Security Halt!

Sean Abrusci on Veteran Entrepreneurship, Purpose-Driven Business, and Building Abrusci’s Coffee | Security Halt! Podcast Ep. 448

• Deny Caballero • Season 8 • Episode 448

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 59:12

Let us know what you think!

Security Halt’s Med Group - https://zcform.com/QA5Qs
Click the link for a FREE consultation with My Med Team to see how we can help. 
 
What if your business could change lives beyond the products it sells?

In Episode 448 of the Security Halt! Podcast, Deny Caballero sits down with Marine Corps veteran and entrepreneur Sean Abrusci, founder of Abrusci’s Coffee, to discuss how purpose, service, and entrepreneurship can continue long after military service ends.

Sean shares his journey from serving in the Marine Corps to building a coffee company with a mission far greater than selling coffee. By partnering with nonprofits and supporting organizations that serve veterans and communities around the world, he has built a business model centered on impact rather than profit alone.

 

Together, Deny and Sean discuss military transition, finding purpose after service, Warrior Rising, nonprofit partnerships, and how veterans can build businesses that create meaningful change.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or searching for your next mission after the military, this episode offers practical insights and inspiration.

 

Listen now. Follow the show. Share this with the veteran or entrepreneur who needs to hear it.
 
Chapters:

00:00 Intro – Meet Sean Abruscis of Abruscis Coffee
01:00 Why Sean Joined the Marine Corps
03:15 Conquering Self-Doubt and Military Challenges
04:20 Boot Camp and Earning the Eagle, Globe & Anchor
06:00 Preparing for War During the Afghanistan Surge
08:15 Life in the Fleet and Learning from Combat Veterans
10:00 Leadership Lessons and Brotherhood in the Marines
13:10 Deployment to Sangin, Afghanistan
16:00 Camp Leatherneck and the Reality of Combat
19:30 IEDs, Complacency, and Staying Alive
23:50 Second Deployment and the Transition to a Peacetime Marine Corps
27:00 Leaving the Marines and Finding a New Mission
29:00 Losing Friends to Veteran Suicide
30:15 The Amazon Trip That Changed Everything
33:00 Discovering Purpose Beyond Military Service
35:30 How Coffee Became a Mission Instead of Just a Business
37:15 Building Community Through Coffee and Supporting Nonprofits
40:00 Why Relationships Beat Resumes in Business
41:20 How Warrior Rising Helped Build Abruscis Coffee
46:15 Warrior Rising's Veteran Entrepreneur Pitch Competition
49:30 Why Veteran Entrepreneurs Need Community
52:00 Advice for Veterans Starting a Business
53:30 Where to Find Abruscis Coffee
54:10 Final Thoughts on Purpose, Service, and Life After the Military

 

Sponsored by:
Transcend
Use my referral link to book a consultation for Peptide Therapy
http://transcendcompany.com/DenyCaballero
Pure Liberty Labs
Use Code: SECURITY_HALT_10
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purelibertylabs/
Website: https://purelibertylabs.com/
PRECISION WELLNESS GROUP
 Use code: Security Halt Podcast 25
 Website: https://www.precisionwellnessgroup.com/
WARRIOR RISING
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearewarriorrising/?hl=en
Website: https://warriorrising.org/
Donate Today: https://warriorrising.org/?form=donate
SPECIAL FORCES FOUNDATION
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/specialforcesfoundation_/
Website: https://specialforcesfoundation.org/
Request Help: https://specialforcesfoundation.org/get-support/
 
 
 

Security Halt Media

https://www.securityhaltmedia.com/

Instagram: @securityhalt

X: @SecurityHalt

Tik Tok: @security.halt.pod

Support the show

Produced by Security Halt Media

Coffee As Community And Connection

SPEAKER_01

Coffee is surrounded by a community and we are here to help bridge the gaps between nonprofits. I did a trip to Ethiopia with wine to water and we went into this uh compound, this little village, everybody that had TB. Like it was they didn't have pot to piss in, right? But they had a cast iron skillet and they had coffee, beans. So they roasted coffee right there in front of me. They made me a cup of coffee. It was like a 30-minute process, it was like a ceremonial type thing, and I realized like coffee surrounded by community. Like this is we are bridging the gap between our communities over a cup of coffee. So why can't I take that and help bridge the gap between different nonprofits? One might be good at fundraising, one might not be good at fundraising, one might be good at getting guys to go on trips, other one's not good at getting guys on trips. So, what I saw in Ethiopia, how coffee is always surrounded by community, I decided to put that cup of coffee in between nonprofits to bridge gaps in between them.

Meeting Sean Abruzzi

SPEAKER_00

Sean Abrucci of Abruzzi Coffee. How's it going, man? What's going on, brother? Doing good. Dude, it's um it's great finally being able to connect. I've been posting about you on Warrior Rising's feed and pages because you you can't help but want to support your company, man. You guys are out there doing it, you're putting in the work, getting involved, connecting with people, doing everything you can to make sure that your coffee is up front whenever you get on somebody's feed and you're following it and your content's great. That's what I love about it.

SPEAKER_01

I appreciate you guys and the support you're giving me with Warrior Rising and putting us out there and really helping us get to that next step, man. It's almost like without you guys, like it's hard to keep climbing, you know?

SPEAKER_00

No way, man. You guys are doing it. It's a testimony of what a veteran can do when he believes in himself in this next chapter, man. Um, but before we get to the success of the coffee, we gotta dive into the service, man. Like,

Why He Joined The Marines

SPEAKER_00

how did you find yourself in the Marine Corps?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so uh as a as a kid, I always wanted to join the Marines. That was the only thing, the only picture that I had in my head was I was gonna go to the Marine Corps. I never thought past it. I didn't care about school when I was growing up because I was like, I'm joining the Marines. I don't why why do I need this? I don't care. You know, granted, as you know, like you should probably pay attention to math because that does actually have an effect of a lot of things in the Marine Corps, too. Um, I did math Marines a couple times, didn't work out for me.

SPEAKER_00

But uh Dude, I I feel you on that. That was my worst subject, and it became my Achilles heel, man, because I, you know, I go through never having to really worry about it in the 82nd as an infantryman, as a paratrooper. And then the moment that I have these, you know, dreams and aspirations of going off and going in the soft, I remember it's the funniest fucking thing. Two moments in selection at the end of it, you know, you find you get getting in front of your your your you know cadre that's critiquing you and giving you your assessment. And uh there was this one part in the assessment where they show all your attributes, and it's like everything's keyhole, physical, fitness, the running, everything. And then here's this one outlier way the fuck off of left field. And I was proud in there. I'm like, at this point, I'm kind of figuring it out that I've been selected, so I'm happy. And then he's like, all right, what about MOS? What do you want to do? I'm like, 18 Delta, I want to be a medical sergeant. And he's like, you stupid son of a bitch. That's your math score. You're not gonna be an 18 Delta, you're an 18 Bravo. And I was like, yes, 18 Bravo, weapon sergeant.

