Jocko Podcast 516: The Fat Electrician & Veteran With a Sign – Military Life, Transitions, and the Power of Storytelling

Date: November 26, 2025
Guests: Zach Bell ("Veteran With a Sign"), Nick ("The Fat Electrician")
Host: Jocko Willink, with Echo Charles

Episode Overview

This episode features a candid and lively conversation between Jocko Willink, Echo Charles, and two prominent military-related content creators: Zach Bell, known as “Veteran With a Sign,” and Nick, “The Fat Electrician.” Both are veterans who have transitioned to civilian life and built influential online presences. The discussion centers on military service’s influence on post-military life, the challenges and humor of transitioning, modern veteran advocacy, the lessons from their content journeys, and the increasingly powerful role of memes and social media in shaping narratives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Reflections: Transitioning From Military to Civilian Life

• [00:06] Jocko reads from the 1945 “Going Back to Civilian Life” pamphlet, noting how little guidance was provided on the psychological aspect of transition.
  • “Now offers the chance for a new beginning built on the foundation of your service and sacrifice.” ([00:06])
• Jocko highlights that while today’s veterans struggle in ways similar to earlier generations, there are powerful examples of successful post-service lives.

2. Nick’s (Fat Electrician) Backstory & Path

• [03:02–13:54]
  • Grew up in unstable environments in California and Iowa; parents struggled until moving to Iowa for a fresh start.
  • Adjusted from being a “new kid” in big cities to a small-town environment where everyone knows each other.
  • Early interests: sports, business, history; worked up to 34 hours a week in high school.
  • Started Jiu Jitsu, inspired by local MMA competitors.
  • Entered National Guard (as a medic) at 17, shifting from an original desire to join the Navy.
• Noted challenges of military selection and training:
  • “I got honor graduate... other people can’t understand left face, right face. For six weeks I’m doing push ups because of it.” ([17:58])

3. Military Service & Post-Service Career

• [15:56–25:53]
  • Chose to be a medic due to its proximity and transferable skills.
  • Long, demanding medic training (including EMT certification).
  • Unit was highly deployed (“most deployed National Guard unit in American history”).
  • Ultimately did not deploy to Afghanistan; after service, tried nursing school but realized quickly it wasn’t the right fit.
  • “I can tell you the moment I knew it wasn’t going to work out. It was about 15 minutes into the first day.” ([21:31])
• Switched career paths after seeing a meme about electrician shortages; immediately got hired and started a five-year apprenticeship.

4. Injuries, Adaptation, and Birth of ‘Fat Electrician’ Persona

• [33:25–39:19]
  • Explained tearing his pec while benching shortly after becoming a journeyman; forced into reduced work and financial stress with a new baby.
  • While recovering, began making humorous TikTok videos, initially as a joke for his wife, with instant viral success:
    • “First one I ever made got 12 million views in about three days.” ([04:11])
• Developed the brand by applying humor and directness to military topics, expanding steadily onto YouTube with longer historical content.

5. The Power of Storytelling: Humanizing Military History

• [39:19–45:34]
  • Nick and Jocko discuss how focusing on individuals (rather than statistics) draws people into history.
    • “If you start with ‘here’s this guy that had a really shitty childhood... winds up being the guy, Jake McNasty, paints his face [for D-Day]’... now you’ve taught somebody history that they otherwise never would have understood...” (Nick, [44:27])
  • Relating past to present and finding personal connection, often bringing families closer.

6. Modern Veteran Advocacy & Content Creation

• [46:13–50:53]
  • Transition from TikTok to YouTube to ensure sustainability.
  • “I’m still fully ready to wake up and find out I got canceled, it’s all gone, and I’m going back to work. And I won’t be upset about it.” (Nick, [47:06])
  • Works with the “Unsubscribe” podcast team, travels to San Antonio monthly.

7. Contrasting Content Styles: Fat Electrician vs. Unsubscribe vs. Underwhelming

• [50:15–61:32]
  • “Fat Electrician” is history-focused, never personal; “Unsubscribe” is casual, guests-and-friends-focused; “Underwhelming” is co-hosted with Zach, with more family and life discussions.
  • “Underwhelming is like... he’s a dad with more experience, I’m a new dad. We’re talking about more like family-oriented stuff.” (Nick, [60:59])
• Highlighted the organic nature of veteran creator community collaboration.

