From Coke at the Onesie Party to Hand-Forging Chef Knives – Chris Osman’s Full Redemption Story | Ep. 268 | Pt. 3

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

Society & Culture, Personal Journals, Documentary, Politics, News

4.9 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2025

⏱️ 108 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this raw, unfiltered, and deeply personal conclusion to one of the most powerful Mike Drop episodes ever recorded, former SEAL Team operator turned master knife-maker Chris Osman (founder of Tons O’ Cutlery finishes laying it all bare with host Mike Ritland. Over the course of this nearly 2-hour final segment, Chris walks us through the absolute rock-bottom moments that finally forced permanent change: the phone call that exposed his drug-fueled double life, quitting every substance cold turkey (except red wine… at first), the divorce, the brutal road-rage beatdown that ended with a full DOJ raid on his house, getting charged with assault with a deadly weapon, walking free with a clean record, and then the complete 180° life rebuild – 60 lb natural weight loss, total sobriety inspired by his now-fiancée Lisa, burning every bridge to the tactical world, and discovering knife-making as his new obsession and career. Expect zero filter, zero excuses, and a masterclass in radical personal accountability, redemption, and what it actually looks like to rebuild yourself from scratch in your late 40s/early 50s. This is the rare veteran story that doesn’t end with “and then I started another tactical company.” It ends with quiet, hard-earned peace, a garage full of grinders, and some of the most beautiful handmade chef knives on the planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Kevin Harlan here. The NBA on Prime Crew is back and the quest for the Emirates NBA Cup is center court once again.
0:08.0	Group play is over. Now the remaining eight teams do battle in the knockout rounds and Prime is your exclusive home for all the action.
0:15.7	It all starts with the quarterfinals. Two consecutive nights of can't miss NBA doubleheaders this Tuesday and
0:22.9	Wednesday night. If you're not a prime member, sign up for a 30-day free trial to get started
0:28.8	today. Restrictions apply. See amazon.com slash Amazon Prime for details. The Emirates
0:36.0	NBA Cup quarterfinals, Tuesday and Wednesday night, only on prime.
0:41.6	Things are cool.
0:42.9	Parties going great, but there was just something about the environment.
0:46.3	Like I knew I was over it, but I wasn't over it just yet.
0:51.4	And so I do a little blow, took some Molly.
0:57.2	In fact, so little I went to sleep that night. If anybody's ever been in a party like that, typically it's a couple of day event. I was
1:01.6	passed out by like two o'clock in the morning, but I wake up. I didn't even touch the stuff that I
1:06.4	had paid for. I was literally just doing bumps off the plate as it was going around. But anyway,
1:11.7	so I wake up in the morning and everybody's out there. And there are onesies still. We're all
1:17.3	wearing like matching onesies and shit. It was a great time around Christmas time. And everybody's
1:22.5	just doing their thing. And I'd take a get some coffee, take a shower, watch a movie as a group, which was hilarious. Why him, that movie with, what's his name? Franco, what's is the? James Franco? I think, yeah, but a hilarious movie, but. So I remember just laughing and giggling.ling, and I thought, man, this is a good time.
1:45.3	But I'm like, hey, I got to leave. They're like, what? I'm like, yeah, we're driving back to Vegas. I, like, desperately wanted to get out there. It's like making excuses to leave. And so right before I leave, I pull out the cocaine I have in my pocket. And I'm like, hear you guys go and they're like what because they're all out everybody's out they're now just
2:01.0	riding the high from whatever. And I give it to a man and it was like that game of hungry, hungry hippos. It just people, you know, it gets poured on the plate and it's just, and of course, it's, you know, it is what it is. And I leave. Determined to never take a hard drug again for the rest of my life.
2:22.0	And I stuck to that.
2:23.2	I immediately quit everything but Adderall and alcohol.
2:28.3	So I'm back to the basics, right?
2:29.7	I'm like, hey, I'm blocking and tackling again, but I feel kind of good about myself
	...

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