SPEAKER_01

Bro, I re I remember being in the Marines and somebody asking me, uh, hey man, like you want to try out for like staple tuna, like try snipers. And I'm like, I played around with it for a second. And then I started talking to the guys. I'm like, what's a dope? You gotta when you you gotta do math without a calculator? I'm like, uh, bro, this is the 21st century. I do math with a calculator. How do you how do you go to the field and not pencils? What?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Dude, same, same sniper school, same thing. But it's like one of those things where like even even when I passed the school, I still I still viewed math as this like impossible thing. And it wasn't until years later, a 40-something college student, that I finally slayed that monster uh in in in uh my research studies classes and and doing having to do data and having to do math. And uh it's the only class I had to repeat. And uh, man, it's a pain in my ass.

SPEAKER_01

It's uh it's funny too, like not getting too much into detail of it, but um, I'm in law enforcement now, and I'm I've done some cases where mathematics was a very uh prominent part of the case, is for that matter. Um, and like seeing what I accomplished with that, knowing I failed math in high school, I'm like, man, I am a squishy face, but I'm trying so hard here. You know, like and my parents like my like I tell my parents what I did, and they're like, How did you do that? Like, you were not a math guy. Like, no, you failed twice. It's not working.

SPEAKER_00

Look at us, look where we've gotten ourselves into finally defeating math.

SPEAKER_01

You know, dude, and I revert back to everything that we're doing with the business, what you're doing, all that, it's work ethic at the end of the day. You know, if you want it, you want it hard enough, it's work ethic. You're gonna build it because that's what you want.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. We want to figure it out. And again, you know, everybody has heard the stories, but like when you finally signed up, you finally get in the Marine Corps, like, what was that like at least hitting that milestone as a young man for you?

Yellow Footprints And Becoming A Marine

SPEAKER_01

You know, uh, so when I I'm gonna back step it a little second. When I went to the recruiter office, recruiting office, um my father took me there. So I was gonna join the Marine Corps straight out of high school. That was like, like I said, that was my goal, that was my passion. And my parents sat me down and was like, hey, can you give me two years of college first? Um there, so this was 07. Their thought process was that maybe the war was gonna be over, like kind of everybody kind of threw that up in the air, you know what I mean? Um, or B, I was gonna fall in love with college or fall in love with a girl and totally forget about the Marine Corps side of the house. But uh spring breaks off my year of college, I was like, all right, dude. So I went and talked to him, hey guys, I did my two years that you asked for. Um they're like, all right, we gotta give you our blessings now, so go ahead and have at it. And my dad, unbeknownst to me years later, told me that when he was there, he stepped out and he was throwing up in the parking lot as a sign of him. So I knew it was impactful for him at that time. I didn't know it was that impactful for him, um, and my mom as well. But going there, getting on the yellow footprints and like the yellow footprints alone, like the lore of the yellow footprints, and like just hitting that point is like this is real. And then going through boot camp and getting that EGA, like I don't care who you are, man. I and I don't know if it was like that with you and Army, but when I had the EGA hit my hand, like I had tears. I was like, this is what my entire life has cultivated to. My goal in life was to be this and get this at this moment right here. Yeah. So it was it was definitely a powerful moment for me getting that EGA.

SPEAKER_00

Oh yeah, man. And you know, I I gotta, you know, looking back at that timeframe too, oh seven, oh eight, um, the surge, man. Like, I can hearing that that story you shared about your father, like, you know, being so like insanely overwhelmed with the thought that his son is going to enlist and probably go straight into war. Yeah, that's gonna be uh a hell for for a parent. Because everything in the news in that time frame is like the death toll rising. There used to be a ticker. There used to be a ticker that rolled on CNN of all the deaths. Like, that's like that's insane. Like every morning there's Wolf Blitzen like talking about the near the the recent deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it's like, geez, man, like any parent would be out there losing their shit. Oh yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, summer decision in Afghanistan was a real thing in that 09 period, you know. Um that's the Obama's war, right? At that quote unquote. And I remember watching, because I went to boot camp in October, um, and that whole summer was that that big push down to Southern Helmand. And I remember watching it on TV. And full circle event, when I got to the fleet, I got put in that unit that was filmed with Obama's war in the summer of Session 09. So I remember watching these guys, and I'm seeing me watching these documentaries, I'm like, holy shit. And like they filmed, I was second time against Wayne's Echo Company's uh second platoon, and now it's the platoon they fill. So like now these guys are my seniors. I'm like, dude, what am I signing up for here? You know, like I was older than a lot of those guys, too. But like looking at these dudes who were like 18, 19 at that point, I think it was like 20, 21, yeah, they still had way more salt than me.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, dude, it's it's crazy when you meet up with your platoon and you're looking at guys that have real combat experience, yet maybe younger than you. And you're coming in and it's it's always funny, it always happens. The guys that have like college experience come in and you're like, oh fucking professor, look at you, Dr. So-and-so, and it's like, fuck, dude. Like, they just had an associate's degree.

SPEAKER_01

I didn't even get that, man. I was like four credits shy of that. I'm a loser. You know, like gave it all I got.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So what was it like for you getting in there and and and really having to like for the first time, really? Like, it's it's not only are you dealing with having to assimilate, get buy-in, become part of a new organization, part of a brotherhood, but you're walking this is the first time you've actually walked away from like the safety and confines of everything you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um it's it's hard though for me because there was everything I asked for.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know, if it not maybe I wanted more, you know, because I, you know, I don't know about you growing up as a kid, playing towards soldiers out in the in the yard, playing manhunt. Like I would speak my my dad gave me a ghillie suit. So I'm like laying in the woods playing manhunt. Like I took that shit so seriously. I'm like stalking was my thing. Um, but like I loved being dirty. I loved work that sounds weird, but I love being out in the field, you know. Like I love being away from the technology, away from everything that's happened, drama, whether you had a girlfriend at the time, like I don't know how to deal with you right now. Like, just doing the task at hand to be better than you were yesterday. And I got very fortunate going into uh 2-8 with those guys who just came back from Afghanistan, who not only did I just come back, but like a lot of those guys, my seniors, were shit hop. Like I truly think they were shit hot and they really wanted us to be better. We're doing call for fire, nine lights, buddy rushing the quad. Like we were always doing something. At no point in time was I sitting there in my um in the bricks playing Call of Duty or something like that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Fast forward my second fun, yeah, that that did happen.

SPEAKER_00

That first one, you take it so much more seriously. I'm the same boat, man. I think a lot of us, because you're you're feeling it out. You're trying to be the best version of yourself amongst Giants, man. Honestly, that's that's what a lot of us truly the ones with the right mindset, the men that we served with, uh, you know, they mentored us, they coached us, they got us ready. So it was always a lot harder. Even if the deployment itself was easy, the mentality and what we what we put on ourselves was don't fuck up every single day. That was like if I can just summarize it into one thing is just don't fuck up, do everything perfectly and try not to get yelled at by your NCOs.

