No Magic Bullet Podcast - An Honest Discussion on Mental Health
Join Bobby K on his monthly podcast on No Magic Bullet. Each month will feature new guests and topics on mental health.
No Magic Bullet Podcast - An Honest Discussion on Mental Health
Hunger for more in Life
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Episode 8 Season 5
Hunger for More in Life: JD Tremblay on Resilience, Anxiety, and Turning Negatives to Constructive.
Host Bobby K.(Bobby Koven) introduces episode eight, season five of the No Magic Bullet podcast “What’s In Your Toolbox?” featuring Quebec ultra-endurance triathlete JD Tremblay, director of high performance and mental resilience advisor at Hungry Warrior Academy. JD shares his background (northern Quebec, over a decade in the military, engineering and naturopathy training) and his mission to support mental health, including for firefighters and children facing challenges. He explains the Academy’s BRAIN framework (blood chemistry, recovery, attention, inflammation, nervous system) and discusses how individualized nutrition, recovery, and nervous-system regulation can affect anxiety symptoms. JD advises turning “negative to constructive” rather than negative-to-negative or forcing positive thinking, giving examples from Terry Fox and a memorial swim fundraiser. He summarizes his book as practical tools to overcome mental struggles, drawing on completing the Epicdeca (10 Ironmen in 10 days across six Hawaiian islands).
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast
00:40 Meet JD Tremblay
04:45 JD Background and Mission
07:18 Training for Mental Resilience
08:50 BRAIN Framework Explained
13:25 Turning Pain Constructive
19:17 Book Breakdown Epicdeca
24:06 Support Team and Resources
27:17 Wrap Up and Next Episode
A disclaimer notes Bobby is not a doctor and speaks from lived experience.
Links
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Welcome to No Magic Bullet podcast series, What's in Your Toolbox? It's a monthly podcast on mental health. I am your host Bobby Kay. Comedian, mental health advocate, and executive producer of the documentary No Magic Bullet: What's in Your Toolbox?, an honest discussion on mental health. I am 70 years young, suffer from Tourette syndrome, and love doing these podcasts that always reminds me to practice what I preach.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Hello, everybody. Welcome to episode eight, season five of What's In Your Toolbox? Our guest today, we're traveling to Quebec. He'll tell you where in Quebec, and we've called it Hunger for More in Life, and you'll find out why. It was a pleasure to have JD's marketing team reach out to me and talk to me a little bit that he would like to be a guest on What's In Your Toolbox?, 'cause he has lots to say. He is the director of high performance and mental resilience advisor at Hungry Warrior Academy, so he's perfect for No Magic Bullet. He has a book that we will have links to in the blog, and please buy it, take a look at it, 'cause it's fantastic. I've read his blog. I haven't read his book. But his first attitude is about resilience. Before we had CS Life which was the C's of life, talking about mental acuity and going to the Olympics, and now we have, following JD our next guest is currently at Medicine Hat at the Special Olympics World, Championships. And just to let you know, the reason I'm dressed like this is, number one, I passed JD 'cause I just came back from New Brunswick fly fishing, and I went right by his house. I didn't stop because I didn't stop. And you'll see that I'm wearing my New York Marathon top that was given to me after I ran the New York Marathon on November the 5th, 1989. So I thought it was appropriate. Believe it or not, that's I was 33, and I'm 70, so if you could do the math, it still fits me, so that is an accomplishment. So JD has the key to dealing with anxiety and mental health through being an ultra-marathon athlete. I'm gonna read you just a little bit about his CV. JD Tremblay. JD is an ultra-endurance triathlete who has achieved amazing things. He's recently completed the Epica Dica, you can correct me if I'm wrong, an accomplish that only three people in the world have been able to attain. JD is part of a rare breed, with the strength and fortitude to push his body and mind, that's the key, to new heights. His dedication and commitment to his craft have enabled him to stand out amongst the world's greatest athletes. His story is one that should be shared as an example of what can be accomplished through the right mindset and determination. As JD says, if your goals don't scare you, set the bar higher." So without ado, everybody, you should welcome and be honored that we have for this episode JD Tremblay. Hey, JD.
