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Shawn Ryan (United States Navy)

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American podcaster and Navy SEAL
Shawn Ryan
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branch United States Navy
Central Intelligence Agency
Years of service2001—2014
Unit
Battles / warsIraq War
War in Afghanistan (WIA)
Spouse(s)Katie Jean
Children2
Websiteshawnryanshow.com

Shawn Ryan is a podcaster and former U.S. Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, known for hosting The Shawn Ryan Show. He is also the founder and CEO of the company Vigilance Elite, which provides tactical training.

Military career

Ryan enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 18 and graduated from BUD/S training, achieving the designation of a Navy SEAL. He served with SEAL Teams 2 and 8. Ryan was deployed to combat zones in the Iraq War as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. After his naval service ended, Ryan became a contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency. He served a total of 14 years, from 2001 until 2015.

Post-military career

Vigilance Elite

In December 2015, six months after completing his service as a contractor, Ryan founded Vigilance Elite. The company trains law enforcement and civilians in weapons handling and tactical skills, and is based in Florida. Ryan was inspired to found the company after watching videos of terror attacks and shooting incidents in which bystanders did not know how to react, which motivated him to begin training people for those situations.

To prepare for filming John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, actor Keanu Reeves trained with Ryan. Some of the topics taught to Reeves included close-quarters combat, specifically clearing rooms. Videos of Reeves and Ryan training together went viral ahead of the film's release.

The Shawn Ryan Show

Ryan hosts The Shawn Ryan Show, a podcast produced by Vigilance Elite. The podcast features interviews with military personnel and veterans, with a focus on their experiences of war and life after serving in the military. Guests include journalists, celebrities, politicians and business leaders, including US President Donald Trump, NRF leader Ahmad Massoud, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince. The show was one of the top 10 most listened to podcasts on Spotify in 2024.

In February 2023, the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command sent Ryan a cease-and-desist letter demanding that he remove an episode featuring Dallas Alexander, a Canadian former sniper with Joint Task Force 2. CANSOFCOM claimed this was because the episode contained classified footage of a record breaking shot in which a sniper killed an ISIS fighter from a 2.2 mile distance. However, Ryan and Alexander stated their belief that the episode was censored because it contained Dallas' criticism of the Canadian armed forces' mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy. Ryan re-edited the episodes to ensure they had no potentially classified information and re-uploaded them.

Other work

Ryan has also appeared on other series, including the The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show and Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett's Tennessee Talks. He has been featured in publications like CNBC, and Sofrep.com. Ryan was a guest at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address in 2024.

Personal life

Ryan lives in Tennessee with his family. Ryan is a Christian, and often discusses his faith on the podcast. He has advocated for psychedelic-assisted therapy for traumatic brain injury and mental health issues. Ryan is also a member of Veterans Advocacy Services.

References

  1. "Katie Jean Williams". dwbfilm.
  2. ^ "Inside the Mind of a CIA Contractor: A Conversation With Shawn Ryan". Soldier of Fortune Magazine. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  3. ^ Sheth, Nirali. "Who is Shawn Ryan? YouTuber claims platform is censoring him over religious views". Sportskeeda.
  4. Sacca, Paul (2019-06-02). "Ex-Navy SEAL Who Trained Keanu Reeves For 'John Wick'". BroBible.
  5. Clark, James (2019-04-03). "Watch a Navy SEAL vet train Keanu Reeves". Task & Purpose.
  6. Hollings, Alex (2019-04-06). "Keanu Reeves trains with SEAL Shawn Ryan for "John Wick: Chapter 3"". SOFREP.
  7. Russian, Ale. "Watch Keanu Reeves Receive Tactical Training from a Navy SEAL for John Wick 3". AOL.
  8. Nash, Brad. "Watch Keanu Reeves Train With A Navy SEAL To Get Ready For John Wick 3". GQ.
  9. "Marine Raider miraculously survived headshot and had out of body experience". LADbible. 2022-12-13.
  10. "Navy Seal explains how his first kill made him feel". UNILAD. 2022-12-27.
  11. O'Halloran, Meagan (2023-11-06). "Podcaster, retired Navy Seal exposing China, Mexican drug cartel's role in fentanyl crisis". WZTV.
  12. Haro, Alexander (2023-11-28). "Laird Hamilton Talks Early Life and Near-Death Experiences on the Shawn Ryan Podcast". The Inertia.
  13. Reporter, Maya Mehrara Live News (2024-08-27). "Donald Trump calls former staffer John Kelly 'one of the dumbest people'". Newsweek.
  14. "US Didn't Issue Visa To NRF Leader To Appease Taliban". Afghanistan International.
  15. "SRS #123 Erik Prince". Shawn Ryan Show. 2024-07-29.
  16. Spangler, Todd. "Joe Rogan Again Had the No. 1 Podcast on Spotify for 2024". Variety.
  17. "Former Canadian sniper says he consulted with military colleagues before releasing video of 'kill shot'". CTVNews. 2023-02-17.
  18. Keller, Jared (2023-02-17). "Former Navy SEAL in Canada's crosshairs after publishing video of world's longest sniper shot". Task & Purpose.
  19. "Canadian Military Orders US Podcaster to Delete Episodes After They Aired ISIS Killing Video". Mediaite. 2023-02-17.
  20. Prayias, George (2023-01-05). "Former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan Responds". The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  21. ^ "Shawn Ryan joins Rep. Burchett on Tennessee Talks". burchett.house.gov. 2023-10-04.
  22. "Ex-Navy SEAL says this 5-minute morning workout gets him 'mentally pumped' for the day". CNBC. 2019-05-29.
  23. Hollings, Alex (2019-11-04). "Shawn Ryan explains the tactical value of wearing a Rolex". SOFREP.
  24. "Rep. Burchett announces SOTU guest Shawn Ryan". burchett.house.gov. 2024-03-07.
  25. "Shawn Ryan". CNBC. 2019-05-29.
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