Episode 466 Steven Ferguson Honor Guard Coffee Supporting Veterans and Service Dogs Transcript

This transcript is from episode 466 with guest Steven Ferguson.

Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] Hey everyone. Welcome back to Drive On. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And today my guest is Steven Ferguson. He’s a Marine Corps veteran and the founder of Honor Guard Coffee, which is dedicated to breaking down the barriers veterans face when seeking service dogs. And we’re going to talk about his time in the Marine Corps, his challenges after leaving the service and how we found healing through his service dog.

Um, so before we get into all that, Steven, welcome to the show. Really glad to have you here.

Steven Ferguson: Hey, thank you, Scott. I’m happy to be here.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. Um, so could you start by telling us, uh, you know, a little bit about your time in the Marine Corps? Uh, I know you’ve, you’ve deployed a couple of times to, uh, Afghanistan and Europe, I guess, um, you know, during your time in, in the Marines. Can you tell us a little bit about your time, uh, you know, kind of what you did and, and all that kind of

stuff.

Steven Ferguson: Uh, yes, sir. So, I joined the Marine Corps more or less fresh out of, fresh out of high school. I actually joined the reserves first and then decided pretty, pretty quickly on that I wanted to do a full time. I [00:01:00] hadn’t even gotten to boot camp yet and I was like, you know what? I want to do this stuff full time.

So, uh, I talked to my recruiter and that was, that was a super easy sell. Let me tell you. He said, Oh, you want to go active duty? Yeah, right on. We got you. The downside was. I’d wait forever to get to boot camp, um, you know, like an extra six months after I got out of high school, um, went down to Parris Island in January 2010, um, went through infantry training at ITB East down in North Carolina, and then over to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines on Camp Lejeune.

I was an infantry anti tank missile man, you know, one of them infantry nerds that everybody Everybody pokes fun at but let me tell you when I got to the fleet we didn’t do any missile stuff we just did machine gun stuff so you know I was competing with all the 31s on dis and ass and all the other crazy stuff that machine gunners do.

[00:02:00] Deployed to Afghanistan in January of 2011 to Helmand province down in the Marjah area. That deployment was It was something else. It was fairly kinetic. Um, you know, uh, we ended up making it back stateside with most of our Marines in August of that same year. Uh, had a real long dwell time, uh, before finally finding our way back into Afghanistan in 2013.

This time in the same province, but kind of all over the place. Uh, we were starting to demill, you know, that the Helmand area, we broke down a couple of fobs. Um, I’d say we got into a couple of firefights, but it was really just, we kind of got shot at a couple of times. Um, yeah, um, a couple of RPGs flew overhead, no big deal.

And then, uh, Got back to the States again, another really long dwell time. [00:03:00] Um, we went and did a crisis response in Europe. Uh, this time I got to live that attachment life, uh, as a javelin team leader over in one of the line companies. And let me tell you, that attachment life, especially when you’re, uh, when you’re, you’re, uh, team leaders, is pretty, pretty awesome.

Um, plus it was, it was Europe, so, you know, was it a deployment? Was it a vacation on the government’s dime? I don’t know. Uh, I mean, you know, I’ll leave that aside. Um, then after that, after that deployment, I got back, and as one does when they’re about to leave a unit, I was more or less OFD, doing my own thing.

I showed up to work, that was great. If I didn’t, um, people covered for me. Uh, and I kicked out to ITB West to be a combat instructor, where I spent my, uh, my final three years. Got out of, uh Got out of the Marine Corps, medically retired in [00:04:00] April of 2019. Um, kind of leads me into the civilian world, which I was utterly and completely unprepared for.

Scott DeLuzio: That’s a common theme. I’ve, I think I’ve, I’ve found with, uh, folks who are getting out of the military, um, You know, especially folks who are medically discharged, um, a lot of times those things kind of sneak up on you and you don’t really have the preparation time to say, okay, yeah, I’m, I’m, you know, I see the end date is coming up.

I got a, you know, a year or so, I got a year to plan and get all my ducks in a row. Um, but sometimes those medical discharge Uh, discharges, they creep up on you and, uh, you end up just not prepared at all for, for that. Uh, because that you didn’t, you didn’t do the, the, the leg work ahead of time, I guess.

Right. So, uh, tell us a little bit about the challenges that you face when you were transitioning from, uh, you know, military to civilian, uh, [00:05:00] life. You know, even dealing with, uh, you know, any of the issues that, that you, you might’ve kind of carried with you from deployments and things like

that.

Steven Ferguson: Yeah, um, life really decided to throw me a curveball while I was getting out. Um, so, I didn’t actually get my retirement date, uh, until like 3 months before I was actually set to retire. So, I was in limbo for a good 12 months, I think. It’s been a long time. I don’t remember. It was a long time. A long, miserable time.

Um, and five months before I retired. So two months before I got my retirement date, um, one of my really good friends took his life in front of me, which completely derailed. Every single life plan I had, um, I, at the time was EMT certified, which, uh, you know, I had just completed. Um, but after that traumatic event, I was like, dude, I can’t work on an ambulance.

