Welcome to the Behind the Shield podcast. As always, my name's James Gearing, and this week I have an

extremely important conversation for you. For many of you that follow the show, you will know I'm not

a huge fan of most politicians. The backstory of this interview is, when I moved to Ocala, Florida,

I joined the YMCA and was doing my Crossfit workouts there, much to the amusement of most of the

gymgoers who had never seen it before. At that time, the manager was Ben Marciano. Now, Ben went on to

transition out of the Y and own, zone health and fitness. But what really drew me to him was

he is about to become our mayor here in Ocala.

But he also has a very powerful story of overcoming addiction.

So between his understanding of health and fitness and the mental health side,

this is an individual that I'm actually proud to interview.

And to me is the kind of person that we need in these leadership positions.

So we discuss a host of topics

from his early life and some of the contributing factors that led him into his addiction,

how a mental health and rehab facility helped him transition into the world of health and fitness,

the obesity epidemic, mental health and leadership, and so much more. Now, before we get to this incredibly

important conversation, as I say every week, please just take a moment, go to whichever app you

listen to this on, subscribe to the show, leave feedback and leave a rating. Every single five-star

rating truly does elevate this podcast, therefore making it easier for others to find.

And this is a free library of well over 800 episodes now.

So all I ask in return is that you help share these incredible men and women's stories

so I can get them to every single person on planet Earth who needs to hear

them. So with that being said, I introduce to start by saying thank you so much for coming to my home and doing this interview.

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