Episode 469 Tom Tice Warrior Strong Helping Veterans Stay Fit and Connected Transcript

This transcript is from episode 469 with guest Tom Tice.

Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome back to Drive On. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And today my guest is Tom Tice, the founder and CEO of Warrior Strong. Tom is a fitness enthusiast who has channeled his knowledge of health and wellbeing towards helping veterans transition into civilian life. And today we’re going to be discussing the services and impact of Warrior Strong in the veteran community.

But before we get into all of that, Tom, uh, welcome to the show. Glad to have you here.

Tom Tice: Thanks, Scott. You know, I’m looking forward to sharing the Warrior Strong mission with everybody who watches and listens to your show. Appreciate this opportunity and excited to share what we have to talk about today.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. And I’m excited to be able to share it as well, um, because I know organizations like yours do a lot of great work and, uh, you know, if, if folks don’t know about it, then, then they can’t take advantage of, of those benefits. So, uh, so definitely want to spread the word about it. So, uh, before we get into what Warrior Strong is and all that, tell us a little bit [00:01:00] about your background and kind of how you got to, uh, where you are, uh, with working with Warrior Strong.

Tom Tice: Yeah, so Warrior Strong was started back in 2017, but before we even got to starting Warrior Strong, Um, I’ve been working with the military community for about 10 years now, and it all started when I took a job working with men and women in uniform at Picatinny Arsenal, a small army base in northern New Jersey.

And I got to learn a lot about men and women serving our country, how they operate and how their community works. And I realized, you know, there’s, There’s a lot of things that they’re not receiving on the civilian side. And I wanted to make sure that I could help, uh, support those men and women, especially being a civilian, you know, living so close to 9 11, those twin towers in New York City, um, fallen down after the terrorist attack.

I knew that people in our community were, were fighting that day to save lives, but also for years to come. And, uh, I wanted to give back to those men and women who serve our country. And, um, [00:02:00] give them an opportunity to heal. And, you know, there was a garrison commander, uh, on, on post that I became pretty close with.

Um, and he brought me to the suicide prevention training with his soldiers. And it was all these, these soldiers in uniform. Um, they took their hats off and, uh, you know, I, I, or covers, right? That’s, that’s what they’re, that’s what they call them in the military. Um, but you know, there I was a 21 year old kid with khaki shorts, t shirt, backwards hat, um, you know, into fitness, obviously, but that’s where I learned about the struggle of, uh, suicide in the military, uh, in active duty.

but also in the veteran community, especially transitioning from uniform to civilian life. So I wanted to get involved, wanted to support. I only knew one veteran until I got that job at Picatinny Arsenal, and it was Rob Bracero, our chairman of the board, and um, he’s a combat vet, and I wanted to make sure I could give back and, and, and show appreciation of those men and women who sacrificed so much for us each and every day.

No [00:03:00] matter if it’s stateside or across the country or the world, um, you know, I wanted to give back and I wanted to create something special to possibly help, you know, cut down on, on those seeking, you know, um, different opportunities, but those who need help that are maybe looking for community and camaraderie and, and maybe it will help them.

Um, with, you know, whatever they may need.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And those are, first off, uh, before I get into that, what I was going to say, uh, first of all, I want to thank you for the work that you’re doing. Um, because, uh, you know, there’s so many civilians out there who, I mean, you, you could have chosen any path, you know, in, in life with, uh, you know, the type of work that you do.

Um, but you chose to give back to those who, who fight to defend us, protect us at home and, uh, you know, do all, all the, uh, All the, all the, the dirty work, you know, um, you know, but, but we, uh, we appreciate people [00:04:00] like you who, you know, go out of your way to, to support, uh, folks like us because, um, you know, it means a lot, you know, look back just, you know, like Vietnam era when people were coming back home, they’re getting sped on and, uh, they were being called names and, and things like that, that, um, you know, and they didn’t have that kind of support.

from the general public. Um, you know, that, that has been a kind of 180 turn, uh, turnaround where, where there are people like you now and, and they are, uh, you know, going out there trying to help support veterans. And, and so we, I, we don’t take that for granted. Like we see people like you and it’s like, well, thank God there’s people like you out there, uh, because you know, you know, we need it.