Like, I don’t think I can really do anything. Um, [00:06:00] my plan was to, uh, get the required hours to go, go to medic school, become a paramedic, and then go to med, uh, Medical school, be a doctor. I wanted to be a surgeon and my plan was to go to war torn countries and provide much needed medical aid, um, you know, to kind of, kind of mesh the two worlds that I had experienced together.

I, I’d been in a combat zone. It didn’t particularly scare me. And I figured why not go back? These people need help, you know, um, start, start putting some of the pieces together that I might’ve broke earlier in life, you know, um, but with that event, with Noah taking his life, really. Completely derailed everything in my life.

Um, and so when my retirement date actually came, I had really, I had no plans. Um, I, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what direction to take my life. Um, I was excited to get out of the Marine Corps at that time, the retirement kind of wasn’t really on my terms, I wanted to stay in and finish my [00:07:00] enlistment.

I had hoped to do a, uh, a deployment as a platoon sergeant at, um, before, before getting out, but that was no longer in the cards, so I kind of had to accept the fact that I was just gonna, you know, I was just gonna get out and be a civilian now. Um, and that, that in and of itself was tough. Um, you know, losing direction of my life was difficult.

I didn’t know where to go. So I got out and what does one do when they get out and they live in California? I guess smoke a bunch of weed. Um, so that’s what I did. And, uh, I went to go apply for a job at Starbucks just to have something to do, get out of the house, you know, and I went through the whole interview process, and at the end of the interview, you know, the interviewer’s like, uh, you’re an inspiration.

Thank you! I was like, what? What? That doesn’t make any sense at all. Um, right on. I’m an inspiration, but I’m not inspiring enough to just [00:08:00] sling your, your coffee for you. I got you. No big deal.

Um, so instead I stayed home smoking weed and reading a bunch of books. Um, and I, uh, Kind of decided I wanted to invest in real estate, but I’m just a poor boy from the Adirondack mountains.

I ain’t got no money to invest in real estate. Um, so I started hanging out at a bunch of real estate, uh, groups and they kind of convinced me that I could start a business or I convinced myself I could start a business. So I did, I founded a corporation and got into that, which, uh, didn’t go well. Um, and meanwhile, you know, I’m, I’m struggling with, uh.

With the transition out, um, first couple of weeks were great. And then it just started to get really lonely. Um, you know, having, having gone from being around my friends and my support group, [00:09:00] honestly, like every day to now, all of a sudden I’m, I’m living alone in, in California, uh, the city where I don’t really like living, kind of shut in, you know, um, things just took a I started taking a dark turn and took kind of a nosedive too, um, and I was doing all of the, the right things, you know, I was going to see a psychologist, I was taking the medication they gave me, um, and, and I was doing the work too, I was doing the difficult stuff to try and get better, but just, nothing really seemed to take.

Um, and things were getting dark. It felt like I was, you know, chained to a floor in a sealed room and the, the water level was slowly, slowly rising up. And, you know, honestly, I was scared. I didn’t want to kill myself, but having watched my friend who I had no idea was suicidal, really kind of. Sparked a terror in me that that might be my future and it might be inevitable.

And, you know, at [00:10:00] that point, what do you do? How do you combat that when you’re doing everything that you are told to do to make things better, what do you do, you know?

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. I, I hear where you’re coming from there. Um, you know, and one of the things that you had mentioned is that the first few weeks after getting out were great. And I think. That kind of triggered in me was like, you kind of have that newfound freedom. Nobody’s telling you what time you got to wake up, what, what clothes to wear, where to be, what to do, any of that stuff.

And it’s like, Hey, I can do it literally whatever I want. This is freedom. This is amazing. But then you start to realize. There’s a whole lot of good stuff that you kind of left behind, the support group that you mentioned, um, the structure and rigor and discipline, uh, that quite honestly, we all let it slide a little bit when we get out, right?

It’s, it’s kind of, I think, a natural thing. We, we start to slide and backtrack a bit. Um, yeah. And, but it was good that you’re, you’re doing the work [00:11:00] to get out there, um, do go to the therapy, uh, to, you know, take the medications if that was what, you know, something that was not necessary. Um, And that wasn’t enough, I guess.

Right. That, that wasn’t quite cutting it for you. Um, and again, that’s not an uncommon thing either. Um, I’m sure there’s some people who will listen to this right now who are like, yep, that, you know, that’s me. Um, yeah, I felt the same way. Um, you know, quite honestly, I, I’ve, I’ve been through, you know, various, uh, you know, therapy, uh, podcasts.

Programs that, that through the VA and, you know, elsewhere, and, uh, you know, some of them, some of them are, you know, hits and misses, you know, that you may not find the right one, uh, you know, right away, but, um, you eventually found some healing, um, You know, through, through your, uh, service dog, I think we, we mentioned at the beginning, right?

