Tony Loughran: Navigating Danger| Sharing Stories Changing Lives
Tony Loughran's journey reads like an adrenaline-fueled odyssey through the world's most perilous arenas. Tony's captivating podcast unveils the gripping narrative of a fearless journey through danger, courage, and unwavering resilience in the face of the world's most daunting challenges.
Dive Deeper: The Full Conversation with Tony Loughran
The Core Story
Tony Loughran's journey reads like an adrenaline-fueled odyssey through the world's most perilous arenas. From his humble beginnings, enlisting in the British Navy at 18 without qualifications, to mastering the role of a ship's medic, his career escalated into the heart of danger. Achieving the esteemed Green Beret and Commando Medal after enduring the gruelling Commando Course, Tony embarked on harrowing tours in conflict zones, Tony's captivating podcast unveils the gripping narrative of a fearless journey through danger, courage, and unwavering resilience in the face of the world's most daunting challenges. Tony recently had his first book published, “Zero Risk- Keeping Others Safe in a Dangerous World”
Time-Stamped Breakthrough Moments
Tony Loughran is the author of Zero Risk: Keeping Others Safe in a Dangerous World. Throughout this conversation, Tony deconstructs the "Zero Risk" mindset—the impossible goal that every security professional strives for.
He shares the "best failure of his life," the medical training that proved his doubters wrong, and the harrowing moment in an Afghan hospital where only his "breathwork" kept him rational enough to escape an abduction. Tony also reveals the lighter side of his career, including protecting Matt Damon and the funny reality of trying to teach "Jason Bourne" how to knife-fight.
Time-Stamped Breakthrough Moments 💡
[00:04:15] – The Book Launch: Tony's "celebrity moment" at the airport and the trauma of writing his life story.
[00:07:30] – Liverpool Roots: Growing up "Scouse" and the "free-range" childhood of the 60s.
[00:11:00] – The Turning Point: Why a guy with a wad of cash in a Catholic club inspired Tony to join the Navy.
[00:15:20] – Proving Them Wrong: Winning the Surgeon Commander’s award after being told he’d never pass a test.
[00:19:00] – The Green Beret: The brutal 12-hour "beasting" and the moment he realized he was a leader.
[00:25:00] – Life in Kabul: Marble houses, -30 degree winters, and the intense adrenaline of the "suicide roundabouts."
[00:29:45] – Breathwork & Survival: The tactical science of taking three breaths to lower blood pressure in a crisis.
[00:34:00] – The Ghost of Conflict: How trauma rewires instincts and the struggle of returning to civilian life.
[00:41:30] – The Hardest Chapter: Revisiting the loss of a young soldier in Belfast and the death of his brother.
[00:46:00] – Zero Risk International: How a car crash in Lebanon led to a life-saving safety app for journalists and travelers.
[00:50:00] – Protecting Matt Damon: A lighthearted look at celebrity protection during the filming of Thor.
Full Episode Transcript
Karen:
Hello listeners. Before we begin today's episode, I have an important message to share.
Throughout this conversation, our guest, Tony Loughran, refers to experiences in war zones — including some of the more graphic realities of conflict. We want you to know this in advance so that nothing takes you by surprise. If at any point you feel triggered, please reach out to the counselling or support services available in your country.
Thank you.
Opening
Karen:
When you read a bio containing the words anti-terrorism, counterterrorism, Green Beret, conflict zones, evacuations, Afghanistan, refugees, and Taliban, you know an extraordinary story is about to unfold.
I’m Karen Sander, host of Sharing Stories, Changing Lives, the podcast where we explore true life stories that shape who we are. At just 18, my guest today stepped far outside his comfort zone and into a world most of us would never choose.
Welcome to Sharing Stories, Changing Lives. On this platform I have the privilege of interviewing remarkable people whose stories can shift perspectives and change the way we see the world. To learn more, visit storyroomglobal.com and explore our private membership area, The Backstage Pass.
Tony, welcome — and congratulations on your book, Zero Risk: Keeping Others Safe in a Dangerous World.
Writing the Book
Tony:
Thank you, Karen. It’s so nice to be here. And yes — after two years of labour, back-and-forth with the editor, and plenty of emotional highs and lows — the book is finally out.
Karen:
Was it like giving birth?
Tony:
Honestly? Just as traumatic! Many squeals of delight when things came together — and just as many moments of “Why am I doing this?” Even the title took time. I always wanted Zero Risk, because that’s how I started my career… trying to create zero risk, even though it’s impossible. But that’s the mindset.
When the first printed copies arrived at my doorstep, I just stared at them. “My God, they’re here.”
But the biggest thrill? Being stopped at WH Smith at the airport by people who recognised me from the photo and asked me to sign their copies.
Karen:
Oh my gosh — a celebrity moment! That’s incredible.
Tony:
I didn’t expect it. Then even the WH Smith staff came over with books from their shelves and asked for signatures. It was surreal.