Um, but you know, the, the programs that you’re talking about, you know, you’re talking about a couple of things, camaraderie, you’re talking about fitness. Um, And those things are huge when it comes to, uh, veteran related issues, especially when you’re talking about veteran suicides. Um, you know, because a lot of times we isolate, uh, you know, get out of the military.

We, [00:05:00] uh, you know, lose contact with, with, uh, the guys that we served with. Um, you know, we, and then we try to fit into society, but then realize we don’t fit into society. And then we’re like, well, screw it. I’ll just, you know, stick by myself and I’ll, I’ll stay away. But then, then that. Loneliness creeps in and then, then it starts spiraling out of control.

Right. Um, but, but fitness is a big thing too. And so, um, tell us about how, you know, some of your programs work. Some, uh, kind of an overview of the programs that Warrior Strong provides, uh, to folks and, and how those programs work,

Tom Tice: Yeah. Well, Warrior Strong is a federal 501c3 nonprofit providing free health and wellness programs to veterans, veteran family members, and first responders. And you know, all of our programs are in person and online. We do yoga, breath work, meditation, stretch classes, HIIT classes, nutrition classes. We have wellness retreats and certification employment programs.

We’re helping veterans who have a passion for yoga, [00:06:00] working out and want to get that, that, that next step in that certification and become a leader inside this community. So we’ll get them, we’ll, we’ll sponsor them on our, on our dollar, um, pay for their cert, bring them back on our team, pay them to become a leader.

Inside our community and have them lead meditations, yoga, nutrition classes, HIIT classes, those stuff, those such classes to help give them an opportunity to thrive again and become a leader inside the civilian, um, side of being a veteran. And, you know, we, we created this one so veterans can do something healthy for themselves.

Um, you know, you’re a veteran, you know veterans take care of everybody around them, but themselves, right? That’s a, that’s an issue. I understand why that is, but they had to put themselves first, especially transitioning from uniform to civilian life. You have to put yourself first and you have to do something good for yourself.

That doesn’t mean, you know, do [00:07:00] something bad for yourself. No, that means do something good for yourself, right? And we want these people to get into health and wellness, take care of their mind, body, spirit. Oh, and by the way, you’re going to find community. You’re going to have camaraderie and you’re going to, you’re going to be there for the men and the woman next to you or the man next to you.

You’re going to be there for your brother and sister because you’re going to be in that class with them. And that’s where those. Those conversations start to happen, too, about going to see someone for mental health, about going to a financial advisor, about just life conversations in a normal environment, right?

That’s where the best practice of therapy happens, is when you have those real conversations. And because we provide these programs, um, we give veterans, obviously, a healthy outlet. But also an opportunity to find that sense of community again and just, just do amazing things for themselves. You know, I was just looking up at some stats that the VA posted and 56 [00:08:00] percent of veterans struggle with loneliness.

Um, which leads to isolation. 45 percent of veterans, once they’re out of, you know, service, are struggling with obesity and weight. 25 percent of veterans are diabetics, 13 percent struggle with TBI, 11 percent struggle with depression, 9. 9 percent struggle with anxiety, 7 percent struggle with PTSD. These are stats that came through from the, from the VA.

Mind you, this is only 30 percent of the veteran population because only 30 percent of the veteran population even uses the VA facilities, right? But I think it’s important for organizations like ours, Warrior Strong, because I just mentioned two, loneliness at 56%, obesity and weight struggle at 45%. We can tackle those two things.

Help veterans struggling with loneliness, um, obesity. What comes with that is You know, [00:09:00] depression, you know, diabetes, you know, those, those things, right? So we’re, we’re trying to get these men and women into a spot to give them an opportunity to grow, take care of themselves, but also heal because there’s a whole process to this.

And I think Warrior Strong, you know, I’m a little biased, obviously, because, uh, I started it, but, uh, I think it does a pretty good job of bringing that opportunity to the veteran community.

Scott DeLuzio: Well, and those things that you mentioned are important, and I, uh, I’m glad you pointed out that, you know, that’s, it’s only a small subset of the veteran population. Cause I got to imagine that, that some of those numbers seemed, uh, unfortunately way low, um, you know, for, for some of those numbers, I, I would imagine that, that numbers like, you know, depression and, uh, you know, things like that are much higher than, I think you said 11 percent

Tom Tice: Yeah, much higher.

Scott DeLuzio: you know, I, I got to imagine it’s much higher.

So.

Tom Tice: all those numbers are probably much higher than what they’re, what

Scott DeLuzio: right, right. And you know, [00:10:00] yeah, I won’t get into numbers might be a little skewed, but I won’t, I won’t go there. Um, that, that’s not kind of the purpose of this conversation right now. But, um, but anyways, the, yeah, so, so these programs that you offer, um, I forget if you mentioned, uh, you know, are they, they virtual day in person, combination of both, how do those, those programs

Tom Tice: So a lot of hybrid. Um, so you can download our, uh, Warrior Strong Inc. mobile app, uh, Apple, Google store, go on the website, sign up online. Um, literally go on the website, click join now, put your information in its first, last name, branch of service, email address. Our, uh, our program director, Chris Smith, who’s an army combat vet.

Uh, we just hired on full time. He will be, uh, in, in contact with you and, uh, get you situated and get you signed up for the classes and programs you want to get involved in. And then it’s free. I mean, if you [00:11:00] were, we’re based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Um, but like I said, everything we do is virtual and, you know, we, we offer it for free.

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. Excellent. Um, and, and so I, I like, I like that it’s virtual too, because, you know, especially for, you know, we’re talking about like the isolation, right, that we don’t just isolate because that’s just a thing that we do. It’s like kind of a progression. We get to that point where, you know, we just kind of withdraw from, um, Society and we don’t want to get out in, in be involved in, in things like that over a period of time, you know, it could be a short period of time, but it’s usually there’s a progression there, right?

And sometimes like if you were to say, Oh, well, we have this, this class with, you know, there’s gonna be 50 people there, you know, come join the class and, and participate in this in person kind of thing. That might be too much for somebody. Uh, who’s, who’s sitting there, who’s even going to the grocery store, maybe it’s too much for them or, or something, you know, um, [00:12:00] and so, yeah, we’re, I’m going to go into a class with 50 people and, uh, you know, 50 people I don’t know and, and do all that, like that might be too much.

Right. So having a virtual, uh, thing, which, you know, COVID was a terrible situation, but I think one of the things that came out of it, which, uh, which changed the world for the better, I think is the fact that we all kind of got, you know, A little more comfortable with like the virtual technology, uh, you know, stuff like what we’re using right now, even though, uh, you know, the listeners don’t know this, but we had a little tech issues earlier, but it all, it all worked out, you know, we, we figured it out.

Right. And it’s not a big deal. Um, and, but we all are, are, are a lot more comfortable with this stuff now. And so now you might have a veteran who’s sitting there like, I don’t, I really don’t want to go out anywhere. Well, you don’t have to, you can, as long as you got a, you know, Uh, decent internet connection and a computer, you know, even your phone or tablet or something.

Um, you should be able to participate in these types of events. Um, and not only is that going to help [00:13:00] you physically, but it’s going to start to help you mentally too. And maybe, maybe that, okay, that’s one small step to get in front of a, uh, you know, a group. It’s a virtual group, right?

Tom Tice: Yeah.

Scott DeLuzio: Hey, that wasn’t so bad.

I think I can handle that. Maybe I can get out and, In person and get out now into that type of group. And then you start building that, that camaraderie, um, you, you get to know people, uh, you, you have, uh, some of that stuff that you, you kind of lost from coming out of the military, where, where you had your group of people that you could rely on, you could talk to all the time, you lose that, but now you find another group, right?

And so, so that I think is, is important. Um, Is there any, uh, maybe rhyme or reason behind why you chose to focus on the specific modalities, uh, you know, you mentioned yoga, breathwork, meditation, those types of things, um, as far as supporting the overall well being, uh, of, of folks, uh, [00:14:00] is, is there any rhyme or reason behind those or, or is there like a specific, uh, you know, modalities that, that work better for one thing or another?

Tom Tice: Yeah, um, well, we really wanted to be, um, we didn’t have much when we started, right? Um, we didn’t even have our own studio. It’s a crazy story. I’m not getting into it, but we got a studio for 25 a month. And Scranton, that’s how we started. And, uh, really the only thing we can do is, is, is yoga. Uh, I never even did yoga before.

Rob, the chairman, uh, he never did yoga before. He’s a Marine, so he definitely didn’t do yoga before. Um, but, uh, but we’re, we didn’t have much. We were limited on what we could do with equipment. So we’re like, all right, well, the people who we were renting from were yoga instructors. So they’re like, Hey, you know, we’ll, we’ll teach yoga for you for free.

And we’re like, okay, I guess we have a program now, right? I guess we have something that we can do. And we wanted to do something that wasn’t very strenuous on the [00:15:00] body. Um, we wanted to do something that everybody could do. And what people don’t know is yoga is literally for everybody. Yoga is a self practice.

Yoga is for you and your mat and for what you can do. And that’s pretty much the reason why we started with, uh, Yoga and then the meditation and then everything else came from there. The breath work, um, was because it was accessible for everybody. And I mean, you have veterans with one arm, one leg doing yoga, um, chair yoga, seated yoga.

Everybody could participate and do it. Um, so we thought it was a good place to start. And as we progressed and grew over the years, we added things like HIIT classes and stretch classes and things of that nature into our programs. But we want to stick with Um, body weight stuff and lightweight stuff and, you know, some, obviously some, some strength training, but nothing like CrossFit or anything like that.

We did a little bit of that. [00:16:00] Um, but then injuries were happening. People were just, it wasn’t the approach that we wanted to take. Um, kind of like that holistic wellness approach is what we wanted to take and give people options. And, and the greatest thing, you know, what I like about our, our, our virtual programs is.

You don’t even have to turn your camera on. You don’t even have to unmute yourself. It is, it is really remarkable. You don’t need, if you’re, you don’t have to turn your camera on, you know, you don’t even have to go on mute. Um, so it gives many opportunities for, for, for our service members to get involved.

And what I tell people is, oh, you’re not sure about taking a class. How about you just come online and just watch a class, scope it out, you know, cameras off.

Scott DeLuzio: do a little recon, check it out, right?

Tom Tice: yeah, you know, and we want to make sure our members are comfortable and that they’re getting exactly what they need and You know, it’s been it’s been it’s been a lot of fun We’ve we’ve like I said, we started with one one to two classes a month [00:17:00] now We’re running close to 60 to 65 programs a month We’re in a couple VA facilities in PA and New Jersey running wellness programs inside these VA facilities We’re we’re We’re not letting, uh, red tape or boundaries really stop us from continuing our mission.

We come across a lot of those and, um, we know how important it is to get through those boundaries, get through that red tape and deliver our mission no matter where the veteran is because it’s free to them and they should be able to move their mind, body, spirit as they please. Um, and we do think it’s life changing stuff.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, and I gotta imagine it is because, you know, people who don’t, you don’t know where to start, the motivation for themselves is just not there, uh, you know, in the military, you always have somebody who’s telling you what to wear, where to be, when to be there, uh, you know, equipment that you need, uh, things like that.

They’re, they’re giving you all [00:18:00] of that.

Tom Tice: How to dress.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, how to dress, like what you gotta wear, everything, you know, whether you’re doing PT, um, or you’re going out on a, you know, a patrol or something, you know, whatever it is that you’re doing, uh, there’s something different to wear, there’s different equipment that you might need, there’s just, you know, You always have, uh, you know, but somebody is telling you what it is that you need and so When you get out You no longer have that person telling you what it is that you need to do and all that and it all falls on you ultimately Everybody you got to be self motivated and if you’re struggling with that a little bit, you know having a you know the availability of, you know, uh, courses, or, you know, classes that are, uh, you know, on a set schedule, you know, you do, do them X number of times a week or whatever.

Um, okay, well, there you go. Now, time is taken care of for you there. Um, okay, what is it? It’s [00:19:00] yoga. Okay, well, you need a yoga mat. Okay, equipment, boom, that’s taken care of. You need to, you know, what are you going to wear? What are you doing? Well, wear something comfortable, right? Um, you know, wear that type of stuff.

And, and so now, You get a little bit more of that discipline because that’s kind of built into the whole program.

