth