Mike McGrew & John Fiorey | Service, Trauma, Songwriting, and Turning Pain into Something Beautiful

Some people run toward the worst day of your life.
Some people carry what they saw for decades.
And every once in a while, somebody figures out how to take that pain… and turn it into healing.

This episode is about service.

I sat down with Mike McGrew and John Fiorey for one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had yet on Chopping It Up — a conversation about first responders, trauma, faith, counseling, music, and a remarkable program called 911 Project Harmony.

Mike served 31 years with the Santa Barbara Police Department.
He worked patrol.
He worked major crimes.
He saw things most people will never see — and never want to see.

Out of that life, that burden, and that pain, came a mission: helping first responders and their families find real support, real counseling, and real healing.

That’s where 911 At Ease International comes in.

And that’s where John Fiorey enters the story.

Together, they are helping pair first responders with songwriters — turning stories of trauma, grief, sacrifice, survival, and hope into songs that help people carry what once felt uncarryable.

This one is heavy.
But it is also beautiful.

• 🚓 31 Years on the Front Lines
Mike McGrew shares what it was like serving for over three decades in Santa Barbara — from patrol work to major crimes, and the unseen weight that comes home with the job.

• 💔 The Cost of Carrying Trauma
A raw and honest conversation about the personal toll first responder work can take: suicide, divorce, addiction, emotional isolation, and the burdens people are often too afraid to name out loud.

• 🙏 911 At Ease International
How Mike built a confidential counseling program specifically for first responders and their families — helping over 13,000 people find support from professionals who truly understand trauma.

• 🎶 What Is 911 Project Harmony?
A groundbreaking program that pairs first responders with professional songwriters, helping them tell their stories and transform pain into music.

• 🎤 Why Music Heals
John Fiorey talks about what happens when artists sit across from people carrying the hardest stories imaginable — and how songwriting becomes a form of release, connection, and restoration.

• 🔥 Songs Born from the Fire
From police officers to firefighters, these songs capture real stories of loss, courage, grief, and hope — including one firefighter who lost his own home while battling the Eaton Fire.

• 🌅 Turning Trauma Into Testimony
This episode dives into the power of expression — how giving language, melody, and shape to pain can help people process it, survive it, and maybe even help someone else through their own darkness.

• 🤝 How You Can Show Up
Mike and John share how the community can support the mission, hear the music, and stand behind the people who stand between order and chaos every single day.

This conversation is about first responders.