Resilience, Recovery, and Stem Cells: A Green Beret’s Mission After Combat

Former Green Beret Travis joins Deny Caballero to discuss life after combat, resilience, and recovery. From TBI and mental health challenges to stem cell therapy and veteran advocacy, this episode highlights the work being done through Project Recon to change veteran healthcare outcomes.

Key Topics Covered

• Green Beret life and combat experience
• Transitioning from military to civilian life
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and recovery
• Stem cell therapy for veterans
• Mental health and resilience
• Project Recon and veteran advocacy
• Entrepreneurship after service

Key Takeaway
Veterans can thrive after service with education, resilience, and the right support systems.

 Chapters:
00:00 From Military to Academia: A Journey of Growth

01:56 The Early Days: Becoming a Green Beret

07:52 Combat Experiences: The Highs and Lows

14:44 Facing Adversity: Lessons from Injury

20:14 Building a Future: Entrepreneurship and Recovery

28:51 Stem Cells and Project Recon: A New Mission

30:04 Healing Through Stem Cells

32:28 Project Recon: A Mission for Veterans

33:54 Understanding TBI and Treatment Procedures

36:57 Navigating the Challenges of Stem Cell Therapy

39:20 Advocacy for Veterans' Health

49:14 Personal Health and Mental Well-being

56:26 Resources and Closing Thoughts

Sponsored by: Dr. Mark Gordon & Millennium Health Centers
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 Syracuse University D’Aniello Institute for Veterans & Military Families Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV)

https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/programs/entrepreneurship/start-up/ebv/

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Chapters

• 0:00 Near-Fatal Jump And Aftermath
• 1:05 Why His Story Resonates
• 2:11 Roots: Father, PJs, And Early Path
• 4:14 Alaska Medic To SOF Selection
• 6:08 Leaving For Hockey, War Calls Back
• 8:00 Back To Army And Q Course
• 10:15 Maturity, Culture, And Combat Reality
• 13:45 Sponsors And Early Trauma Cases
• 16:20 Rooftop Rescue And Doubt
• 19:15 The Crash, 13 Surgeries, Ultimatum
• 21:15 Rebuilding With A Plan And Sacrifice
• 24:00 Business Beginnings And Divorce
• 27:00 Education, Iteration, And Mentors
• 30:45 Pivot To Stem Cells And Nonprofit
• 33:05 What Treatment Looks Like
• 36:05 Fighting Policy And Funding Barriers
• 39:20 Making The Case For Early Care
• 42:05 How To Apply And Get Treated
• 45:05 Protocols, Scans, And Outcomes
• 48:10 FDA Reality And Lobbying
• 51:10 Scaling Smart: SOF First
• 54:00 Mental Health, Faith, And Psychedelics
• 57:40 Movement, Habits, And 100-Day Challenge
• 1:00:20 Links, Resources, And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Fast forward to my own injury, having fallen from a place. My canopy was fine until I turned on final. And had a near fatal free fall accident, burned in, but spun in, felt like I burned in after the right side of my canopy collapsed and ended up breaking my back, disreplacement. 13 surgeries total to this day from that injury.

SPEAKER_00: 0:16

I always tell guys, this journey's waves, man. You gotta learn how to surf. That's where a lot of us really figure out what we're made of.

SPEAKER_01: 0:30

It was Star Major Lou Pauka who was like, fix yourself or you're gonna be kicked out of the army. At the time, like I just broke my back. Why being such a dick? But I get it. And that was hard. It really was.

SPEAKER_00: 0:39

We need to understand, like, if you visualize something, if you really want something hard enough, you're gonna have to sacrifice.

SPEAKER_01: 0:44

But I said, I want to retire out of the army as a Green Beret, and I'm gonna do what it takes.

SPEAKER_00: 1:04

So we're gonna dive into this, but before we dive into it, you've been incredibly generous with your story. But recently, um, while we were recording another episode for a different podcast that I produced, I finally got a little bit more of your story to where it's like, holy shit. Like this guy, he's been vulnerable with our entire community about the injury. But everything else, it's a no-brainer why you're in the space. Everything, your entire journey has been just earmarked with moments where you could have given up, moments where you could have just said, you know what, fuck it. I'm out of this. But you've continued to prevail, you've continued to push forward, and you're now somebody that a lot of us look up to in the space of like, holy shit, like his story is a lot like mine. And if he can continue going, there's no reason why I should quit. So today, man, I want to dive into everything. I want to dive into before before we get the entrepreneurial success, before we get the veteran advocate, we had a young Travis that dared to take up the mantle of being a Green Beret. And that's where I want to start it, man. Like, take us back all the way back to those days. Take you back.

