Security Halt!

From Sniper to Entrepreneur: Resilience, Psychedelics & Building Nomadic Research

• Deny Caballero • Season 7 • Episode 386

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In this episode of Security Halt!, Deny Caballero sits down with Dagan “Hoot” VanOosten to discuss his journey from military service to entrepreneurship and the creation of Nomadic Research. They explore the challenges of transitioning out of the military, the role of mental health and psychedelics in personal growth, and the importance of resilience, training, and community support. Hoot shares how purpose-driven innovation and serving veterans and first responders drive his work today.

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SPEAKER_00:

Good podcast is proudly sponsored by TitanStar, Petition Walmart Group of Your Liberty Lab. It's got to be wired tight. Are people tuning in? Are they listening? Like, are you gonna make a past 20? And I realized like when the measure of success, the bar is really low. Are you gonna are you gonna stay in this medium? Are you gonna do something positive with it? Or are you just gonna, you know, let it burn out?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's it's definitely uh it's definitely not without its uh shots to the jaw. You know what I mean? You gotta have a you gotta have an iron jaw.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. There's man, there's been a few times where it's like when you first start out, I remember I had um I won't say his name, um, but it, you know, it's it's um, I'll edit this out. It was a seal of fuck. Now he spaced it. Um he makes these awesome belt buckles, great story of perseverance, become an entrepreneur, which is everything I like to dive into. And this is back when I was using Zoom to record. I was recording and none of the shit got saved. None of it. And uh I I remember I'm like, dude, it was such a great episode. I had everything I wanted to talk about in the audience, and I reached back down, but hey man, you might come back on. I I'll be honest, uh, none of it got saved, and he's just like, no.

SPEAKER_01:

I was like, I I think it was my sec yeah, I get it, dude. I think it was like my second one, and I had a teammate fly up, uh, to you know, flew up from from a considerable distance. We did three and a half hours, cameras never switched, no the no sound. I could have thrown up, you know. Uh it took me three days to get the balls to call him and be like, hey man. You'll see what happened was. Yeah. Luckily, we were good enough friends where he just laughed. He was like, Don't worry about it, we'll just do it again, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, it's uh yeah, not for the weak or faint-hearted, right?

SPEAKER_00:

No, no, I think everything changed for me when I um I realized I could take the same approach, the same mentality I had for going on a mission and apply it to this shit. Because at first you don't want to. At first you don't want to, but there's a reason why we do rehearsals, there's a reason why we do PCCs, PCIs. And I was like, that finally clicked on me. I was like, dude, I don't I'm not getting on the back of a fucking CH47. But every morning, if this is my if this is gonna be the thing that I want to do for the rest of my life, why don't I treat it like it's an important mission? And that I flipped that switch and I started taking that mentality on with hey, camera check. You know, it's you know, T minus one hour. Are you checking it? Double check, turn everything on, check your audio. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my god, yeah. It's yeah, yeah, it's uh yeah, and then self-teaching yourself all of it, right? Like it's uh, you know, it's yeah, man, it's a grind. But it's it's fun. I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, hell yeah, dude. Dagan, welcome to Security Hall Podcast, brother. How you doing?

SPEAKER_01:

Good, man. Thanks for having me out. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00:

Dude, uh absolutely um one of the things that I I'm really passionate about is going through the Rolodex, finding individuals such as yourself that have gone through the transition pro process, not once, not twice, but several times in their career and figured out how to be successful and grab that knowledge, those little those little bits of wisdom, and and encapsulate it in a podcast like a PDSS. Because as our brothers and sisters transition out of the military, maybe they'll stumble upon it and they'll figure out, like, hey, if Dagan can do it, why the fuck can't I? If he can start a business, why can't I? Because I'm sure you felt it at the very beginning of it when you finally left, you know, walked away from you know several careers and realized, okay, I'm gonna bet on myself, I'm gonna do something. And everything you're doing, I mean, nomadic research, everything that that company is doing is like leaning forward and creating something that is desirable, that has a purpose, it's purpose built, and it looks fucking cool.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, yeah. So today, man.

SPEAKER_00:

The check cleared and cleared five minutes ago. But yeah, man. Today I want to explore your journey, man. And um, you know, what better way, what better place to start than the very beginning? How did the young man uh or individual like yourself find find that pathway in the service?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh so yeah, I had a very uh marine heavy, very uh veteran-heavy family background. Um, a lot of most of the Van Houstons, you know, 90% of the Van Houstons, uh, all the way back, uh Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and predominantly Marines. Uh so I grew up around it, uh, large influence, you know, when your dad and all your uncles, uh, you know, and everyone that you seem to interact with is a veteran of some sort. Uh, I come from a very small town, rural town, great place called Folo, Illinois, very veteran, uh veteran heavy area. And so uh it was never pushed, you know. It was just uh there was never any question in my mind, you know, that was what I was gonna do. I was gonna be a part of that group. And uh yeah, so you know, for me, my brother, my sister, um, not not really a question. It was uh I always tell people I was like high school was just something I had to get out of the way so I could start doing what I wanted to do, right? I couldn't get there fast enough.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's something that a lot of us can actually look back and realize like it was always around us, whether it was a football coach or a teacher, family member, somebody was always there to motivate and inspire that. I certainly had that. Uh, shout out to you, Mr. Barnell. Uh one of the first people, I mean, he made service seem like a possibility, something that I I could go do. Like, okay, that guy squared away. He's one of the few teachers that, well, you know, if he catches you getting into a fist fight, he's gonna let you go a couple rounds.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, sure. Yeah, let's see where this goes. Let him work it out.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And individuals like that are are vital to uh to young men everywhere, man. Um, you know, thinking back to those times as a young kid growing up in that town, you know, it's one thing to be motivated by family to go into the Marine Corps, but as you matured, as you got closer to that age of graduating, like what finally gave you that sense of like, okay, I I'm gonna fucking do this. Like, this is for me.

SPEAKER_01:

I actually uh yeah, so I actually tried to to talk the high school principal into letting me because of course they give you the diplomas like in alphabetical order, right? Yeah, um, I I tried to talk the principal into letting me get mine first so I could go to maps, like shave a couple hours off. Like, I'm not joking. I was so man, I I drank the Kool-Aid so hard, and uh I just could not wait to to to get there and kind of start. And um, you know, and I always tell the story, uh and it is such obviously a culture shock once you get there, that first you know, 24 to 48 hours. Yeah, I I think anyone that doesn't admit, like, oh, what have I done? Holy shit. Uh careful what you ask for. So yeah, no, I mean it was uh I was in the late entry program when I was 17. Uh, so I spent a lot of time with the recruiter. I had a fantastic recruiter. Uh like I said, because we have, you know, graduating class of 68 people, right? It's not very big. So it was not uncommon for that recruiter to come in and just pull me on a third period French or whatever it was and be like, hey, he's coming with me. We're going repelling or whatever, you know. Uh and and nobody batted an eye. They're like, yep, okay, you know, um, so yeah, I just I couldn't wait to start. And uh I was something that I really, really look forward to. I felt like I felt like uh, you know, I wanted to be part of that club so bad that, you know, because all my father and my uncles and all the people that I was surrounded with, um, I I looked up to them and obviously still do, you know. So yeah, get getting getting to boot camping and enlisting was it was just everything else to me was just kind of a waste of time until I could start that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And what'd you end uh end up enlisting as?

SPEAKER_01:

I was an 0311. I went in um uh on a security forces contract, which uh not to insult your intelligence, but for the audience's sake, basically security forces, the Marine Corps, you've got uh Fast Company or Fleet Anti-Terrorism security teams, you've got all the the nuke programs or the guys that you know are are at the nuke facilities and uh 8th and I. And uh, and I think at the time the the uh the embassy guys, the uh uh God, I'm spacing it right now, the uh Marine Security Guard detail was underneath that umbrella as well. So, but you had to be an 0311 or you had to be an 03, uh, you know, to to go in. And of course, I did the atypical shot, you know, shout out to the Green Berets. Like I watched Rambo in the first grade, and I was like, I I want to be Rambo. Like the end, that's what's happening, you know. Um, not even smart enough to differentiate between, you know, hey, Rambo wasn't a Marine, you know, but all of us. Yeah, right. I said, I don't give a shit. That's what I want to do, you know. Um, so I I went in and said, Hey, I want to be, I want to be a sniper, I want to be recon. You know, how do I do it? And of course the recruiter was like, Well, have you ever heard of Fast Company? And showed me a couple Modo videos, and uh, so I I went that path. That was my first duty station was at uh first first fleeting terrorism security teams there in Norfolk, Virginia.

SPEAKER_00:

Nice. Yeah, that's uh everybody everybody fondly remembers that idea. The initial concept of I'm gonna be a badass. I'm gonna give some lists. And then you get then you get assigned, and then you get to your unit. Right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and then you find out uh yeah, you f you find out there's always gonna be somebody that can uh eat your lunch if they if they decide to, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. And what was it like for you going through there and realizing, okay, like this is just a stepping stone, like there's all these other things in the horizon. Was it a chance encounter with somebody else, or you just find yourself just trying to like continue achieving more?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's a fantastic question. So the the unit itself, um, I I like to call it like I don't think there's a better place for a young Marine to go, um, kind of the you know, the rank from you know, obviously PFC through through corporal or sergeant, because they have all of the uh organic elements of an infantry company. So, you know, mortars, heavy weapons, you know, we we had all of it, and the platoons are very, very small. So from a tr from a training standpoint, like it's it's a very, very good place to get trained on a wide spectrum of things that I really don't think you would find any other place, other than say in the reconnaissance field or right, you know. So, like, why am why is an O31? Why am I touching a mortar system as an O311? Well, because as a fast platoon, you know, uh you got to be able to do all the things, right? Um, and so it in that aspect it was fantastic. But to answer your question, um, I had senior members of the platoon. Um, I can remember one of the first things that I was told was, hey, wait till you get to the fleet. You know, this isn't the real Marine Corps. And I and that obviously didn't make sense to me at the time. And I had uh senior members of my platoon that had been through sniper school, and I was like, okay, so I just wore them out with questions, and uh, you know, and eventually, you know, and and quickly realized that if you schools were a gift, and and and the more schools, the more training that you could kind of, you know, the more shingles you could hang on your wall, uh, the better, you know, the more of an asset that you are. You know, it's not only the guys to the left and right of you, but um, you know, like so I was a bit of a schools whore. You know, I would go to it, I would go to anything, you know. Uh, hey, there's underwater basketball even over there. I'm gonna be the undergraduate, send me, you know what I mean? Um, so yeah, I quickly realized that uh you if you went to schools and you performed well, then you would get rewarded with more, right? And so I was always kind of hungry for any additional training that that I could get my hands on.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And what were the some of the schools that uh you you started going to right off the bat?

SPEAKER_01:

They sent me to designate a marksmanship school uh right off the bat, you know, based off of, oh, okay, hey, like I said, this guy's uh got a got a high marksmanship score. Um, and you know, at the time I don't even think it was uh it wasn't an offer, it was just like, hey, you're going. You know, um and oh, by the way, you've got to have a ghillie suit, and this is Friday, and the school starts Monday. Monday morning, yes. Right? Have you heard that story? You know, so down the London Bridge I go, yeah, race out to Virginia Beach to and and buy my store store-bought ghill. But uh yeah, that was yeah, that spend all weekend, you know, building it and of course not building it well, and uh, you know, uh obviously doing it wrong the first time and being educated. Yeah, designated markship school uh was the was the first one. And um I I did did very, very well in the course, ended up graduating with with with top honors, and that kind of and then we went on deployment. There was Hearst Master School in there. There was like, I got it's my between TBI and whatever else, right? I'm starting starting to fade. Uh yeah, designated markship school was my first official one. Uh we had done some CQB packages, you know. Fast company is a very CQB heavy uh you know unit. Uh yes, but yeah, after DM school and having done well deployment, and I just happened to leave the unit prior to or shortly after that deployment, uh sniper school would have been the next thing with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines.

SPEAKER_00:

No. And where'd you go after that?

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, after I left Fast Company, I I kind of I left early on and it's it's a little bit of a saga. I showed up with four guys, and uh Fast Company is a two-year duty station, right? And uh so when we got back from that first deployment, um everybody in my group got orders except for me. And so I was kind of like, hey, what what's going on here? You know, once again, I'm like two and a half years deep in the Marine Corps, so I don't know anything. I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground, right? And I had to ask a senior, you know, uh, I guess a senior corporal, and I was a I was a I was a boot corporal at the time. I said, Hey, what why is this happening? And he goes, Well, they don't advertise this, but basically every now and they'll they'll keep, you know, a handful of guys to kind of rebuild the platoon. And he goes, You're obviously one of those guys, so that's why you didn't get orders. He's like, they want you to stay here for another two years. And uh I said, Well, what if I don't I don't want to? And and not because the the unit was fantastic, but it's always like the better mousetrap, or what you know, the grass is always greener. Hey, I heard heard so many stories about the fleet, then I'm like, hey, I I want to get to the fleet.

SPEAKER_00:

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SPEAKER_01:

And uh he goes, We'll call your monitor. I said, I don't know what that is. And he's like, That's the guy, all right. You know, he's like, That's that's the guy at headquarters that uh decides where you go. He goes, Here's the phone number, just call him, you know. And I called, I told the, you know, he's you know, master gunnery sergeant, you know, I can't remember his name. And uh he he kind of laughed, you know, when I told him who I was and what I was trying to do, uh, he was, you know, looking back at the phone call, I can imagine him. He was probably like, Who is this fucking guy? You know, and so I he goes, Do you want orders? I said, I want orders to the first deployable victor unit um in the fleet. And I said, preferably the West Coast. He said, Give me a number to a fax machine, I'm gonna fax you orders. And keep in mind, I really don't have any idea what I'm doing. I'm just doing what I was told from this senior corporal. And uh when I walked in, I knocked on the door of the company office, and uh, you know, the captain was in there along with the platoon sergeant, the new platoon sergeant, and they were like, What do you need, Banusen? I said, I have a fax, you know, and uh they're like, You do? And of course, they pulled it out and they read it, and their eyes got big as dinner plates because I had circumvented the entire chain of commands, you know. Uh, and oh, by the way, you have to check out like you're going on leave, like now, you know, and so everybody wanted to chew my ass, but they were so surprised at what I had done. Like the first sergeant chewed my ass a little bit, but the orders were printed. Yeah. So yeah, yeah. So I uh they were like, okay, I guess you're leaving. And uh, you know, not our plan, but you you uh somebody told you how to do it. Some somebody told you how to how to look behind the curtain, you know, and uh so yeah, I uh God knows whatever, you know, whatever. So yeah, I was on leave and uh I went out to First Battalion, Fifth Marines and and checked in, and I checked in a couple weeks early. Uh I got bored at home. I don't think it can be over-emphasated or overstated how how uh how nuclear, how how uh I mean, I was in all the way, you know. I I don't I don't need I don't need leave. Like I'm not doing anything back here.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh the most motivated marine story ever.

SPEAKER_01:

Dude, yeah. I took it to the uh to a nuclear level. I really did. Uh really did.

SPEAKER_00:

I I wish I could put this prompt in the generative AI and get like a video, an AI video of you just this young Marine. Just being, I want to get the fuck out of here. Make this happen.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, got a fact for you. He laughed. He was laughing the whole time, you know. He was laughing, and I couldn't figure out why he was laughing, but it was obviously a very unorthodox and you know not common practice, you know, for a two-year corporal to be calling up being like, hey, get me out of here. Um and uh, you know, uh, yeah, I it's lucky I checked out as soon as I did because I probably would have been hazed into oblivion, you know, had I not uh you know, had I not been on the clock. And uh, but yeah, checked in the first side fifth Marines a couple weeks early. So once again, they weren't i expecting me. Um and uh yeah, got put into the sniper platoon and uh, you know, like I said, uh it just kind of went from there.

SPEAKER_00:

It's it's one thing to let your career happen to you, which is something that I saw a lot of guys go through, just blindly accept everything and just like, okay, well, I guess I'm going to Alaska, I guess I'm going here. It's like at any point, like, did you ever think about calling branch and talking your leadership, figuring things out? I just feel like too many people had that idea of like, okay, well, just go with the flow. You can. That is definitely a way.

SPEAKER_01:

Sure, sure. That was not my way at all. Uh, yeah, it was I was extremely proactive and you know, and probably in a lot of ways, um self-centered and not, you know, like uh once again, the culture of the Marine Corps is is kind of like everything is a gift, right? And so I can remember, you know, I would constantly look at like the long range training, you know, calendar that was posted up, you know, in the S2 office, and I'd identify white space. And then I would go down to schools and basically marry up those white spaces and be like, hey, we got you know, we got a week or we got two weeks here. Or whatever, whatever. And then I would go to the lieutenant and be like, hey, sir, we don't have anything on the calendar. I want to go to this school. You know, and uh, and most of the times I got my way, you know, so I was extremely proactive in that in that sense.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's smart. That's something that I think they finally figured out that there's individuals out there that will uh and I think more often than not, I've seen this in you know, the some of the best screen berets are former Marines, and a lot of them would do the same thing you just described. I remember one of my uh favorite dudes on a team, Josh, former Marine, he would do that non-stop. And as nothing's more annoying than a guy is constantly trying to load up his plate. Oh yeah, yeah, they got me 100%. Yeah, this medical training. I I got nothing to do. It's like, dude, you're red. You there's you you need to be stable at home. It's like I don't have a family, I don't have any kids, uh, I'll pay. And it's constantly like, what if what if I pay and I get there?

unknown:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

Like, I I give I'll give you this is an entertaining one. I got sent to SEER school, and the SEER school down in Coronado was notorious for um if there was anything wrong with your paperwork, they were gonna they were gonna boot you and you just turn it, right? And so I had just gone through Urban Sniper, I went down to Sear, and as soon as I showed up to see her, they were like, hey, it's not in Times New Roman font or whatever the fuck, right? So they're like, just come back, you know, come back in a couple weeks and you can class, get your paperwork fixed and you can class up, right? Well, I knew or I thought, I was pretty sure that if I showed back up at battalion, I was gonna lose that seat. So I went, I drove from Coronado back up to Camp Pendleton. I went directly into the the uh school's office S1 regiment. Like I said, that I had a point of contact there, and I was like, hey, my my orders for SEER school were fucked up. And he was like, Okay, I see it, I'll fix it. And I had two weeks to kill, right? So I knew that first special operations training group in Camp Porno was running uh an urban RS course that normally Fifth Marine Guys snipers wouldn't get a chance to attend. Same instructors as urban sniper schools, so I just drove down there and I never told the battalion that I right. So I just sat in the back of the classroom. I said, Hey, I'm not, I'm I know I'm not in the course, but can I just sit in here and kind of soak it in? And they're like, We don't give a shit. So then I went to Sear. And so when I finally came back from battalion, the lieutenant was like, Last time I checked, Sear School wasn't a month long. Where the fuck have you been? And I was like, Well, this is what I did. And once again, his eyes just got as big as dinner plates, you know, like what what you know, good, good, good, good initiative, bad judgment. Yeah. I was I was seeking training, you know. You know, it's pre-cell phone, so it's not, you know what I mean? It's not like anybody can track you down, you know. But uh yeah, and luckily, obviously, I had enough of what I like to call positive equity. I had build up enough positive equity where I could kind of every now and again I could get away with some shit like that, right?

SPEAKER_00:

So fucking literally, when every course you go to, you're the undergrad. There's a lot of leeway. There's a lot of leeway where it's like, fuck, I want to be mad, but at the end of the day, you're you're you're one of the best fucking assaulters, you're one of the best dudes in every school that we send you to, you get undergrad. Yeah, it's I'm gonna look the other way when you burned a compound down. May or may not have happened.

SPEAKER_01:

Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. We're gonna, yeah, we're gonna make a we're gonna make a withdrawal from the positive equity account, but uh you're you're you're still you're still in the you're still good.

SPEAKER_00:

But I have to imagine, man, at some point, uh, at some point for all of us, it you you get to this understanding that like either I'm gonna do this for the rest of my life or I'm gonna pivot to something else. In your career, when did that come? What was the I would say the the next event? What was the final thing to where it's like dude, like there's gotta be something else out there?

SPEAKER_01:

I would say so. Once I got to 3rd recon battalion, um I was right, I was just just shy of 12 years, right? Or I got there, um, that was my last duty station, it was over in Okinawa, Japan, at 3rd Recon Battalion. And I was staring gunny, I got selected for gunny, um, just shy of the 12-year mark. You know, I think my DD214, it's like 11 years, 10 months, and whatever many days, right? Um, I I did not like MarSock wasn't an opt-in because I was ranked out, you know, um, ranked out of the uh of that of that process. And uh I had gone and and tried some some uh of the unorthodox units, you know, uh, and that just didn't pan out either. You know, that was more Marine Corps than necessarily me, and that shit kind of shit just happens. But uh I had a litany of friends that I had taught sniper school with at Quantico that were in the contracting world for for various companies and various three-letter organizations. And my kind of long-term goal was to always have always worked with with the agency. I wanted to work at the agency. And uh so I knew a couple of my friends, I had no idea what they were doing. Um, I just said, hey, I'm I'm at a pivotal moment here. If I re-enlist again, it's it's it's gonna be for the long haul. Yeah. Um and to be quite frank and honest, like right around the the kind of 10-year mark, I started not getting my way. You know, if I'm being totally honest, like it's I I started, you know, being told no. No, you can't do X or no, you can't do Y or No, you can't do Z. And so I, you know, my wife was in the Marine Corps at the time as well. And uh, and we had been together the, you know, I don't want to say together, but we had been in in the Marine Corps together for the entire time. Um I just it was a personal decision and and basically in very cryptic talks with my friends that were in the contracting world, they said, hey, if you get out, we you know, we can we can guarantee you a seat to these various selections for these, you know, organizations or and or units, but you got to pass, obviously, right? You know, like this this the the chance is guaranteed, but obviously selection is not. And lucky for me, uh I went through the selection process for the agency and uh was successful the first time and and and was and just spent the next you know 15-16 years there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's easy to breeze over 15, 16 years.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because you know, we we hear about this and it's now more than ever, it's it's in our pop culture, it's movies, TV shows. You guys are uh portrayed as these fucking badasses, rightly so, that you know, are you just proficient? You're you're a mix of SEALs, Rangers, SF, Recon guys. Um, it sounds sexy when you're still in, but the reality is it's very much still a high op tempo, high performance community. It's not taking a break. Everybody thinks everybody thinks it's taking a break. Everybody thinks I'm just gonna get out of co-contracting. And it it's become a cult phenomenon within our our community, our brotherhood of like it's held to a high standard. It's something that everybody looks at, like, I could go do that. You get paid, you get treated well, and you know, it won't be so hard. I have to imagine that uh it was not in fact all that easy.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's a grind. It's a grind for sure. And and and especially, you know, like you said, to like for guys like us, and I I um I hit it just as hard as I hit everything else, right? I I hit it, uh I was doing 9030s, you know, a 9030 rotation, and uh and and loving every second of it, right? Like I cannot say enough good about the guys. Um, and as you stated, from from all branches of service, um from you know, uh law enforcement, you name it, like we it's just such a talented group of guys, right? And I cannot say enough good about them. Um it's just they're awesome, they're fantastic. Um, you learn so much, you obviously get humbled on a daily basis, you know, and uh yeah, and I there are guys like there is a way to do it, right? There's there's a way where you can kind of have it service you, but I definitely didn't do it that way. I just wanted I I was chasing the dragon just as hard as ever as the next guy, right? And uh you get addicted to the money very, very quickly, right? Because you've never you've never been compensated that well. And uh and it's obviously very interesting work, uh depending on uh on where where where you're at. And and obviously, you know, every every circus has its own act, right? But just at the end of the day, it's it it's a grind. I mean, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And it's something that I've heard from a lot of guys. And even though within the you know, your individual teams are set bond, you can find the the brotherhood again. By and large, the the tier, the the top element, the people that are are making the big decisions, are not as friendly and they are not as warm as one would imagine. Doing anything for 10 to 15 years has got to be grueling on family, on relationships. Like, what was the transition leaving that? You've had this established career in the Marine Corps, proven record, you've been successful, now you have another career, proven success, you've done it and making a lot more money. Why did you walk away?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh yeah, so uh I know I spent five years on the road doing that that 90-30 rotation, and um I got offered an opportunity to uh leave what we call leave the road or leave the deploying side and go to take an instructor billet.

SPEAKER_00:

And I thought the instructor billet would be This episode is also brought to you by Precision Wellness Group. Getting your hormones optimized shouldn't be a difficult task. And Dr. Taylor Bosley has changed the game. Head on over to Precision Wellness Group.com, enroll, and become a patient today. Would be a break.

