The Giants that Built Me Part 1The Giants that Built Me Part 1
Chase The Vase
Josh Pierce shares his journey from adopted child in a chaotic home to multi-job provider, long-time pizza operator, and director of operations in a law firm. His story touches on mental health stigma, relentless work ethic, Star Wars-inspired resilience, and practical coping tools for facing life’s giants.
44:02•24 Aug 2026
Giants, Legos, and Grit: Josh Pierce on Surviving, Working, and Rising Again
Episode Overview
- Stigma and shame around mental health in the 1980s made treatment and support far harder than it is today.
- Josh chose hard work and multiple jobs over state assistance to keep his young family stable.
- Career setbacks and broken promotion promises didn’t stop him from staying the course and eventually shifting industries.
- Star Wars character Revan represents Josh’s belief in sacrifice, persistence, and protecting loved ones over personal comfort.
- Structured activities like building Lego sets help him focus on one step at a time and clear his head during emotional overload.
““Shame is the difference… Today it’s not a shameful thing. It’s not something that needs to be hidden. It’s not a guilty thing.””
What drives someone to seek a life where every giant gets a name and a battle plan? This instalment of *Chase The Vase* / *Fight Like David* introduces Josh Pierce, Cowbell Rob’s best friend and the show’s first guest, as he shares how “grit, survival, and refusing to quit” shaped his life.
You’ll hear Josh start with identity and family: learning he was adopted, growing up in 1980s Atlanta, and facing his first giant in the form of a deeply unstable home. His mother’s serious mental health struggles, repeated hospital stays, and the stigma of the era left him isolated and bullied. In a powerful moment, he sums up what’s changed since then: “Shame is the difference.” Mental health, he argues, is no longer something that has to be hidden.
From there, the episode shifts into work ethic and responsibility. Josh talks about marrying at 16, becoming a young father, and running a pizza store as a teenager. Rather than relying on state assistance, he chose to stack multiple jobs so his family could stay afloat. His long journey through pizza operations eventually led him into legal operations, where he now oversees a general practice law firm.
One of the standout sections is Josh’s love of Star Wars and why he sees himself in Revan, a character who keeps fighting through torture, corruption, and sacrifice: “He kept going and kept fighting… because he knew there’d be an opportunity.” That relentless attitude mirrors Josh’s own decision not to quit when promotions fell through, finances dipped, and even a stroke threatened to derail everything.
For anyone dealing with addiction in the family, mental health challenges, or the grind of rebuilding life after setback, Josh’s story offers practical coping tools too — from PlayStation sessions to surprisingly therapeutic Lego builds that let him focus on “step number three and that’s it.” If you’re facing your own giant right now, could Josh’s mix of honesty, humour, and sheer persistence be the nudge you need to keep going one more day?
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