SPEAKER_01: 2:18

Well, I'll tell you, uh, you know, it really started with my father. Um, how can you hear me? Can you hear me good? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're good. All right, good. Yeah, so you know, being in SOF in general started with my father. He's a former PJ uh pararescue, did that for 13 or 14 years, and then he he you know became an officer and went and went to PA school uh and retired out of the Air Force as a PA. Um, but my entire life growing up as a kid, you know, he would always talk about being a PJ and and he'd sing little bits of you know, little stanzas of the uh of the uh ballad of the Green Berets to me. And I didn't understand that. I I didn't even put two and two together as a kid. It was just, you know, pinsilver wings on my son's chest, make him one of the of America's best. Because he was airborne in the Air Force and all that, and that was a really big deal to be airborne in the Air Force. And um it wasn't until later on that I learned that uh, you know, he had a you know the utmost respect for Green Berets in Vietnam. He picked them up, you know, in their jolly greens and stuff like that after coming off mission, really wonder what these guys were doing, where did they come from? Um, it wasn't a group of men that he got to really hang out with uh as a PJ. So um, but yeah, as a kid, you know, it was kind of in in ingrained in me, the military was. And so once I I went to military academy and and like an idiot, uh not mature at all, not mature enough at all for this school, uh, dropped out and um didn't recognize it then, but just thought I was too badass to be there, you know. But but later in life, you when you do mature and grow, you realize I was an idiot. I I was not mature enough to be there. I was a late bloomer. But joined the army, um, went it went in as a medic. 91 Bravo is what it was back in the day. I think it was 68 Whiskey Now or something like that. And uh went to Alaska, which is ironically, you know, I'm from Texas, and my dad was stationed in Alaska as well a couple times, and the army was like, hey, we're gonna send you to Texas and Alaska. I was like, Jesus, I want to see the world. Um, but went to Alaska, the 501st up there at Fort Richardson, and uh it was a medic there and loved that assignment. I mean, we went all over the place. Uh it was pre-9-11. So um, we were in Thailand and Guam, Korea, Australia. Wow. Yeah, yeah. We were the you know, the only Arctic airborne battalion in the Pacific Rim. So we were doing a lot of training at that time. Cobra Gold was a big thing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. One in Australia tandem thrust. I don't know who, I don't know what officer thought to call the one in Australia tandem thrust, but they did. Guys, I got it. Tandem thrust. Yeah, yeah. Oh, great, sir. Great, yes. Put that on your OER. So, but in '99, uh I hadn't, you know, I thought, okay, well, I'm physically fit. Um, my platoon sergeant at the time, uh, Larry Pierton uh stud, he came from Ranger Regiment and uh he had free fall wings on and all that good stuff. And he was our medical platoon sergeant, and just uh I love that guy. And and he really encouraged me. He's like, look, if you're gonna talk about it, then do it, you know? Yeah. And um, so I went to selection. He was the only one out of like the first sergeant was like, if you, you know, you're you're a traitor, you're you're you better make it because if you don't, I'm gonna tear you up when you get back. Yeah, you don't have a home here if you don't make it. Yeah, yeah. So but I also we can talk about it later, but I got a little bit of that in in group as well, um, when I decided to retire. But uh yeah, in 99 went to selection and uh, you know, in true form, made it through uh without getting recycled and uh and and went, well, this isn't I don't think this has anything to do with maturity, but uh I decided, well, okay, I got selected and I'm gonna go to the Q course. But my buddy calls me and I grew up playing hockey and he's like, hey, why don't you come to Boise State, go to school, walk on our hockey program? And you know, I it was it was pre-9-11, so I was like, oh, not much is going on. All right, I'll do that. And so got out of the army and went back to school to Boise State, played hockey there for uh a couple years and no shit. Yeah. Of course, the war started kicking off, and I was like, no, like why now? Um, but I went back into the army and uh called up the recruiters and said, Hey, I want to be a Green Beret. They're like, fuck you, you left us, you know, you don't have a home here. But uh they this but I went I deployed with the 21st Combat Support Hospital um with an emergency room in the ER department and uh followed up fourth ID and uh just you know saw a lot of shit. Uh you know, yeah, oh yeah, in that time period, absolutely, man. Yeah, so uh but the whole time I was there when I was able to use a satellite phone or when we finally got you know computer set up, um I immediately started talking to these dudes like, hey, I'm here, I'm physically fit, I want to go to the Q course. Uh and I I'll even go back through selection if I have to. And they were like, hey, look, you know, we're we we realize that we're gonna need some bodies. Um so you know, you don't have to go through selection if you can go and pass a PT test, uh make sure it's legit, blah, blah, blah. They found the guy to give me the PT test that was over there, and I ended up doing great, smoked it, you know, legit PT test, not like something you're downrange and you know, however they do it. Um so yeah, early Travis, man, uh, you know, just army medic, want to be a Green Beret. Uh, you know, you put your head down, you you there was a song that I was singing at Selection was um from the movie Youngblood, a hockey movie. Uh you just gotta put one foot in front of the other. I remember saying that to myself constantly while I was there. Um you know, you gotta keep your mouth shut there. You can't really do too much talking unless you know it's you're doing team week or something like that. But um yeah, I made it, made it through selection and I uh took a break, went to the queue course. Rest is history.

unknown: 8:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 8:10

Dude, to be able to just say, you know what, fuck, I'm gonna go play hockey and then the worst time, dude. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 8:18

Yeah, it was fun. Yeah. You know, I don't I don't have any regrets for any of that stuff. You know, like I think my dad was disappointed a few times in my life with dropping out of college uh out of the military academy because he really wanted me to be an officer, always told me that that was the better way of living, um, the better retirement, all that, you know. And and it it makes sense now. I but again, I didn't care back then. I wanted to do cool shit, which my youngest right now is like, Dad, I'm destined for the military, I want to do cool shit. I'm like, eh, let's think about like electronic warfare, let's think about this, you know, like it's the same pattern, pattern recognition.

SPEAKER_00: 8:52

Like I've seen it with guys that that had those great father figures. Your father's gonna always want what's best for you. But we need to understand as we transition into that phase of our lives, our kids are gonna want to follow their heart, they're gonna want to follow their own path. And it's like, man, I I really want you to be a you know, a pilot and go do something else. Like, yeah, well, I really want to go suck in the dirt, become a ranger. And it's like, fuck.

SPEAKER_01: 9:22

But which I have no problems with. I'm like, great, man, like do that for four years, but let's let's have a plan. Let's, you know, and and I I didn't really learn about plans until I became a Green Beret, you know, um, and matured a little bit. I even think when I got to the Q course, I I wasn't as mature as a lot of the guys that that were around me. You know, I really was a late Bloomer, just mentally retarded. I don't know what that, you know, but I mean, because it's true. I mean, educationally, like I I made it just fine, you know? Um but yeah, it it you know it's uh it was it was fun. And I tell my youngest, like, let's have a plan. So and I learned about plans later on in life. Uh and now I'm all about plans, you know? Because plan are you gonna have a plan when I transitioned out? Like, you know, I plans are healing and they make people successful.

SPEAKER_00: 10:16

So yeah, man. It's it's I have to imagine when you finally hit that point in your career where you're like, man, like I can't be the wild guy. I I gotta have a strategy in this. Was it more of like, all right, I'm a senior? Was it an actual point in time you can think back, or was it just like, I'm tired of learning the hard way?

SPEAKER_01: 10:36

Uh well, I mean, you know, I don't necessarily know that I learned the hard way. I mean, I I I don't know. I I I I feel like I was like the E4 mafia until I became an E6, you know? Um I I kinda I did what I wanted, uh but I did it really good. And then I also did what I what was told of me really good, you know. So I was kind of like in that, like, we're not gonna mess with him because he's he's doing really well. But then I also did my own shit, you know, and so but uh but there were a lot of mistakes that I made that later, you know, once I became that senior, you know, you know, team guy, uh I looked back on him like, I wonder where I would be in my career right now if only I would have focused a little harder or not done this or that. Um because there were some times where I just I always tell people that I was just a mediocre Greenberg. I did some cool shit, saved a life in combat, got some awards and all that stuff, but I don't feel like it was anything extraordinary and that I had to work exceptionally hard to do it. You know what I mean? Yeah. Business is harder than anything I've ever done in my career in the military. Uh, nonprofits, this veteran space of trying to take care of veterans is harder than anything I ever did in the military, an active duty military. So, but uh it yeah, it's uh it was a ride and it was enjoyable, and I had a lot of fun and really started to mature the closer I got to being a senior on the team, you know what I mean? Even my first deployment as a Green Beret, I felt like a fucking cowboy. I mean, it was Cowboys and Indians time, you know, back back in those days, and and we had fun. Um, and you get addicted to it, and you kind of crave going, you know, for example, to the Jabori Peninsula just to get the new guy a CIB, like let's fucking go. Like, you know? Later, it's very much like that.

