Military Creator Con: Creator Conversations

About Military Creator Con: Creator Conversations

Military Creator Con is the home for military-connected creators. This channel spotlights veteran creators, active-duty creators, military spouse creators, and creators connected to the military community. You’ll find: - Long-form interviews and creator conversations - Podcast appearances and featured guests from the MCC community - Real lessons on content, community, mindset, and the creator journey We feature podcasters, YouTubers, filmmakers, writers, artists, entrepreneurs, founders, and digital creators across every discipline. Each episode explores what they build, how they build it, and how military life shapes the work, the transition, and life beyond the uniform. If you’re building a platform, a brand, or a business, and you want real stories plus practical creator insights, you’re in the right place. Subscribe to meet new creators, learn what’s working, and stay connected to the military creator community.

Publisher

Military Creator Con

Category

business · business · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Mar 2026

Latest episode

24 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

44 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Sept 2026

   The Stories We Carry - Part 3: Why Intervention May Beat Prevention for Veterans

   PART 3 - SHOWNOTES Military Creator Con: "The Stories We Carry" series Episode Title: Why Intervention May Beat Prevention for Veterans Brief summary of show: Veteran suicide prevention means catching the moments before a crisis, not just responding after one, and this conversation makes the case that prevention has to start while someone is still serving, not after they leave. If you have ever wondered what actually works beyond a hotline number, this panel names real, specific answers. Hosted by Sean Douglas, a 20 year Air Force veteran and suicide awareness prevention speaker who helped build the Army and Air Force Master Resilience Training program, this roundtable closes out with concrete prevention strategies from five people building them. Tony Ellsworth Williams of Veterans Counseling Veterans argues awareness has to begin before a service member exits the military, since the military culture itself, including promotion weigh-ins, often plants the seeds of later struggles. Leah Stiles of SEA WAVES proposes a DD 214 sponsorship model, pairing every transitioning veteran with someone who has already crossed over. Joshua Parish of VetLife explains why Vet Fest and the VA's Solid Start program represent an upstream approach to prevention. Sean Wyman shares the one question every transitioning veteran should be asked before a crisis hits. Dr. Keith Castille closes by reframing intervention as sometimes more honest than prevention, and by calling for real collaboration on how veteran nonprofit funding gets distributed. In this episode, you'll learn: Why prevention needs to start before a service member ever leaves the military, not after, according to Tony Ellsworth Williams. How military culture, including repeated weigh-ins for promotion, can quietly create the conditions for eating disorders, from Tony Ellsworth Williams. What a DD 214 sponsorship program could look like, pairing every transitioning veteran with someone further down the road, from Leah Stiles. Why suicide prevention needs an upstream model instead of a downstream hotline, and what Vet Fest and Solid Start are doing to build one, from Joshua Parish. What question every transitioning veteran should be asked before a crisis happens, "who are your first three calls," from crisis intervention specialist Sean Wyman. Why intervention, not prevention, may be the more honest starting point for veterans hitting an unexpected life transition, according to Dr. Keith Castille. Why veteran nonprofit funding needs real collaboration instead of competition to actually reach the ground level, from Dr. Keith Castille. We talk about: 00:00:00 Why awareness has to start before leaving the military 00:00:52 How military culture quietly creates eating disorders 00:01:16 Why the elderly, families, and reservists get overlooked 00:02:49 What it means to be accessible in a suicide crisis 00:03:29 What a DD 214 sponsorship program could look like 00:04:51 Why suicide prevention needs an upstream model 00:05:59 What Solid Start does that most veterans never hear about 00:06:53 What question to ask before a veteran hits crisis 00:09:24 Is the perception of veterans as at risk overblown 00:11:11 Should intervention come before prevention 00:12:44 Why veteran nonprofit funding needs real collaboration If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline anytime, press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, for free and confidential support. Learn more about each panelist and their organization below. United States: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line) Canada: 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 United Kingdom & Ireland: Samaritans: call 116 123 (free, 24/7) Australia: Lifeline: call 13 11 14 New Zealand: 1737, call or text findahelpline.com: verified helplines in 175+ countries, searchable by country Befrienders Worldwide (www.befrienders.org (http://www.befrienders.org)) Connect with the panel: Sean Douglas, The Success Corps: www.thesuccesscorps.com (http://www.thesuccesscorps.com) Joshua Parish, VetLife: https://www.vetlifetoday.org/ (https://www.vetlifetoday.org/) Tony Ellsworth Williams, Veterans Counseling Veterans: https://vetscounselingvets.org/ (https://vetscounselingvets.org/) Leah Stiles, SEA WAVES: https://sea-waves.org/ (https://sea-waves.org/) Dr. Keith Castille, C2H LLC / Recurrent Military and Defense: https://recurrent.io (https://recurrent.io) Sean Wyman, Going Beyond The Call: http://www.seanwyman.com/ (http://www.seanwyman.com/)

2. 