Growing Up in Liverpool
Karen:
I hear a bit of an accent there… I’m going to guess Liverpool? A Scouser?
Tony:
Spot on. Born and bred. And yes, joining the Navy came shortly after.
Karen:
But your accent just changed completely! Tell me about growing up in the northwest of England — and what motivated you at 18 to run off and join the Navy?
Tony:
It’s a magical question because the answer really shaped my whole life.
Liverpool was two things at once:
a tough relationship with my dad
but honestly the best childhood ever
Mum and Dad let me roam. Footballs were thrown at me with a “Get outside!” I’d cycle 20km and not return until 11pm. We ran gangs, little fiefdoms… commandeered a battered boat on a canal and claimed it as ours.
Karen:
Free-range childhood! The 60s really were different.
Tony:
Exactly. It’s a shame kids can’t roam like that now.
But by 16, something shifted. My dad was inconsistent — a Jekyll and Hyde. He’d had a workplace accident, fell down a hatch, never worked again. Mum did everything. I’d come home at 3pm and find Dad drunk in the garden.
So by 16, the horse had bolted.
The Decision to Join the Navy
Karen:
So at 18… why the Navy?
Tony:
Two key moments.
First: I was knocking around with a gang. We’d steal motorbikes, strip them, sell parts. Nobody knew — not the police, not the families.
Second: I worked in a Catholic club collecting glasses. Eventually they let me behind the bar. One night this guy walked in with two gorgeous women, tossed a wad of cash on the counter, and bought everyone drinks.
I thought, “Is he a millionaire?”
“No,” they said. “He joined the Navy.”
And I said, “I want THAT job.”
Another push was failing the “gyro test”—a clerical job everyone in Liverpool said I should take. I flunked the filing test. Miserably.
It turned out to be the best failure of my life.
Life in the Navy
Karen:
What was Navy life like? How long did you serve?
Tony:
Training was tough, but I’d grown up in the school of hard knocks, so ironing uniforms and getting yelled at wasn’t a shock.
But the mess quarters… thirty lads in one room coughing, farting, snoring — horrendous! And some came from sheltered backgrounds and struggled massively.
I passed the basic course, went to Portsmouth, and was selected for medical training. That changed everything. I studied harder than I’d ever studied — everyone else partied, I hit the books. And I ended up receiving the Surgeon Commander’s award.
My dad had always called me a “gobshite”, told me I’d never pass anything. Proving him wrong meant everything.
Karen:
As it would!
Tony:
I served about a year before something incredible happened. My mentor, Dave Poole, pulled me aside.
“Scouse,” he said, “we need commando medics. You’re perfect.”
I asked what it involved.
He said, “I’d rather not tell you.”
Karen:
That’s never a good sign!
Becoming a Green Beret
Tony:
The “beasting” started immediately — six to twelve hours of brutal physical punishment on day one. Fireman’s lifts, weapons holds, runs, burpees… people vomiting everywhere.
Winter. Mud. Misery.
But I loved it.
I earned my Green Beret. Then — shockingly — they awarded me the Commando Medal, recognising how I’d dragged struggling teammates through when they faltered. I didn’t even know they were watching.
After that, they pushed me into Mountain and Arctic Warfare. Ice climbing. Skiing. Parachuting. The works.
Karen:
How old were you by then?
Tony:
Twenty-five. I stayed in the Navy around ten or eleven years in total, then did reserves.
Values, Leadership & Instinct
Karen:
You’ve lived this unique combination of risk consulting, conflict zones, and counterterrorism. What core values have guided you?
Tony:
Leadership.
Humour.
Instinct.
Resourcefulness.
If you can’t laugh — especially at yourself — you won’t last in my team. I read situations quickly and plan A, B, C, D, and E simultaneously.
And I’m fiercely loyal. If someone does right by me, I’ll die for them.
One refugee I helped escape Afghanistan told me recently, “Mr Tony, you were the one who never stopped calling, never stopped tracking us, never gave up.” That meant everything.
Life in Afghanistan
Karen:
You can't just drop that without giving us a sense of it. What’s Afghanistan like for someone in your line of work?
Tony:
Extraordinary… and terrifying.
The people are beautiful. Some restaurant owners in Sydney literally burst into tears when I told them I was going back to Kabul.
Flying in is intense — the plane dives steeply into Kabul due to high mountains and threat levels. Leaving the airport is the most dangerous. Mortars, corruption, Taliban infiltrating police. Suicide roundabouts.
At home compounds, walls are 6-foot thick and 18-foot high. Pillboxes appear overnight. Americans warn: “If something goes down, DO NOT come outside — we’ll unleash everything.”
Winter hits minus 30. Marble houses freeze solid. Toilets freeze. And dust from sewage hangs in the air — it gets into your lungs.
And then the heartbreaking reality: children missing limbs, racing on wooden trolleys between cars, hands stretched out for help.
Karen:
How do you cope with the constant adrenaline? The fear? The hyper-vigilance?
