#310 Josh Duhamel - Transformers Star Reveals His 26-Acre Off-Grid Survival Compound

Episode of The Shawn Ryan Show · June 4, 2026 · 1 h 26 min

Actor Josh Duhamel talks with Shawn Ryan about fatherhood, his off-grid Minnesota compound and prepping, AI and social division, faith, and his hormone-therapy company Gatlan.

Summary

Shawn Ryan hosted actor Josh Duhamel, who opened by exchanging gifts and answering a Patreon question about the lies Hollywood and North Dakota tell about strength. Duhamel said North Dakota's humility made him feel he did not deserve success, and that Hollywood taught him he need not believe what the industry tells him to believe. He said he is working more than ever but wants to work less and spend time with his wife and three children, and both men discussed how children imitate their parents' behavior.

Duhamel described his childhood after his parents' 1984 divorce, including his father briefly living in his car, and the woodland property he bought about 16 years earlier, which grew to multiple parcels with two cabins, three wells, and propane systems. He cited the novel Patriots by James Wesley Rawles as the origin of his prepping mindset and outlined his escape plans from Los Angeles. Ryan recommended the Back to Basics book series, seed stockpiles, Berkey water filters, dehumidifiers for water, and dual citizenship, naming Paraguay as his preferred fallback. Both voiced concern about artificial intelligence advancing too quickly.

Duhamel said his biggest worry is growing division and hatred in the United States, citing hostile reactions to his Cybertruck, while Ryan suggested the Epstein files were creating common ground in distrust of government. Ryan raised biblical prophecy; Duhamel said he had not made that connection but described returning to church to rise above political anger. Ryan argued Catholicism underemphasizes the teachings of Jesus but excels on spiritual warfare, citing exorcist Chad Ripperger.

The conversation closed on Duhamel's company Gatlan, which he said grew from his own years of secretly using testosterone replacement therapy and peptides. He described its physician-guided telemedicine model, its expansion into hormone therapy for women, and possible future stem cell offerings, and Ryan raised plasma exchange.

Chapters

0:05
Gifts and the two Americas
After exchanging gifts, Duhamel answers a Patreon question about the lies Hollywood and North Dakota believe about strength.
4:52
Work, time, and fatherhood
Duhamel and Ryan discuss balancing busy careers with staying present for young children.
9:56
Childhood and money
Duhamel recounts his parents' divorce and his father living in his car, and reflects on whether wealth simplifies life.
13:09
Teaching kids resilience and leading by example
The two share how they teach problem-solving and how their children mimic their bad moments.
24:26
Building the off-grid compound
Duhamel describes buying and homesteading his lakeside property and what inspired his prepping.
33:31
Prepping gear, AI fears, and a gift
They discuss dual citizenship, AI, water and shelter, and Ryan gives Duhamel a Sig Sauer pistol.
40:34
Books, seeds, water, and comms
Ryan recommends survival books, seeds, water filters, and dehumidifiers while Duhamel describes his comms and firearms.
51:14
Family life and marriage
Duhamel talks about his wife, staying present in Los Angeles, and how they met.
57:28
Division and hate in America
Duhamel voices fear of social breakdown and hostility, and Ryan sees growing shared distrust of government.
1:01:14
Faith and spiritual warfare
The two discuss biblical prophecy, returning to church, Catholicism, and demonic influence.
1:13:21
Gatlan and longevity
Duhamel explains his TRT and peptide use, Gatlan's physician-led model, and women's hormone therapy.
1:23:14
Staying grounded
Duhamel credits friends, family, and North Dakota for keeping him grounded.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said growing up in humble North Dakota made him feel he did not deserve to pursue Hollywood, which held him back for a long time.
“it was a scary thing for me because I didn't feel like I deserved it”
Listen from 3:36
Linked moment · 4:32Skip to 4:32 using a listen link in the info box.
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel argued that in Hollywood one need not adopt the industry's beliefs as long as one is dependable on the job.
“you can believe what you want. You don't have to believe what they tell you to believe”
Listen from 4:32
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said he is working more than ever but has realized he wants to work less and be home with his family.
“because I am busier now than ever, it's also made me realize that I don't want to work this much”
Listen from 5:26 · Fatherhood
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said money does not make life simpler or happier but buys freedom.
“they say money doesn't bring happiness but it sure does bring freedom to do some things that you want to”
Listen from 12:12
Shawn Ryan
Ryan said he teaches his son resilience by refusing to solve problems for him and insisting he find another way.
“No matter what problem you're going to face in life, there's always an angle that you can take to accomplish what you want”
Listen from 13:52 · Fatherhood
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel's advice for fathers is that children watch closely and follow the example parents set.
“they're watching you closely, and the example you set is the way they'll go”
Listen from 20:51 · Fatherhood
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said reading Patriots, which imagines the 2008 crash spiraling into collapse, started his prepping mindset.
“I read this book by Wesley Rawls called Patriots, A Guide to Surviving the Coming Collapse”
Listen from 30:51 · Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Shawn Ryan
Ryan said Paraguay is his preferred fallback country because it is remote, landlocked, and away from cartel routes.
“it's too far south for the cartels to be running drugs up there's no ocean which means nobody wants to vacation there”
Listen from 34:00 · Multiple citizenship
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said that at Cannes Lions presenters claimed AI would be 60 times more powerful within a year, and he hopes guardrails slow it down.
“a year from that day, it's going to be 60 times more powerful than it was one year earlier”
Listen from 37:19 · Artificial intelligence
Shawn Ryan
Ryan advised Duhamel to keep physical survival textbooks such as the Back to Basics series rather than rely on digital resources.
“You need textbooks on how to survive. Okay. There's a really good series. This isn't a plug, but whatever. It's called Back to the Basics”
Listen from 41:02 · Survivalism
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said he faces hostility driving his Cybertruck in Los Angeles due to backlash against Elon Musk, which he called blind hate.
“I bought this thing well before any of this stuff was happening, well before any of the backlash against Elon was happening”
Listen from 57:56 · Tesla Cybertruck
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said his biggest concern is deepening division and hatred in the country, which he fears could lead to civil conflict.
“I don't want to call it a civil war, but I mean, it feels more and more like, you know, I don't feel like we're coming together”
Listen from 58:13 · Political polarization in the United States
Shawn Ryan
Ryan said issues like the Epstein files may be creating common ground among Americans who distrust government.
“maybe we are finding some common ground with shit like the Epstein files and a lot of the stuff that's going on in the world”
Listen from 1:00:42 · Political polarization in the United States
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said he returned to church because he felt himself developing hatred toward people he disagreed with.
“Part of the reason I went back to the church Honestly, I needed something to rise above the noise”
Listen from 1:06:09 · Christianity
Shawn Ryan
Ryan argued that Catholicism falls short in teaching the life and teachings of Jesus compared with non-denominational churches.
“I think one thing that the Catholic religion lacks on is the teachings of Jesus”
Listen from 1:09:30 · Catholic Church
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said he believes in dark forces and that people who are not spiritually connected are susceptible to them.
“I do believe that there are, you know, dark forces at play. Me too. And if you're not spiritually connected, you're really susceptible”
Listen from 1:12:56 · Spiritual warfare
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said he secretly used testosterone replacement therapy for years and credits it with restoring his levels and helping him maintain muscle at 53.
“testosterone replacement has been huge for me. It's brought my levels back. I was low, so I'm able to keep muscle on”
Listen from 1:14:02 · Testosterone replacement therapy
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said hormone replacement therapy can delay and reduce the effects of perimenopause and menopause by restoring hormone levels.
“It can stem the effects of perimenopause and menopause and bring your levels of progesterone and estrogen back up”
Listen from 1:15:56 · Menopause
Josh Duhamel
Duhamel said Gatlan uses a physician-guided concierge model and sources its products from U.S. compounding pharmacies.
“all of our stuff is 100% compound in the USA, compounded in the USA with, you know, through our own 503B pharmacies and API wholesalers”
Listen from 1:21:29 · Gatlan

