Jon Rose has lived a life that reads like myth: a pro surfing prodigy at 17, then the founder of Waves For Water, a guerrilla-style humanitarian organisation that’s delivered clean water to millions in disaster and conflict zones.

To the world, he was fearless — the man who ran toward hurricanes, earthquakes, and war.But beneath that outward courage was a lifelong drive born not from purpose alone, but from unhealed childhood trauma — a voice Jon came to call “the Drill Sergeant.”

In this raw and deeply human conversation, Jon opens up about:

• Mistaking post-traumatic drive for purpose — and how it finally caught up with him.

• The cost of living in permanent overdrive, even in service to others.

• How psychedelic-assisted therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS) helped him meet, integrate, and transform the part of himself that once ran the show.

• Why healing the helper may be the most radical act of courage there is.

This is a story of high performance, trauma, and transcendence — a roadmap for turning outward purpose into inner peace.

Because, as Jon puts it: “The real win isn’t the halo — it’s wholeness.”