What happens when a decorated trauma surgeon, military veteran, and healthcare CEO walks away from it all?
Dr. Charles “Charlie” Powell shares his astonishing path from success to surrender, and how plant medicine and purpose-driven healing gave him a second life.
In this raw and revelatory episode, Charlie reveals the invisible wounds behind high-performance careers, the crisis of meaning plaguing veterans and executives alike, and the paradigm-shifting power of Iboga. This is a masterclass in unlearning Western conditioning and reclaiming your nervous system, soul, and mission.
What You’ll Learn:
Why the American Dream nearly cost Dr. Powell his life, and what finally saved it
How Iboga helped him reset 15+ years of opioid dependence, PTSD, and spiritual despair
Why integration is more essential than the medicine itself
How trauma hides in high-functioning success (and how to spot the signs)
The missing mental health tools that veterans, first responders, and executives urgently need
What makes Healing Heroes the most important psychedelic documentary for this generation
Episode Highlights:
02:48 – Why “Dr. Charlie Powell” no longer exists (and why that matters)
10:41 – The cost of being a high-functioning trauma survivor
17:22 – Sleep paralysis, soul-level nightmares, and the limits of Western psychiatry
25:10 – How Iboga transformed his nervous system and ended opioid dependency overnight
30:34 – Why veterans and first responders need their own psychedelic frameworks
39:50 – The Healing Heroes documentary: a 10-day Iboga transformation on film
45:02 – Rebuilding a new identity after shedding success, status, and false security
53:15 – How real community (and purpose) heals what medicine can’t
Meet the Guest:
Dr. Charles “Charlie” Powell is a triple-boarded trauma surgeon, Navy veteran, and former CEO of a multimillion-dollar healthcare system. After selling his company for $250M, Charlie hit rock bottom, and found his rebirth in plant medicine. Today, he’s the founder of Healing Heroes and St. Charlie Resorts, offering trauma-informed healing experiences for veterans, special needs families, and seekers of deep transformation.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Healing Heroes: A feature documentary tracking the real-time Iboga journeys of six veterans
St. Charlie Resorts: The first-ever resort system designed for special needs families and trauma recovery
Psychedelic Integration: Emphasized as the essential 90% of healing post-medicine
Veteran-to-Visionary Framework: Charlie’s model for moving from military trauma to soul-aligned leadership
Closing Insight:
“The medicine is only 10%. Integration is 90. If you don't teach people how to live differently, they’ll fall right back into the life that broke them.
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