SPEAKER_01:

Um It wasn't, you know, as you know, it was not. I was like, Jesus Christ, I'm gone now more now than I was when I was overseas, right? Um, so I I I taught, uh, I think it was like, let me see if I get my math right here. I think 2014, I came off the road. I'm so bad with dates. Uh yeah, I I when I came off the road and started teaching, um, that grind in itself, uh after a while it just became too much, right? And the the other aspect of it is you you get to a certain realization, and I think this happens in the military, and you know, I know it happens in the military, but you you kind of come to that realization that the organization is never gonna love you as much as you love it. And you know, you're gonna wring yourself out like a wet towel. And I definitely had done that, you know, not not you know, to hang myself on the cross, but everything in that environment and in in that organization, like the organization kind of comes first. Like the team comes first, everything else gets put on the back burner, and especially and and willingly so in my case, which you know I'm not necessarily proud of. You just it just has to, right? Um, I had missed my entire oldest daughter's, you know, uh uh upbringing. You know, I was there for none of it. And uh I had two younger children, and so it was just obviously like a combination of things, like, okay, uh, you know, I I've I've kind of raised my hand as much as I can raise my hand. I've checked every box. Uh there's there's kind of no place else or or higher or to to go. There's no other boxes to check. And uh I'm I'm definitely a goal goal-oriented individual. And when there was no more goals, I just kind of took a look back or look in the mirror and said, you know, what maybe it's just time to to do something else, right? And I've noticed that I I got about, you know, 10 to 12-ish years in in any given anything where I kind of, you know, like I said, I I go full ham sandwich on it, and uh, and then it's I get bored with it, and it's time to try something else.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, take us through that transition, that second, like once it's easy, it's easy to imagine that falling into you know contracting world didn't take that much adjustment. But walking away from that, walking away from that financial uh comfort, that you know, that that paycheck, we know it it's a considerable amount of money. Walking away from that into you know being an entrepreneur, what was that like?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so it it was um it won, it was absolutely terrifying, right? Um, there's no guarantees, there's no anything. Um, and it was absolutely terrifying. And I and I think for me, and I I think for the audience's sake, is uh it I had realized that the job had become my identity, right? And and you know, the the Marine Corps definitely is very good, you know, like being a sniper reconnaissance marine was not something that I did, it was who I was, right? And I I'm sure you can relate, right? Um, and those jobs, those operations, you know, those jobs I think require that. I think, you know, you're either all in or or you're not there at all, right? And uh the agency was no different, right? Um, it had it had consumed my identity, and uh I I went through some experimental treatment, um, which I'm sure some of your other guests have done through VETS program, where it kind of opened my eyes and changed my perspective, um, and and and allowed me to to to have the perspective to to say, hey, I I I can do anything. You know, obviously we people like us can do anything that we kind of put our minds to. Um, and and being an entrepreneur is just kind of the next challenge, right? Um, and I think you said it early on early on in the show, like it's you know, maybe it's just time to bet on me, right? Yeah, you know, and start working for myself, you know. So uh yeah, the transition was uh, you know, the first couple of months I didn't know what to do with my hands, you know, to say the least, uh drove my wife crazy, obviously. I was home more than I'd ever been home. And uh, but luckily, uh I you know had a very, very good support structure. People, people put up with a lot, you know. Hey, he's he's just transitioning right now. And uh and yeah, and uh being able to focus solely on uh nomadic research, you know, uh has been very, very rewarding and and and very fulfilling.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Well, I I have to tell you, as a fan of the brand, we we gotta talk about this journey. I it's one thing I fell into the early ideas of uh I'm just gonna make a fucking t-shirt. I'm gonna be the next great t-shirt guy. I think everybody that gets out of the military now has that idea. It's one thing to have a drop shipper and come up with some stupid slogan and and find some art on Adobe stock. But it's another thing to create something that's purpose-built, that's unique. Where did this idea come from? Where did nomadic research start? Um because it it to me, it's one of the things, it's something that anybody can go buy a Patagonia jacket and be wear it a couple times, and then it's it doesn't serve a purpose. But what you guys are creating, uh it's something that service members, guys in our community that uh are rallying around it because it does serve a purpose, it is unique. So uh let's dive into this journey, my man.

SPEAKER_01:

Sure. So uh my my business partner, Matt, uh the founder, um, he called me one day. Matt and I had spent a considerable amount of time together overseas and had fostered that relationship. Um, and I have to give Matt uh like uh all the credit, if it, you know, a ton of credit because he was a mentor to me overseas. Like I said, you know, uh when I got to the contracting space, and in particular where where Matt and I were co-located, um it was one of those deals where hey, you you passed selection, but you I still didn't really have a solid grasp on what we, you know, uh selection was not informative in any way. It is it is now, you know. I can remember saying, like when I got there, I'm like, okay, well, what is it that we do here, you know? And uh hey, I can shoot good, I can run fast and all this other crap, you know what I mean? But what am I actually here 100%? And uh so Matt took me under his wing and he had been there for quite some time, um, very, very, very senior. And uh he took me under his wing and uh he mentored me, he tutored me, and we fostered that relationship uh that way. And uh when Matt left the the organization, I kind of filled those shoes, and uh it wasn't until years later we you know, obviously never lost contact, but he reached out and said, Hey, I I have this idea and I would like you to be my partner. And uh and at the time I was uh like I said, kind of spending 200 plus days a year in a hotel, you know, uh not necessarily in the same spot and just kind of living out of a backpack and uh going, you know, going wherever the organization needed me to go. And uh I said, man, I'm all in. That sounds fantastic. You know, um, I like the idea, and uh, you know, what do you need for me? You know, and he was like, I I just need your partnership. I said, I'm all in.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you know, it's um it's funny. I I think you're you're perfectly suited for this endeavor because you were a sniper. You know what it's like to create something. Every everybody that's ever been a sniper has had to sit down and work on a ghillie suit and create something from a pile of scraps, whether it's a bunch of sea bags, a bunch of leftover items from your friggin' uh your section closet. Like it's it's one of the things where you find yourself creating something from you know a world that you necessarily don't think uh you belong to. Sewing and creating things are not the first thing I thought of when I thought of being a sniper. Uh and then I got introduced to the tools of the trade. Lots of uh lots of glue, lots of freaking sewing, and uh it quickly becomes something that you take pride in it. When it comes to developing something like a piece of gear that people are gonna throw on, how did you guys come into this world and realize like, okay, we can do this, like we we can develop something?

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, once again, all the credit to Matt, right? He was a uh before he was uh a team guy, he was he was a rigger, right? So very familiar, right? He was very familiar with the intricacies of of sewing, and he is the most detail-oriented Navy SEAL I've ever met in my life, right? Um, I mean, he just is, and uh, you know, he will see things, he will pick out those intricate details, and uh where I'm more of a kind of hey, let's go to war with what we got, you know what I'm saying? And uh so Matt, um Matt's attention to detail, like and and then I'm the end user, right? So come up with a concept, right? Um, and Matt's got all that stuff down pat, and then he's gonna give it to Hoot, and I'm gonna put it through the pieces and you know, and and try and break it and and kind of give my feedback, right? And so it's a very symbiotic relationship in that way. Um, you know, our our TTL bag, our uh tag target locate executive travel bag, I bet you I carried that the prototype for two plus years. Really? You know, you know, before right, before we were like, okay, you know, fix this, move this, you know, here's my feedback, right? And so an immense amount of attention to detail matter. Matt's end for the design. And then obviously we we want to make sure the that we're gonna, you know, that the product that we're producing is is gonna live up to the standards that we're that people like us are used to, you know, our gear, you know, the standard of our gear.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I mentioned uh earlier Patagonia and this idea that the our community, our our warrior tribe is like we're ferocious and very, very, very picky about what we put on our backs, what we put in our kit backs, what we carry. Like we're we're we are the best customer base to be, you know, to go after because we're so brand loyal. I mean, I know guys that carry that will carry the same go bag, and as soon as something happens, it gets ripped, it gets destroyed, they'll go buy the same one. With that sort of fan base and and knowing the community, how'd you guys approach making kit? How do you guys because you know I have to imagine you have the resume, you have the street cred with the community, creating something, whether it and maybe it wasn't directly marketed to the community, but people are gonna see you, they're gonna say, Hey, that's he's like us. I'm gonna go rep this. Going into the lab or going to create something, how much pressure did you guys have in order to like you know to make the right product, to go after the right way, knowing that guys are gonna look at you to be like, this better be fucking good.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, right, yeah. An immense amount an immense amount of pressure, right? An immense amount of pressure because you know, we we are our customers, right? Um, and and we and in a community, all special operations community, you know, not not a community that's um, you know, not a lot of compliments, right? Like we're not we're not quick to give out, you know, compliments, and I I include myself in the in that group, right? Like, so yeah, the the the pressure was obviously immense, but you know, not to sound too cliche or cheesy, like uh how well do people from our communities perform when we perform the best under pressure, right? And so once again, you know, uh the the testing, the design, the attention to detail, the effort that goes into all of our technical apparel and equipment, it's because we know the scrutiny it's going to be under, right? We know how critical our customer base is, and we also wanted to, you know, make sure that it spanned across not only, you know, guys, guys like yourself and and myself, but obviously into the civilian community as well. Yeah. Right. And then how to that post uh, you know, first responders, firefighters, so you know, straight up civilians, right? Um, dependable gear and equipment, right? That's uh, you know, made by end users, you know, people that have you know walked it and talked it and you know had to depend on depend on their equipment, right? I say, you know, one of the kind of sayings is you you got enough problems, your your your gear and equipment shouldn't be one of them.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. You have to imagine though, that um diving into this endeavor, having to go back to the beginner's mindset of creating something, doing something new, did you deal with maybe a a sense of like imposter syndrome once again, like now you're the new guy, now you're trying to do something brand new that's completely different from all of your other skill sets. Did you find it challenging to bet on yourself? Did you find it hard to say, fuck, I can do this? Or did you have that sense of uh you know quiet resolve to like, hey, I've I've done hard things before. This it's no different.

SPEAKER_01:

I I think a little bit of both, right? I think it's so you know, like it depends on the day, right? You know, there, you know, there's obviously some days and not so much anymore, but in the beginning, you know, where it's like, oh, you know, is this possible, right? Is this possible? And we quickly realize that uh it anything anything and everything is possible, is you know, just don't quit, right? And uh you're gonna want to, you're right. There's gonna be days uh that uh are not rewarding, you know, in this in the physical and mental sense, right? But uh it it's the process, right? It's the uh the resilience of of continuing to push forward. And you know, that's that you know, on the days where it seems like it's the hardest, those are actually the most rewarding days, right? If you're uncomfortable, you're probably doing something right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah. I think that one thing that I like to champion and tell guys that there's no different than, you know, when you transition going into this, you know, creating a business, being an entrepreneur. It's no different than going to the selection process and being in a cue course and and being that guy, that hungry individual that wants to achieve that, you know, that beret, that trident, uh, that eagle globe and anchor and walk across that stage. There's it's no different. Like you're gonna be scrutinized, you're gonna have to find, you know, dig down, find that discipline. Motivation's fleeting, it's not gonna be there every single day. Trust me. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up at 3 a.m. and edit these fucking videos, but I didn't yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And you know, like amateurs want attaboys and professionals want professionals want critiques, right? And uh so uh and and I kind of try and you know, I kind of try to keep that on the forefront of my ticker tape, right? Um, if it was easy, everyone would do it. You know, there's no two plus two equals four answer. And um, just like anything else, just like you just mentioned, you know, if you want something bad enough, you just won't quit, you know, and uh, you know, it's been very, very rewarding in that sense.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And you know, you guys have been around, you you've entered, you mean you you're in a lot of guys' uh Instagram, social media, your kids out there, people are wearing it, people enjoy it. When did you guys know you were successful? And when did you or at least feel like holy shit, we've arrived, we've made it.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh yeah, it's a great question. It was uh it was very, very early on, believe it or not. Um, you know, uh it's when you see it in the wild, you know, the first time, you know, uh the first time you see it in the wild, and uh, or the first time somebody, you know, kind of recognizes and or says, hey, I know that brand, right? Uh it was very, very early on. I was in O'Hare Airport and uh just kind of you know, kind of conditioned white. I'm ashamed to uh you know, going down the escalator, I wasn't in the yellow like I should have been, and uh, you know, tired, tired from the from the constant travel. And I just happened to look down and see a family in front of me, and they were all decked down head to toe.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, no way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and and I I let out a holy shit, you know, and of course startled them, you know, and uh like I said, this was this was a a long time ago. And uh yeah, I said we got down to the end of the escalator because of course the guy looked at, you know, mom held the kid a little tighter, and the dad kind of shot me a look, like, hey bro, like what the fuck, man? You know, because I got this big, you know, smile on my face, and we got down uh off the escalator and I tapped him on the shoulder and I said, Hey, dude, I don't want to make this weird. I mean, we're way past that, but I don't want to make this weird. But and once he saw me in my garb, he was like, you know, and you know, took some pictures and you know, it was awesome. Uh so yeah, I was like, We're we're there, we're good. You know what I mean? We're we're awesome.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's uh that's gonna be an amazing feeling, but also a cautionary tale. If you create something and you see it in the wild, perceive the caution.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Loss of bearing check, you know, uh yeah. Yeah, it was it was a good day.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh man. You know, going into this, like one of the big things that I always have to hit on is the you know, the mental health side. After a career that spans decades, not just a few years, and different agencies, what did you do or what how did you navigate taking care of yourself, taking care of your family after so much time being away?