SPEAKER_01

So and there's probably two or three sides to that, right? Like every I don't feel like getting yelled at, I don't feel like getting the shit kicked out of me. I don't feel like having everything thrown off the sec neck balcony because that didn't happen. Um like like because they found a sock that was used, like sorry. Um but then B, like the other side of it is combat's real life. So hey, you don't want to fuck up because it's your life or your guy's life to your left and your right, and that's an issue. But B, what do you do have that good leader and you do have that good senior mentorship? You don't want to fuck up because you don't want to disappoint them. Yeah, above everything else, like man, like I don't want to disappoint them. It's like disappointing your dad. Like the disappointed dad is ten times worse than the guy who's yelling at you. And I try to avoid that like the plague. I still talk to some of my seniors, I'm like, hey man, what do you think about it? They're younger than me. I'm like, what do you think about this? They're like, dude, you're doing X, Y, and Z way more important than me. I'm like, I know, but I still value your opinion, you know.

SPEAKER_00

It's so fucking true, man. It it never we never outgrow that. Uh, I think I still visibly remember my platoon sergeant as that 30-something dude, uh, and he's way older now, uh, with a lot more gray hair. But it's I don't know, it's that moment in our lives that was so impactful that we tend to remember it as like the the greatest moments in our life, and everybody stays that age. And then when you read up, when you reunite and you see each other, I'm still taken aback by the the individuals I get to call my brothers, and I still see them in that light, even though we're all older, a lot more gray hair, and some of us, you know, couldn't fit in our normal dress uniform anymore. And that's okay.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, dude. I remember getting out and like my grandfather of my grandfathers died, both my two grandfathers died within a year, within three months, whatever. He wanted me to wear my dress blues. I'm like, so I put it on the first time. I'm like, okay, dude, I got this thing on. We're like two, three years out now. Maybe no, I think we're four years out. I'm like, put this thing on. Second one comes around. Hey, they want you to wear it again. Like, guys, I get it. I totally like, I would love to be able to do this to you, but like, I can't. Like, it's just like I'm burnt, I mean, I'm popping out left and right. I don't even have half my ribbons anymore from the last time I got drunk and it fell off. You know, like I don't want.

SPEAKER_00

Gentlemen, there's only so much stretch in this fabric.

SPEAKER_01

You know, they don't make the blue stretchy, I promise you that.

SPEAKER_00

They haven't incorporated spandex. What do you want me to do?

SPEAKER_01

Actually, I I I'm gonna take that back. I think they do make it stretchy for the um the pole bearers.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um the guys down in uh seat, Brian, am I right wrong? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think so. And man, uh, take us through like what were some of the highlights of of uh your career? It's it's um, I think all of us get in and we we have an idea of like, hey, this is gonna be, I'm in it for the long haul, but where did your career take you through?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, absolutely. So uh getting to Second Tony Marine Tech Company, um, and them coming off that summer decision, them just talking about their you know, platoon sized versus platoon size firefights that are having down in southern Haven Province, and I'm just like, that is what I want to get involved with. That was my dream growing up, is to like touch fate with that a little bit and see if I had the uh the strength to do that, if I had the mental fortitude to handle that, and what would happen when worst case scenario does happen, and how would I respond? Those were those those questions growing up that I always had in my head. Um,

Sangin Deployment And Combat Reality

SPEAKER_01

so my first deployment, I went to uh Sangin Valley, Afghanistan in 2011. Were you around that time frame?

SPEAKER_00

Oh yeah, I was good in the Q course. I had already done two two trips to Iraq, and uh yeah, but that time frame was volatile to say the least, man.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Sangin was uh Sangin was spicy for sure. Yeah, it definitely was. Um, and we went to 29 Palms in November of 2010. Um honestly that was probably my worst time in the Marine Corps. 29 Palms just freezing cold, like you're start sand kicking up in your face. Like we're there for Thanksgiving. Um, but I remember being there and like God, I almost said the word scuttle butt. Um, the rumor that's embarrassing.

SPEAKER_00

Um I still use it.

SPEAKER_01

Don't use it, man. Don't get it.

SPEAKER_00

It transcends services. It's uh the army uses it as well.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe you have to use scuttle butt. It's a navy thing, though. Um so I remember hearing the rumors that hey, uh at that time 3-5 was in second, and 3-5 was just like getting hit. Um we had Tommy was for 3-5. Um, so they were getting hit left and right, they were losing their legs all the time, and like the rumor kept going, hey, they need combat replacements, they need combat replacements. And then it came down like they need the company size element of combat replacements to go. Um, and we were set to go to Marshall at that time. So our whole battalion was gonna go to Marsh, but then just before Christmas, really, we got the word echo company is getting detached from 2-8, getting attached to 3-5. We're gonna finish out the back half of 3-5's uh deployment because of what's going on over there with them. Um and I remember going to Christmas and my grandfather being there at that time and him reading off the list of the KA from 3-5 because there's this huge battle going on, nobody knows about it. I'm just sitting here like, shit, yeah, I can't tell that that's where I'm going right now. You know what I mean? It's a bad time to say that. Um it got it came out eventually, but not not at Christmas.

SPEAKER_00

Um That's too much for any family.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, and I yeah. They they probably learned more about saying it after I got back than they did before, and I I think that's to what extent that's probably the better way if I have any advice that anybody's deploying. I get you tell them they're going to you're going to combat zone, but I would leave his sub details out.

SPEAKER_00

100%, dude. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01

Um so yeah, so I got there in January uh 2011. And I remember going to Camp Leatherneck at that time. Did you hit Leatherneck around that area?

SPEAKER_00

Oh yeah. So uh we um for my 2015 trip, we we did operations out of there with our sister ODA. We had a pool. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, bro. Leatherneck, uh I try to tell tell people like at that time, and I don't know how it was in 2015, but like that time, there's buses bringing us from point A to point B. Like I felt like it was as big as Disney World. Yeah, and I that totally threw me off as far as what I thought I was landing into, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Dude, yeah, it it it throws everybody off, but it's still like one of the most dangerous places you'll ever be on earth. It's still like we had a green on blue, like right after our last mission with our sister ODA. Everybody's high-fiving, we're all leaving, we're going back to to her IAO. We had, you know, the the guys would take a bus to their um to the flight line. And they had some dudes that were, you know, they switched out uniforms and as soon as the bus came through, ripped the entire bus up, or their little um little shirl little van that they drove out to the flight line and zipped all those dudes up, man. Um lost uh lost some dudes. And it it it's it it's that false sense, man, false sense of security. Gotta always be switched on. But it's to your point, man. You know, you got the ODA out there building a pool, which eventually uh team sergeant from that team blew it up.

SPEAKER_01

Just like I didn't mean to say that. No, 100%.

