#179 | Freddy Cook | Army to Cybersecurity

Freddy Cook on military intelligence, climbing poles for Bell Atlantic, a career in cybersecurity, and running the LA Marathon at 50. Fredrick Cook was born in Takoma Park, Maryland, and raised across Atlanta, growing up in deeply racially mixed communities that shaped how he sees people and perspective. He came of age with undiagnosed autism and depression. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving nearly six years in Military Intelligence. After the military, he began his civilian career in telecommunications as a pole climber for Bell Atlantic, eventually working his way up to Tier 3 support for the Department of Defense's fiber-optic network. In 2007, Fredrick pivoted into cybersecurity, first as a DoD contractor, then as a DoD civilian. In 2019, he left the federal government, moved to Los Angeles, and at 50 years old ran the Los Angeles Marathon. Three years ago, he co-founded Cyber Pathways, helping high-school students and career changers see a path to a tech career without college debt. Today, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife and youngest son, working as a cybersecurity consultant, teacher, mentor, and firearm instructor, focused on growth, accountability, and building real pathways forward. Chapters 0:00 Welcome Freddy Cook 2:34 Running without music 7:36 Living in a fishbowl 10:12 Settling in Maryland 12:47 Microaggressions in perspective 15:22 A restless kid 17:54 An army recruiter on the couch 20:28 The pressure of not going to Morehouse 23:01 The army changed him 25:35 Learning to depend on your team 28:09 Exhausted in training 30:40 Top 1% on the army test 35:40 Your peers are what you fear 38:14 Too many fights 43:16 Stationed in Germany 45:53 Training areas after the Wall fell 48:27 Selling cars and finding a path 51:03 Tactical versus strategic intelligence 53:35 A best friend and WorldCom 58:36 A friend who became a brother 1:03:38 What cybersecurity covers 1:06:14 The DoD's information network 1:08:45 Phishing emails every day 1:11:20 Contractors behind the scenes 1:16:23 Leaving the East Coast 1:18:58 The CMMC standard 1:21:28 No company is fully secure 1:24:02 Phone cards and Ryan's first trip to China 1:26:35 Old vulnerabilities, new exploits 1:29:11 What it takes to work with the government 1:31:41 Insider threats 1:34:18 Jobs AI will change 1:36:51 Always be ready to change 1:39:26 Stagnation 1:44:29 Ryan's political awakening in Canada 1:47:07 Picking a camp 1:49:40 Outsourcing your thinking 1:54:42 Long-range shooting 1:59:44 Road rage at a Waymo 2:02:21 Safety and self-defence 2:04:51 Mature your arguments 2:07:27 Protest and public policy 2:10:02 People who don't vote 2:12:35 Civics in schools 2:15:08 What did you do then? 2:17:38 Your brain rebels against change 2:20:11 Re-election versus approval ratings 2:22:42 Where movements come from 2:25:14 The people have to fix it 2:27:45 Ryan detached from politics 2:30:17 Laws and law-abiding citizens 2:32:48 Accepting you don't know it all 2:35:21 Thanks for coming on 2:37:53 How couples argue 2:40:24 Arguing past each other The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com