The Psychological Hell No One Talks About in BUD/S

About this video

A former Navy SEAL recounts his experience going through BUD/S training with Class 189 in the late 1990s. He discusses the structured psychology behind the training process, contrasting his era when candidates knew less about what to expect with today’s information-saturated environment. He also describes his time as a BUD/S instructor, where he observed candidates psychologically preparing to quit, and reflects on the check-in process and hazing rituals at SEAL Team Four in the early 1990s.

Key takeaways

• The guest started BUD/S with 119 candidates and only 14 of the original class graduated, though he made it straight through without rolling back
• The guest argues that modern candidates may have too much information available, with one example of a student quitting on day one because ’the movies and videos didn’t show any of this'
• According to the guest, as a BUD/S instructor he could predict which candidates would quit by observing their psychology, noting that some had already mentally decided to quit before they actually did
• The guest describes the hazing process at SEAL Team Four in the early 1990s as a bonding experience similar to Hell Week, though he acknowledges such practices are controversial today

Episode details: published October 11, 2025 · 8.9K views · 9:12 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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