SPEAKER_00

Dude, okay. This is a funny, funny side note. So the tip, the team that's being that's ripping out with them, they're all tracking there's a pool. And he's like, Yeah, yeah, there's a pool, you're gonna love it. It's great here. Meanwhile, the very next day, he's he preps all the demo and blows the pool, doesn't tell the guys coming in. So these dudes show up and they're like, Yeah, we're gonna have a pool out there and everything. Yeah, you gotta pull. Rebuild it.

SPEAKER_01

Dude, I mean, do you remember I remember uh we had some green on blues too, not specifically with my company, um, but it was happening in Sagan at that time, more so with I want to say it was like the 3-5 error, like uh where they were stationed at, but they were getting hit with it pretty hard. And that whole 2011-2012 time frame is when I think the green on blue attacks like really started picking up a little bit. Um, but do you remember when uh Leathernet got hit, and like Camp Bastion got hit, and they like actually came on the airfield, started that stuff?

SPEAKER_00

This episode of Security Hell is brought to you by Dr. Taylor Bosley and Precision 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. Precision 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 the mystic piece, Dr. Taylor Bosley and his team take a data-driven, individualized approach to help you get back to operating at year fast. Security's nurses receive 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

So I met, well, slash friends with today, a uh an Air Force guy from the Royal Marine Air Force from the Brit side of the house who was there when that shit happened. And he started giving me the lay of the land and how it all transpired. I'm like, that's a crazy story because it is a false sense of security there. And I remember being sitting there, like just not thinking anything in the world was gonna happen. Oh, we got rockets being shot off and everybody's running the corners. That was like most of Gronzel, like just walking, like whatever. But then you got real deal shit like that, where like that was a ballsy move by the Taliban. I will give them credit for that one. That was pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_00

It's crazy. Um, it's never you're never safe. It it just that false sense, man. Anytime, anytime. And people always talk about like the comparison of like real world combat to like Hollywood movies, and Hollywood movies portray like it's combat and explosions 24 hours a day. And that couldn't be further from the friggin' truth. You go on a freaking dud after dud after dud, and then a spicy one, and then it's like, holy shit, wake up, boys, here it is, and then dud, and then missed the, you know, got a weather roll and then 24 hour hold, and then you go for a little while and then boom. Uh very rarely do you have those occasions where those units are like and and they certainly are. There's conventional more often than not are the ones that are are dealing with those where it's like, you know, Restrepo, where you're dealing with that environment of like, hey, we're gonna put a base at the bottom of a valley.

SPEAKER_01

Every single time I try to wrap my head around that, I'm like, that is ludicrous. And still nobody's ever got jammed up for like making those decisions. It's insane. Absolutely insane. Um

IED Complacency And Leadership Friction

SPEAKER_01

I remember like so Sangin, for instance, was IDs everywhere. Like just that was that was my battle. My battle wasn't like a uh a bunch of gunfights here and like all the time or company on company size elements, you know, it wasn't Fallujah, right? It means uh um maybe gotten a handful of gun gunfights while we're there. Like that just wasn't my battle. Um every single doorway had an IED, every single you know, snail trail had an IED, um, every bridge crossing had an IED. So like when we got there, we ripped with uh 2.9, actually. Kind of got sidetracked here, but we ripped with uh 2-9. They got there first before me. They were there for about a month just to kind of like spice it up a little bit, and they transferred up from Marja to Sangin. And Marja was just gunfight, gunfight, gunfight. And once again, they didn't really take too many casualties when they were in Marja. But once they hit Sangin, it was MPT, MPT, Quad Am. And like, and then those guys within the span of that month, because it's the last month of their deployment, definitely um let loose and uh did their thing on that side of the house. Um but they taught us, hey, don't trust the metal detectors, don't trust your bomb dogs, you gotta use your K-bar. Just so two inches in, two inches out, two inches in, two inches out. Everywhere when you take a knee, you're digging in the dirt. Take a knee, you're digging in. And honestly, man, like I can't tell you how many IEDs we found just with the K-bar, just digging in, digging out it.

SPEAKER_00

And um small training thought on that one, but uh that's okay, because this uh this podcast is brought to you by uh TBI and signature signature uh injury of the G Watt. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, that's so I was going back to uh the complacency side of the house. Um, because because there were so many IDs, yeah, you just kind of get like strong idea right here. Instead of digging in, you're just like jumping on it, you know, instead of you know, like you're just gonna that's probably an idea. I'm gonna throw a rock at it. Like, no, asshole. Like, what are we doing here? Um, and sure as shit, like a lot of times that was probably an idea. I remember um one of the guys next to me put a pack down and took his K-bar or as um e-tool, dug in, goes this bullshit, there's probably IDs everywhere, and dug in, like, hit the plate, like right away. Didn't didn't didn't detonate. Um, thank God, because we had all our packs there with all the HME, and it was like doing we're doing not, so we're loaded up. But it was uh for a vehicle um to hit us. So the him hitting it still been set off, like, thank God, but it's just like to the point we just got so complacent about it because we're so sick of dealing with them.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and it's a hard thing for people to understand the frustration from having to face something over and over and over and over and over again, uh, especially when you're not you're you're being constrained by you know rules and regulations that are uh coming down from Washington from a guy that's uh sitting safe in an office.

SPEAKER_01

Um or just a change of command.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So I was there for three five, and then we changed out and we worked with one five from there. Two different chains of like commands because three five, they got hit, so they let loose.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

One five got there, they tried to tighten it back up a little bit, they got hit. And then I don't have a second after the deployment one, because we were only there for that. But yeah, they didn't want to listen to us, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And then, you know, you have you have the combat experience, you have, you know, for a lot of a lot of guys, it's like the main thing is like, hey, I got to test myself in combat. And then it's like, all right, I've done the job, I've done it, I have the proof of concept that I can do this in combat and lead lead service members, Marines, uh in in combat, what's next? Or were you 100% in the in the mindset of like, hey, I'm gonna keep going for another pump or two?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so um I actually extended my contract to my second deployment. I didn't have to go on that one. The uh everybody who I who's my peers just went to Oki and did their thing and bounced out. Um, but I wanted to go on that second deployment and try to go back. Um, however, both deployments were two completely opposite ends of the spectrum for sure. Um, we were at um Camp Dwyer was my second one, and we were just doing base security on that one. Like just driving around and demailing the base as well, just kind of taking things out, blowing it in all in place and all that stuff. And nothing, yeah, that that was a completely different mindset than the first one. We're like first three months, we didn't have any sort of electronics, we didn't have any sort of you know, electricity. This one's like, I got a huge gym, we're trying to order bodybuilding stuff and trying to get yoked, you know, like we're just doing all the all the stuff there because we're bored. Yeah, watching Game of Thrones, like two different mindsets. So when I came out of that one, that was 2013 going into 2014, and that was really the transition to a um peacetime Marine Corps, more so. You as an F guy SF guy was definitely probably still seeing stuff and guys were still doing everything. At that time in the infantry where I was, we weren't getting ready for combat deployments. We were gear inspection, uniform inspection, marching into marching in channel, doing drill, like all like what's your general orders, all that stuff that was definitely a 1990s Marine, but not so much a guy who came into war.

unknown

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And I think there's there's two different mindsets with that. Um, right. So when I started seeing that side of the house, and like I just wanted to focus on the call for fire in my mind, stuff like to get my guys to the next level. And I couldn't yell at them. I couldn't tell them to get to parade rest in front of my staff sergeant who was chewing them out, and my staff sergeant then turns to me to chew me out, saying I can't yell at him. Like, what am I doing here, man? This is a different, this is a different Marine Corps, you know? Yeah. Um,

Getting Out And Starting Over

SPEAKER_01

so that kind of started tilting the hand for me to start getting out at that point after I did that deployment. Um, I played around with the SF ide at that time, but it just at that time I was like, I'm I don't want to risk being stuck in the Marine Corps.

unknown

Yes, dude.