SPEAKER_00: 12:31

It's very much, it's very much like that. It gets to a point where like you it's a cultural thing. Like, well, we have a new guy who doesn't have CIB. Well, let's figure out a way to get that. That's a weird thing to explain to people that I don't think enough people talk about. Like the the understanding of like you have to you have to create a con op specifically for well, we gotta make effects, and the effects are I gotta get you, I gotta get you CIB, we gotta get you in combat, so you you get that feeling. You get that out, you gotta get the first one out, you gotta get it out, you gotta get out of your system. Yeah, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02: 13:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 13:05

Yeah. My you know, I had plenty of of tastes of combat even as a medic at the cache. Like we were receiving bodies or patients every day, 24 hours a day, you know, to include Iraqis that that were injured by us and all that. So I saw a lot of that. And but that first combat deployment, I remember doing that left seat, right seat ride with fifth group going from Balad to uh where were we? Fab Palawada in uh it was in Bilad, the city, but going to the team house, and damn, the first you know, time out the gate there, we got like a I don't even know what kind of rocket it was, but it just you know straight through the vehicles. And uh you're just like, holy shit, day one, less than four hours here, you know, like let's just get it on. So but again, excited, cowboy feeling, like m mature enough to know what to do and and and to you know to worry about the men on your left and your right, as we say, um, but also like fuck yeah, let's let's do this and have a good time.

SPEAKER_00: 14:04

Yeah, yeah, it's but the the thing that a lot of Greenberries experience is there's a moment in time where it it shifts from the holy shit, this is fun, this is awesome, to uh oh fuck, this is the first time I met I'm meeting adversity either due to an injury or a catastrophic issue. Um, and you have one of those stories where it's like you're riding high, and I always tell guys this journey's it's waves, man. You gotta learn how to surf because one moment you're riding high on a free and amazing combat deployment, you're on the greatest team ever, and the next thing you know you're dealing with an injury, whether it's a fused fucking neck like myself, or uh a huge major health issue. And those are the moments that when you reflect upon, you realize, okay, that's where I got my, that's where I learned about grit, resilience, adversity, being in that hospital being going going through all that therapy, going through all those things, that's where a lot of us really figure out what we're made of. This episode of Security Health is brought to you by Dr. Taylor Bosley and Persistian Wellness Group. Let's be real. By now, a lot of New Year's resolutions have already fizzled out. Life gets busy, motivation drops, and health ends up on the back burner. But here's the truth: there's no better time to start than right now. Persistian Wellness Group specializes in hormone optimization and hormone health, delivering personalized care and treatment right to your door. If you've been dealing with low energy, brain fog, or sleep, or stalled performance, hormone imbalance, maybe in the midst of peace, Dr. Taylor Bosley and his team take a data-driven, individualized approach to help you get back to operating at your best. Security Hall listeners received 25% off their initial consultation when they use Security Hall 25 at checkout. Click the link in the episode description to find out more and get started today.

SPEAKER_01: 15:57

Yeah. That's true. I've got a number of stories and I mean from all the way back to Alaska when I when I watched uh a lieutenant, you know, his canopy just cigarette rolled and he burned all the way in. It was winter. And you know, as a medic, I'm in the FLA and we're riding out there, me and this other uh medic, and it's when and I was a senior medic at that time. I was, you know, an E4. Uh I questioned my medical integrity. Am I gonna be able to save this dude's life? Thankfully, he lived, he got chaptered out. Um, but snow helps. Yeah, imagine. Yeah. And then in combat, and you know, my buddy uh Jake Anderson, you know, took a round of the chest on a on a on a house next door to us. And um I was on the rooftop of the other house after, you know, neutralizing all that, seeing Jake laid out in the back of the building um and people calling out for Charlie One. Where's Charlie One? And I see him from the rooftop, I'm like, I'm fucking out. And I left the team said, Man, you guys take care of the radios, I'll be back. Because I wasn't a medic as a Green Beret, I was an Echo. But ran out there and did what I had to do, but again, questioned my medical integrity. I have not been a medic, I've been an Echo, and and and but it wasn't that long ago that I was a medic, so it all came back to me and uh and was able to take care of Jake and get him uh on a burden out of there, and and he's still around today. Um it's I don't know, there's just uh a lot of times that I questioned the integrity of myself doing the job, I guess, is is where I was going with that.

SPEAKER_00: 17:28

And I I think every great leader, and this transcends professions. This this trend absolutely transcends a little bit, yes, it's a lot cooler when you're hearing about these combat stories, but this transcends military service, professionalism in the first responder world. Like everybody has that moment to shine. And I think the greatest individuals that I've talked to, the greatest leaders I've ever had, the mentors I've ever had, they don't introduce these stories like, oh, this is the moment where I was the fucking greatest thing on earth. No, exactly you're talking about reflecting back, like, man, I I I was hoping I hadn't what it took to save that life. I was really hoping I'm I was able to meet the moment. And I think when we look back to to the guys that I'm guilty of it because I I look up to guys and I call them, oh, this SF legend, you know, this guy's an icon. They're they're they're flesh and blood, they're men just like us. But in the moment, they were able to rise to the occasion and they have enough wherewithal and they have enough thought to say, you know, I don't know if I have it, but damn it if I'm not gonna try, if I'm not gonna go in there and give in my all, because you didn't have to do that. You you by all like you were up there, you had your sectors of fires, you had your responsibility, but you were also a trained medic. Maybe you weren't 18 Delta, but you were a trained medic, and that in that moment you knew, nope, this is my chance. This is my chance to do what I was put on earth to do, and damn it, I'm gonna execute. And I think a lot of us, we forget that we can take that with us. You know, it might it might not be as sexy as doing a combat mission. It might be answering the call for your boss and coming through on that project, but you can 100% take these these moments that you had in service and trust that you can do that in life and just copy and paste. You you you have what it takes to be successful in these clutch moments. And I think so many veterans forget about that, man. I think it's sad. It's it's you, it's it's who you are, it's part of you. And uh, if you're listening out there and you've seen the free if I've forgotten that, wake up. It's never too late. You have those moments.

SPEAKER_01: 19:32

Yeah, absolutely, 100%. And what but I would say, you know, fast forward to my own injury, having fallen from a plate. Well, the the my canopy was fine until I turned on final and and had a near fatal free fall accident um and burned in, not burned in, but spun in, felt like I burned in after the right side of my canopy collapsed and ended up breaking my back, disc replacement, 13 surgeries total to this day from that injury, that accident. But it was it was uh It was Sergeant Major Lou Pauka, he was like, uh, fix yourself, or you're gonna be kicked out of the army.

SPEAKER_00: 20:09

And uh This episode of Security Hall is brought to you by Dr. Mark Gordon and Millennium Health Store. If you've listened to the show, you know how seriously we take brain health, recovery, and long-term performance, especially for veterans and high performers. Dr. Mark Gordon is one of the leading experts in neuroendocrinology and traumatic brain injury. He's just released his new book, Peptides for Health, both the Medical Edition, Volume 1, and the Consumer Edition, Volume 1, are available right now. The book breaks down how peptide therapy supports brain health, hormonal balance, recovery, and resilience in a way that's practical and evidence-based. You can get 25% off the book by using code PTH25 at checkout. Valid through March 15th. And for Dr. Gord's proprietary health products, Security Health listeners can receive 10% off if they use the code phase2P. Click the link in the episode description to find out more and visit Millennium Health Store today.

SPEAKER_01: 21:05

And there was you expect, you know, some sort of uh like hand on the shoulder or arm wrapped around you, like, hey man, I know you got hurt, and we really want you to stick around and you know, let's it's let's really dig deep and do good for yourself and blah, blah, blah. But no, it's like fix yourself, you're gonna be kicked out of the army. You know, like at the time, like this broke my back, why being such a dick? But I get it, you know. Uh, and that was hard. It really was, because here I am with a broken back, and there were some other things, you know, in my life that happened. Um, having lost my father, uh, my marriage was starting to tank. Uh, it didn't help that I broke my back, because then you know, you've got this lady who's like, Oh, you're you're probably gonna get kicked out, I might as well move on anyway, no more benefits. But it was it was horrible. So I had to dig deep and and and again, mediocre Green Beret. I just think that you know I'm no I'm no hero, I'm nothing. Different than anybody else, but I said, I want to retire out of the army as a Green Beret, and I'm going to do what it takes. And so I started, you know, I went to school for exercise science, but I really started to look into like supplements, like what could help me heal faster? What can I do to be better? Um, obviously lose the weight that I gained in that year laying around, you know, in a partial body cast thing. Um, so I figured all that out pretty damn easy. Uh, and then just started working out. Got to the point where, man, I could have ran miles or uh marathons, like even after having disc replacement in my back and being jacked up. Uh, but it took a lot. Uh, it took in and it and I might have sacrificed some family, you know, time, um, which because my marriage did end up uh going south and ending, but I was so focused on getting back into the regiment, even though I never left it, but uh being in the regiment, in with the guys, going on to the next team if if allowed. So, but that was hard because I did, I had to sacrifice some family stuff, and and and some people probably wouldn't have done it. They would have been like, I'm gonna take my medical board, I'm gonna get out. And but I really wanted to be retired. Uh but anyway, it was in it was it was also about fear of letting the guys down. You know what I mean? Oh, that's huge, yeah. 100%. Even the ones that I didn't know, that knew my story, they're like, Oh, you're that dude that burned in, fucking cool, man. You know, I I did that to be there for them, you know, because now they know me and they're like, You're that dude that burned in, and you fucking stayed in the army and continued on. I had a couple more, you know, deployments, but embassy shit.

SPEAKER_00: 23:38

But it's it's important to highlight the the spirit and the the tenacity it takes to overcome something like that. And and you're right, like you could have taken a medical retirement, you could have devoted yourself to to healing at a slower, more sustainable pace, but it wasn't what you wanted, and it wasn't the goal. That wasn't the goal, that wasn't the the fixed um desired end state, and that's something that we need to understand. Like everybody's different, like you're you 100% two people going through the same thing, one option would be better for the other person, your option was better for you, but it's that dedication commitment to your path that we need to understand. Like, if you visualize something, if you really want something hard enough, you're gonna have to sacrifice. Like, you have to take the time to sit down and and outline everything. Uh outline what's what's the ultimate freaking goal. I want to get back in that team room. I think a lot of guys they don't give themselves enough um liberty and and and have the chance to sit down and and really look at what's at stake, what they really want to do, and whatever options they are, like, dude, whatever it is that you want to do, outline it, lay it out, flat out and look at it. Be willing to say, like, I'm gonna be ruthless with my obligations to myself and this recovery and what I want to do, and fuck everything else that comes down the pipeline. I'm like, yeah, it's different when you have a wife and kids and everything, but figure it out, lay it out. If you don't do that, then you're letting life take control, man. And that's a sad thing that I see with a lot of people. They look at the the situation they're in, they say, Well, fuck, I guess this is it. It's like I guess it's just what I'm gonna be going through. But the other thing that I want to highlight, it's like it sounds like the the initial concept for what would later become your brand was born of trying to recover from this injury.

SPEAKER_01: 25:32

100% 100%, man. Yeah, it's uh I I mean I made a plan, plan, conop, if you will, of of the what if I don't make it. And and I kind of fucked myself a little bit in in coming up with a business plan as well. And I started Caliber Nutrition, uh, which was a store selling other people's products, first forms, you know, like other supplement companies' products while I was on active duty, uh, you know, just as a fallback, just in case I do. I've got this, you know, that I can grow. Um, but I I it was, you know, shit. I was in for another five years with this company still. And uh, I mean, it was fine. It led into alpha elite performance into making my own supplement line. But it was difficult because it did get divorced, you know. My my kids ended up moving to Coronado, California and uh with their mom, and then I ended up going to the RSE and then you know, graduating. And that that pipeline of training was like a year and a half long, and then going, you know, we didn't have permissions and authorities, but I still went places and went to Lithuania and you know talked Russian to people and partied my ass off. But uh, you know, it was allegedly. Allegedly, yeah, yeah. That's just what people say I did. I was working. That chief said that chief of station is watching right now. I was working my ass off. Got another meet, gotta go. But but yeah, it um but that plan that I had also uh I mean obviously it was self-education, right? Like it, you know, I had to educate myself on business, um, my future, how to combine it all, um, time management, you name it. It was it was difficult to do, but it also became addictive, kind of like combat. Um, I think that people like yourself and me and and other soft members of this community have an addictive personality too, adrenalines, things like that. But when those tend to fade, well, you know, we find something else to be addicted to, hopefully not drugs and alcohol, but more rewarding. And it is, I think that we get addicted to to reward. Um, but we're also made to, you know, you you you remember that term, like go make work for yourself. If I don't have anything for you, go make work. I mean, I tell that to my kids now and my wife. I'm like, go make work for you got none.

SPEAKER_00: 27:51

I can't get away with my with that. Mine's uh an officer, so uh I I quickly get told to go down sand.

unknown: 28:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 28:01

So, but that's what I did. And um yeah, it it it so it got me to where I am today. Um and but it's a constant struggle, it's constant education, so much so that I'm I'm gonna utilize some of the Montgomery Gia build or whatever it is, 9-11 that I never used because I didn't have to uh to go back to school and take some of these more advanced education classes, yeah. Um so yeah, it's yeah. Yeah, I don't know that I'm ready for an MBA because I don't have that much time, but there are some classes that I saw in business entrepreneurship that I want to take.

SPEAKER_00: 28:35

Uh so I'm dude, I'm I'm right there with you. I I'm I'm this is my last semester for my master's, and I didn't even fucking know it until I logged in and I was about to drop a class, be like, fuck, I I don't know if I can do this. I I need a breather. And I looked at my notification from my advisors was like, you need to submit your graduation plan. You graduate this semester. I was like, fuck, I can't, I can't drop this fucking class. Math, math and quants. Like, fuck this, I gotta keep going. But it's it's stories like this that really, you know, I just I just had Rick Franco from uh Four Branches Bourbon on the show, and he really highlighted the fuck the the the idea and the understanding of like, hey, what you see in a curated space of social media and a magazine article isn't always the truth. Like guys are still grinding, they're still waking up at 4 a.m. frigging hammering out that presentation. They're still out there getting it to get to the next friggin' level. And if guys like yourself and Rick are out there constantly growing and adapting, that's a signal to all of us. Everybody that's coming in in the next wave of veteran entrepreneurs, the next guy that are you know, creating the next great idea, it never stops. It gets, it gets better. You iterate, you have version 2.0 gets better, 3.0 is gonna be better faster. You're not gonna always strike uh that that great idea is not always gonna land, that next business plan isn't gonna maybe, you know, be the best version of it, but keep growing, keep advancing, keep seeking knowledge, going after a new mentor in a different space. I think a lot of guys either have this idea that they'll launch the greatest thing, whether it's an app or a new business plan, and it'll immediately catch fire. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe you have to keep working. And if guys like Travis are going after, you know, more education, figuring things out, that's a signal to all of us to continue improving the Firebase, continue reaching and aspiring. Uh, don't be a dog shit entrepreneur like me. Take the time, go to that Syracuse University entrepreneur program. I'll drop the link in the bio. Go do that stuff right off the bat. I mean, your journey's been insane. But when we look from the outside, we think it was just an easy road and an easy transition because you see the articles, you see, like, oh, Travis figured it out from the get-go. And now you're in a completely different space that we have to dive into. How do we go from entrepreneur, nonprofit leader to fucking stem cells and project recon?

SPEAKER_01: 31:15

Well, it goes back to my injury and learning and having spent time at the brain treatment center. Um, and then somebody had mentioned stem cells to me, and I didn't know what they were. I mean, I knew what they were, but I didn't know that anybody was utilizing them, and and they had mentioned going to Mexico or Bahamas or whatever. So I met a gentleman that introduced me to him, and I actually ran a nonprofit taking soft guys out to the Bahamas to utilize their own mesenchymal cells as opposed to cord blood stem cells, and which I do now.

SPEAKER_00: 31:40

Stories shape culture, they build trust. And when they're told the right way, they move people to action. That's what we do at Security Hall Media. We don't just produce content, we create authentic, impactful, and purpose-driven storytelling for podcasters, nonprofits, brands, and leaders who are on a mission. For people who've lived real experiences and want their message to actually matter, from podcast production and video to strategic storytelling and distribution. We help you clarify your voice, elevate your brand, and connect with the audience you're trying to serve. If you have a story worth telling and a purpose behind it, SecurityHall Media is here to help you tell it the right way. Click the link in the episode description to learn more today.

SPEAKER_01: 32:20

And mesenchymal cells are, you know, we we would uh harvest those from the adipose tissue, your fat tissue, and then direct them in, you know, direct inject or IV therapy for brain health and stuff like that with a little bit of Manitol to break the brain barrier. But direct injection, uh Chris Van Zant, great guy. He was uh, you know, we went to the Q course together and then he went on to CAG. Um he he had uh plantar fasciitis really, really bad. And so uh, you know, we we ended up hooking him up and squaring away his plantar fasciitis. He started climbing 14ers again. Uh but yeah, I just I I saw what they were doing for guys um and healing them and then brain health. I was like, okay, well, let me start doing this for my own brain. And and and noticed uh the positive effects of it. I had a stutter on S's after my injury that happened from my from from you know hitting my head and blast injuries and just combining of all those micro lesions that have happened over the years. And then I had a shake in my left arm, which you know, the psych at the 10th group was like, Oh, you've got PTS, PTSD. That's that's a nothing in my career. Such a blanket diagnosis for all of us. Yeah, gosh, yeah. And nothing in my career I had PTS from, and I saw some shit, you know, and like we all have. And so I was like, no, but they went away over time. Like I didn't even notice the shake thing. And my wife, you know, was just like, hey, I haven't seen your arm shake in a long time. And uh, and I was like, you're right. But I the stuttering though I noticed uh started going away. I I still get stuck on words occasionally, um, but we all do. Like there's just there's there's a a certain amount of brain trauma that has happened to us where we're gonna get stuck on stuff, and then as you age, you're not gonna remember as easily and stuff. But this the stutter went away on S's. And I was like, this stuff is is amazing. And and I do, I call it God's, you know, medicine. It comes with the stuff that I work with is you know, cord blood stem cells and exosomes, and they come from you know, the cord blood, the placental sacs, and they're harvested from the ethically harvested from Americans in the United States only. We don't do anything outside of uh the United States. But fast forward to man, I got to start a nonprofit. I was at the GBF and things didn't really work out there. So I started uh Project Recon and um Anna from the GBF and Jess from the GBF uh came over and and they're the only employees. I'm just a founder and a chairman of the board, but uh, you know, this is the mission, and this is what I want to take place, and and I want you guys to make it happen. And they're doing a great job in helping provide stem cell therapy to our soft veterans in our community, um, those that are dealing with the effects of moderate to severe TBI. Um, I want them to experience what I experienced and what a lot of others have experienced with stem cells and what they can do for the body and the brain.

SPEAKER_00: 35:11

Absolutely. And I think it's great that you guys are in this space because there's a lot of misinformation and a lack of education when it comes to what these stem cells can do. I think when you know we are first introduced to them in our service, it's for a physical injury. Oh, well, you can we can get you in for stem cells, or we'll do some PRP, we get some stem cells to fix your Achilles or help with this issue. But when it comes to the brain, everybody's like, well, no, there's a blood-brain barrier. How are these, how are we gonna be getting the benefits of stem cells and healing the brain? And guys don't even understand the importance of being educated on blast exposure and repeated head impacts. Guys are still thinking that a concussion has to be a knockout event that you have to get hit by an RPG, to have to be in a rollover. Meanwhile, they're they're signing in, signing in back in equipment from their latest friggin' uh demo range, and they're shaking and they got bloody noses. Like, ah, I'm fine, I'm fine. Yeah. Yeah. It's like they were in an episode of Stranger Things. And we were all there, but it's it's like it's slowly the information's coming out through podcasts, through different individuals talking about it. Um, guys are finally starting to get spun up, and I'm starting to hear current generation Green Berets bring in asking and talking about it, like, whoa, like what's how do we take care of ourselves in the back end? So could you break down the procedures or or what you what does treatment look like through Project Recon?

SPEAKER_01: 36:37

Yep, absolutely. So the the soft guy or gal will reach out to us um through ProjectRecon.org. Uh it they'll their case will be evaluated by Anna and Jess. Um over time, we we plan to have actual case coordinators as we grow and bring in more funding. Um, but they have to meet the criteria of having a diagnosed TBI moderate to severe. So many of us have mild TBIs. We've all had, you know, um, and I would love to be able to help everybody. Maybe we will someday when we have those millions and millions and millions of dollars. But right now, uh, once they get approved, then they are um, you know, times are set up, uh, the treatment is set up, and they'll and right now I'm working on providers across the nation. So if there's any providers that are that want to get involved in stem cells, um I also can help you facilitate stem cells and exosomes for your practice. Uh, but we want those those providers across the nation. So we're working with like precision wellness in Southern Pines, Dr. Dr. Bosley out there for H Delta.

SPEAKER_02: 37:35

Great.

SPEAKER_00: 37:36

Hashtag to uh Precision Wellness Group, a proud uh sponsor of Security Halt. There you go.

SPEAKER_01: 37:43

But he's you know, he's gonna be coming on board, and and I've got one here in Texas and in California and working on some others across the nation that will that they'll be our go-to facilities to help cut down on cost of travel. But the the the um the the soft, you know, guy or gal, uh will the soldier say or whatever, will end up going to that facility near them to get treated um with stem cells and exosomes. And there's not a set protocol. Uh I have just had stem cells uh for brain health out of my own pocket, copious amounts. Um exosomes are the new hotness. They're smaller, they can break the brain barrier easier, and they're done intranasally. I was gonna ask about the intranasal, yeah. But also stem cells via IV, which are great. So the two together are phenomenal. Stem cells, exosomes, they love inflammation in the body. They want, they find it, they get to it, and they get to work. They're like a little ODA and they're like, I found it. Let's get to work, we're over here. But then what they also do is that they'll call the stem cells within your own body and say, hey, they're like your little partner for us. We need help. Like get over here and help me, you know, fix this. And so that's what, you know, the combination of those two will do. But each of the the service members will go to a place throughout the nation. Um, we've had guys, we had a guy come from uh Hawaii. He went out to Phoenix to a facility there. Um, yeah, it's it's it's really easy. They apply, they get approved, we set up the times, and we get the stem cells ordered and and and uh and they're and they get treated. Now, when I said earlier that there's not a set protocol, we're we're figuring that out right now. There, there's there are protocols, but we don't have a set protocol. And we're we're dealing with our uh our director of uh our medical director on what is the best course of action, what's the right protocol to have. And it'll be extremely similar to what we're doing right now. But once we set that, then we're really gonna pay attention to the results. I know the results are positive, they're really good, but now we really want to see what the brain is doing on a scan, whether it be an MRI or like through TBI analytics, shout out to them. They have some of the best scans out there. Um, Amelia Brummel is her name, who owns TBI analytics. Uh, but I want to see what the brain is doing after the fact. And and um, and then we'll we'll we'll go from there. If there's another treatment that's needed, depending on the severity, then then we'll work on that. Hopefully it's a one and done. I can tell you that the government is not, I'll tell you the FDA is not really a fan of stem cells. I I they are. I mean, our facility in Florida where the where we get them is FDA uh regulated, CMPG, all that. Uh and we ethically harvest from American citizens in America, it the placenta sacs, all that good stuff. But why why why aren't they or like Florida's the only state where it's completely legal? You know what I mean? The rest of the states is done under kind of like peptides um under the scope of research. You know what I mean? The patient has to sign off on it. Yeah. But you know, it's it's just it pisses me off that that it's that, and it takes millions of dollars to lobby in order to get it passed in all those states. But I know the government's down with it because there are some people um in positions right now uh running three-letter agencies that are sending soft guys to facilities to be treated with stem cells and exosomes. Um, I know that for a fact. Um so I know that they work, and it, but but why aren't we doing this as soon as that soldier, sailor, airman, whatever gets hit in combat or at work or you know, training, you know, to if you can get to the TBI as soon as it happens, one, we're gonna we're gonna save that dude's career probably. He's gonna be able to heal up and stay in. And two, not a lot of people want to hear this, but we'll save the VA a lot of money in that, you know, potentially we won't have to, you know, this it'll be your rating on your your disability rating, but it could be a zero percent, you know, and you're not gonna get any money for it. But we recognize it, things can happen down the road, and we'll we can you know what I mean? So you know there's just there, it's phenomenal and it's great for everybody. And if we can get to the to the to the soldier, sailor airman, whatever, when it happens, then that's even better. Uh a thousand times better. So it's it's it still works after the fact, but the sooner the better, you know? Like that golden hour, if you will.

SPEAKER_00: 42:05

Yeah. So the the the thing people are just now starting to understand, and of course, it's because the loss of life, whether it's a a professional football player uh takes his life or a young, you know, young kid that uh kills himself and then sadly after the fact diagnosed with CTE. I think now it's it's very much on front of mind for a lot of guys. They're starting to hear the symptoms, they're starting to hear individuals such as yourself, myself, that talk about what it's like to to finally have that that last drop in the bucket and things get completely out of hand. There's a moment in time I can vividly look back and touch and understand that like, holy shit, like I couldn't talk. If I got upregulated, it was like brain lock. I couldn't couldn't read, couldn't see out of my left eye, like all these things that are the the result of being in this profession. And it's not just relegated to special forces, not just relegated to rangers and and and SEALs, our mortarmen, artillerymen, individuals that are on the gun line firing munitions day in and day out. You're exposed to this too. But we don't have these modalities aren't easily available to the guys and gals that are doing the job right now. I think we need advocacy, but more than that, we need people that are willing to say, you know, I'm gonna go fight for this, I'm gonna go and lobby for this. That's the unfortunately, I wish it wasn't that way, but that's where things change, man. That's that's the reality of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 43:39

