We were lucky to catch up with Walt Settlemyre recently and have shared our conversation below.

Walt , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I have worked as a paramedic for the last 30 years with 25 of those being in a Special Operations role either a tactical medic or a rescue medic. As I’ve gotten older, more injuries, and the wear and tear on my body of a very physical life, I’m 57 now, I’ve had to face several pivotal transitions in my life that are not only a bit scary, but also leaps of faith in my self!

Leaving the Special Operations Rescue Team and working in Field Ops was for me taking a risk because so much of my identity till that point was going that extra mile so to speak. As I began to acquire injuries I realized i could either leave the Team on my terms or possibly not be able to perform when I was needed. That’s a difficult pill to swallow! Further I am close to retirement from my current career!

For several years I talked about starting a podcast as well as teaching defensive tactics and situational awareness to first responders. Especially with the podcast, I talked a big game about how I could do that! Yet all I did was talk! It’s very easy to “not” take risks! To “not” put something you created in to the world because it could be criticized and ridiculed because that”s vulnerability! And vulnerability is scary!

I’ve never been a wealthy man by any means. And I’ve always worked for someone else! From my time in the US Army after high school through several career attempts all which did not speak to my heart and soul, to finding a passion for emergency medicine especially in the austere environment. But I was still beholden to someone else! Most of all I wanted to be able to be honest! To be a leader! To make a difference! That type of thought process and desire isn’t popular working for a bureaucracy such as governmental agencies.

As I was transitioning out of the Rescue Team I decided to take the risk! To start the podcast! To be able to “Speak with words as hard as cannonballs” as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it! I had talked about it for so long and done nothing to start! If I wanted to begin to build something that will maybe give me my independence and allow me to be honest and put something good in the world, I had to take a risk! I had to start! If wanted to make any kind of difference or do something, risking that vulnerability
had to happen! It has ended up being one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done because while it’s still not a profitable venture, after working for so many years in the ‘so called’ life saving business, I’m now working on saving my own!

Doing something that speaks to your soul, taking the risk of laying bare your soul to the world is not only a tremendous risk! It can also be the most freeing and inspirational thing you’ll ever do!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began my podcast, The Distinguished Savage nearly three years ago and also around that time I began to revamp the defensive tactics and situational awareness program the EMS system I work for had! These two endeavors actually coalesced well together because the podcast at it’s core is about people who take their own self defense, their personal sovereignty, and the way they dress and carry themselves everyday seriously!

I also believe everyone has a story to tell and a journey they’re on! Some obviously take that journey more seriously and see it as growth. Those are the people I love to talk to! My podcast has a very uniquely “me” feel! I’ve never been a fan of small talk or short conversations about nothing! I want to learn about someone! i want to go down all the rabbit holes, the twists and turns, and really listen and ask questions! I take a very organic flow of consciousness style of interview. I want to have a real conversation with someone! The motto of the podcast is Define, Defend, Defy! I look for those people who have defined themselves and not let others write their narrative. Those who take the defense of their person, their life, and all they hold dear seriously. And lastly but most importantly those who defy convention and conformity!

Something else I’ve ventured in to is teaching situational awareness and defensive tactics as well as tactical first aid. Think stop the bleed class with a more dynamic mindset and an emphasis on addressing a threat and treating injuries whether you’re own or someone else’s! Making good people safer is very important to me! I never want to provide the same old tired information no matter what I teach! I strive to constantly update everything I put out! My lectures for lack of better term are never the same. They have the same outline of bullet points but I am constantly learning new things or discarding things that don’t work or aren’t pressured tested!

The medical profession holds the lions share of workplace violence! in fact just over half of all violence in the work place is perpetrated on medical providers and it goes vastly under reported! People who enter any medical field want to help heal, not hurt! Helping those medical providers better understand the early warning signs of possible violence, de-escalation strategies and if a situation becomes violent how to weather that storm while keeping the both the provider and patient safe is what I do! Patients can become assailants and then back to patients again! I teach providers how be able “titrate to effect” to use a medical term, how the physical force they use has to parallel the danger they face! More importantly I try to instill the understanding to see the pre event indicators of violence and thus be able to de-escalate things before gong kinetic!