Um, you know, was there anything else that, that you found that was, was helpful in your, your healing process?

Steven Ferguson: yeah, um, that was very helpful. Uh, I happen to connect [00:12:00] with the heroic healing. and, um, what they do is they, they do psychedelic, uh, assisted therapy, plant medicines, um, and I was fortunate enough to connect with one of their facilitators who helped me to, one, apply for their program and two, actually make it to one of their retreats in Peru and, uh, sit with a, uh, with a, with ayahuasca, with a, with a healer down there.

And that, in conjunction. The support my service dog provided me, I’m convinced, is what, you know, provided the healing that I need to now be, you know, I wouldn’t say I’m whole, but I’m functional and I’m doing well.

Scott DeLuzio: Well, you know, and I, I think with, with anything, uh, anything that happens in our lives, I don’t care if you’re military or not, you know, whether you’ve had a traumatic event that occurred to you or, or something really extraordinary happened to you, you know, all these things, we are the, the sum of all the events of our, Our past, you know, all the things that have happened [00:13:00] up until now.

And, um, you know, that includes the, the bad times, it includes the good times. Um, but when you, you have those, those bad times and you find something that, that works for you, um, and it, it provided you with, with a, um, you know, kind of a new, new foundation, maybe. Um, you know, so. I don’t think we, we’re ever going to go back to that person that we were before a traumatic event or before, uh, you know, a really extraordinary, good event.

We’re not going to go back to that person that we were before. We’re going to, we have a new, new baseline of like, kind of what is normal now for us. And you know, that, and it has to be, you know, functional, you know, it can’t, can’t be, you know, completely dysfunctional mess. And so, you know, what you were doing is, you know, saying like this house is getting kind of messy.

We got to kind of clean house a bit and, and figure out. What’s, what’s, where does everything go? What’s my new normal? Um, and you know, so you did that. So [00:14:00] I’ve, I’ve been curious. I, I kind of have a policy on the show where I don’t, I don’t necessarily promote things that are, uh, you know, that would necessarily be illegal here in the United States.

So like the, the trip that you took, you had to go to Peru because. You can’t do that here legally anyways. Um, and so I don’t, I don’t like to promote those things. However, I know I’ve talked to many people like yourself, that it’s absolutely helped them. And so I want to, I want to just ask you if you don’t mind, um, you know, kind of what, what was that experience like and what, Like, in your mind, how did that help you?

How was that a beneficial thing for you?

Steven Ferguson: Yeah, um, so the experience, honestly, probably the most, one of the more challenging parts of it was actually leaving the country, you know, prior to, um, that trip. The last time I had left the country was, uh, you know, on deployment and before that was to go fight a war. And so leaving the country, I was like, This is, this is crazy.

Like, I am about to [00:15:00] jump on an international flight, go to a country where I barely speak the language and dude, I, I, I have no idea how this is gonna go. Um, you know, uh, to, to put it in, in one way, like, I was jumping on a plane to go to a foreign country to do drugs in the jungle and that’s a pretty crass way to put it, but, you know, um, it was, you know, It was a challenge just to get down there.

Um, but I had some faith in the program. I had some, some faith in the facilitator that he wasn’t going to lead me astray. You know, we, we built a relationship. I trusted the guy. And so I kind of like, Bit my lip and, and went with it and just, you know, see, see what happened. And turns out that the anxiety I felt about going to a foreign country was completely unfounded and everything was fine.

And like the time I was actually in the country was phenomenal. I’d actually love to go back someday. Um, [00:16:00] just for fun then, uh, Getting to the retreat center where the actual ceremonies and everything took place was, was great. The, uh, the retreat center itself was very, um, very calm, very peaceful, very supportive, very caring, staffed by people that you could tell cared.

Um, and they had a lot of experience working with veterans because, um, the non profit that took me down there, the Heroic Hearts Project, they, they work with them closely and they have a very strong working relationship with them, so they kind of know the ins and outs of how to cater to the, the veteran community.

And um, They do a really in depth, uh, before sitting with any of the medicine, you basically have a bunch of prep work that you have to do to get ready for it. So it’s not like you’re going into it completely unprepared. They do a really good job of preparing you for the whole thing. And even still, I was a little [00:17:00] bit nervous, you know, um, I didn’t, I’d never I have never done ayahuasca before.

I don’t know what this is like, what it’s going to happen. Um, you know, some people were there for a second time, um, and they, they were expressing, you know, both excitement and a little bit of anxiety because, you know, it can be kind of nerve wracking. Um, the actual ceremony itself is, um, It’s, it’s so difficult to describe, um, to be perfectly honest, uh, but it is, it’s a very moving experience.

And while it, it’s, it probably won’t be what you want or expect, but it will be what you need. And that’s, that’s the best way I think that I can describe it.

Scott DeLuzio: Okay.