Fear, Breathwork & Staying Alive
Tony:
Training helps — but it’s human nature to feel fear. The body dumps adrenaline. Heart rate skyrockets. Breath becomes shallow.
You have to force yourself to slow your breathing down.
Breathwork saves lives.
In the military, before firing a weapon, you take three slow breaths. It lowers your blood pressure and improves accuracy. Same thing in high-stress situations.
The closest I came to abduction was at a hospital where staff separated me from my driver. I knew immediately something was wrong. Three rooms, three interrogations. I knew the last room backed onto the outside wall and a waiting vehicle.
My pulse was exploding. Breathwork kept me rational enough to fight my way out.
Meditation and yoga — introduced to me by my partner — helped enormously, and it’s exactly what journalist Peter Greste used to survive his 14-month imprisonment.
Returning to Civilian Life
Karen:
How do you come home and just… live life again?
Tony:
Sometimes it’s hard. Images follow you. Sounds follow you.
In Israel recently, I photographed a woman holding a baby. The baby stared blankly at the sky. I thought the child was disabled. The doctor said, “No… he’s traumatised.”
Scenes like that stay with you.
So I ground myself:
Music. Exercise. Swimming. Talking.
I invented group counselling at the BBC after Bosnia and Chechnya — it was life-changing.
Also — when I return, yes, I look over my shoulder. I drive aggressively. I avoid having my back to windows. Trauma rewires instincts.
The Speeding Story
Karen:
Have the police ever pulled you over here?
Tony:
Yes! Once on the Spit Bridge. I explained I’d just returned from Israel and had lost my brother. The officer listened… and started crying. His father had just died.
He handed my licence back and said, “Watch yourself, mate.”
I think my brother was looking down saying, “I’ll get you out of this one.”
Advice to 18-Year-Old Tony
Karen:
What would you tell your 18-year-old self?
Tony:
You made the best choice of your life walking that less-travelled path.
But… be careful.
Don’t rush into relationships.
Don’t create families when you’re away six or nine months a year.
Kids deserve more stability.
And don’t use relationships as emotional bandages for childhood wounds.
That never works.
Emotional Intelligence
Karen:
How important is emotional intelligence?
Tony:
Vital. It grows with life experience. Mine exploded between 40 and 60.
Emotional intelligence is what slows you down so you can assess danger, relationships, patterns — everything.
The Hardest Chapters to Write
Karen:
Were there parts of the book that were painful to revisit?
Tony:
Yes. A few.
One was Belfast — an 18-year-old soldier with a bullet wound to the head. I tried everything: intubation, fluids, pressure. He drowned on his own blood. Writing that at 3am was gut-wrenching.
Another: the alienation from my children. And writing about my brother’s death — hearing him on a ventilator, remembering every sound — that undid me.
But writing was cathartic.
Zero Risk International & the App
Karen:
Tell us about Zero Risk International — and the app you created.
Tony:
The idea began in 2003 after a car carrying one of our BBC team was hit in Lebanon. I realised journalists needed real-time risk intelligence.
Later, after the 2016 Dhaka café attack, where terrorists killed 20 people, I knew I needed to build something bigger.
So the app became:
24/7 live incident alerts
risk radius mapping
vetted hospitals
vetted hotels
embassy listings
check-in function
location tracking
battery & signal monitoring
e-learning modules (self-defence, crisis response, car crash procedures)
It has already saved lives.
Celebrity Protection: The Matt Damon Story
Karen:
Can you share a fun protection story?
Tony:
Matt Damon!
Two of my guys — both from 2 Commando — were assigned to protect him during quarantine filming. One joked, “What will we do for two weeks?”
I said, “Teach him knife-fighting.”
He said, “What am I going to teach Jason Bourne about knife-fighting?!”
There’s a photo of one of my team, sunglasses on, by the pool — and Matt Damon working out in the background for Thor. Funny as anything.
Closing Reflections
Karen:
Tony, what a story. What a life. You’ve lived one of the most adventurous — and perilous — careers I’ve ever heard, emerging as an authority on risk management. Where can people get your book?
Tony:
It’s everywhere now — airports, Dymocks, Big W, libraries, Booktopia, and of course Amazon. And breaking news: the publishers have done a joint venture with Bonnier in the UK, and I’ve been asked to narrate the audiobook.
Karen:
Fantastic. Listeners, if you’d like Tony’s book, keep an eye out for the audiobook too.
Tony, thank you so much for being with us today.
Outro
Karen:
What an extraordinary life story. If you’d like more powerful conversations like this, join our private members area and treat yourself to a Backstage Pass. For the cost of about two cups of coffee a month, you’ll get access to workshops, exclusive content, and videos from our live events.
Discover more at storyroomglobal.com.
If you enjoyed today’s episode — or if you have an inspirational story of your own — visit our website and share it with us.
A big thank you to Tony Loughran for joining us.
Until next time:
Sharing stories changes lives — so keep sharing yours.
Thank you for tuning in to Sharing Stories, Changing Lives.
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