Special Guest: Julian Thorne (Director of Men’s Mind Project & Founder of Tip-Top Dog Training)

This week, Marc and Richard are joined by Julian Thorne, a man who spent decades on the frontline of the ambulance service and the police force before "breaking" and reinventing himself in retirement. From dealing with machete attacks in Southwark to finding his true identity through a green Mohican and dog training, Julian’s story is a profound look at what happens when the uniform finally comes off.

• Identity as a Copper: Julian discusses why he never wanted promotion—preferring the chaos of the streets to becoming a "number cruncher" in an office.
• The Canary Wharf Secondary Device: A chilling (and briefly amusing) account of the ambulance control vehicle nearly being caught in a secondary blast.
• The Machete & The Fox: Graphic, honest memories of Southwark's frontline, including a dissection-style machete wound and a murder victim discovered by scavenging foxes.
• The "Continuity Officer" Burden: Julian recounts the one job that will never leave him: identifying the body of a young boy who drowned in the Surrey Docks, and the "etched terror" on the lad's face.

• The Pressure of "I’m Fine": Julian reflects on the "perfect storm" of modern policing—zero processing time between traumatic calls and a culture that incentivizes probationers to hide their struggle.
• Institutionalization: After 30 years of being told what to wear and where to be, Julian discusses the "weirdness" and struggle of waking up to total freedom in retirement.
• The Mohican Manifesto: Why retirement meant regressing to his 16-year-old punk roots—piercings, green Mohicans, and Lego trainers as a reclamation of self.

• Training People, Not Dogs: Julian discusses how a dog named Millie helped him out from under "horse rugs" during his 2010 breakdown and how he now uses that passion to help others through Tip-Top Dog Training.
• The Men’s Mind Project: A deep dive into the Snodland-based group Julian directs. It’s a space where men over 18 can cry, laugh, or just sit in silence without judgment.
• The Exhaustion of the Mask: Marc and Julian discuss the "introverted extrovert" struggle—the sheer physical exhaustion of pretending to be okay when you are suicidal.

• Men’s Mind Project: Mondays at 7:00 PM, Snodland Town Hall.
• Dog Training: Tip-Top Dog Training.

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If you have been affected by the themes of suicide or trauma in this episode, please reach out to CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) or Samaritans (116 123).

Would you like me to draft a high-impact LinkedIn post featuring Julian’s advice on the "Voice as a Weapon" for your professional network?

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