SPEAKER_01

Uh stuck in the Marine Corps infantry at that time. Um, like Marslock was still definitely doing their thing and all that, but if you failed, I'm stuck in the infantry marine corps. Is there some regret for not trying? Sure, but there's also like that fear. I mean, how many guys you know were shit hot going through Q Corps and had a dumb entry.

SPEAKER_00

Bro, so dude, 100% right there, man. Like when you start weighing in on like the things that you really want in life, you got to make a decision. And I I hear it, dude, some of the best Bascreen Brays I've had and that that I served with were force recon guys, Marines that were fed up with the thing because the the reality is the Marine Corps is incredible at war fighting, remarkable. But when it comes to peacetime, when it comes to being back home, I have never found a Marine that says, I love the Corps and I love being in peacetime corps. No, there's a lot of games and and bull crap that comes with not getting ready for combat, with not being focused on the true mission. And it leads a lot of guys to leave, man. It leads a lot of guys to reflect and figure out what's really important. Am I gonna gamble in another enlistment and get somewhere get sent somewhere I don't want to be? I don't want to and get tasked with a job that I don't want to be a part of. No.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's there's never the right answer for that. You know, I think there's always that lingering thought like what if in the back of the head too, and but you pull the trigger, you gotta keep going with the mountain range and you gotta keep sending them.

SPEAKER_00

Um This episode is brought to you by Pure Liberty Labs. Quality supplements designed to elevate your health and performance. Check out their full line of quality supplements, whether you're looking for whey protein, pre-workout, creatine, or super greens drink. Pure Liberty Labs has you covered. Use my code security hall10 at checkout today.

SPEAKER_01

So I made that decision to get out, and like every other guy does, they start losing their mind a little bit, so they decide to try to get back in. Um, and at that time, the I was trying to get back into the reserves and I got DQ'd for tattoos because they were downsizing.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. We were dealing with the same shit too around the same time frame. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, dude, they were giving guys early outs, like staff NCOs at 12 years, like they were really trying to downsize the military as a whole, like you're saying. Um, so I got DQ' from there, but I got very fortunate where I my dad was like, hey man, take the civil service test for to be in law enforcement. Um, he goes at that time I was thinking about going contracting. I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do because my whole life was just be a Marine. Yeah, that was all I ever wanted to do. I never thought past that, right? So I took the civil service test um because it comes around once every three years. I got very fortunate. I got picked up, jumped right into law enforcement, and from there I started um still kind of having uh a lot of like sense of purpose, like kind of changes and shifts in my head as far as like what is my next purpose, you know? Um because my I always say like the biggest flaw a parent could do is tell their kids like your purpose in life is this. Because when that purpose disappears, like you kind of you disappear, you know what I mean? Um so I was going through my thing there, and uh I had a lot of friends start committing suicide at that time. Um I'm sure you're probably familiar with the whole that. So I think we just lost another one this past year, so we're low 20s worth of guys now. Um I couldn't even give you an exact number. But

Service Trips That Restore Purpose

SPEAKER_01

I was going through my transitional issues, and I started well one day I looked on Facebook and my buddy posted something on Facebook and said, Hey, um I'm going to the Amazon next week. Thank you for donations. Um I appreciate it. And I I looked out, I'm like, I need to get away right here, right now. Like I'm I know where my head's at right now, and like I'm gonna I gotta get away right now. So I reached out to a little boy and he goes, Can you fundraise the money within a week? Because we're leaving next week. And I'm like, Yeah, dude, here's a check, like whatever. Like, I'm I'll see you. I'm good. So I told my parents going to Amazon next week. Yeah, like um yeah. But that dude is wild. They looked at me like I had something going on my head, and I'm gonna say that's a plain way of saying what I want to say.

SPEAKER_00

Um you can say it, you can say it's security hub. There's no sensory.

SPEAKER_01

I had a dick on my head, that's what they're looking at, guys. It was wobbly, suction cupped. Just massive, just sitting here. All right, I gotta stop. We're done, we're coming off Denny. We can't be friends, we're done. Um yeah, so little did I know that trip was really the start of the rest of my life.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And really the start of what was gonna make me and and uh see myself and kind of learn myself as well. So we went down there the first day we're there, I went down with an organization called Wine to Water, is actually this shirt right here. Um, and what they do is they drill wells for water or set up water um filtration devices in areas don't have clean water. So they help provide the gift to clean water people that don't have it, as well as teach like sustainable living, hygiene, wash, stuff like that. So the first day we're down there, we we walked through a graveyard and the graveyards filled nothing but like 12 to 13 year old kids. Like that, it was just that's all it was. Um, so I looked at a translator and I'm like, you know, why is this all kits? And uh he said that's their golden year. So, you know, between like all the waterborne diseases, dysentery malaria, um, that is the golden year. So they're gonna make it or they're not gonna make it. So like their parents always get nervous around that time in the of their age. The last day we were there, uh, we turned the water on for school. I'm gonna fast forward a little bit. We turned the water on for the school, and uh we had a big old slip and slide, and we had 30, 40 kids there, and they're screaming agua, agua. They had no idea the impact the water would actually make. Because I'm just literally watching these kids drink brown water right from the Amazon River, and that was your water source. So turning that clean water on and seeing these kids, and we made a slip and slide, dude, like we're throwing these kids up and down, like that smile on their face put a smile on my face, and that's what it really started clicking in my head. I'm like, it is purpose. Like you, everything is purpose, everything's purpose-driven. And it is not just one purpose in life, it is multiple purposes in life, and it's it, it's multiple chapters of your life because your life is just a book with all these different chapters, and that you're gonna have a purpose in each one of those chapters, and that purpose might be in the very first page of the of the chapter, that purpose might be halfway in that chapter, that purpose might be on the very last page of that chapter, or you might have to create that purpose. Yeah, but I promise you, there's a purpose in every single chapter of your life, you may have to go out there and find it. And that's what I learned from that trip. So I learned that every chapter has a different purpose. So now my chapter right now is I have all these friends who are killing themselves. This thing just healed me. Let me get this going for these guys.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So I started uh Wine to Water Veteriners chapter. I spoke to that, I spoke to uh Doc Henley, um, great person who founded the whole organization. It's a I could talk very highly of the whole organization. Um I said, this is my thought process. I think guys need a sense of purpose belonging to have when they're active, not they're inactive. And honestly, guys like disconnecting. Goes back to what I was saying about being in Sangin, right? Like, I love not having any sort of technology. There's no booze down there. Like you're just literally living with the locals in the tribal area, hanging out with them, trying to find something to do without looking at your phone.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I love that, and I think guys can benefit from that. So I started the chapter, started sending guys overseas to uh Dominican Republic, Amazon, Ethiopia, Nepal, Cambodia. Um, just started flowing them out there, you know. We I I then got very busy with uh my job and I had to kind of have to like take a step back from it and and relieve myself from it just because the half the tempo that we're having with it was getting high. But then it was also just getting very demanding in the in the sense of I was very good at fundraising. I could fundraise like a mother. But my slogan was combating veteran suicide while combating the world water crisis. What does that mean to you as somebody who wants to come on the trip with me? And I this was a learning curve. And now the learning curve that I'm taking and regaining is such a purpose now by teaching nonprofits about some things to help build themselves better. Because my learning curve was combating better suicide while combating the wars world crisis. Danny, if you want to go on this trip with me, your family's gonna look at the trip and they're gonna look at that tagline, shit, dude, are you gonna commit suicide? Like, you're suicidal. Like, I didn't realize I was putting that label on these guys. Like, I saw it as a great tagline to fund my standards like, oh, you're doing great, you're doing great. But I was having a difficult time getting guys on the trip because you had to come out and you had to say that. And that was a learning curve for me that I want to try to teach other uh nonprofits and kind of like help these other nonprofits grow, which is gonna turn into what I'm doing now with the coffee company.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Sorry, that was long-winded.