SPEAKER_01:

So, yeah, a lot of ground to make up for, right? Um, like I said, I attribute uh the kind of life-altering, life-saving, life-changing um treatment that I got down in Mexico through the Vets program. You know, shout out shout out to Marcus Capone and everyone that works on that, uh on that side of the house and get guys down there to to go through that treatment. Um, there was just simply uh, you know, simply me before that treatment, which was less than optimal, and then me afterwards, right? Um, and I and I I I love how prevalent it's becoming in the in the community because I once again I could talk about it for a week. You know what I mean? Like I just cannot say enough good things about it. And any of the guys out there that are listening that uh are struggling in any sense, and and when I went down there, I didn't even think I was. Yeah, I think you know, when I went down there, um, once again, when the opportunity presented itself, um, and once again, this was quite some time ago, um, you know, uh I I went more out of curiosity than I did out of, I would say, you know, desperation. Right. But uh in going through the treatment, uh, I I realized basically how much I needed to be there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And uh and how beneficial, how just absolutely it I mean, it's it's life-saving, you know, it's life-saving. Um, it really, really is. You know, say nothing about life changing and life altering and for the better.

SPEAKER_00:

This episode is brought to you by Titan SARMS. Head on over to TitansArms.com and buy a stack today. Use my code CDny10 to get your first stack. I recommend the Lean Stack 2. Start living your best life. Titan SARMs. No junk, no bullshit, just results.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, for any anybody that's listening out there, um, yeah, I I cannot I cannot recommend it highly enough.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, psychedelics are important tools, uh, great medicines, sacred medicines that are changing lives. It's I I talked to talk to a lot of my friends about it. I I grew up during the Dare era. I grew up thinking that these things are bad for you. And then you know you have your first experience with uh DMT, and uh it's like, why why are we not why aren't we using this?

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks a lot, Nancy Reagan. You did you know uh it's uh you know, um, I was in the same boat. I was in the same boat. I, you know, like maybe I ripped a joint once or twice when I was in high school, you know. It just I I just I wasn't that wasn't my scene, right? And I was convinced that you know, somehow, some way it would preclude me from the things that I wanted to do within the, you know, the the the Marine Corps and and government service, right? Um, yeah, little did I know, right, that it's not that big of a deal. But yeah, when I went down there, I was uh, you know, I even said something to my counselor because you obviously go through an extensive amount of counseling, which is very beneficial prior to you know going through the treatment. Yep. And I said, Hey man, I I've never done any of what you're talking about, right? Like you, I can't, it can't be overstated how afraid I am of you know kind of going through this experience. And uh he's you know, he said, Well, think about it like this. He goes, You've never uh you've never so much as walked uphill. When you get down here, you're gonna summon Everest, which was not settling, you know, at all. Uh he goes, but you're gonna be fine, you know, and uh so yeah, it's uh I'm a big advocate. I think uh I can't shout up from the mountaintops enough. And uh yeah, for for anybody, like I said, for anybody that's listening out there, yeah, it's whether you think you need it or not, look it up.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. It's it's uh it's one thing to talk about it, it's one thing to advocate for it. Be informed and go try it. Really, what do you have to lose? If you're suffering, if you're absolutely suffering, um, look at it. I know I talked to a lot of people and every have to remind myself, everybody's journey is different. Everybody finds their way to it in their own time. But man, it it it truly is something that can cut your time to healing and and finding peace uh to be really short, uh, to stop suffering. There are just so many yeah, so many organizations are in the fight right now. Um, I'll put a link in the bio to a lot of organizations that can help you. Uh if you're a Green Beret Special Force Foundation, please reach out or uh hey, scan a QR code right here. Go get help. It's way too life's too short not to be feeling better, to be living the best version of yourself. That's what I realized when I went through it. Um you really see a difference. And I always tell guys when you when you stop doing the work and you realize that the the there's there's two different types of uh two different versions of yourself. The optimized version of yourself that yeah, you know, comes out of that journey and the person that you know you were before. And I'm telling you, be the best version of yourself, be willing to try this medicine.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, without a thousand percent. And I think one of the biggest things, like I said, the the change in perspective was the biggest thing because you know, uh, you set your intentions when you go down there and and and basically I said I I I just don't want to be angry anymore. You know, I don't I don't want to be angry anymore. That's it, the end, period, end of story. Uh, you know, obviously I want to be a better husband, I want to be a better father, I want to be present, and I don't want to be angry anymore, but I just simply said I don't want to be angry anymore. And, you know, the integration both uh pre-medicine and post-medicine is obviously key. Um, you know, I I obviously I advocate for any chance that I get for anyone that will listen and I you know tell them, hey, it's it's by no by no means an easy button fix. However, to your point, uh, I go, it is the it is the most traumatic thing that I've ever been through in my life. I would immediately buy it the best thing that I've ever done, right? But you kind of got to walk through that fire first and uh, you know, um be willing to surrender and be willing to uh you know, uh, and you've been through it, you know exactly what I'm saying, right? Um that's the biggest hurdle, right? Is is is getting getting through that fear. And uh because it is, it's you know, uh I it just quick it instantaneously showed me that my identity was whatever I decided it was going to be. It wasn't my job, it wasn't all the shingles on my wall, it wasn't how much money I made in my account, it wasn't any of those things. You know, those were things that uh, you know, those were things that served me and uh served me well at the time. And uh it obviously opened up my perspective to the things that will serve me from from then on out, you know, for hopefully the rest of my days.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it it's um a powerful tool. Yeah. And the one thing that um a lot of people don't realize it it can help you with a lot of the things. It's not it's not just something if you're struggling with addiction, if you're struggling with anger, depression, anxiety. Whatever you're struggling with, whatever you got on your ruck, trust me, it'll help relieve that pressure. It takes some of that stuff out, and it makes you more receptive to trying other things because it's a journey. It's not you're not looking, it's not a quick fix, it's not a magic wand. It helps you get back on track and then identify other things that you could be doing, other things that you should be doing.