Tom Tice: And we, and we hold, we hold them accountable, you know, I will tell you this, we, we can’t drag people to classes, right? We can’t log into Zoom for them, right? So they’re still doing it for themselves, but they know that their members, their instructors are looking forward to seeing them. When we see you RSVP, we expect you to be there.

That’s you committing and you know, we have daily text reminders. We have email alerts. We have app alerts. So when you sign up, we’re going to remind you that you signed up and you know, it was a thing that I had to learn, you know, um, working with veterans with TBI and PTSD, um, you know, memory loss and, and, and, and forgetfulness is, [00:20:00] is something that I saw within the first couple of years of working with Warrior Strong.

I, I had veterans sign up for classes and, you know, Never show up. I’m like going on. And then like literally an hour and a half went by. I got a couple of texts. Oh, I totally forgot. I was sitting on my couch and I totally forgot to go to class. So then I was like thinking like, how can I help them make sure that they get to class?

Right. And, uh, we, we added text in a text system. So when they sign up, they get a reminder, half hour, 20 minutes, 20 minutes before the class. With a reminder, they get the zoom link. They know who they’re going to see. They know they have a group of people that are, are doing the same thing they’re doing.

Right. And I’m giving them that opportunity. Like I said, to, to heal.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And that’s a good point too, where there, there are some conditions with, with memory loss, like TBIs and stuff like that you mentioned. Um, I, I know that this is kind of funny, but the, the VA, um, I, I’ve had kind of an issue with the VA, with doctor’s [00:21:00] appointments and things like that, that I I’ve had with the, Overwhelming volume of reminders that they sent to me.

It is, it’s insane. There’s emails, there’s postcards that they send in the mail, there’s text messages, and, and it’s multiple, I’m using the plural for that because there’s multiple of all of these. I was actually, I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and on the way to the appointment, uh, I got two text messages reminding me to check in for the appointment.

It’s like I’m on my way. I’ll be there. It’s almost like a, like a needy, uh, needy friend. Hey, you coming? Are you sure you’re going to be there? You know, it’s like,

Tom Tice: sure you’re there.

Scott DeLuzio: yeah, right. Exactly. I bought the chips that you like. I just want to make sure you’re here for the party. And it’s like, Alright, calm down.

But, but I get it. I get why they need to do that. Like, not everybody maybe needs that. I get why they do that, too. Um, I, I kinda, I find it funny, because it’s just, to me, it’s like, yeah, I confirmed that yesterday, and now you’re asking me again, you know. Um, [00:22:00] but, but there, there are people who need it. Um, and, yeah, you’re right,

Tom Tice: like, they like it for the motivation, the motivation, like, Oh, I was going to skip, but I got this alert now, now I am going, because it’s, you know, obviously a yoga or meditation is different than, you know, maybe a doctor’s appointment, but, you know, like it’s easy to skip out on working out. It’s easy to do, you know, to not go to a breath worker and meditation.

It’s literally easy. I mean, every day I’m like, ah, do I want to go to the gym? No, I got to go to the gym. Like we’re, we’re trying to create these non negotiables. For the community that it’s actually doing something very good for them. And then they come to the class and they’re like, wow, thank God I came.

I feel way better than I did literally 30 minutes ago, an hour ago. And that’s the kind of impact we’re making.

Scott DeLuzio: Right, and that, and that. Impact lasts, you know, throughout the day. And then if they, you know, okay, tomorrow, what, what’s the next thing? Okay, well, let’s, let’s go, just go work out and, and get that good feeling again. Right. But if they [00:23:00] let that slip and they don’t go for, you know, a week, two weeks, three, you know, a month or longer, uh, then those negative feelings just kind of compound and, and they, they don’t have an outlet to be released.

And so that kind of eventually starts to suck. And, um, You know, as much as you may not want to, you might get that text message, and it’s almost like guilting you into doing it. It’s like, ah, man, I don’t want to feel like a piece of crap by not showing up to the session, so I guess I’ll just do it, you know?

Um,

Tom Tice: But that’s our job, you know, that’s our job as an organization to. Like I said, we’re not forcing anybody to do anything, but that’s our job is to hold these men and women who signed up to be members at Warrior Strong accountable. That’s why we’re not like a Planet Fitness. That’s like, that’s a, that’s why, that’s why we’re not like any other gym, because we’re We’re a wellness community that offers free programs.