   17 Sept 2026

   The Stories We Carry - Part 2: Breaking the Stigma Around Veteran Suicide

   PART 2 - SHOWNOTES Military Creator Con: "The Stories We Carry" series Episode Title: Breaking the Stigma Around Veteran Suicide Brief summary of show: Stigma around veteran suicide means the shame, silence, and cultural pressure that keep people in crisis from asking for help. If you have ever wondered why so many veterans and first responders suffer quietly instead of reaching out, this conversation names exactly why. Hosted by Sean Douglas, a 20 year Air Force veteran and suicide awareness prevention speaker who helped build the Army and Air Force Master Resilience Training program, this part of our larger roundtable discussion brings together five voices working on the front lines of veteran mental health. Joshua Parish of VetLife, who served in the initial invasion of Iraq, names the backwards resource model that expects veterans to find help instead of meeting them where they are. Dr. Keith Castille, a retired senior military officer now with Recurrent Military, breaks down why nonprofit funding flows to large organizations while grassroots groups doing the real work go underfunded. Tony Ellsworth Williams of Veterans Counseling Veterans explains why suicide prevention needs local, community level solutions, using his cigarette butt in a parade field analogy. Leah Stiles of SEA WAVES connects stigma to under-recognized issues like eating disorders. Crisis intervention specialist Sean Wyman closes with the disconnect he sees between veterans in crisis and a VA system that will not come to them. Every guest points to the same conclusion: stigma breaks through education, local action, and systems built to meet people where they are. In this episode, you'll learn: Why lack of education, not lack of care, is the root of stigma around veteran suicide, according to Leah Stiles. How the current VA resource model works backwards, expecting veterans to seek help instead of meeting them where they are, from VetLife's Joshua Parish. Why veteran nonprofit funding flows to large organizations while grassroots groups doing the ground level work struggle, according to Dr. Keith Castille. What the "cigarette butt in a parade field" analogy teaches about local versus national suicide prevention strategy, from Tony Ellsworth Williams. Why official suicide statistics may be undercounting the problem, and why data needs to be localized by age and circumstance, from Tony Ellsworth Williams. Why a VA case manager model built on outreach, not waiting, could close a major gap for veterans in crisis, from crisis intervention specialist Sean Wyman. We talk about: 00:00:00 What contributes most to stigma around veteran suicide 00:01:18 Why the military trains people not to ask for help 00:02:43 What is a backwards veteran resource provision model 00:05:30 Why veteran nonprofit funding favors big organizations 00:06:30 The cigarette butt in a parade field analogy explained 00:08:49 Are veteran suicide statistics actually accurate 00:09:26 Why women veterans face a different kind of suicide risk 00:09:55 How military and law enforcement culture shapes stigma 00:11:16 Why VA case managers should reach out instead of waiting 00:12:49 What happens when an agency fails to check on its own If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline anytime, press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, for free and confidential support. Learn more about each panelist and their organization below. United States: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line) Canada: 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 United Kingdom & Ireland: Samaritans: call 116 123 (free, 24/7) Australia: Lifeline: call 13 11 14 New Zealand: 1737, call or text findahelpline.com: verified helplines in 175+ countries, searchable by country Befrienders Worldwide (www.befrienders.org (http://www.befrienders.org)) Connect with the panel: Sean Douglas, The Success Corps: www.thesuccesscorps.com (http://www.thesuccesscorps.com) Joshua Parish, VetLife: https://www.vetlifetoday.org/ (https://www.vetlifetoday.org/) Tony Ellsworth Williams, Veterans Counseling Veterans: https://vetscounselingvets.org/ (https://vetscounselingvets.org/) Leah Stiles, SEA WAVES: https://sea-waves.org/ (https://sea-waves.org/) Dr. Keith Castille, C2H LLC / Recurrent Military and Defense: https://recurrent.io (https://recurrent.io) Sean Wyman, Going Beyond The Call: http://www.seanwyman.com/ (http://www.seanwyman.com/)

3. 

