501: Andy Stumpf—Gray Noise

**Mike Rowe** (0:03)
Hey, guys, it's The Way I Heard It, I'm Mike. You know, Chuck. Hi, Chuck. Hello. You know, there are two kinds of interviews in general. There are probably more than that, but in my experience doing this now, there's the kind that leaves me feeling like I learned a lot from an expert in a subject, and I feel much smarter as a result of talking to this person.
And then there's the kind of interview that leaves me thinking, you know, I had no idea really who this person was, and now I really feel like I know him.

**Andy Stumpf** (0:40)
Yeah, absolutely.

**Mike Rowe** (0:41)
I mean, you spent some time with him and confused him with someone else, I believe. It's such a weird, funny story, and we'll explain it as we go, but my guest is Andy Stumpf.
And Andy has done and continues to do one cool thing after the next 18 years as a Navy SEAL, served with SEAL Team Six, multiple combat deployments, lots of, oh, what do you call them? Medals, accommodations.

**Andy Stumpf** (1:10)
Yeah, I think five Bronze Stars.

**Mike Rowe** (1:12)
Five Bronze Stars, got shot pretty badly, recovered remarkably, went back as an instructor in a BUDS. BUDS, yeah. He's that guy, you know, and then he gets out of that, and then he's like, now what? And jumps out of a plane 8,500 times and gets one of those wing suits, you know. Probably seen the videos of these, God, these people, they're just flying through these alpine valleys and landing in these meadows all over the world, and you watch these things on YouTube or wherever they pop up and you shake your head and you go, what kind of nut job would do that?

**Andy Stumpf** (1:47)
This kind of nut job.

**Mike Rowe** (1:48)
Yeah, and then, of course, because he's all that and more, he's running a Black Rifle franchise out there in Montana, and he's got a podcast, and the podcast is called Cleared Hot. And I've stumbled across it a few times and just instantly liked the guy. He's just a likable dude who has lived a big life and written a terrific book called Drownproof.
And, full disclosure, I thought a guy named Greg Stumpf was coming in here, who I met many years ago, a Green Beret. And when I learned it was Andy, I was like, oh, oh, yes, okay, this will be fine. I figured we'd chat for an hour about this, that, and the other. Two and a half hours later, I was like, I think I barely scratched the surface. But with respect to your time and Chuck's and mine, I cut it short.
That was damn decent of you.
We're calling this episode Gray Noise, because at some point in it, apropos of whatever we were talking about, Andy looked at me and said, you know, man, you need the gray noise. And I'm sitting here trying to remember exactly what I said that would inspire him to say that, and I can't remember. But I like to turn a phrase. So what do you say? Great noise. You need the gray noise, man.
Andy Stumpf. I'm so glad I got to know him. Stick around. I believe you'll say the same thing. Two and a half hours hence. Right after this.
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