You know how hard it is to get people to do anything for free, like

Scott DeLuzio: I know.

Tom Tice: You know, it’s hard. You have people paying to go to gyms and don’t go to the gym. [00:24:00] So, you know, that’s part of what we do is we hold people accountable and, you know, we check in. You know, if a veteran slips, you know, we don’t see them for a couple of weeks, you know, we’re checking in.

We’re checking in, we’re making sure, hey, is everything all good? You go on vacation, what’s going on? Um, all right, cool. I’ll see you next week at class kind of thing. Um, we’re building community. Um, and I honestly didn’t really believe in the virtual community. I thought like this isn’t going to work when we switch to Zoom classes during COVID.

And, uh, how people connect on Zoom now. I mean, it’s almost better than in person. Um, people are connecting no problem over Zoom. They’re finding that sense of community and camaraderie. Even with their cameras off, it’s a beautiful thing. Um, our members know where they’re, where everyone’s from and, and, you know, just connecting, you know, it’s, it’s fun.

Scott DeLuzio: Can you maybe share a success story or two of where your program maybe made a difference in, in a veteran’s life, uh, or, or their [00:25:00] adjustment to civilian life through, you know, using the program.

Tom Tice: Yeah. I mean, I, I just, we hired Chris Smith, um, an army combat veteran. He did two tours in Iraq. Um, he’s an amazing person and I love sharing this story because he’s someone who’s been through a lot of adversity himself, especially, especially transitioning from the, uh, the military into civilian life. He got out in 2008 2009 time frame, um, he was married, had three kids, wound up losing his job, wound up losing his, his family, became a homeless veteran and, uh, built himself back up though.

He knew that his story wasn’t going to end and, uh, he got back on his feet, used the VA for the resources they had, um, got back into transitional housing and went to a university, got his college education. And I met him at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he never did yoga, uh, before he met Warrior Strong and [00:26:00] myself.

And uh, he called me one day out of the blue, 2018, and said, Hey, is this Warrior Strong? I said, Yeah, man. We’re on the phone for an hour. He was telling me he’s a veteran resource, uh, director at the university and that he was looking for a nonprofit to work with to help veterans get back into fitness.

Told him about what we’re doing. He brought his entire, you know, veteran group from the school to, to the yoga classes. He loved it. One day he, this is before we had the certification employment program. He turned to me, he’s like, Hey man, I’m, I’m going to get my yoga cert so I can teach other veterans yoga.

Um, and that was six years ago. And, uh, you know, now he’s our full time yogi. He’s our full time program director. Um, he’s really the, You know, the heart and soul of Warrior Strong. He’s, he’s a magnificent person, but he’s a great example of a veteran who, um, has been through a lot in his life. Um, it’s been down that, that ugly rabbit hole that [00:27:00] everyone goes down, that people try not to relate to, but it’s very easily, easy to relate to.

Um, And just fight adversity and then continue to live. Like he could have just stopped and said, okay, I’m just going to do this for the rest of my life. But no, he continued to grow. And as humans, we have to continue to grow as veterans. You know, some, sometimes you, you do 25 years in the military, you retire at, you know, 45 years old, you have to get another job.

You have to continue to grow, right? Like you have to continue to do something. And, um, he’s a great example of that. It’s like, Hey, if you love something, you’re passionate about something, no matter how old you are or where you’re at in your life, go after it and get it done. And he’s a great success story.

We have many others. Um, we have an adaptive fitness program, Kenneth Keith, um, he’s a veteran Marine Corps veteran paralyzed from the chest down. He’s our full time adaptive fitness instructor. He runs our adaptive fitness programs. He’s another amazing individual. Um, just. Just [00:28:00] getting veterans to live a healthier life each and every day for themselves, but for their families.

You know, we hear that They’re much more easier to be around. They’re, they’re, they’re just, they’re more vibrant. They’re easy to connect with. They’re, they’re willing to open up more with their families because of the mindfulness work and the breath work. Um, you know, we work at the VA, the Vet Center in Scranton, and, um, we started doing meditations before this PTSD group.