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Yeah, thanks for having me
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659My pleasure. Listen, I usually ask how do we know each other? We don't really know each other except you have a marketing team because you like to do these podcasts to promote what you do, and they reached out to me and I was honored, 'cause usually I have to go and find the guests. So I wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart for reaching out to me. So why do you think your marketing team reached out to me?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Yeah, that was because your message was in alignment with ours I was able to speak about
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Okay. Listen, my message and your message are aligned. I've talked a little bit about this CV that you have. You wanna tell me a little bit more about JD?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Yeah, JD is a simple man. Grew up in the northern part of Quebec, and I have over a decade of military service and went to an engineering school to be an integrated engineer specializing in biomedical. And then I went to an institute to become a naturopath as well. And then I did a lot of endurance feat. Right now I am into the high rock space and the firefighting for fitness. So we're promoting a lot about the mental health of firefighters and doing the-- and doing so by sharing it with the children that will be growing to sometimes having certain difficulties and so
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659And why do you, why did you choose this to give back? Does it have something to do with your experiences growing up, or did you just decide that this was your mission?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657It was definitely a mission. Growing up, I did not have a lot of opportunities in my life. I was not having the right mindset, not in the right environment, and at the age of 17, I decided this is enough. I'm joining the military after being bullied for all these years at school, and in my environment. So to me the children oftentimes don't choose to grow up in certain environments, and then they have certain challenges not only physical, but oftentimes mental where limitations. Like we have them as adults children definitely have them at a higher stance. And it became a mission
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659I've had another military person on my podcast named Shanna LaRue, and she was in the military and she talked a little bit about the military, how it shaped her and provided her with a mission. And I also have a friend named Billy Flynn who was in the Canadian Air Force and was an F-35 test pilot. And I once took him fishing and I told him he had to wear a wetsuit, and I told him that he had to pee before he got in the wetsuit. And he says, "Bob, when you fly an F-35 or an F-15 over Bosnia, you learn how to control your bladder." So the military has done very good things for others, and obviously it's done good things for you. Now, I told you I ran the New York Marathon in 1989. Why? 'Cause I had Tourette's, I had tremendous energy, and I found that running, number one, got me away from my newborn daughter 'cause I was very anxious about her and crib death, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And more than that, it expended huge amounts of energy of mine because as a marathon is what? 26, and they gotta add that .2 'cause that .2, the point, the .2 is the hardest part of the run. So JD, how have you used your physical training as to relate to your mental acuity and to where you are today?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657You've alluded to it earlier that it's a energy regulation when your system is able to adjust and go back to a, somehow a, the equilibrium that your body is seeking at a much faster pace than you're able to be able to stay in the parasympathetic system much longer
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659So that is it in a nutshell, or is it more complicated or more in-depth than that?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657The, the complexity of it can be overwhelming for the majority of people. idea of being able to use your the nervous system or being able to regulate your nervous system, that's the fundamental for everyone. For example, we use the BRAIN acronym at the Hungry Warrior Academy, which B stands for blood chemistry, R is recovery, A is attention, I is inflammation, and N is nervous system. If you're not able to, at the very least, understand what are your requirements, then you're already at a deficit. So for someone, let's take a hypothetical scenario that has anxiety and has flare-ups often. The person wakes up in the morning, cortisol level is high, which is for everybody because when you wake up, your, the natural tendency for your body is to prepare you for what is going on in your day, and so there is a stress level that is high. If your body is in somewhat of a regular fitness then it will decrease over the period of the day. But then the person goes and makes themself a nice shake or has a lot of carbs in the morning. Now, that's not to say that carbs is bad in the morning. Okay, I'm not claiming that, but for that particular instance, for that particular scenario, I'm just showcasing one example, and there are many. The idea is to make it custom for yourself. person takes in some sugar or some carbs in the morning. of a sudden, now they're stuck in traffic, and they're not using this quick energy that carbs provide, What happen is that now this person is prone to having a lot more anxiety symptoms as a result. By doing a lot of anxiety, and the Dr. Jordan Peterson proved it, that depression can be caused in major part. It is only a cycle that people go through where they're making the wrong decision multiple times, and over time while you're doing these, you're having these these depressive moments. Not to diagnose anybody with a, a certain illness
