Get a close up look at a few of my experiences, decisions, and lessons learned up to this point in life. Like you, I've gotten a lot of value over the years learning from the experiences of others so I feel it's a good time to share mine.

Last year, Kayrom Studios approached me and asked if I would share my story with them for a short film. After a few discussions I agreed on the premise that the focus wasn't on my military experience, so we got together and made a short film! After the premier here in Ouray, CO we will let you know where you can watch it. I had already started to write down my story years ago for my kids and grandkids, so some of the legwork was already started. The film is complete and the book I'm writing is in progress. I would consider the details in the book "R" rated, not from military stories, but from growing up. The film leaves out a lot!

When the book is complete, I'll send you an email so you can get an early bird copy with some extras thrown in. I think you're going to love it, even if it keeps you up at night.

Andrew Schrader began his Urban Search and Rescue career in 2014 for the state of Florida. Schrader has worked as a Structure Specialist; he has deployed on rescue operations for four hurricanes and, most recently, the collapse of the Champlain Towers. After seven years of working for Florida's Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, Schrader has dialed the ins and out's of what to carry in your pack. His trusty backpack, the RUSH12, holds all of his necessary supplies. He clearly doesn't mess around when it comes to his morale patches, and we can't blame him. Outside of his pack, you'll find our morale patches. "It's important to keep some kind of sense of humor in absolutely humorless situations. If I'm not getting in an occasional laugh, my mind can go to a dark place very quickly. Fun patches help keep the mood as light as possible (Schrader)." We can all learn something from Schrader. Check out his article with OffGrid Magazine to get an in-depth overview of what he's packing.

 Somedays my time in service feels like last week and sometimes it feels like it was someone else’s life that has been grafted on to what I am doing now. The memories include someone who looks like me, but is it me?

 I got commissioned out of the University of Mississippi in 2000, was stationed in Germany as an Intel Officer and deployed to Bosnia in 03/04 as the head of the counter terrorism team at the National Intelligence Center. I got out of the Army, headed off to do humanitarian land mine clearance in Angola and later Abkhazia in the Republic of Georgia before getting recalled out of the Individual Ready Reserve to do a tour in Baghdad 06-07 as a civil affairs officer.

 We were there before and during the surge. I’d guess I was somewhere at about 50% for how rough or violent my tour was. I both really loved and hated my time in the US Army. It is hard to imagine a life without the friends, experiences, and lessons learned-but also damn man, why did some of that shit have to go down the way it did?

 Life lessons from your time on active duty?

 That there’s always a way through any hard time. 99.9% of the time, the way through will require team work and use of resources you don’t have sole access to, as well as people and advice that you may disagree with in other areas of life and war to get the job done.

 You cannot win a war, or build a lasting peace or understanding, without boots on the ground outside of the wire. Face to face communication is always the best. As a force, we spent too much time behind walls from our senior leadership on down to the newest enlisted troop. I got home to a world in 07 that was retreating into screens, I’ve been guilty of the same, if we want a country worth living in we need to get out from behind our walls and screens to engage with one another in conversation, not always in trying to prove the other person wrong or with a specific outcome in mind.

 What was your high point while serving?

 The people. I met some of the bravest, brightest men and women of the United States, immigrants who came to the United States to serve our country, as well as people in Iraq and Bosnia who cared so deeply about their homes and worked, or are still working so hard to rebuild their nations. I take a lot of daily inspiration and hope from all the people I met in and outside of the uniform.

 Low point?

 The leadership. There were a lot of great leaders I had the good fortune to spend time with and learn from during my time in service. I got to work with a lot of different branches and nationalities as well and still count a handful of those leaders as mentors and coaches today. But something happens along the way where leaders seem to stop worrying about accountability, owning and learning from their own mistakes, and instead focusing on ego and evaluation bullets. As we moved from finding weapons of mass destruction to winning the global war on terrorism to building peace and democracy in Iraq in the year I was there, I felt like our higher levels of leadership beyond the Brigade was not seeing the same thing we were on the ground and were more interested in what they could say they did during the war vs. what actually happened.

 What are some projects you are working on now?