Steven Ferguson: There were some things,

Scott DeLuzio: No, I, I, yeah, I, I like, I like that description though. Uh, you know, it may not be what you want or expect, but, but it’ll be what you need. It, it’s kind of a, um, you know, sometimes you gotta push ourselves out our, out of our comfort zone, [00:18:00] and that might be the thing that somebody needs. Um, now it may not, you know, obviously everybody’s gonna be a little bit different.

Um, you know, but, but to your point that, that might be what somebody needs, right?

Steven Ferguson: yeah, and there’s so many different modalities to healing. Um, you know, after my experience with the ayahuasca, I thought, dude, this is it. This is it. This is it. Hands down, we’ve solved this crisis, everybody just needs to go to the jungle and do drugs. I have since matured in, in my opinions of what is needed because I’ve started working with other non profits working to battle this suicide crisis and what I’ve found is that Dude, everybody responds to stuff differently, and there are so many different modalities for treatment out there that, you know, one thing works for one person and they think it’s amazing, and another person tries it and it’s like, dude, I, would you give me a placebo?

Because there’s nothing going on here, you know?

And so, you know, I guess I just got lucky in that I found the two pieces of the puzzle that were the answer to my healing, you know, [00:19:00] my service dog and psychedelic assisted therapy. Um, and you know, the combination of those two are really what brought me to the place, like I said, where I am today, where I’m, I’m functional, I’m, You know, I’m doing well, uh, and I’m resilient.

Um, you know, life isn’t quite so dark as it once appeared. Um, I’m not afraid that I’m going to kill myself now, which is, you know, I think a huge step in the right direction and I’m, I’m taking that and, you know, I, I want to end the veteran suicide crisis. So that’s kind of what my life is, has turned,

is battling this crisis.

That, that almost took my life.

So, fuck this thing, dude, it’s got to go.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, it absolutely has to. Um, and I really appreciate the work that you’re doing to help battle this because, um, you know, it, it, it’s going to take an army to battle this. This is not a, an issue that’s going, going away overnight, uh, [00:20:00] unfortunately. And we. We got to work together and put our heads together.

And, you know, for, for years, I, I’ve always said, like I said earlier, before I asked you about your, your experience, um, you know, I, I’ve always said, you know, I don’t want to promote something that’s going to possibly get somebody in trouble, land them in jail, make things worse, right? If they, if they, because they heard something from, from, from, you know, You know, some dumb ass on a podcast who said like, Hey, this is a good idea to go do this thing.

And they go do it. And, you know, they ended up getting arrested here because they do it here. They don’t do it in a supervised safe environment or, you know, the way that you did, you know, with all the prep work and stuff, they just go take a bunch of drugs and, you know, or, or even worse, a overdose on, on some type of drug.

And, you know, they, they. You know, hurt themselves or, you know, even kill themselves by, by doing that. So that to me was like, my biggest fear is like, I don’t want to, I don’t want to promote this kind of thing if, if it’s going to get somebody in a worse place. But I hear so many people like yourself who have said like, Hey, there there’s some benefit [00:21:00] here.

And I feel like. You know, part of my job here is like, what I’m trying to do is exactly what you just said is, is let’s get rid of this veteran suicide, uh, issue. And if there’s people like yourself who are still here because they went through this and this experience and they came out better on the other side for it, I feel like I’d be a little bit remissed to not, at least, Have you share your experience with it?

You know, um, again, I don’t want anyone to go do anything illegal, check the laws in your areas and all that kind of stuff. You got to go someplace else, go someplace else, but do it through a, an organization like what you said you did. Um, so that, you know, you’re doing it in a safe way. Um, and you’re not, you’re not gonna end up making matters worse by, by going through that.

So, um, I do appreciate you taking the time to share that, uh, that aspect of it. But, um, But I’d also like to kind of switch gears just a bit, um, and talk a little bit about how your service dog has helped you and your, maybe [00:22:00] your day to day life and, you know, kind of recovery and, and how, how that’s all worked.

Right.

Steven Ferguson: Um, she is the greatest little border collie that ever was. Um, I got her, so I had the inclination that a service dog would help me. Um, I went to the VA, I was like, hey, uh, guys, I think, I think a service dog would help. My psychologist, my VA psychologist was like, I think you’re right.

I’ll recommend it. You know, um, the VA promptly said, no, there’s no evidence that a service dog does anything to alleviate symptoms of PTSD, ironic because they actually had a study going at the time, which actually did end up showing that there was evidence to support service dogs, alleviating symptoms of PTSD.

Crazy. I know. Um, but they said, no. So I went and found a couple of nonprofits and kind of tried to go through their [00:23:00] application process. Um, their wait times are 24 to 36 months. If you’re in crisis, that’s too long. Um, and I kind of gave up. I was really discouraged and I just, I don’t know, the darkness just kept getting darker, and the pit just got, kept getting deeper, um, and then one day my buddy showed up with a border collie puppy, and he was like, Dude, a puppy’s the greatest thing in the world, I love this dog.