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659So are you say, are you saying that they're making the wrong decisions for nutrition or they're making other wrong decisions?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657That's one of those factors, but when you take all of them into consideration for that particular individual, so let's say the blood chemistry, the person should look at their glucose swings, should look at their hydration, should look at their electrolytes, should look at the inflammation that they're causing based on the blood chemistry. So it's not only to say they're making the wrong decision on nutrition. Nutrition is a tool, but if you're not using it in the right way, though you're eating the right type of food for a healthy diet, if it's not what is necessary at the right moment for that particular individual, you might be more prone to having certain symptoms in your life where those symptoms will cause further damages in other parts of the body. And we're looking at recovery. Recovery could be sleep cycle heart rate variability, nervous system reset. We're looking at micro-recovery. Naps is one of them. Rest, p- resting periods after workouts. See, recovery, we just throw this name out there, but once you're able to understand what is the dominant part of someone's life, then they're able to make better decisions. So that's not to say that the wheel will completely stop and you will veer in a completely different direction immediately. is to say that eventually your body will move toward a different direction, therefore a different outcome, which is a healthier choice and a healthier outcome
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659JD, I just mentioned to you that I just came back from New Brunswick and I have unfortunately gone into a depressive mode. You said I should have stopped in your clinic. By the way, where is your clinic?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Yeah, we have two clinics. One is in Ontario and one is in Quebec. The one in Quebec is located in near Megantic, so we have one in the mountains. Yep
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659So in my case, my trigger was the fact that I'm just coming up to the anniversary of my girlfriend's passing. So I'm finding that's very difficult and it's given me a trigger. So if I came to your clinic and said, "JD, this is something that has put me into my monkey hole," Is there something, some advice that you could give to me as well as to others that are going through this?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657The one thing that I would look at first is what you're eating. The mindset that you have towards it is definitely one of the key factor. And I would look at mainly between... So one of the advice which is, which was requested right now, I would look at What is the fundamental between taking a negative and turning it into something constructive? there are three ways of approaching a situation that is highly negative. There is a negative towards a negative. So we're looking at, let's say it's a breakup for a breakup, right? Just so it's not triggering for anyone. They go through a breakup, it goes negative, and then sometime they go another negative, so they start drinking. a negative and negative. It just compounds. And then over time, then you have more and more depressive mindset. Then you can get... The, the other aspect is that you can say negative to positive. So transferring a charge from a negative to a positive requires that there is a loss at something, at some place, because thermodynamics shows that there is a loss somewhere. And so since thermodynamics shows that there's a loss somewhere, then it's not an efficient cycle. So transferring a negative to a positive would be saying everything was positive," or, "You should think positively," or, "You should..." So that's transferring a negative to a positive. It requires a lot of energy from a human being. The best way and the best approach and the best advice that I can provide anyone is a to a constructive. So we're looking at Terry Fox. Terry Fox that turned a terrible negative where he was about to die into a global icon that is now recognized as a a phenomenal, courageous feat of running across Canada. Now, he never finished that feat, and still to date, we have that race going on that people can participate. So he turned something negative into something constructive. Similar to the guy who gets to the breakup. He goes to do something constructive such as I always wanted to get in shape," so he does something constructive to himself. So let's say that he thinks positively about the situation and he says, "Oh, I'm so happy that she left me." He's working out, which is something constructive. And then the same day, or the next day, he thinks negatively about it and he says, "Oh, I'm so sad that she left me," or, "That I left her. I should go back to her." Regardless of the mindset, whether happy or sad or crying or not, he's still working out. So he turns a negative into something constructive. Another example I can provide is last year there was the, so one of, one of my friend who was a close friend of mine in the military left us early. And so what happened is that arranged it with his wife now the widow, to complete the swim between New Brunswick and PEI. And so the whole event which was through The Big Swim event, it's a phenomenal event put on by those guys at The Big Swim the Give to Live Foundation. And the whole event raised over $65,000 for chronic illness kids to go to summer camp. So it was never about just that loss. It was always about transferring that loss into something that was constructive, and it helped the kids cope. Now, the kids I'm not saying they're in a perfect state. They are without a dad. However, they have a different mindset, and now as soon as they reached in September their school start, they wanted to go swim. They wanted to get more in in giving back, so creating these types of event. It's not just about fitness. It can be all sorts of ways, but those are several ideas for people to turn something negative into something constructive, because the, the mindset plays a huge factor. Does that sense?
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659It makes great sense. Now, one of the things we wanted to talk about was your book. So what is... i'm 70 years old, so when I went to high school, we used to buy Coles Notes, and Coles Notes was the way of studying Shakespeare in about five or six pages. So what's the Coles Notes? Are you familiar with Coles Notes?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657I am not.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Okay.
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657I would like For sure.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659that's because we're different. When I ran the marathon when I was 33 in 1989, you were what? Three years old.