SPEAKER_00

No, dude, are you kidding me? It's perfect, dude. You're crushing it. But now that you brought it up, man, you we gotta dive into the coffee thing. Like it is it is an incredible thing to have a dream and to follow it with 100% your your focus. But to go into something like the coffee space, especially for us veterans, like I don't know shit about coffee. Like, how did coffee become this thing where like this is gonna be my mission, this is where I'm passionate? Were you was it's already something in your wheelhouse that you already had a passion for roasting beans, or how did that come to be about?

SPEAKER_01

No, so um, so I I had gotten put on loan to a federal agency at one point, and um I came back from that and I I was started getting bored.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Started had to find another purpose again. It just constantly, that word just keeps popping, right? How to find that other purpose again. And

The Ethiopia Coffee Ceremony Origin

SPEAKER_01

I started thinking, am I gonna get back in the nonprofit world? I do love the nonprofit world, like I would love to just work in that full force. Or can I help nonprofits grow? And uh it dawned on me that I did a trip to Ethiopia with wine to water, and we went into this uh compound, this little village, everywhere they had TB. Like it was they didn't have a pot to piss in, right? But they had a cast iron skillet and they had coffee, beats. So they roasted coffee right there in front of me. They made me a cup of coffee, um, and I that it was like a 30-minute process, it was like a ceremonial type thing, and I realized like coffee surrounded by community. Like this is we are bridging the gap between our communities over a cup of coffee, right? So why can't I take that and help bridge the gap between different nonprofits? Um, as you know, there are a plethora of veteran nonprofits out there, a plethora of nonprofits in general, right? But a lot of them run parallel. P's and q's differences. They had the same exact mission statement, but they don't even know the other one exists.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know, like they don't they don't know. Um or they do know the other one exists, but they've never talked to that person. They never collaborated before. They just kind of followed from afar. One might be good at fundraising, one might not be good at fundraising, one might be good at getting guys to go on trips, so the one's not good at getting guys on trips. So, what I saw in Ethiopia, how coffee's always surrounded by community, I decided to put that cup of coffee in between nonprofits to bridge gaps between them. Right now, every other month, we work at a different nonprofit where we sell bags on behalf of now and that nonprofit. We put their logo on the front, we put whatever they want on the back. All my subscribers now get that and they get to read about that said nonprofit. That is fucking brilliant.

SPEAKER_00

That is brilliant.

SPEAKER_01

What does that do? What does that do? It does three things. A, yes, it does fundraise for that nonprofit. But listen, I'm a small coffee company, I'm not millions of dollars, you know what I mean? But B, it gets people to read it. So if it gets people to read it, that could get people to also donate. But we're not here for the old donation side of the house. We're here to bridge the gap. So we can get people to read about that nonprofit. Now, say you, Danny, you got an idea in your head, man, and you're like, I see a need, exactly what Warrior Rising teaches you. I see a problem, I gotta fix that problem, and my solution is this, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yep. 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. 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. You have a story worth telling and a purpose behind it. Security Hall Media is here to help you tell it the right way. Click the link in the episode description to learn more today.

SPEAKER_01

But they just read the back of this bag. Oh shit, that guy already fixed that solution. He already fixed that problem. I got the solution right here. That dude can now get involved in it. Or that's gonna save one guy from starting another prop nonprofit that's running parallel with them, and they're gonna go to the same donors. So, like, let's be real. There's only so much donors out there that want to donate to the same veteran canine organization a thousand times over. You know what I mean? Like it's so that's that's the overall mission is that coffee is surrounded by a community, and we are here to help bridge the caps, bridge the gaps between nonprofits.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, heck

Coffee Networking For Work And Life

SPEAKER_00

yeah, man. That is that is a brilliant idea, and uh it's a hundred percent correct, man. Like when we think of coffee, it is not something like that is a simple, just a beverage. Like we talk about virtual cups of coffee all the time. I I constantly tell guys, like, dude, you don't have to sit down by yourself, like go engage with somebody, ask for help, and do it over a cup of coffee. Like that's how you make today. I I will tell you guys, if you're listening, you've heard of me, you heard me say it before. Your resume is great. It's wonderful. Should you go to that class? Absolutely. But I will tell you, more often than not, you're gonna close the deal or you're gonna have an opportunity that will come into fruition because you're talking and engaging with somebody that you met. Having a cup of coffee right now in the business world will do more for you than sitting alone, isolated in your office, cranking out another cover letter and resume. Get out in front of people, man, and you do it through coffee.

SPEAKER_01

100%. And uh even in the law enforcement world, like say, hey man, I got a bad call. Let's go have a cup of coffee and talk about it. Hey, dude, I got a problem. Let's go have a cup of coffee, let's talk about it. Hey, dude, let's brainstorm about how we're gonna overcome whatever problem we're dealing with.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

All right, let's gear up, man. Let's get caffeine, let's figure this shit the fuck out.