And I was just hanging out with him, and I was like, dude, that’s awesome. Yeah, this dog is great. Dude, she was running around, having a good old time, just causing mayhem, and I was like, dude, I think I want to go get a, go get a dog. And he, he told me that there was one dog down there, she was real calm, probably make a great service dog.

So I drove down there the next day, um, You know, riled all the puppies up, saw what one calmed down first and said, that’s the one. Um, we [00:24:00] hopped in my Jeep and she promptly puked. As I started driving everywhere, it was disgusting. It was terrible. Uh, didn’t realize she was going to get car sick, but she did.

And she continued to do so for some time, which is crazy. Cause you know, she was going with me everywhere, like from day one. Um, and uh, but I had no idea how to train a dog, zero idea in the world. Um, I just. Ended up getting, you know, I, I tried YouTube University. Um, that didn’t really get me too far to be honest.

Um, I ended up getting very lucky and finding a group of volunteers that were doing group service dog training for veterans, literally five minutes from my house. I could walk to the park they did the training at. And thanks to them, I was able to train. which, you know, took 18 months or so. It was a long time.

It was an arduous process, Coming from not knowing what the hell I was doing. [00:25:00] Um, but the whole time, you know, from like day one, she was really attentive to my, my emotional needs. And really the only thing I was teaching her was sit down, stay, um, peel and recall, um, you know, how to behave in public, how to be an acceptable member of human society, which she’s like a star.

You know, she loves being around people. She, the, her favorite thing in the world is just, To be around me. She don’t really care where we’re going or what we’re doing. As long as she’s around me, that’s all she wants. Everything else that she did for me, you know, she really kind of figured that one out on her own.

Um, she’s real in tune with my emotional state. So if I start feeling anxiety or start getting tense about something, you know, she’ll come over and she’ll, she’ll lean up against me. She’ll paw at me. She’ll do something to get my attention and she’s just there for me. Um, you know, And in addition to, to the emotional needs that, that she meant for me, um, you know, just having this animal there that I love [00:26:00] dearly from day one, dude, she’s precious.

She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Um, I would look at her, and at this time in my life, like, I was not leaving the house. Like, I was leaving the house with challenge to go to the grocery store. And so, that’s, that’s a, that’s a negative reinforcement loop right there. Things are getting worse because I’m not doing the things to make it better.

But, what, one thing that she brought to me of value was that, like, dude, I have to take this dog out for, like, she deserves it. I can’t not take her out for a walk. So I would, you know, strap up and get ready to go to war, and we’d venture out a little ways outside the apartment, and we’d spend some time outside, and I’d be like, Alright, buddy.

That’s enough, we’re going home. And you know, a little bit grew on a little bit. I started to realize like, hey, maybe I’m not too terribly, uh, unsafe in this little area behind my apartment. Maybe we can start venturing further. And we did. We started venturing further and further and further. Uh, next thing [00:27:00] you know, we’re hopping on planes, flying to see family, you know, just doing normal human things.

Normal human things with a service dog. Bye. But still, you know, um, so she was really this, this, just this angel that empowered me, um, to, to do the things that actually made my life better and, and put me in a place where I was, I was getting better, you know, things weren’t just constantly getting worse. Um, and so that’s, you know, that’s what she’s done for me.

Scott DeLuzio: That’s, that’s great. And, and I’m glad that you’ve, you’ve found that. You know, in, in your service dog. And, and one of the things you mentioned is that you participate in the training yourself, uh, with, with, with your dog and from, I, I don’t have a service dog. I, I’ve never had one. But, um, from what I understand from talking to other people is that is one of the best ways to train a service dog.

It, as opposed to having somebody else train the dog for you, and [00:28:00] then you just come in at the tail end and, and take the dog and now it’s your dog. And, you know, because, uh, one of the things that. The dogs that as they are learning how to respond to, you know, emotional, you know, things like that, like our bodies give off, you know, all sorts of different chemicals and smells and, you know, different things that the dogs can sense that, you know, maybe you and I can’t sense because, you know, our, our sense of sensory, uh, you know, perception is just not, uh, As good as, uh, as a dog’s is they start to learn, oh, when, when Stephen is feeling this way, you know, or, or when I smell this, that’s when I need to go do that.

You know, I need to go do something. I have to go, you know, nudge up against them or, you know, paw them or, or, you know, whatever. Um, and. If somebody else is training the dog and

has something similar, but it may have a different smell to the dog and may not be as good as if you are the one who [00:29:00] is, is kind of there with, with the dog in that training.

So, um, you know, it, it, it, it, it. From what I understand anyways, it’s, that’s the best way to do it is, is to be there throughout the whole process. I know you said it’s a long process, but I think you’ll, you’ll agree it’s, it’s worth it in the end. Uh, you know, even, even though it was a long process. Um, so, so that’s awesome.

Um, let’s talk about Honor Guard Coffee. Uh, I mentioned that I think at the beginning, um, can you share, you know, why you were inspired to kind of start this business and, you know, what. What barriers for, uh, veterans are you seeking to, uh, you know, kind of break down as far as, you know, uh, seeking service dogs and things like

that.