8. The Veteran Benefits Advocacy Controversy (VFW “Meme War”)

• [62:34–83:56]
  • Zach discusses being targeted by VFW national headquarters over promoting a veteran benefit assistance company (“REE Medical”).
  • Details how VFW national attempted to shape legislation (“Guard Act”) to restrict for-profit organizations helping veterans, leading to a misinformation campaign against him and fellow creators.
    • “I don’t need the government to protect me. I don’t need them to remove choice. I don’t need them to do freedom. I need them to worry about things like what’s in our food, the never ending wars, supporting veterans...” (Zach, [68:21])
• The creators coordinated a counter-response that led to VFW backlash from their own chapters, providing a case study of social media leverage and meme culture for organizational accountability.
  • “People would call a poor strategy was trying to get in a pissing match on the Internet with a group of guys that just have pissing matches on the Internet...” (Nick, [71:57])

9. On Memes, Information Age, and Societal Change

• [84:11–92:42]
  • Discussion on the unprecedented power of memes:
    • “You think it’s a stupid picture on the Internet, but a picture is worth a thousand words...” (Nick, [86:21])
    • Memes now shape opinions, much like political ads or press in previous eras, but with zero barrier to entry, and no necessary connection to truth.
  • The hosts warn about information overload and deliberate misinformation, suggesting tools like “Touch Grass Tuesdays”—encouraging real-world, offline breaks.

10. Reflections on Content Creation, Authenticity, & the Coming AI Wave

• [93:03–105:54]
  • The difficulty of being a YouTuber or “influencer,” the stereotype, and challenges with being taken seriously (e.g., banks, social context).
  • AI is making digital media indistinguishable from reality, increasing risks of manipulation—an era where “you have to authenticate everything.”
    • “You can get a meme that has just complete misinformation in it. And that’s probably... what’s the word they use? Disinformation.” (Jocko, [89:40])

11. Closing Thoughts – Physical Resilience, Positivity, and Open-Mindedness

• [111:07–115:15]
  • Nick shares his double pec tear experiences; Echo provides technical context on injury mechanisms.
  • The guests urge listeners to focus on building, not tearing down; to be wary of content designed to provoke anger.
  • Jocko summarizes: “Keep an open mind. When I look at Nick and Zach, I see two guys who walked different paths in life...but both had an open mind as they looked around and looked at the world and what they could bring to it.”
    • “If you open your eyes and keep an open mind, you too can find a place where you can help someone else. And if you’re doing that, then you’re winning.” (Jocko, [115:15])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nick on TikTok origins:
  “My username was the Fat Electrician as a joke to my wife...Then I made a TikTok. The first one I ever made got 12 million views in about three days.” (04:11)
• On Nursing School:
  “I can tell you the moment I knew it wasn’t going to work out. It was about 15 minutes into the first day.” (21:31)
• Jocko on Humanizing History:
  “These guys are not characters in a book. They’re a person.” (44:27)
• On the VFW social media ‘meme war’:
  “Trying to get in a pissing match on the Internet with a group of guys that just have pissing matches on the Internet...” (Nick, 71:57)
• On meme culture:
  “Everybody understands the articulate part. Now we’re gonna dumb it back down to hieroglyphs because they can articulate a thousand words in one image.” (Nick, 86:52)
• Jocko’s Final Message:
  “If you open your eyes and keep an open mind, you too can find a place where you can help someone else. And if you’re doing that, then you’re winning.” (115:15)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:06 — Jocko reads from 1945 pamphlet; transition intro
• 03:02 — Nick (Fat Electrician) background and origin story
• 13:12 — Why he disliked Jiu Jitsu tournaments
• 15:56 — Joining the National Guard and becoming a medic
• 21:25 — Realizing nursing was not for him
• 25:18 — Becoming an electrician
• 33:25 — Pec tear, forced downtime, birth of the Fat Electrician
• 39:19 — Storytelling as a tool for connecting generations
• 46:13 — Adapting content for different platforms
• 50:15 — Podcast distinctions: Unsubscribe, Underwhelming, Fat Electrician
• 62:34 — The VFW/advocacy/meme war controversy
• 84:11 — The role of memes and information warfare
• 93:15 — AI, authenticity, and digital manipulation
• 111:07 — Physical injuries and resilience
• 115:15 — Closing gratitude and encouragement

Episode Takeaways

• Transition after service is deeply personal – humor, honesty, and connection can help.
• Veteran-led content shapes perspectives for both military and civilian audiences.
• Memes and social platforms wield enormous cultural influence—use them with care.
• Truth, positivity, and open-mindedness still matter in a fragmented information landscape.
• Keep building, keep learning, and look for ways to help others. That’s victory.

For more from Zach Bell (“Veteran with a Sign”), visit [veteranwithasign.com]. Nick’s content lives at [thefatelectrician.com]. Hear them on their podcasts: Fat Electrician Podcast, Unsubscribe, and Underwhelming.

“Stay. You’re worth fighting for.” — Zach Bell ([114:56])