Former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability · Season 3, episode 9
Insights of Derrick McManus on The BEYOND Podcast
Every insight of Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast with podcast host Aleksandra King.
16 insights
In the order they were said
How do you stay calm in a life-threatening situation?
Derrick McManus says he relaxed in the moment while lying wounded on the ground, reasoning that anything better than death is a bonus.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
What is the difference between risk managers and risk takers?
Derrick McManus says his team are risk managers, not risk takers; they treat the danger seriously and go in confident, knowing their skills, training and tactics.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
How do you think clearly under extreme stress?
Derrick McManus says that controlling his body and getting blood back into the prefrontal cortex let him think creatively while lying hurt on the ground under continuous fire.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
What do you say to yourself when you think you are dying?
Derrick McManus says he could either die within moments or sustain optimal performance, and at that point he fought his hardest, telling himself out loud to keep fighting.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
Are police officers scared before a high-risk arrest?
Derrick McManus says a high-risk arrest call was far from scary for his police team, who were trained for that work and loved it.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
Does being nervous affect performance in high-risk situations?
Derrick McManus says he and his STAR Group colleagues train for high-risk work and want to use those skills; anyone who goes in nervous performs below the level needed.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
What goes through your mind when you get shot?
Derrick McManus says the highly trained are allowed thoughts outside the square while still doing everything needed, and recalls telling himself, while being shot, that falling over was quite…
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
How does training help you keep functioning under fire?
Derrick McManus says deep training let him carry on with the job while a passing thought ran, and that the gunman only stopped when Derrick McManus fired back.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
Why do police officers run towards gunfire?
Derrick McManus says police officers move towards gunfire while the ordinary person runs from it, which he puts down to training and probably to personality as well.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
What is sustained optimal performance?
Derrick McManus says STAR Group trains its people to operate at 100% all the time, yet with two severed arteries, sustained optimal performance meant slowing his heart rate and breathing.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
How does optimism help you keep fighting after trauma?
Derrick McManus says a thought that first sounded strange built his optimism; had he gone into pessimism, he would not have had the strength to keep fighting.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
How do you stay optimistic when life will never be the same?
Derrick McManus says optimism is having something better to aim for than the present, even when perfection may be out of reach and the old life cannot be recovered.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
Are most people prepared for death?
Aleksandra King says people are not prepared for death, asking how many have no wills and have not talked about what could happen if they died.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
How do you prepare your children for a threat?
Derrick McManus says his greater concern is for his children, so he has talked them through how they might feel and respond if the man who shot him meets them.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
What does it mean to go beyond resilience?
Derrick McManus says his process is universal, applying as much to bullied schoolchildren and CEOs as to the SAS, and that it goes beyond resilience to sustaining optimal performance.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
Can you predict what a coward will do?
Derrick McManus says the man who shot him is a coward who is probably never a threat to him, but a coward is not predictable, so Derrick McManus stays vigilant.
The BEYOND Podcast · Season 3, episode 9
Cite this page Insights of Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast. Sourced.media, updated 20 September 2026. https://sourced.media/the-beyond-podcast/derrick-mcmanus/insights/
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Human DurabilityPhotos
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Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast
Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast
Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast
Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast
Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability, on The BEYOND Podcast
Aleksandra King, host of The BEYOND Podcast, with Derrick McManus
Aleksandra King, host of The BEYOND Podcast, with Derrick McManus
Aleksandra King, host of The BEYOND Podcast, with Derrick McManusShort videos
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0:33The process is universal. · Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
0:46We are trained to operate at 100%, 100% of the time: Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
0:29If you're getting shot, it's quite acceptable to fall over. · Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
0:38Everybody in our office started going, Adelaide, Adelaide. · Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
0:56The majority of the day was a very ordinary day. · Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human DurabilityGroup photos
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“We're all excited, but we are risk managers, not risk takers.” Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
“I'm hit, I'm hurt, but I can still shoot.” Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
“We are trained to operate at 100%, 100% of the time.” Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
“If I'd just gone into pessimism, I've been shot, my life's going to be terrible, I wouldn't have had the strength to keep on fighting.” Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
“A brave person has predictable actions. A coward is not predictable.” Derrick McManus, former STAR Group officer and founder of Human Durability
“How many of us don't have wills?” Aleksandra King, host of The BEYOND Podcast
“We're all in danger all the time.” Aleksandra King, host of The BEYOND Podcast
“It's business as usual to get called to this high-risk situation that's going on.” Aleksandra King, host of The BEYOND PodcastAudio
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Derrick McManus: Shot 14 Times in a Police Siege
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Derrick McManus, in conversation with Aleksandra King on The BEYOND Podcast