Steven Ferguson: Yeah, so as, as I said, my journey to get a service dog was kind of challenging. Um, it was probably longer than it should be, uh, You know, I, it could have gone so wrong so quickly and I am just fortunate that it didn’t. Um, now there’s, there’s a lot of really great organizations out there [00:30:00] already doing the thing.

Um, but one of their, their greatest needs is, is, um, you know, fun to do the thing. There’s a reason it’s a 36 month wait list and it’s not because, you know, there’s a lack of dogs in the world because there really is not. Um, there’s a lack of resources to, to do the training and, and to pair these dogs with service, uh, with, with service members, with veterans.

And so I wanted to find a way to, to shorten that span. And, you know, I started training with the organization that helped me train, um, service dogs, but I’m one person I can only go so far. I can only do so much, you know, um, and I burn out really easily because I habitually put too much on my plate. Um, so I needed to find another way to, you know, expand my ability to, to impact this problem.

And what I settled upon was there’s got to be a way to build a business that [00:31:00] can provide the resources to these organizations that are doing the thing. That are, you know, more or less starved for resources and that have the ability to expand their reach, shorten their timelines. If they had the resources to do so, um, over the, the, the course of years after I got out of the Marine Corps, um, I’d kind of dabble in entrepreneurship because I was apparently unemployable.

Um, and entrepreneurship was like the only thing available to me. So I partnered with a couple of ventures that ended up ultimately failing, four of them. That was, uh, that was trying times. Um, but. It led me to a place where at this particular moment in time where I have a service dog whose training is complete, where I’m looking to increase the number of service dogs being provided to veterans.

Um, it brought the knowledge, uh, that I needed. To start thinking about this problem in terms of what can I do if I used a [00:32:00] business to finance this. And, um, I settled upon Coffee as a model to, uh, to do so. Because it was, uh, it, the way that it’s set up is there, there’s fairly low overhead, you know. Um, I didn’t have to be rich to start this company.

Uh, I started it with a couple of thousand dollars and a lot of, uh, Blood, sweat, and tears. Um, and the idea was lots of Americans drink coffee, you know? Um, and so why not build something that they can support the veteran community by doing something they already do? And that really was the, the birthplace of Honor Guard Coffee.

Um,

Scott DeLuzio: yeah, that’s, that’s awesome. Um, and I love hearing the stories of like where businesses get started. Like they had, they see the problem, they, they have a vision and you know, that now you’re able [00:33:00] to provide for other folks who are in a similar situation to where you were, where, you know, you were, you’re trying to get a service dog, but it, you know, it was a long, long road.

And, and I think you, you mentioned like if someone’s in crisis, The 24, 36 months, however long it is, that’s too long. Like you can’t wait that long. And so, um, you know, there’s, there’s those issues there too. So, you know, helping those organizations, you know, get the resources. So, um, you know, I don’t know whether it’s, they, they shorten that timeframe, uh, or if they, they, uh, increase the number of dogs that they could put out, um, you know, with, with the proper training, um, you know, whatever it is that they’re able to do, then, then that just makes it that much easier, uh, for, for the veterans.

So, um, For, for the, the listeners who maybe aren’t familiar, uh, you know, with what, what you guys do. Um, you know, what, what can folks, uh, expect from Honor Guard Coffee? You know, really at the end of the day, what, what do you want, uh, Honor Guard Coffee to achieve? You know, what’s the dream impact on [00:34:00] the lives of veterans?

Steven Ferguson: So, my, my dream impact has, it’s kind of evolved over, over the course of time. You know, as I, as I said earlier, I thought service dogs and psychedelic assisted therapy were like the answer. Um, and so, my, my vision for Honor Guard, Honor Guard Coffee was, um, that we, Yeah, every veteran that wants a service dog, a service dog, um, and that was, that was kind of like my, my mission and my vision.

Um, since then, I’ve started to work with, uh, small grassroots startup non profits that are also combating the suicide crisis. And through that work, I found that there are so many different modalities of treatment that are working. Um, so. And so I’ve personally expanded my, my personal, uh, vision and mission, and I’m, I’m leveraging Honor Guard to, to assist in this in that, um, now going [00:35:00] beyond just, uh, Service dogs, you know, providing resources, um, whether it be financial or, um, consulting, organizational support to grassroots movements that are on the ground, fighting the fight, and honestly doing great work.

Um, one of the most recent non profits that I started working with, they just finalized their non profit paperwork yesterday, but they’ve already saved 10, 000. Eight lives. They’ve talked eight, eight people off of the ledge and they are doing amazing work. And that’s really what has inspired me to like the grassroots movements are out there.

They’re doing it. They’re passionate. These are the folks that we need to empower, and so, that’s, that’s, that’s my vision for Honor Guard. Empower these grassroots movements that are on the ground, fighting the fight, saving lives daily, and doing the work that needs to get done. Um, you know, that’s, that’s, uh, that’s my vision and direction for Honor Guard Coffee.