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Three years old, yep.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659So anyways, listen, give me a Coles Notes, a synopsis of what your book is about
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657So the book is about my best advice create a structure to overcome mental struggles and defy someone's limitations. On the cover, it has a person that overcame mental struggles, that comes from a difficult childhood. No, we were never wealthy by any, any means. W- I lived a difficult childhood. But again, I don't use it as a to become a victim. I use all of this as a trampoline to somewhat as a catalyst for the next portions of my life. The main idea of the book is to provide people with these practical tools to enhance their life and overcome these mental struggles, based on the story of the Epic Deca also. The Epic Deca, which you mentioned earlier, it's 10 Ironmen in 10 days on all six Hawaiian island, and there are only three people in the world that did this, and I'm the only Canadian in the history that finished that race. That should speak volume that if I can do it, then anybody can achieve their own struggles.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Well, listen, one of the main tools that I use is mindfulness. I've been practicing it for almost 15 years, and it took seven years to become my friend. But then all of a sudden I realized from mindfulness there was one guided part of it that said, "Take your thoughts, throw them in the river. It's all right to have bad thoughts, but let them go so that you can then use good thoughts." So when you're doing one of these ultramarathons and you hit the wall or you hit a point that you want to quit, what tool do you dig deep in your toolbox to keep you going?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657It's definitely to turn something negative into something constructive for me. So whenever I have some negative thoughts, I tend to think that I must need these thoughts for a specific reason, that my body is trying to protect me from a stimuli. So to understand how I can, again, use them in a constructive fashion. For example, I had a lot of negative happen to me. I'm using it, and I wrote a book about it. I had some negative happen to me. I go on and speak about some mental resilience and discipline in workshops, and then it helps other people doing so. So when I'm in those state of mind, what I use is definitely to understand that these thoughts are there for a reason and how I can now utilize them to better not only myself, but for to be of service to everybody and create more value for everyone.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Listen, this is very interesting because as this is season five, episode eight, so that's 40, that's 36 times, that's 12 times five which is 60. Is that right?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Yes
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659so this is my 68th no four times, 48 plus eight. This is my 54th episode, and I've never heard this before, and I think it's fantastic. I know that the guy that did the CS Life, the five Cs of life one of my listeners called me up and told me that they've cut it out on their fridge, and this is what they use to motivate themselves. So I think that what you have articulated has been very clear, and I hope people buy your book. Now listen, what I always talk about my BAST, Bob's Amazing Support Team, and I have many, and I know that you have a support team just from listening to you, 'cause I've never met you. One of them was the military. What are some of your other support teams?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657well, the best support team that I have are The people that are sporadically going into specific tasks that are necessary for what I want to accomplish. So I have friends that are good with finances, and now I'm able to rely on their insight about finances, and I'm not going to talk to them about relational issue because they are not-- that's not their dominant side. I choose the type of people that I want to hang out with based on the desired outcome that I require.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Listen, this has been fantastic, and you're gonna send me the link to your book. Do you have a website?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657hungrywarrioracademy.com
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659so you'll send me that link as well. And people then, if they want to attend your academy, can they attend it virtually do- or do they have to come there physically?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657Yeah, we have books, online classes online courses also. We have some workshops that we do s- several times in the year for corporations and other groups. And then we also have some retreats that we offer
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659That will all be in the show notes. So listen, JD... What does JD stand for, by the way?
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657It's Jean-David.
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Jean David. Ah, bonjour, Jean David. Je m- Je m'appelle Robert Colvin, and I used to live in Montreal. I worked at Mire Gauthier many years ago. I used to have to fly out of Mirabel to get to Europe, so that shows you how many years ago. And I wanted to take this advantage 'cause I wanted to show you my New York Marathon T-shirt that still fit, that still fits me because I do practice. I don't run marathons anymore, but I do walk aggressively every day because exercise is the key to mental health. So I think that your marketing staff was completely aligned when they said that we have a similar message, and this podcast will be on Spotify, will be on Apple Podcast, will be on YouTube. It goes in my newsletter, and there's many people that will be listening to it and watching it and will all of a sudden find out how fantastic JD Tremblay is. But for now, we've run out of time. So this is Bobby Colvin and
jd-tremblay---hungry-warrior-academy_3_08-12-2026_153657JD Tremblay
bobby_3_08-12-2026_153659Saying thank you so much for listening to this episode of What's In Your Toolbox? Listen everybody, that was fantastic 'cause even though I've never met JD, I feel like we're kindred spirits. He's given us some unique tools that are gonna be in the show notes. And I think what he told us tells us everything. Now, one of the things that I read at the end of each one of these episodes, and I don't really have anything fantastic, but I cut out an obituary on July the 11th, 2026 of a gentleman named Evan Nicholas and he had passed away in his 52nd year. And I'm not gonna tell you anything about him, 'cause I don't know anything about him, except that I know on the last line it says, "Memorial donations to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, KMAMH would be appreciated by the family." So we all know that this mental health is a silent disease, and people like JD and people that listen to this podcast know that we are trying to help people one step at a time, whether it's running, whether it's nutrition, or whether it's just talking about it. So our next episode, believe it or not, is also about mental acuity. It's gonna be called Medicine Hat, which is the host city of the 2026 Special Olympics And one of our guests who was on season one is competing there and will be our next guest. So please listen to this, watch it, share it with others, subscribe, and don't miss any future episodes. And if you wanna see any past episodes, like I've talked about CS Life it's on our website. So for now, this is Bobby Colvin saying thank you so much for listening to this episode of What's In Your Toolbox?
Thank you for listening to No Magic Bullet, What's in Your Toolbox? I am not a doctor, but I have lived experience in dealing with the many challenges of mental health. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and share with others who will benefit from learning about tools they can use to deal with their own mental health challenges. If we can help just one person, all this effort to bring this podcast to you is worth it.