Unconventional Paths
Rediscover Identity
Restore Balance
Actionable Planning
Sign up below to be the first to learn more as we make progress and have updates to share with you.
We are building interactive, practical resources for transitioning military service members that help you explore unconventional paths, deprogram, and create a deliberate plan that aligns with your goals.
Are you struggling to decide if you should leave the military? Is it overwhelming thinking about your next steps? We are creating practical tools specifically with you in mind. Our primary emphases are outdoor recreation, agriculture, and nature-based careers and lifestyles. But more broadly, empowering you to deliberately re-design your life with balance and meaning.
Whether that’s volunteering with a mountain biking group on the weekends, starting an urban homestead to feed your family, or working for the U.S. Forest Service, our goal is to help you find your way.
Sign up below to be the first to learn more as we make progress and have updates to share with you.
We are building interactive, practical resources for transitioning military servicemembers that help you explore unconventional paths, deprogram, and create a deliberate plan that aligns with your goals.
Are you struggling to decide if you should leave the military? Is it overwhelming thinking about your next steps? We are creating practical tools specifically with you in mind. Our primary emphases are outdoor recreation, agriculture, and nature-based careers and lifestyles. But more broadly, empowering you to deliberately re-design your life with balance and meaning.
Whether that’s volunteering with a mountain biking group on the weekends, starting an urban homestead to feed your family, or working for the U.S. Forest Service, our goal is to help you find your way.
Sign up below to be the first to learn more as we make progress.
Two Army veterans taking the road less traveled.
I didn’t come from a military family, but we quickly became one when my younger siblings followed my path to West Point and the Army. After serving 6 years and deploying to Afghanistan, I transitioned into the civilian world via an MBA from Wharton. I became a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company to learn about the mysterious world of business before choosing a specialty… but sometimes that got a little boring, so I’d mix in other pursuits like climbing Everest and working out of my van while traveling North America. After 5 years of advising Fortune 100 CEOs in every industry from chocolate to steel, I admitted to myself that I’d gone down a road I had no passion for, and began homesteading on 102 acres in Kentucky. Outside of work, I hold the Guinness World Record for the ‘Fastest marathon in full military uniform,’ and love to lead outdoor healing retreats for veterans and first responders through the nonprofit Higher Ground. These days, I share reflections from my unconventional path on my podcast ‘Blah Blah Black Sheep,’ in books like ‘Wilder Journeys,’ and through writing travel articles for British Airways. Ever since my own transition, I’ve been supporting other veterans through theirs. I’m honored to continue doing so—whether you want to move into a van, attend a top MBA program, or anything in between.
Since I was a kid, I wanted to join the Army. My hope was I’d get to serve others in some capacity, help defend innocent people, and face meaningful challenges. After getting to West Point, it didn’t take long to realize this dream was more of an idealistic façade that didn’t quite represent reality. As with most things, reality is usually a bit more complicated. Fast forward through platoon leader time, friends who became family, company command, and both fun times and disappointment, it was time to go. As I excitedly made my post-Army plans, I learned of unique opportunities that I wish I’d known about years before. This inspired the creation of A Captain’s Log, where I produce content aimed at educating and empowering people to navigate personal, professional, and institutional challenges related to leadership and veteran resources. For the first year after leaving the military, I lived in my 4×4 van, traveled across the USA, and wrote for A Captain’s Log. Now, after nearly two years volunteering on conservation and community development projects in places like Belize, Kenya, and South Africa, I’m beginning an environmental management master’s program in Hawaiʻi. I’m forever thankful for my eight years in uniform and my unique transition into the free world, and I’m driven to help more people reconnect with nature and embark on their own adventure!
“Your video helped me so much just now. Thank you. You have no idea.”
Photo by Beau Simmons
While this project is in the development phase, we’d love for you to join us as you prepare for your transition so you can stay in the loop!
Don’t base life-altering decisions on the advice of those who won’t have to deal with the consequences. What do YOU want in life? You can forge your own path, but you need to make an informed, realistic plan based off your goals, your family, and your specific situation.
It’s often easier said than done, which is why we are so motivated to help others and share what we’ve learned.
While this project is in the development phase, we’d love for you to join us as you prepare for your transition so you can stay in the loop!
Privacy Policy | 2024 Free Rein | All Rights Reserved
Site Designed by Intelligen
Sprinter van, ocean swimming, giant redwood tree photos in header by Quinn Schrock.
