SGPT Interviews Navy SEAL and SEAL Multi Founder Jeremy DeBie

SEALgrinderPT catches up with Jeremy Debie who we met a few months back at the SEALFIT Kokoro camp.  You can tell very quickly that Jeremy is a top notch performer and a stud at everything he does. Jeremy is a former Navy SEAL and the founder of SEAL Multi Vitamin. Check out this killer interview with Jeremy.

SGPT: Tell us about yourself and what your doing these days?

JD: I am the founder and owner of SEAL Multi, a men’s complete daily Multivitamin/Multimineral. I also currently I am a firefighter for the Culver City Fire Department. I have been there for 5 years. Before that I was the Lifeguard Lt. for the City of Seal Beach. Prior to that I was a Navy SEAL at SEAL Team V. Before joining the Navy I attended Northwestern College in Iowa where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education, and played football for 4 years.

SGPT: What BUDS class did you go through?

JD: I was in BUDS class 222.

SGPT: What was the hardest part of BUDS for you?

JD: The hardest part for me was definitely 3rd Phase, on the island. Going into BUDS everyone thinks, if I make it through Hell Week I’m good, or if I pass pool comp I’m home free. It is good to have these and other short term goals, but I guess really the hardest part about BUDS is that you have to show up every single day for 6 month and perform. You can’t afford to have a bad day or an off week there. If you do the Instructors will be all over you and you’ll be haze gray and underway before you even know what happened. We had guys in my class get dropped from the program on the island with just a couple of weeks left.

SGPT: A question – for those that don’t know; what is “haze gray and underway”?

JD: That was a phrase that the instructors used meaning; if you quit or you’re dropped from BUDs, you’re going to the fleet, and you’re gonna be on a ship (the color of Navy ships being haze gray).

SGPT: If you were going through BUDS again what kinds of training and conditioning would you be doing?

JD: You have to be comfortable in the water. Whether it be swimming or underneath. You definitely can’t underestimate the importance of running. This is key to not only pass timed evolutions, but to stay injury free and go that 6 months without getting rolled or dropped from the program. You want to have decent run times going in, but I think it is just as important to put on some miles and build that durability. I think the cross fit workouts are very beneficial. They will definitely help with the O Course and the pt’s. The key to prepare for BUDS is to make your weaknesses your strengths. I think it is natural for people to do things they are good at and ignore things they need to work on. If you enter BUDS with any weaknesses mental or physical the instructors are going to expose them in no time.

SGPT: How important do you think the mental side is when going through BUD/S?

JD: Getting through BUDS is very mental. I think the thing to do to best prepare mentally, is to prepare physically. Once you’ve physically prepared you have to have the attitude that you will not quit, or make up some injury or excuse as to why you can’t continue on. I always told myself if I left BUDS it would only be because I had an injury so bad that they were kicking me out of the Navy.

BUDS is mental, but sometimes it helps to be a little dumb. I had some classmates that were too dumb to quit. They probably should have, the instructors made it clear to them that they were not going to let them get through. Their attitude was, no way am I quitting and your going to have to drag me out of here. These guys went on to become great operators and even BUDS instructors.

SGPT: Tell us about your time in the Teams.

JD: I was at SEALTeam V and I had an unbelievable time there. I was lucky to be surrounded by great guys who were hard workers, and liked to have a good time. You realize once you’re at the Team that the reason BUDS is so hard is because the job itself is hard. It was great working with the most amazing group of guys I have ever been around. The guys that make a career in the Teams are the most impressive. There is a lot of talk about Team Six guys these days. And they are great, but there are a lot of guys at the other Teams that have done a lot of great things in the past few years without any of the attention. The sacrifice that a guy doing 20+ years makes for our country is amazing. A big motivating factor for me in doing SEAL Multi was to be able to give back to the guys and their families that have made these sacrifices and especially those that made the ultimate sacrifice.

SGPT: What elements of your past training do you carry with you today?

JD: I think for me the biggest thing is the confidence that you can accomplish things you never would have considered. This comes from looking back and seeing what you have done, and saying this isn’t near as bad as… But also being around gifted confident teammates and them showing you that the impossible can be possible has given me confidence in numerous things as well.

SGPT: You keep yourself in really good shape. What types of training do you do now?

JD: I like to mix things up as much as possible. I swim (in the ocean and pool), do stand up paddling, prone paddling, and a bit of crossfit. I live close to the beach so I get some miles in on the soft sand still as well. I enjoy surfing and chasing my 5 year old son around. I hope to get into some mountain biking and freediving in this summer.

SGPT: Tell us about SEAL Multi and what inspired you to start that business?

JD: All of the classmates from BUDs that I have talked to since this product came out laughed and said pretty much the same thing, “I knew you would do something like this, you were always telling us what to take during BUDs”. I have always been pretty into nutrition and ergogenic aids. I studied them a lot in college and carried that interest into the Navy. I did talk to my classmates a lot about what to take going through BUDs, but probably more importantly was telling them what not to take.

SEAL Multi came simply from my search for a daily men’s multivitamin/multimineral that I wanted to take. I wanted a complete daily multivitamin/multimineral something with high quality ingredients, in the amounts I needed as an active man to help me reach and maintain peak performance. I couldn’t find one, so I created SEAL Multi.

SGPT: If an athlete is eating a good diet how can they use SEAL Multi Vitamins?

JD: First of all a good diet is the most important way for us to get most of our essential nutrients. SEAL Multi is designed to supplement a good diet, not be a substitute for it. Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients your body needs in order to function properly. These nutrients only come from outside sources ie diet or supplements. SEAL Multi ensures that we get what we need by filling in the gaps or holes in our diet, and keeps our bodies firing on all cylinders, keeping performance at the highest levels possible.

SGPT: Are you reading any good books now?

JD: I just started One Square Mile of Hell The Battle for Tarawa by John Wukovitz. My Grandpa was a Marine and fought at Tarawa. He just passed away this past year and before he did I promised him I would read it. Tarawa was one of the most brutal and bloody battles of World War II. It was also where they realized the need for hydrographic recon and UDT’s.

SGPT: Thanks so much for the interview Jeremy, we greatly appreciate your time.

Question: Where can I find out more info about becoming a Navy SEAL? Check out the recruiting website here:

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