SPEAKER_00

You know what I mean? Damn right. And dude, we were talking about it earlier. Like, I'm I'm like I said, I'm a proud dog shit entrepreneur. I didn't have a resource, and I I definitely reached out to some of the wrong people out there that are like had, you know, they sounded like they were gonna have great intentions, but come to find out, it was just getting me brought into their, you know, ecosystem so they can pitch me on their program and how they're gonna make me a successful business owner and under three seminars or less. And it's like, dude, I'm not paying $1,000, $900 to sit in on your business coaching class. Uh so I figured it out, but along the way, I found Warrior Rising and the I want to find out. Like, how did you find Warrior Rising and and tell me about that experience, man?

SPEAKER_01

So

Warrior Rising And Veteran Business Skills

SPEAKER_01

it's going to go back to me working with the nonprofits. I ended up working with an organization called the Patriot Fund. Uh uh, if you know who they are. Yeah, yeah. Big, big donors and a lot of the and a lot of the huge donors, and they love donating to veter nonprofits. Um and I started becoming friendly with those guys, and because they donate to so many other nonprofits, I started just picking the brain, hey, who can I do next? Who can I do next? And then Warrior Rising was popping up, right? And I was like, man, I really would love the word with the Warrior Rising, you know. But then I was like talking to my wife, I really need to take the class. Like, I just like I am not a businessman, I don't have a college degree. Like I know drug dealing through work, that type of business, but like caffeine's a drug, so I was like trying to run a parallel with that, you know. Um so I saw Warrior Rising and I connected with the Patreon Fund, who then connected with Ben over there, and uh it sat me down and I was like, yeah, I I could benefit from this. I can truly like I don't know how to write a business plan. And the way Warrior Rising does with a business plan by a five-paragraph order. I know how to write a five-paragraph order. So by running that parallel, I'm like, this now fucking makes sense to me, man. The way Warrior Rising taught all their classes, like I really kind of like hit home, like, oh, okay, yeah, it makes sense. Versus if I got that business instructor who is Joe Schmel and he actually is teaching me like the Harvard way of doing business, not saying it's wrong. I'm just a squishy face sometimes, and I don't really know what he's saying. You know what I mean? I need to kind of pay attention. Um I need it, I need to be related. I think Warrior Rising did a tremendous job relating it to the IR grunt, you know?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. It's true. It's true. It's a methodology that is built from individuals that have served. It's built from individuals that come from a service background. And and what Reggie and Sam and Ben and all those individuals are able to do is speak to the audience, speak to the veteran, the pain points, the friction, and really adapt business 101 into veteran 101, into service member 101. Because when you can understand the concepts, when you can understand the principles, then you can say, oh yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it's 100% it makes sense. Like there's a lot of things out there in the civilian world, in the corporate world that seem foreign and alien. A great example is like PMP, Agile, Scrum, all these things, all these uh program methodologies. And it's like, dude, it's your Monday morning stand-up meeting. It's literally how senior NCOs orchestrate and conduct the business of running a battalion, of running a company. And rather than spending thousands of dollars on these certifications and just flying out in the wild by yourself, do yourself a favor. And if entrepreneurship, if business ownership is something that is deeply like connected into your why, into your and into your forward planning of your future endeavors, just sign up for Warrior Rising. Don't get these stupid fucking certifications that at the end of the day are going to sit in your frigging external drive eating up storage that you aren't going to use. I'm saying that from example. I I've I have yet to utilize any of that shit. Well, um, I will say, Trello and Waterfall, they go hand in hand and it works great. Um, but as a solo entrepreneur, I'm I'm fucking it I could have used that information and I could have benefit from information for Warrior Rising rather than information from you know, study on your own programs that really didn't speak to me, that really didn't have uh me in their best interest because I wasn't their customer. That's the other thing. A lot of us, we aren't the ideal customer for a lot of these programs and systems are in place for civilians. So, and and that's okay. Go find the organizations that are are tailored for you. You have to realize that's okay too.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Like the guys have to realize hey, it is okay to have this mindset, like, but that mindset is a building block. And to take a building block from these people who you don't have the right mindset, but put it on and kind of add it to your repertoire, you know? Um, and I think guys at Warrior Rising did a tremendous job at task and purpose. You have to do this because of that. And that is something that will always hit home with me from my senior Marines. And I think that is a very key thing in the military is task and purpose. Tell me I need to get up on that roof to provide security. Don't tell me how to get up on that roof. Don't tell me which way to get up. Don't tell me how long to be up there. Tell me I need to get up on that roof to provide security. I'm gonna figure that out from now. I'll close the caps. And because that's not micromanagement, too. You know, you're just likely to be my thing.

SPEAKER_00

Dude, absolutely. And we we have to acknowledge, man, that you're uh you're not just a a you know, a member of the Warrior Rising community. You're you're somebody that went to uh the Iowa pitch competition and and uh did really friggin' well, man. How was that how's that been in uh how did that impact you and how has that been a benefit for you in your business today?

Pitch Competition Lessons And Community

SPEAKER_01

Oh man, um I remember getting the email that I was going to the pitch competition. We were on our honeymoon and I like looked at it, I was like, oh shit, I really got the like I gotta spent my shit up right now. Uh we were we were in Patagonia and I was like trying to email Sam back and like I had no service. I'm like, I'm sorry, I can't respond to your WhatsApp message. I'm like, I'm in nowhere, nowhere land right now. Um that was one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had going to Warrior Rise. Oh yeah. 100% one of the most powerful experiences I ever had. Just the preparation for it. The now, like I said, doubling down and relearning my numbers, because I need to know that.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I don't want to stand up in front of a group of people who know numbers and look like an idiot.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um, I don't know if I did the best of that part, but I tried my hardest on that. And it and it it made me learn more. It made it stick in my brain longer. We're now we're out a couple months, and somebody asked me some number questions. I was like, oh shit, I said that in my pitch at Warrior Rising. Nice dude. You know? But I dude, I I tell you, man, like the gratitude I had to you guys and what you did for Warrior Rising is absolutely tough for us. Um the better community is absolutely unbelievable, man. I I remember I for those that don't know, even if you don't win the $20,000, they still hook you up. And when when you guys hook me up, man, I literally like looked at my wife, I had tears in my eyes. I'm like, we're a small business. We end up getting that thing it was $3,200. That $3,200 goes a very long way for me right now. So like I am thank you. Thank you to everybody.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, dude. And and it's um like I said earlier, man, like you can't help but champion and and rally around guys like you and Freddie, uh, Sarah, Matt, all these individuals that go through and do the work and really crush it and really go out there and figure out a way to wake up every single day and go after their dreams, go after their mission. Like it's one thing to say you're an entrepreneur, but it's a hundred percent different when you're actually putting it out there and you're doing it, dude. Um, like and and coming into the Warrior Rising and and and and seeing that um those individuals from the Iowa competition and connecting with you guys, connecting with Freddie and getting the stories and and pulling, and you know, I remember a couple weeks back I was texting with Freddie and and uh sharing, hey, we're gonna highlight you in this. And he's like, dude, like uh and I and I captured a snippet of him talking about the his why uh being there and and doing and you know, putting his dreams out there so that he could be an example for his daughter. And he sent me a really touching message, and and I won't divulge it, I won't put him out there, but it was just like, man, like having you know hit his gratitude for somebody capturing that moment and sharing it. It's like, yeah, dude, like I want you to friggin' win. I want your product to be in every shelf at every sporting goods store, and I want Sean's coffee to be available in every store because your win is my win. Your success is my success because we're all in this together, man. Like at the end of the day, a lot of us are solo entrepreneurs, and the only thing we get is when we log on to Instagram and we look over, it's like that that meme from Batman at the end where where Alfred sees that he's still alive and he just acknowledges and head nods real quick. It's like, ah, yes, yes. We're bro, we're in the fight together. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