 A couple of years after I came back, a friend I deployed with introduced me to rock climbing and that changed my life. It gave me something to live for vs. live against. It was a means to joy vs. anger and ultimately a path to meet a ton of people who had very different life experiences than me. It helped me realize it wasn’t just veterans who had hard times and helped me find a place back home other than always crowing about who I was-it gave me a path to become.

 I worked with other veterans in the outdoors for a long time and started to wonder if I could change the conversation and add to my own narrative of the places I had been to fight, if I went back to ski or climb-so that launched Adventure Not War. So far I’ve climbed in Angola, skied in Iraq and Afghanistan, and am planning a fly fishing trip to Bosnia this fall or in 2023, and want to also go back to ski in Abkhazia.

 At the end of our trip in Afghanistan, some Afghan skiers asked how we could help skiing in the region, so I partnered up with Doug Bernard and two crazy Dutch guys, Olaf and Peter, to support a bunch of Kyrgyz skiers in launching a free ride ski event for Central Asia. Folks can check out that film here: https://ozdoganmakina.com/blog/snowsports/adventure-not-war

 I also took what I learned from supporting veterans outdoors, partnered up with a mental health professional Koorosh Rassekh, and launched Happy Grizzly Adventures to support people in Intentional Adventure where they have the best chance at a transformational experience in the outdoors.

 How can people support your efforts?

 #1 is to go out and talk to, get to know, someone who has a different belief system than you do. Find out why they believe what they do and see where there might be things that connect us vs. drive us apart.

 #2, folks can donate to Silk Road Freeride and if individuals or companies are really stoked on what we have going on, get in touch and we can try and tailor something specific to your philanthropic needs and wants.

 What’s your favorite type/types of music?

I grew up with guys like Tennessee Ernie Ford, so after a youth spent in hardcore and heavy metal, Danzig is still in heavy rotation, I listen to a lot of Blue Grass and Americana these days.

 Favorite ski?

I rode Factions for a lot of years and they were a great partner in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lately though, I’ve teamed up with G3 and there’s nothing more fun than the Slay’r on even the smallest, let alone the deepest, powder day. Light, super responsive ski that makes all your dreams come true and is easy on my 43 year old knees! Also-always wear a helmet, and Pret feels as different on your head as a baseball cap.

 Favorite comedian?

I miss Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. I generally spend my lunch hour cruising standup comedy on line. I saw a bit from Margaret Cho that had me rolling pretty hard a week or two ago.

How can people find you?

 Stacyabare or happygrizzlyadventures on Instagram is the easiest way. Or check out www.happygrizzlyadventures.com or www.silkroadfreeride.com

www.adventurenotwar.com is the repository for the different films and articles we’ve made so far.

I arrived at the range, grabbed my gear, and was trying to figure out what the big deal was that day. He informed me Clint Eastwood was on his way over to do some shooting. “Yeah right,” I said. He just gave me a look, letting me know he wasn’t joking around. Sure enough, Clint rolls up 5 minutes later. 

Clint was cool. No oversized ego to navigate and no annoying celebrity qualities that are all too common, like neediness, complaints, and cringe-worthy snobbery. None of that. He came across as more of a blue-collar guy, right up my alley. 

We started out shooting pistols. Clint was a good shot, and yes, he shot one-handed a lot of the time. The only point of improvement I offered him was to get his shoulders more forward like he was about to throw or receive a punch. Other than that, he was solid with his weapons handling. I wasn’t surprised as he has gotten a lot of training over the years preparing for films.

Here’s the awesome part. The moment the range went cold for the last time, Clint removes his hat, takes a knee, and starts picking up brass! My buddy and I told him he didn’t have to do that, but he said, “It’s no problem. I shot it and need to help clean up.” So, we all picked up our brass together, then we all went and had a few Coronas at a buddy's house with Clint.

Clint Eastwood picks up his own brass, and he didn’t make a big deal about it. 

