On September 11, 2001, John Kostick was working as an electrician on the 39th floor of Tower One. He got out. Then he went back and spent the next 12 to 18 months at Ground Zero doing rescue and recovery.

He carried it for decades: the smoke, the smells, the horrors. Then came the physical toll. In 2004 his voice started to fade, one of many injuries left by the trauma and toxins of that site. John also talks about a hard truth. Civilian 9/11 survivors never got the same standard of care as first responders.

In this episode, Whiz and John talk about how John finally found peace. Dr. Lance Cutsforth brought him to a retreat in Colorado with Mons Sana, where he met Whiz. Through ceremony and entheogenic medicine, John was cracked wide open. He purged 23 years of trauma and shame and came out with a new truth: 9/11 didn't happen to him. It happened for him.

Today John is on a new mission with the 9/11 Project (911project.org). He's building a full list of 9/11 memorials across the country. He makes a point of visiting the small, overlooked ones that mean the most to their local communities, so that no one's memory is lost.

In this episode:

Surviving the North Tower and the long months at Ground Zero
The health fallout and the gaps in care for civilian survivors
How medicine and community helped John heal his Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI)
Why small memorials matter, and the work of 911project.org

🔗 911project.org

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Aviation has advanced dramatically since Matthew “Whiz” Buckley first entered the cockpit nearly four decades ago. Aircraft are safer, technology is smarter, and training is more sophisticated—but approximately 80% of civilian and military aviation mishaps still involve human error.

For generations, aviators were taught to hide anything that might suggest they were struggling. Raising a hand and asking for help could mean being grounded—taking away the one thing that may have been keeping them alive. Pilots learned to compartmentalize, suppress, and keep everything from their flight surgeons.

Compartmentalization may be essential in the air. It can be devastating on the ground.

In this powerful episode of MAX Afterburner, Whiz sits down with Dr. Abigail Powell to explore mental health throughout the aviation community, how far the culture has come, and how far it still needs to go. Whiz also discusses becoming one of the first aviators to speak publicly about his own healing through psychedelic-assisted therapy—and why vulnerability, honesty, and asking for help are signs of courage, not weakness.

Dr. Powell explains the holistic approach she takes with her patients—mind, body, and soul. Their conversation covers everything from diet, exercise, and sleep to stress, burnout, trauma, transitions, and the psychological demands of a high-performance career.

Dr. Abigail Powell, PhD, is a Texas-licensed psychologist and the founder of The Aviation Therapist. She specializes in aviation psychology, mental performance, burnout, and the unique mental health challenges faced by pilots and aviation professionals. As the spouse of a former Navy SEAL turned pilot, she also brings a personal understanding of the demands placed on military families and the aviation community.

Through her upcoming platform, The Aviation Mindset, Dr. Powell combines psychology, neuroscience, human performance, and wellness to help aviators build resilience and perform at their best—without sacrificing their mental health.

Instagram: @TheAviationTherapist
Website: https://theaviationtherapist.com/
Coming soon: https://theaviationmindset.com/

August 2026 will be remembered as the month the institutions finally caught up to the warriors who went first. In this episode, Whiz Buckley walks through thirty days that would have been unthinkable five years ago. The VA Secretary reported his department is making real strides on psychedelic therapy for veterans. The Department of War formally recognized Operator Syndrome — the cumulative toll carried by the men and women who spent careers at the tip of the spear. The New York Times ran a piece on Americans facing danger seeking treatment at clinics outside the country. And hours later, a federal report from SAMHSA landed telling states to start preparing now for FDA approval of psychedelics — the clearest signal yet that this is no longer a question of if.

Whiz also connects a thread most people missed. A year and a half ago he sat down with VA Secretary Doug Collins and told him to go get the ibogaine research Dr. Deborah Mash had done in the early 1990s — work that had been sitting on a shelf for three decades. This month, the President announced the University of Miami had handed that entire investigational drug application over to the federal government.

He closes where the whole thing started. Five years ago he was lying on a mattress in Mexico. This year he stood in the Oval Office for an executive order signing. No one is ever truly broken — God does not make imperfect things — and August proved the machine is finally moving.

Fight's On!

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