Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
An honest and comprehensive discussion about guns and mental health. Two highly stigmatized cultures that have long stood across from each other, refusing to collaborate whenever tragedy strikes. That trend ends now. For firearms owners, clinicians, and the curious public.
Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
EP 163: Causing a Pause for the High Performers with Charles Anderson
In this episode of the Guns & Mental Health podcast, Michael Sodini and Kevin Berry sit down with Charles Anderson, CEO in the firearms media world behind Bleeker Street Publications, Athlon Outdoors, and its family of brands.
What starts as a chance bar conversation at NASGW turns into a powerful, honest discussion about what it looks like to live with mental health struggles while building a high profile career. Charles shares his path from growing up poor in a wealthy New York town, to the high pressure brokerage world later portrayed in The Wolf of Wall Street, to venture capital, and eventually to becoming one of the most influential voices in firearms media.
Along the way, he breaks down the reality of imposter syndrome, why “success” does not protect anyone from dark moments, and the coping framework that helped him survive when nothing else felt believable. Michael and Kevin connect the conversation to WTTA’s “Cause a Pause” mindset, and explore why the firearms industry has often been hesitant to engage tough topics like suicide prevention, and why that is finally changing.
If you’ve ever looked successful on paper but felt like you were one bad day away from unraveling, this one is for you.
Resources:
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Chapters
00:00 — Welcome and introductions
01:10 — How Michael and Charles met at NASGW
03:20 — The phrase that stopped Michael in his tracks
04:10 — Charles’ background, Detroit and “keeping it real”
05:30 — Normalizing mental health talk in gun culture
06:40 — Growing up poor in a wealthy town
07:40 — From teenage stockbroker to Wolf of Wall Street reality
09:20 — Pressure, substance abuse, and the crash
10:20 — 9/11 grief, New York’s collective trauma, and leaving for Michigan
12:10 — First gun, training, and starting a blog
13:40 — When the blog started outranking major gun companies
14:50 — From agency life to running major publications
16:20 — Why authenticity matters, especially in this industry
18:10 — Imposter syndrome, image, and the pressure to “fit in”
21:20 — Chat question, why so little 2A legal coverage in publications
23:50 — Why “facts only” content struggles to get attention
27:10 — Why the gun industry avoided mental health for so long
31:40 — “You could kill yourself tomorrow”, what it really means
35:10 — The link to addiction recovery and getting through the next minute
38:30 — Why it works in conversation, but not as a slogan
41:10 — Permission, options, and Dr. Conte’s framework
44:30 — How imposter syndrome shows up, even during success
48:10 — What helps, therapy, self-awareness, and catching it earlier
57:40 — External “pull backs”, friends, helping others, and connection
01:01:30 — The “doom scroll” problem and a surprising coping tool
01:08:40 — The gambler mindset vs stability, and why some people must build
01:17:30 — How Charles tends to his mental health in real life
01:21:40 — Sponsors and shout out to Aguil
