Building While Broken: Hans Karl Bruesehoff on Facing Heart Surgery
Born with sick sinus syndrome bradycardia and implanted with a pacemaker at age 12, Hans Karl Bruesehoff has lived connected to a machine since 1999 — and now faces a cardiology surgery in three months with a lead that has "three months left of life on it." In this conversation with host Ben Beeri, he traces twenty-three years of chronic back pain that began with a broken spine in a 2003 boxing match, overcoming an opioid addiction, a six-week fasting and mushroom retreat in the Sierra Nevadas, and the collapse of his Waikiki frozen yogurt shop Hula Swirl — the moment he laid down in the spilled yogurt and started laughing. He unpacks how he founded the Purpose Circle men's group in Laguna Beach in 2022 with Ori Israel, why he's writing a book titled Build While Broken before surgery, and his vision for a nonprofit supporting men through no-interest loans and medical grants. The episode explores masculinity, men's mental health, chronic pain recovery, entrepreneurship, and the practice of surrender — with Bruesehoff landing on a working philosophy: "be humble or be humbled," and let five-year-old you lead the way.


