From Breakdown to Broadcast

Why I Started the Health Crusaders Podcast

March 21, 2017.
My 60th birthday.
The day the stroke hit, and changed everything.

One moment I was a high-energy band director, cyclist, and runner.
The next, I was a man who couldn’t return to the job that once defined him.

I tried.
I tried to go back to the podium, back to the kids, back to what I knew.
But my body had other plans.
I ended up in the hospital again, and this time, I had to listen.

It wasn’t just a physical breakdown.
It was an identity crisis.

Because for most of my life, I wasn’t just Bob.
I was Bob Priest, band director.

So when the job went away, so did the name I knew myself by.

What do you do when you don’t recognize your own story anymore?

I spent months in that wilderness.
Grieving not just the loss of energy or clarity—but the loss of who I thought I was.
And in the middle of that grief, a friend said something that shifted things:

“Why don’t you start a podcast?”

At first, it sounded random. Therapeutic, maybe.
But the idea stuck.

So I launched it.
Not perfectly. Not with a grand vision.
Just with a mic, some thoughts, and a lifetime of lessons.

The first name?
The Bob Priest Show of Life. (Hey, you’ve gotta start somewhere.)

But as the episodes grew, so did the purpose.

I started talking with people who’d been through hell and back.
Who faced loss, illness, burnout, and fought their way forward.

And something started clicking.

The people I interviewed?
They weren’t just guests.
They were crusaders.

Fighters. Seekers.
Humans committed to finding another way, physically, mentally, spiritually.

From functional medicine docs to energy healers...
From inventors to spiritual leaders...
From biohackers to everyday overcomers…

They all had one thing in common:
They didn’t settle for surface-level solutions.

They dug deep.

So the podcast evolved.
The name changed to match the mission:
Health Crusaders.

And that’s exactly what it is.

A movement of people willing to question the status quo,
heal from the inside out,
and reclaim agency over their lives.

This podcast didn’t just give me purpose.
It gave me back my voice.

It reminded me that my story wasn’t over.
It was just changing shape.

And it opened the door to the work I do now,
Partnering with a mental wellness company that aligns with everything I believe in.

Because now I get to teach people about the gut-brain axis.
About healing the root, not just masking the symptoms.
About tools that support mood, energy, focus, and real, deep health.

The Happy Juice protocol helped lift the mental fog I’d lived in for years.
It helped heal my gut.
It brought energy back to my days.
And belief back to my life.

So yes, the stroke changed me.

But maybe that was the point.

Because The Rebuilt Life isn’t just a story about loss.
It’s about what you choose to build after the dust settles.

And this podcast?
It’s part of the rebuild.

🎧 Ready to listen in? I’ve interviewed over 60 guests, from health pioneers to everyday warriors.
Click on picture to the right and check out the Health Crusaders podcast and get inspired by people rewriting their own stories.

You’re not broken.
You’re being rebuilt.