From Combat to Coast: How a Retired Marine Found Peace on the Water | Brad Smith

Below the Surface with Jared Shepherd — Brad Smith | Gunny B OutdoorsBrad Smith isn't your average fishing guide. He's a retired Marine who did 20 years, deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, went through MARSOC, and came home a changed man. But this episode goes way deeper than fishing.Brad opens up about what it really cost him to serve, how his marriage hit rock bottom and how faith pulled it back together, the years-long fertility struggle that led to a gender reveal at his retirement party, and how he turned a captain's license into a growing charter business — Gunny B Outdoors.This is one of those conversations that sticks with you.Topics covered:Growing up in South Carolina and joining the Marines the day after returning a Blockbuster movieCombat in Afghanistan and Iraq — and what it actually does to a personMARSOC, Africa, the Philippines, and 20 years of deploymentsHow his marriage nearly ended and what turned it aroundYears of fertility treatments, IVF, and finally having his daughter HaleyBuilding Gunny B Outdoors from 50 trips to 158 a yearWhy fishing is more than fishing — and how it saves peopleHis work with veteran outdoor organizationsFind Brad:Website / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / YouTube — search Gunny B Outdoors