I I've had a sit-down conversation with uh with my CEO Anna Richardson, um, with the secretary of the VA, Senator Doug Collins, or former Senator. Nice. Um twice now. We I've got to talk to him. And once, or the first time was scheduled. We were at Mick Military Influencer Conference in Atlanta. Great conversation. Get that man's card. I want to carry this conversation on. Nothing after that. But he's a busy man. I'll give him that. Um, we were just out at um shot show, and I actually know his his director of communication, and she kind of uh alluded to to being in the area, just walk down the hall, wink wink. So I grabbed Anna and uh and and started walking down the hall and ran right into him. And I said, uh, Mr. Secretary, I'd like to speak to you again. Do you remember me? And and you didn't hear me, and the communications guy was like, Hey, Doug. And he turned around and was like, Oh my god, Travis, what's up? Which was cool because he knew who I was. So I thought that was great. So made an impression. Um, but said my little spiel, and then I let Anna um because I really want to give her, you know, the this direction as a CEO for for Project Recon uh to talk to him about what we've done already uh and who we've treated and just kind of give him an update. But that's as far as we've as we've gotten. You know, I'd I would love, if there's a anybody in the House of Representatives, or and I've reached out to plenty, I would love for a meeting to take place so that you can just hear what we're doing, what the costs are, and then why is the government, why isn't our military doing stem cells on their own? It costs very little to harvest these. And how many, how many baby mamas, you know, are delivering these kids in military hospitals? I mean, one hospital can take care of all the stem cells, like we can go to Womac and we'll have plenty. Um I'm because here's another thing is that a lot of uh hospitals in the civilian world will take depocental sac and say, oh, that's waste. Nah, it's not. They sell it to these, you know, places that harvest it and they make money off of it. So why is that mom not allowed to sell it? You know what I mean? It's a human biologic. She needs a certain license and so much bullshit, bureaucratic bullcrap. But the government we could could get into this and I mean, hell, they like to inoculate us with all kinds of you know special. Absolutely. Like you go to Africa again. Okay, well, I don't need any inoculations. Yes, you do. We got some new ones. Like, what?

SPEAKER_00: 46:08

And don't forget to take your mephloquin twice a day. Right. Fun fact if you don't know that the name of that medication, uh be grateful because it gives you psychotic nightmares that even after you stop taking, you'll experience for the majority of your entire career. Mephloquin.

SPEAKER_01: 46:26

It's worse than tripping on psilocybin.

SPEAKER_00: 46:30

I I I cannot tell you the the I remember when I first told my wife about methloquin, she's like, like, that explains a lot. I'm like, you have no fucking idea. People don't understand having a dream so violent and so vivid. You wake up and you're like, cops are coming through that fucking door right now. They're coming through this fucking door. And that's that's the type of shit that they're willing to prescribe to you. And and because it the, you know, it will it will keep your room having full-on malaria. Get the fuck out of here. Give me the malaria. Right. But we're not willing to sit down and talk about doing stem cells, where it's like, man, like these are and and I and I want this to be something that's accessible to all of our troops, but at the very you would think it would be an attractive idea because of the the small percentage, a small community of the highest performers individuals. Like you would you would think that with all the money they pour into Thor three, with all the money they put into ensuring that you are the absolute best of the best, they would look at every possible avenue of approach to continue to keep you in the fight, to keep you at the team level, because they put how much for forget the exact cost, one, one green beret, the cost to train him, to equip him, and to keep him in that role is in the millions, in the millions per green beret. And you how many are we losing to injuries that could be prevented by just utilizing modern techniques of healing, stem cells. It's a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_01: 48:07

And it's hundreds of dollars per guy. Not thousand, I mean it can be thousands, but uh if if they were to do it, it'd be hundreds, not thousands. If for us, what we're doing, it's it's it's a few thousand dollars. Um it's not, it's not well, I think average for per guy right now is about 11,000 bucks. Um, but that's just you know, on this, on this, and we don't make money off of it, but but uh but yeah, it's just how it works out. But yeah, it's you know, I yeah, I definitely and I do plan on making my way to DC and just walking the halls and banging on doors, you know, like at the old team room doors, like, hey, open up. I got, you know, some shit I need to show you.

SPEAKER_00: 48:45

Uh gotta be careful. You're pretty, you're a pretty big guy, Travis. I know. You might scare some people. I know, but January 26th again.

SPEAKER_02: 48:55

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 48:58

He's got a flag on his sleeve. Fucking get him. Yeah, yeah. Another insurrection. There's a patriot in the hallway. Yeah. I can see that shit happening for sure. I'll go in there with a pink hat on my head. I bet you I'd get more meetings that way.

SPEAKER_00: 49:14

100% could. You know, I I would recommend you go that way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 49:19

I'll go in there with a lisp and some and my jeans rolled up, wearing some hiker logging boots.

SPEAKER_00: 49:25

Just dye your hair ever so slightly blue. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 49:30

So I yeah, those meetings need to happen. Um, I've I've already spoken with uh a a number of people. Secretary Collins is the only one that I've spoken to at that level. Um, but they know who I am. I know, you know, I've had Mr. Hegseth's number in my phone for a number of years. He doesn't answer it anymore because he seems to have a new one after a signal incident.

SPEAKER_00: 49:52

I will say this. I will say this. If you run into him like at Normandy or any of the big events, like if you if you attend, that dude has really good recall memory. Uh I I yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 50:04

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I know.

SPEAKER_00: 50:05

Yeah, you gotta pin him down. You gotta pin him down.

SPEAKER_01: 50:08

I know, I know. He he's a he's he's an avid user of AlphaLete Performance, but I don't think he I just need to send him another box just so he remembers me and I'll put all the project recon stuff in the box. Uh but yeah, it's it's those conversations need to be had because there's a lot of healing that can take place at the moment of incident, you know. So and and just so everybody knows too, like I I get, you know, we're we're working with the soft community. Well, that's the community that I came from. And it's also smaller. It's it's it's large, but it's smaller than if you go big army, big air force, marines, you know, all that. Um, there's not enough money in in the world that I'm gonna make in donations. I'm not, you know, um wounded warrior project or anything like that. Not yet. Uh, but uh but I hope that people understand regenerative health. It takes that kind of money. And so I'm starting small with the small footprint with dealing with soft soldiers. That's who I know. Um so that's where we're at with that. But those of you that want this type of of treatment and you still want to reach out to me, Travis, at projectrecon.org. I can direct you uh into the in in the right direction um for your own health and healing. So uh I I know plenty of medical providers that deal with stem cells at a very discounted rate for veterans. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 51:22

There you go, folks. Uh get in contact, that will be in the episode description. Travis, before we close out and I uh let you go so you can get on about your day, you know, I gotta ask, man, it's um, you know, it it's the beginning of a new year. Everybody's going through their new year's resolutions, trying to be a better version of themselves. And then this show we focus a lot on mental health. Like what are after all the years of the grind and working hard, taking care of everybody else, putting your team first, what are you doing to put yourself, your health, your well-being on the front?