Any, any purchase of [00:36:00] coffee is a vote for, you know, um, I, I, I donate my time to these folks. I don’t work doing anything else. That’s, that’s a vote. For me to continue doing the work that I’m doing, um, and directly contributing to that mission and that

cause.

Scott DeLuzio: And that’s, it’s amazing because there’s so many people, uh, like you said, there’s so many organizations out there who, who want to help. Um, and you know, a lot of times they need funding. A lot of times they need. They need help directionally, you know, sometimes we get tunnel vision and, you know, sometimes we just need to come together and work together and, you know, look at what we, we can achieve, you know, in, in the military, you know, put, put a bunch of, put a bunch of, I was an infantry guy too.

So I put a bunch of infantry guys together, give them a problem. They’ll figure it out. It may not be the prettiest solution. It may use a lot of duct tape, um, but they’ll figure out a solution. To whatever this problem is. Right. So, so yeah, coming together, um, you know, especially in a, in an issue as important as, as the one that we’re talking [00:37:00] about here, um, is, is something I think we, we all need to come together and, and work together, put our heads together, Hey, figure out what’s working, what’s not working and come up with, with.

A direction for us to start moving in. And, uh, you know, like anything else, you know, when you see this, this problem is not getting better or this thing is not working, okay, let’s change course and let’s, let’s try something else and let’s move up, move on. When we come together, you can do that quicker and get a, uh, towards that, that good solution, uh, a whole lot faster.

So, um, that that’s awesome. Um, now your, your recovery and work with Honor Guard, uh, obviously has made an impact on your life and, uh, I’m sure, uh, Plenty of other people, you know, you just mentioned that the other organization that just got started up has already saved eight lives. Um, you know, I, the way I look at it, if you can impact just one life, it’s a mission accomplished, but, [00:38:00] um, you know, they’ve accomplished that mission eight times already.

Um, you know, and hopefully many more in the, in the future. Um, you know, um, uh, do you have any advice for, for veterans, uh, or, or even their family members or so, so who, uh, might be having, uh, You know, similar challenge to what you went through. They might be going through that same kind of journey. Um, you know, what would you advise them?

Like, how do

they work through that?

Steven Ferguson: Yeah, that’s a challenge. Um, I think the most valuable thing is to find a community to plug into. Um, you know, I, uh, whether it be a gaming community or, you know, a community of people who, who finds catharsis in growing things. Um, they’re, they’re out there. Um, the, the challenge is that they’re difficult to find.

And that is something that I’m, I’m working on, on solving the issue. I’d like to make a, uh, you know, consolidated [00:39:00] space where, you know, veterans Uh, can come and be like, okay, this is actually my list of resources. What, what sounds like it would be helpful. Um, but you know, my advice is, uh, one, don’t be afraid to get help.

I know I kind of talked how my psychologist didn’t really help me. It didn’t help me in the moment. It did give me the tools I needed later on to do difficult internal work and start, you know, making progress towards healing. So definitely, um, see a therapist, a psychologist. Um, there is value in it beyond that, you know, um, kind of do some, some internal looking.

I knew a service dog would help me. Um, and I think that if, if you look internally, you might see what maybe might be a resource that would help you. And, and if you have that inkling, pursue it. Find a way to do it, you know, um, your life is worth fighting for. So, so fight for the motherfucker, you know?

Scott DeLuzio: A hundred. Yeah, a [00:40:00] hundred percent. I, and that’s a, that’s a great way to put it. Um, uh, yeah, fight. Um, and, and that’s, I think what we’re all trying to do, we’re, we’re fighting, we’re fighting for each other. Um, we’re, we’re fighting to help keep these veterans around. We, we don’t want to have them, uh, you know, just.

Taking themselves out. Like that’s, I don’t think that’s not what anybody wants, uh, you know, out of, out of, uh, you know, all this. So, um, you know, so we fight, we fight for each other and we fight to, to find solutions and like you said, not every solution is going to be the right fit for every single person.

Um, and so. Yeah, we’re going to have a bunch of different tools out there. Service dogs being one, you know, traditional talk therapy might be another, um, gaming communities. But, but to your point, that community is, is a huge thing. Um, and. And I think one of the problems that, that people end up facing is that they may in the back of [00:41:00] their head say, yeah, you know what, uh, you know, a certain X, Y, Z community, whatever it is, uh, it might be a good community for me. Um, I, but I just don’t want to get out of the house, kind of like the situation where you were in, uh, where you, you just kind of stayed in, in your apartment and even going to get groceries was a struggle for you. Um, and. A lot of times people just get in that headspace where they don’t even want to leave the house, uh, for whatever reasons.

And when you’re in that, that mindset where you don’t even want to leave, even that thing that sounds like, Hey, maybe that could be a good thing. Maybe if I joined that community or if I get involved with these people, that might be a good thing. Um, you’re at that point where you’re just like, you know what?

It’s not worth it. I don’t want to do it, but it is worth it. You know, to get out there, um,

Steven Ferguson: Bye bye.