SPEAKER_01:

As um, it if I was in charge, it'd be mandatory.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a big discussion. That's a that's another thing that we we have a conveyor belt system going into these communities, going into these pipelines. I I honestly believe and agree with you. There should be something on the way out. And the more we continue to criticize and scrutinize these medicines, uh, the harder we make it for guys to find access to it. Like there should be this isn't heroin, this isn't some something toxic that's gonna go in your body and make you addicted. Um it's the exact opposite of it. It's healing, true, true healing.

SPEAKER_01:

Um sincerely appreciate you bringing it up and allowing me to to you know to talk about it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely, brother. It's one of those things that if we we spend so much time in our veteran community talking about the cool sexy combat missions. Look, man, it it really is cool coming out of the the back of a CH-47, hitting a target, getting on the objective with your boys, you know, rolling the dice and and and risking lifelim and nice sight to take it to the enemy. But guess what? That shit happened years ago, decades ago for a lot of our friends. And it's not gonna help us or help anybody in the community to continue highlighting this stuff. It isn't. What will help is talking about things like we talked about today, brother. Your journey from being a fucking hard-hitting sniper to being a co-founder and creator of something infinitely cool, and then how you healed. Because somebody listening out there, maybe they're on the fence. Maybe my story wasn't engaging enough. Maybe the other stories that I shared from other people's perspective didn't quite hit, but maybe your words hit today, and maybe they'll be willing to reach out.

SPEAKER_01:

And I hope so, right? And one of the most epiphysical things that the that the counselor said to me, um, I it'll stay with me for the rest of my days, was he goes, if you were to die tomorrow, he goes, what would it say on your tombstone? And and it real that question really took me back. And I said, I well, I A, I've never thought of that. You know, B, you know, I said, I I I don't know. You know, I said, I don't know what it would say. And he goes, well, it would say, you know, obviously, husband, father, you know, marines, you know, recon, cyper, all the highlights, right? All the things, you know. Um, and I said, Yeah, it would say all those things. Of course it would. It could, you know, and he goes, Well, what else could it say? You know, he goes, and that's what this that's what this medicine and that's what this treatment is going to show you. It's going to open up your eyes and your perspective of you are at the time, I think I might have been 38 years old, you know, I was in my you know mid to late 30s. He's like, you're not even halfway done with life yet, you know, theoretically, um, if you go the distance. So, you know, basically, like, what else do you want it to say? And then go out there and do it. Right. At some point, you have to turn the page on those other things because they'll never be taken, they no one can ever take the GWAT away from us. No one can ever take, you know, those those shingles away from us. We've done it, we've did it, right? What what else, what else are you capable of? Right. And kind of turning the page on some of those things and not like, you know, not like it never happened or whatever, but you know, using the things that that got us those those those accolades and those missions and that that sense of mission accomplishment, accomplishment, excuse me, and pouring it into something else.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Absolutely, brother. Yeah, it's yeah, the best of our the best years of our life aren't behind us. They're right in front of us. Correct. And the best thing you can do is just become the best version of yourself. Want to optimize every other aspect of your life, your performance at work, your performance at the gym. What about the performance of your spirit, your mind, your body? Like that's that's all it's all this work. That's where you got to do it. And we've been scared to talk about it for our entire lives. We don't talk about faith. We don't talk about being the best husband we can be, the best father we can be. Now is the time to have those discussions. Now is the time to sit down in front of our friends group, in front of our peers group, and say, Guys, how can I be the best version of myself? How can I get down to Mexico and do this medicine? Where can I go? And it's easy. Tell you right now. Go to the episode description, click the links there. You can get connected to Vets uh or send a request to Special Force Foundation. They'll be right there in the bio. Um, because you deserve it. You absolutely deserve it. You deserve to be free of pain. Um, if we're gonna look towards stem cells, if we're gonna look towards all these things that enhance the body, why not take a minute to explore what can enhance this and this? Uh and these medicines are right there, man. Um you will walk out of the treatment feeling like a million bucks. And here's the thing: it doesn't just go away. If you continue doing the things that you're supposed to be doing for the betterment of your life and your family, trust me, it stays. Like, trust me. And with a little bit of discipline, a little bit of meditation, a little bit of physical therapy, getting back in the gym, you'll see that you can still maintain that mindset, maintain that gift that you receive once you go through these medicines. Because it is a gift, man. I don't know how else to explain it.

SPEAKER_01:

It is a gift, it is, yes, it's the best gift I've other than my children and my wife. It is the best gift I have ever received in life.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. But before I let you go, man, where's the company headed? Where are you guys? What's next for nomadic research? Where are you doing? What are you trying to push the envelope on next?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh we're going straight to the top if I if we have our way, right? Uh we uh yeah, we've got some new pockets that are hopefully coming out in the uh late summer of 26. 26 is gonna be a good year. Um, we've got some branded parachutes that are getting jumped all over the place, uh, which is pretty cool. And uh yeah, restocked very, very soon. I think we've got a restock in the next week or two. And uh yeah, we're uh we've got a lot of things on the drawing board, and we're super excited. I think everyone else is gonna be too.

SPEAKER_00:

Dude, I'm thrilled. Um, my wife and my um budget won't be, but uh I'm excited to see what you guys have. Um it's um it's amazing to have individuals such as yourself out there pushing the envelope, creating new things, because it's it's from the community. It's for the community, it's for us. Why rep a brand that gives two shit about two shits about you and what you've done? Hate to say it, love Patagonia, but if I croak tomorrow and I didn't make it, if they even though they make our uniforms, they are very anti-military, but they love they love the paycheck. So rather than supporting Patagonia, let's rep a brand that supports you. Find them a dead subscription, go get some swag, and I'm telling you, it's time more of us get involved in this space because I want to wear your gear. I want to wear what you're doing. If you're out there and you're struggling and you're creating something, hit me up. Let's elevate it, let's put it out there. Because for us, by us is a real fucking thing, and we need more 100%. Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Damn right. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, well said, dude. Thank you so much for being here. If people want to check you out, where can they go?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so we're uh uh nomadicresearch.com, obviously. I'm uh we're on Instagram, uh Spotify, YouTube. Obviously, we've got the podcast that we just launched. Um, love to have you on the show sometime, please. Done. Yeah, absolutely, right. Um, but yeah, we're on all the socials and uh yeah, please check us out.

SPEAKER_00:

Dude, hell yeah. Again, guys, do me a favor, pause, go to the episode description, click those links, support our community. But most importantly, take care of yourself and each other, and we'll see you all next time. Till then, take care. Secure to have a podcast is proudly sponsored by Titan's Arms. Head up to the episode description and check out Titan's Arms today.

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Deny Caballero

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