--Evan

For various reasons, we created an app; for starters, Facebook disapproved of our NO WEAK SHIT merch and many of our OG military designs; we weren't going to stand for it. So we created our app, where you can find our "racey" items, as well as all the other merch we offer. We also wanted to give you, our die hards, an easier way to find our products and offer in-app deals and exclusive products. Our founder, graphic designer Sean, goes into depth more here, but the basic breakdown of what the 30 SEC OUT App offers is :

1. Automatic 15% discount applied on in-app purchases

2. Access to all our banned items

3. Most new items will drop on the app first

4. Navigate the 30 SEC OUT site easier

5. You'll find exclusive deals and offers on the app only

You can download our app by tapping the link below if you're on a mobile device or by scanning this code using the camera on your mobile phone. The link automagically knows if you're an Android or an Apple. 

With that being said, 30 Seconds Out and The Ready State give you "Work the Plan." Featured in two different colors, make it what you want. Dr. Kelly Starrett, co-founder of The Ready State, gave us the inspiration behind the design. Starrett said, "It is about being consistent over being heroic, "Work the Plan" is the heart of the message; make the best choice out of the options presented to you. Trust yourself, don't overthink or second guess." The leopard is the core of the design, symbolizing a human being's full physical capacity. The leopard doesn't need a pep talk; it doesn't have to activate its glutes; it has access to this power at a moment's notice, ready to attack and defend in the blink of an eye. The third eye on the leopard represents the self-awareness of our capacity to be self-reliant, resilient, and badass creatures. Self-awareness can seem like a superpower from the outside, like having a sixth sense. The leopard knows what needs to be done.

Make sure you go checkout the The Ready State and all they do. On top of adding a new badass tee to your collection a portion of the "Work the Plan" tees will be donated to the Clean Water Corps, a task force specialized in focusing on combating the global water crisis. Operated entirely by veterans, they're serving there communities once again.

My Dad was in the Army and we were stationed at The Presidio Army base there. For my 10th birthday, all I wanted was a Rat Bones skate deck, Independent Trucks and the best wheels and bearings we could afford. We drove into town, walked into Skates On Haight and walked out with exactly what I wanted. Eager to start skating as soon as I got home, I ran over and grabbed my buddy Keagan. Our plan was to skate off the post and start bombing down the hills in San Fran. We started skating through traffic and right before we got to the main gate, separating us from the rest of the city, the MP's (Military Police) arrested us. They didn't cuff us, but threw us into the back of their patrol car and brought us down to the station. We were sh#tting our pants. I only had my "real" board for 4 hours and was already in trouble. Our dads were called and they came and picked us up. Keagan's dad cut his board in half with a saw when they got home, but my dad spared mine and just grounded me for a while. I got my board back a few weeks later.

Lesson Learned: I did what a lot of us do sometimes. We achieve a goal and then go bananas and nearly lose everything in the excitement, kind of like when you hear of lottery winners or famous musicians going bankrupt and we wonder how that's even possible. This is exactly how that kind of thing happens. All the pent-up energy was released the moment we both had legit boards. We went nuts in the top of the goal bell curve. Celebrating goals is great, ride the high because it's short-lived but don't bet the farm in the short window of elation that rookies think will last forever...it won't and we were rookies.

Fast forward a decade and I find myself having made it through Hell Week. I thought when I made it through that, everything would come into alignment and I would be on cloud 9 for the rest of my life, I wasn't. I was stoked to have made it, but oddly the weeks following were filled with sort of an emptiness. I had reached the goal of making it past that week and never put much thought into what life would be like after it. It was really odd to me being on the "successful" side of that training block but didn't feel amazing like I did the moments after we knew we had made it. I had to conjure up another goal to strive for. I just decided to focus on being an asset to the class and giving all I had to succeed and graduate.  I did graduate and eventually felt satisfied with my efforts in the class. Goal accomplished. Time to conjure up yet another goal to strive for.

Lesson Learned: It's important to understand how goals and achievement work, which has taken me a long time to grasp. There's an illusive finality to nailing a goal. The glory phase is short-lived, followed by a decline in that elated feeling. I always thought the feelings I experienced after succeeding and hitting goals were supposed to be permanent, like an eternal state of happiness or ecstasy. It's a good thing they aren't like that, otherwise, we would stop striving for the next goal, park ourselves on the couch and turn to a puddle. Now, I look at goals, fully knowing their life cycle...

Pick Goal -> Struggle -> Achieve -> Short Lived Stoked Feeling -> Reset / Pick New Goal