People

In the conversation

Shawn RyanFormer U.S. Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, host of the Shawn Ryan Show
Josh DuhamelAmerican actor, producer, and founder of the health company Gatlan, from Minot, North Dakota

Discussed

James Wesley RawlesAmerican survivalist author of the novel Patriots
Chad RippergerAmerican Catholic priest and exorcist, author on demonic influence
Mark ZuckerbergCo-founder of Facebook
Elon MuskEntrepreneur behind X, xAI and SpaceX, discussed in AI competition
Fabian CalvoFriend who brought Duhamel into the Gatlan venture
Audra MariDuhamel's wife, a North Dakota native
Joe RoganAmerican comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience

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From the publisher

Josh Duhamel is an American actor, producer, and entrepreneur born and raised in Minot, North Dakota, where a blue-collar upbringing instilled a strong work ethic. He played backup quarterback at Minot State University and majored in biology with plans for dentistry, but dropped out shy of graduation (later finishing in 2005). He headed west, fell into modeling, and won IMTA Male Model of the Year in 1997, exposure that led to the role of Leo du Pres on *All My Children* (1999–2002) and a 2002 Daytime Emmy. From there he built a mainstream career across TV and film, including *Las Vegas* and the *Transformers* franchise. He had no Hollywood connections, just a small-town guy who caught a break and worked his way up. Still active in film and TV, Duhamel has deliberately stepped back from constant Hollywood life, spending more time on his land in North Dakota and speaking openly about never fully fitting in: "I missed the simplicity of who I really am." Beyond acting, he founded GATLAN, a concierge health-optimization company built around his own experience with hormone therapy, which expanded into women's health in spring 2026. Raised Catholic, he favors a grounded lifestyle focused on health and aging well, and embraced entrepreneurship later in life. He's a father of three: sons Axl (with ex-wife Fergie) and Shepherd, and daughter Rocca, born May 2026 with wife Audra Mari, with family at the center of how he spends his time. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off for life AND 3 Free Gifts when you use SRS at https://Mengotomars.com Upgrade your wallet today and get up to 40% off during Ridge’s Father’s Day Sale at https://www.Ridge.com/SRS #Ridgepod Ready to upgrade your eyewear? Check them out at https://roka.com and use code SRS for 20% off sitewide. SpotOn GPS Fence — trusted by Shawn Ryan for his dog Moose. The most reliable GPS dog fence: 100% secure from backyard to backcountry with virtual boundaries you control from your ph…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Society & Culture·Parenting·Health & Fitness