One of the coolest things about Warrior Rising um and in general is when you meet another entrepreneur. Yeah. And when you meet another veteran entrepreneur, it motivates the fuck out of you to keep going. And like I I text with Freddie um relatively often, and like, phenomenal dude. And I love just, hey, how are you doing? Getting ready for that? Cool. Like, what are you doing better? What's like what can we do better to help each other out?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's building that community. And and the more people we bring along, the more individuals we bring into the fold, the more people we get to enroll and go, the broader our like I always say, dude, the team room is bigger on the outside because it can encompass everybody. I don't know, it's not just 12 dudes anymore. It's 15, 16, 17. It it goes on and on and on and on because we're we're at the end of the day, it's about supporting us. We're in this firefight together and being able to amplify and and do talking gun drills. Yeah, I know there's another machine gun uh, you know, uh little little tidbit right there. Like those those little stories, man, of being able to support each other, supporting guns. We're we're in this fight together. And if your gun goes down, well, I'm gonna pick up the fire rate, man. I'm gonna get you back up. And and it's it's it's all about that collaborative spirit, man, because there's so much room at the table for all of us to eat and be successful. Because it's not about just one pitch competition. It's about going all to the other ones. It's about continuing to grow and someday being able to be that guy on the stage, bringing in and ushering the next generation of veteran entrepreneurs. And that's what I truly see in you guys, uh and every participant from the Warrior Rising uh competition, seeing the next great generation of individuals that are going to turn around and bring forward the next group. Because that's truly like that's what we we have. That's the one thing that we have above everybody else in this space. We will take care of our own. And that's what I love about it, dude.

SPEAKER_01

Hell yeah, absolutely, man. Like I said, talking to entrepreneurs, I've gotten four since I did Warrior Rising, I've gotten four guys to sign up for Warrior Rising.

SPEAKER_00

Hell yeah, dude. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01

And like I I love that they're doing it. I love that we were able to have that impact. And it's not a me, it's a it's a we that we as a Warrior Rising, as everybody who went to that pitch competition, everybody who helped me get to that point, my wife, like we got more guys to now want to better themselves and want to learn even before they started a business. That's probably my biggest regrets. I wish I didn't Warrior Rising before I started a business. Um because running a business while taking classes is difficult, but extremely beneficial. Um and that that's also why I love working with these different nonprofits too. You know, like every time I work with a nonprofit, I get a chance to speak with the founder and like have like a real one-on-one conversation. Like, hey man, why did you start this nonprofit? And like in the back, in the back of my head, because of these conversations that I've had have been so impactful to me and hearing their stories, I'm like, dude, I gotta start a fucking podcast of this, get these guys tell their fucking stories. Like, do you know a podcast that's telling nonprofit founder stories? Like, I feel like that's something guys would listen to. Um, but I I'm going too fast right now as it is. I gotta slow it down a little bit.

SPEAKER_00

Bring them on, send them my way, dog. That's all I do all day, every day. Send them my way. Now, when you're ready to launch yours, I know a guy that produces some. This guy.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Looking like a young George Clooney over there, bro. I appreciate you. Thank you for your service.

SPEAKER_00

Well, Sean, you know, I before I before I let you go, I have to ask, man, where can we get coffee? Where can we connect? Uh, where can we find you on all your socials?

SPEAKER_01

Sure. Um, so it's abrucie'scoffee.com is the website. It's A-B-R-U-S-C-I-Scoffee.com. Our socials, same thing, man. Just check us out on Instagram, Facebook. Just starting doing the TikTok thing. I keep getting uh blocked because my videos aren't good, I guess, for TikTok, but Instagram's killing it. So keep going on Instagram.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, dude, your Instagram is killing it. I love it. I love your reels, I love your content, love supporting it.

Where To Buy Coffee And Final CTA

SPEAKER_00

Guys, do me a favor, you know the spiel. Go to the episode description, click those links, or I'll make it easier for you, but extremely difficult for my editor. I'm sorry. I love you. You're the best. Scan this QR code. Sign up for Warrior Rising today. And I think by the time I release this, uh, there'll be a new neighborly webinar. Hopefully. Hopefully, it comes out of time. If not, I'll I'll plug it in. We'll edit this out or not. But if it comes out of time, check out all the the uh webinars that we have at Warrior Rising. There's great insight to so many different things. Coaching calls, one-on-ones, you name it, masterclasses. There's tons of stuff at WarriorRising.com. Check it out. Do me or Warriorising.org. Go check it out, click those links, follow them, or if you want, donate. $5, $6, doesn't matter. Every little bit it helps. Uh, before I got in the nonprofit space, I thought that it had to be a big donation every single time. And uh come to find out, it's a $4 donations that make a killing. Uh, nonprofits thrive on those small donations from individuals such as yourself listening right now. So for as little as $4, you can make a huge impact for a nonprofit that's doing great stuff in the veteran space. So please scan the QR code or visit Warrior Rise by clicking the link in the episode description. Sean, thank you so much for being here today, brother. But more importantly, thank you for what you're doing. Because when you put your life out there, when you show veterans what's possible by living your dream, you're giving in giving inspiration to those veterans that are transitioning and they're thinking to themselves, well, this is the greatest thing of my life. I'll never be able to do anything else. But if they stumble on your content, they're gonna be thinking twice and they'll say to themselves, if Sean can do it, then I can do it. If he can dare to dream and do more, then I can do the same. And I know that's true because when I was struggling to figure out what I was gonna do in my life, I stumbled upon two entrepreneurs from the SF world that were crushing it, and they were part of a bigger team. Uh, that organization is triple nickel, and they still motivate the shit out of me. Um, so there it is. There's my lived experience. All I needed to do was see another Green Beret doing something similar to what I wanted to do. And that's what motivated me to become a dog shit entrepreneur. But that's neither here nor there. I'm Denny Caballero. That's Sean, this Security Off Podcast. We'll see you all next time. Until then, take care.

Head Shot

Deny Caballero

Host