   10 Sept 2026

   The Stories We Carry: A Roundtable on Suicide Awareness and Prevention

   Suicide awareness and prevention means catching the moments before a crisis, not just responding after one, and this roundtable makes the case that stigma, isolation, and a backwards VA resource model are still getting in the way. If you're part of the military community, or you love someone who is, the statistics can feel abstract until it's someone you know. This conversation names what is actually driving suicide risk in that community: shame around asking for help, a system built for people to come to it instead of the other way around, and a culture that trains people to hide what they're carrying. Hosted by Sean Douglas, a 20-year Air Force veteran and suicide awareness prevention speaker who helped build the Army and Air Force Master Resilience Training program, this roundtable brings together Joshua Parish of VetLife, Tony Ellsworth Williams of Veterans Counseling Veterans, Leah Stiles of SEA WAVES, Dr. Keith Castille of C2H LLC and Recurrent Military, and crisis intervention specialist Sean Wyman of Going Beyond The Call. You'll hear why a Special Operations Foundation study found only one accredited veteran service officer for every 7,000 veterans, why Leah Stiles built the Need A Light campaign, and why Joshua Parish created Solid Start to check in with transitioning veterans three times in their first year. This one airs on World Suicide Prevention Day, and it closes with a simple ask: if someone came to mind while you listened, reach out to them today. In this episode, you'll learn: Why lack of education, not lack of care, is the biggest driver of stigma around suicide in the military community, according to Leah Stiles and Joshua Parish. How the current VA outreach model works backwards, expecting veterans to seek help instead of meeting them where they are, according to VetLife co-founder Joshua Parish. Why eating disorders are the second deadliest mental health condition among veterans, and why they rarely look the way people expect, based on Leah Stiles' firsthand experience. What the "one cigarette butt in a parade field" analogy teaches about why local, community-based intervention beats national suicide prevention campaigns, from Tony Ellsworth Williams. Why people trained for high-stress service become "masters of disguise," and the one question, who are your first three calls, that can interrupt a crisis, from Sean Wyman. Why intervention, not prevention, may be the more honest starting point for people navigating a hard transition, according to Dr. Keith Castille. What programs like Solid Start and Vet Fest are doing differently to close the gap between veterans and the resources meant to support them. We talk about: 00:00 Introducing the roundtable panelists 03:37 What fuels stigma around suicide in the military community 05:58 What is broken in the VA's backwards resource model 09:59 The one cigarette butt analogy for local suicide prevention 13:40 Military and law enforcement culture around asking for help 25:07 Why women veterans face a different kind of risk 31:42 Why 30 percent of veterans struggle with eating disorders 33:47 What the Need A Light campaign asks instead of are you okay 49:10 What Solid Start and Vet Fest are doing differently 53:43 Should intervention come before prevention 59:11 What to do if someone came to mind while you listened If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline anytime; press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, for free and confidential support. Learn more about each panelist and their organization below. United States: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line) Canada: 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 United Kingdom & Ireland: Samaritans: call 116 123 (free, 24/7) Australia: Lifeline: call 13 11 14 New Zealand: 1737, call or text findahelpline.com: verified helplines in 175+ countries, searchable by country Befrienders Worldwide (www.befrienders.org (http://www.befrienders.org)) Connect with the panel: Sean Douglas, The Success Corps: www.thesuccesscorps.com (http://www.thesuccesscorps.com) Joshua Parish, VetLife: https://www.vetlifetoday.org/ (https://www.vetlifetoday.org/) Tony Ellsworth Williams, Veterans Counseling Veterans: https://vetscounselingvets.org/ (https://vetscounselingvets.org/) Leah Stiles, SEA WAVES: https://sea-waves.org/ (https://sea-waves.org/) Dr. Keith Castille, C2H LLC / Recurrent Military and Defense: https://recurrent.io (https://recurrent.io) Sean Wyman, Going Beyond The Call: http://www.seanwyman.com/ (http://www.seanwyman.com/) #SuicideAwarenessAndPrevention #MilitaryMentalHealth #SuicidePreventionAwarenessMonth #WorldSuicidePreventionDay #VeteranMentalHealth #MilitaryStigma #PTSDAwareness #VeteranSupport #MilitaryTransition #MilitaryCommunity #CrisisIntervention #VeteranWellness #988Lifeline #MoralInjury #VeteranAdvocacy #MilitaryCulture #EatingDisorderAwareness #VeteranPeerSupport #MilitaryCreatorCon #TheStoriesWeCarry

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.