SPEAKER_01: 51:57

Well, I'll preface it with I'm no different than anybody else. I still have moments of weakness, if you want to call it that. Um I mean, there are times that I question a lot of things. Uh there are times that laziness sets in the depths of my cerebellum, you know, like in in my brain. And I just want to disappear, done working, done, you know what I mean? I'm just done with it all. Um but then I get I I guess you know, the the the the reason why I keep going is I think that sitting around not doing anything sounds fun, but it would drive me crazy. It really would. Uh I have to constantly be doing something. And and and if if I'm not, then I go crazy. So, but as far as mental health, though, man, um I I'm I wouldn't say that I'm religious, but uh, you know, I was introduced, reintroduced into a relationship with God. And so I don't know that I'm I'm really good at it. I question myself on that as well. I'm like, hey, am I doing this right? Am I praying right? You know, I I this morning I was reading a book, uh, Words of Jesus is what it was in my in the bedroom. I sh and I closed it just as my wife's walking and she's like, I got you. I'm like, yeah, you did it. But I do I do that because I do find um positive energy uh out of reading really good stuff out of the Bible, and I believe it. Um I'm I am 100% a believer in a relationship with Jesus and with God. You don't have to be religious, you know what I mean? Um and so I just try to do right. That makes me feel good in my mental health, but I also I I won't lie, I cheat a little bit. Uh, you know, I was introduced um to psilocybin. I was actually introduced to uh five MeO DMT. Yes. Um and and I went like next level Delta IV SEAL team six on that shit, excuse my language. Like I took, I don't even want that's a whole nother story that we can get into. But from that, I was introduced to psilocybin, microdosing psilocybin. And I have found, like I'm I took it today, well like a few hours ago, and I have found comfort in um the positive effects that I get from psilocybin. Um so that that helps me. That and it's not that I'm crazy, but when you have a brain like yours, mine, and many other soft guys and gals out there that has been rocked, um there's chemical imbalances, there's things that happen to the brain that we're not the same as we were when we were not as pliable and resilient. And so there's a lot of those synaptic flashes and stuff like that that just aren't synergistic, you know? So I you it doesn't, it's it's okay to to have a little help, and that's what helps me as well, is a little bit of psilocybin uh throughout my day. Not every day, but um, I do plan on, I watched a gentleman who did it for 28 days, and I'm gonna do it for 28 days and really focus on, you know, where was that when I started, the mornings, the evenings, the afternoons, all that, and and and write it down. Because I would like to be able to speak a little bit more um professionally on it. Like it's there's some good things about it that have helped. So that's what I do. But just like asking for help, it it's okay to also help yourself a little bit um when you trust the medicine, you know? And and and and psilocybin is not one uh that that you shouldn't not trust. Uh it's definitely one not to abuse, because not gonna lie, I might have taken one or too many before just to see what was up. And I had to make a phone call. Heroic dose. Yeah. I wasn't ready for that, but it didn't help that the first thing that on that phone call, the guy was like, bro, is your front door lock? And I'm like, Why? Oh, who's coming to my house? And I'm only starting to get paranoid, no. But no, uh even just messing with me, but uh but yeah, it it helps. Um and then also just health and wellness is getting rid of a lot of the toxins. I do drink tequila on occasion, uh, maybe on the weekends, but uh not not in copious amounts. Um, and then I work out because I I've always found, even in my healing from getting hurt, that working out also increases a lot of the serotonins, the dopamine's all the stuff that like five MeO DMT, when it floods the brain and and and goes to parts of the brain that you haven't used. Working out will do the same thing for the most part and make you feel good. I'm always happy after I work out. Absolutely, regardless if I didn't want to do it, you know? So always happy.

SPEAKER_00: 56:35

It's one of the things that's directly connected to our mental health that we don't give enough credit to. And not only that, there's a huge focus on veteran suicide, veteran mental health issues, but we're not looking at all the other things that are intertwined, like heart disease, heart failure, freaking diabetes. They're all things that are killing our veterans on a daily fucking basis. So we have to address veteran suicide. We have to address the entire veteran, everything that that person's dealing with. And uh, I will tell you, one of the greatest things that we can do is just simply start today. If you're listening out there, I got one for you. Start that 100-day challenge that we've announced on Security Halt. Give yourself a hundred days of putting yourself back into the grind, back into putting your good habits in the forefront of your mind and getting rid of some bad habits. 100 days. No, it's not like 75 hard. I'm not gonna penalize you if you miss a workout. No, you're in control. You figure out the top three attributes in your mental well-being, in the mind, body, and spirit realm, in each one of those categories, you write it out, you set your goals, you follow the rest of the plan, and for 100 days, you're just trying to move the needle, balance across your life. If you're already crushing and working out, perfect. Work on the spirit, work on the mind, start that new class you've been putting off. Do something to finally put yourself back in control because it's all connected. If you don't work on the body, if you let the mind go and you let the spirit go, you're gonna suffer. And that's one thing that I realized in my own journey. The body was failing, the mind was not there, and I didn't have shit in the spirit domain. Now that I look at my life, look that I'm back into church, I practiced my faith and identified a lot of things in 2025 that I needed to work on. And I'm like like all of you. I don't the small goals don't fucking move the needle for me. So a hundred-day challenge with something super fucking hard at the end of it, I got my interest. And I hope that it interests you. So please go to the description, click the link, or just hit me up, setcallpodcast gmail.com, or if you dare, call me, send me a message, 850-376-8101. Rusty, no more nudes. Just put it out there, bud. No more nudes. Just don't. But for all of you, please send me a question about the 100-day challenge. I'll send you out the PDF and we'll get in there. Join the team on Whoop. You'll see the episode description. That will be there. Travis, before I let you go, my man, where can people go to check out Project Recon?

SPEAKER_01: 59:08

Uh, well, they can go to Project Recon.org. You can check it out there. Uh, Instagram is uh Project Recon. I believe the Facebook page is the same thing and LinkedIn as well. Uh, and then if they want to go to Alpha Elite Performance for any of my supplements, uh, the numbers of supplements that we have uh is alphaeliteperformance.com as well.

SPEAKER_00: 59:25

There you go. If you're gonna join the 100-day challenge, go get some fucking pre-workout. You're gonna need it and some protein. You're gonna build some new muscles. Travis, thank you so much for being here, man. Thank you for what you've been doing your entire post-military career, man. Uh, I I don't take it lightly. We learn how to transition by looking at the PDSS of the guys ahead of us. And you've been instrumental in so many different journeys for so many of our Green Bray brothers. And I would bear, I would, I would, I would say for a lot of other veterans out there in the entrepreneurial space, because when you can see somebody like yourself out there doing the thing and you realize that it's just a lot of hard work and and reaching out for guidance and information, you realize that you can do it too. And uh, I think the veteran space uh needs that inspiration greatly. So thank you for what you're doing. And uh thank you to your and your team for putting out there, going back out into the world and putting something like Project Recon out there because we need it. Uh, not only for motivation of what we can all do someday, but for resources. And uh I certainly hope if you guys are listening and you're dealing with the effects of a TBI, you're willing to reach out and get help, man. Uh, stop living with the effects, start finding solutions, and this is a great place to start. Thank you so much for being here, brother. I really appreciate you. My pleasure. Thank you. Absolutely, guys. Thank you all for tuning in, and we'll see you all next time. Until then, take care.