Coming from a medical provider standpoint myself, I will likely have to treat the very same person I was just in an altercation with! This can be a very tenuous thing and certainly not easy to do! Using concepts and methodologies rather teaching a whole lot of techniques for this or that scenario, I teach concepts that once you understand, it’s easier to apply a solution that works for you. While I realize that sounds a bit esoteric, it’s really not! But also not so simple that I can lay it all out here!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

To be honest I am directly in the ‘pivot” of everything right now! I am moving very close to retirement from my career in EMS! That will be quite a pay cut! By the same token I want to truly be free to be the sole curator of my hopes and dreams! As mentioned before I have always been beholden to a boss or supervisor! I can’t count the times I’ve heard my ideas are too progressive, or too outlandish, or I’ll never get funding, along with every other reason why change can’t occur or happen!

I don’t know if the podcast will ever be profitable but I didn’t start it thinking it would honestly! If it does turn a profit or just breaks even, or for that matter stays in the red I will continue to do it! Because it’s my passion! It allows me to be me! It allows me to indulge my curiosity without someone telling me I can’t or shouldn’t!

More to the pivot point, I recently switched RSS feeds which is where you upload your podcast to be sent out to all the platforms. It’s been a rough transition and many of my old subscribers haven’t been able to find new episodes! So in many cases I’ve trying rebuild that subscriber base! Again the ability to pivot through adversity is clutch!

So I’ll have to let you know if the pivot works or not! Either way there’s a motto I hold very dear! I even have it tattooed on my arm! “I will find a way, or make one”! What I can tell you is this! Having the ability to “pivot” is the most important thing! It’s so much easier to always do what you have always done or stop all together! But to be able to see and understand that you must pivot and take a new path that has power and magic, and genius in it!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I picked this question because I never intended to build a social media presence. As the podcast has grown and word has gotten around I have began to attract like minded subscribers/followers! And I have met some of the most incredible people through my instagram, @Distinguished Savage!

I post things that I find interesting or cool, or different! I post about what appeals to me and that has seemed to resonate with other people! I’ve found the more I stay true to myself and post with honesty, humility, or what intrigues me the more likes and followers I have gotten! It still kind of baffles me that people are interested in something I say or do! The main thing I remind myself of however, is to never take anything for granted! Whether it be success, failure, or interactions on social media. I will remain genuine! If i ever think for even a moment that I’ve lost that sense of self and humility I will lose not only the audience I’ve appealed to but I’ll have lost myself!

I’ve had people tell me I should curate my IG this way or that way or I should do the podcast a different way. That I should follow influencers and mimic what they do! But quite honestly the posts and episodes that receive the most interactions and comments are those that are real, honest, and genuine! People know what’s real versus filtered, curated, overly polished BS! I am none of those things by any stretch! I stay true to myself! I post things and talk to people that appeal to that nature! That has seemed to draw others in!

Thats how I’ve built an audience and a following however that term still makes me uneasy! I don’t see people as customers or followers! I see them as tribe, as mentors, and as patrons to the content I put out! I feel the phrase “Iron Sharpens Iron” is quite true! On social media I follow way more than follow me! And that’s fine because everyone can teach me something!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @distinguishedsavage
• Twitter: @TDSATX
• Other: You can find the podcast The Distinguished Savage on most all podcast players. I have recently switched RSS feeds which has been a bit of a nightmare for a few of the platforms, especially Spotify which has two feeds for some reason. If the feed on Spotify ends at my weekly update episode Savage Sunday 35 that’s the old one. Unfollow that one and search Savage Sunday 40 and that will bring up the new feed. Please like and subscribe if you like what I put out! and if not, no hard feelings! I often say I’m just some curious guy with a podcast and I love talking to people and hearing their story! If something I say or do resonates with you or makes you think then that truly makes me happy! I am humbled and honored that anyone takes a little of their valuable time to listen!