Scott DeLuzio: you know, because it, it’s literally, we’re talking about your life here. Um, and, and like you said, your, your life is worth it. Um, you know, I’m, I’m glad that. We’re able to sit here and have this conversation in, in a positive way that, [00:42:00] you know, the, your story didn’t turn out a different way.

And for the listeners who don’t know, um, you and I just met probably like five minutes before we started this, this interview, you know, face to face, like in, in virtual, you know, still, I, I don’t, I don’t care that we just met. I’m glad that you’re here. I’m glad that, that you have a story to tell that you, you have, um, that you You know, uh, the ability to now make a positive impact on the world.

Um, you know, for the folks who are out there, it’s like, you know, that darkness is just closing in on them. Yeah, it sucks. It sucks when you’re in that, that darkness and that cloud is, is, uh, getting darker. Um, but when, when you look at somebody like yourself who was in that place, and now you’re able to take that experience and.

And help shine some light on people. Um, I think that’s honestly just a, a purely inspirational story [00:43:00] that, um, you know, there, there’s, there is a light at the end of that tunnel, you know, as dark as it may seem at this point, there is a light there. It may be very dim right now, but keep, keep pushing through.

Um,

and, and that light will start to get brighter. And I

think that’s, that’s kind

of the message you’re trying to get across.

Steven Ferguson: Yeah, I mean, there may not feel like there’s any light at all. There wasn’t for me when I was in that place. I thought for sure that this was just what life was going to be, that it was going to be miserable. And honestly, you know, if you’d have told me, I’d be here talking to you right now. Three years ago, four years ago, I’d have thought you were, you know, obviously you’re, you’re doing some of them bad drugs, you know, I mean, uh, cause, you know, you never know where life’s gonna take you, and it could turn out to be really fucking great, you know, um, so, get in there and, and fight cause your life’s worth it.

If you’re struggling and you don’t know how to find a community, look me up on LinkedIn, I know. When you separate it, dude, they made you [00:44:00] make a LinkedIn, so find me on LinkedIn, Stephen Ferguson, I think I’m like one of a few on there. It’s me and my dog sitting Being filmed for a podcast. Um, I’m the only idiot on there that didn’t use a professional headshot.

Dude, reach out to me and I’ll try and find you a community you get plugged in with.

Scott DeLuzio: Perfect. And I’ll, I’ll put that link in the show notes, uh, as well. Uh, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll find you. I’ll do the legwork and I’ll, I’ll find you on LinkedIn. We’ll, we’ll get connected if we’re not already. I think we might actually be, but, um, you know, I’ll put, I’ll get that link in the, the, uh, show notes. Um, but speaking of links, um, for the listeners who, uh, want to find Honor Guard Coffee and support

the mission that you guys are, are

taking on.

Uh, where can they go to find more information?

Steven Ferguson: HonorGuardCoffee.

com is the, uh, the,

primary

place for it. You know, I mean, I guess we should probably, we do have social media. Um, I’m not a social media whiz, neither is my business partner. And so our social media heavily reflects [00:45:00] that. Um, it’s a little bit embarrassing. I’m not gonna lie, but you know, it is what it is.

It’s where we’re at. Um, the website is the best place to go. Um, on there, um, you can find a support email address, which is actually just, it just goes to my inbox. If you have questions, just email support and they will, I’ll, I’ll be the one emailing you back. Um, yeah, honorguardcoffee.

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. Excellent. Great. And I’ll have a link to that in the show notes as well as your, your LinkedIn. And, uh, I’ll, I’ll include your social media links in there as well to maybe light a little fire under your ass to get you more involved on, on social media. If you start seeing a flood of people, uh, you know, following you.

Um, but, but, uh, anyways, I’ll, I’ll, for the listeners, I’ll have those links in the show notes as well. So, um, so you can check them out. Um, but yeah, if you’re. You’re into coffee, most people, uh, these days, uh, I find are, are coffee drinkers. So if you’re [00:46:00] going to be drinking coffee anyways, uh, you might as well be helping support the veterans and the military community.

Um, might as well get your coffee from Honor Guard Coffee. Um, so go check it out. Again, that link will be in the show notes. Um, uh, Stephen, it, it’s been great hearing your story, uh, learning about your, your journey, uh, from Marine Corps to, you know, the, the struggles that you had, the, the journey that you went through to, uh, find.

Healing and find the light, um, you know, turn that light back on, spark that back in yourself. Um, and now the, the work that you’re doing with Honor Guard Coffee to, uh, help support the military, the veteran community, um, with, you know, providing these service dogs, um, because. You’re right. It’s, it’s a challenge to get these there.

It’s really expensive. It’s, it takes a lot of resources and dedication and, uh, you know, folks like

you are the

ones who, uh, help make it happen. So thank you so

much again for

everything that you do. I really

appreciate it.

Steven Ferguson: Oh, thank you, Scott. It’s been, it’s been a great [00:47:00] conversation.