Um, and Chris goes in there, combat veteran, goes in there, runs the meditations. And then these, these men and women are getting deeper into their. into their group conversations because they’re getting a 10 15 minute meditation and letting a lot of it out and letting it go and then speaking to others about it.

So it’s, it’s, it’s honestly, it’s, I never thought Warrior Strong would be doing the work it’s doing today, but that’s because of all the men and women who gravitated to this organization [00:29:00] and made it happen. Um, I’m just the guy that, you know, has to admin work, but, uh, I love it and I love seeing these veterans get the help they need.

Um, and we’re not the end all be all. We do a very small piece of the puzzle, um, I do believe in all those other resources and that they work very well.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And that’s great how your organization is helping, uh, you know, all these, these folks, uh, and thank you for, for sharing that, that story. Um, but you’re, one of the things you mentioned is that, you know, the, the veterans that go through these, these programs and they get the help and they become better for their families, you know, they have better family relationships, they, their families are happier, they’re doing more things together, all these things are improved because of these programs that these, these veterans are going through.

But on occasion, some of the veterans [00:30:00] family members might also need some support. Um, so how does, how does Warrior Strong support the family members?

Tom Tice: Yeah, so the greatest thing that I think we’ve, we’ve done is creating an atmosphere where we’re very family oriented. So if you and your family want to do yoga, come on through. If you and your family want to do a meditation together, come on through, a breath work. Um, all of our classes are for veterans and their families.

Um, I have veterans that do our meditation together as a family, eight o’clock, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday night. It’s, it’s, it’s just great to hear. That they’re coming together as a family and they’re doing, they’re doing something good for themselves, you know? Um, so healing as a, as a family is important, but also we have a veteran that one night the, the veteran goes to yoga class the next night, the wife goes, they have two kids, so they switch on and off.

It gives them an outlet, gives them the break, you know? So it, It’s, it turned into something [00:31:00] really special. Um, I didn’t know how it was all going to work with the families and, and this and that, but I did realize that the families go through just as much as those service members go through, especially on those deployments and then also moving around the country and, and, and, you know, sacrificing their own careers and their own lives to, to follow the military, you know, and, you know, it’s important to include them part of the healing processes too.

And. The one thing I want to say is, Warrior Strong is committed to these veterans until their last breath. We’ll never be done with you. You can only be done with us. So, it’s true. You can be a member and heal and stay with us, or you can be a member and heal and say, I don’t need this anymore. I’m good to go.

Um, that, that’s up to you. Um, but we’re always going to be there for, for those who sign up and want to be part of what we do.

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. And it’s, it’s great to know that there’s going to be somebody in your corner, right? That you know, okay, yeah, maybe, maybe today. [00:32:00] I’m good to go, but let’s say, you know, a few years down the line, something happens and hey, you know what, I feel like I might need some of that support again. Um, you can always come back.

It’s not like the doors, that door’s closed just because you, you, you said, you know, you’re good at this point. But, you know, you can, you can come back. Um, and when you have a program like that, you know, it’s like, it’s one of those allies that, you know, They want, they want better for you and they’ll support you and everything.

So that’s great that there, uh, there’s that support available, uh, not only for the veteran, but for the family members too. And I love how you shared how. Like the veteran and the spouse would, uh, switch off, like, you know, one day the veteran, the next day the spouse, you know, and flip back and forth, um, and as a father, I get it, uh, you know, when you have little kids, uh, you can’t just leave them alone, uh, because they’re going to get into everything, it’s going to be a mess, and, um, that’ll [00:33:00] end up being more stressful than, uh, had you not done the program at all, right?

So, um, You know, I think that’s, and I’m bringing this up just because from a relationship standpoint, um, you know, my, my wife and I do similar things like that. When, when we had young kids, um, we would, we would switch days, like we, we both like to, to go for runs. Um, but we’d switch days, like I would go Monday, she would go Tuesday, Wednesday, you know, whatever.

And we, we would switch. Um, and so that way there’s always somebody home with the kids. So we didn’t have to worry about that. Um, but yeah. But we still were able to get the exercise, um, you know, maybe it wasn’t every single day, um, but we, we got, you know, at least three or four days a week, we got to get out and, and get a decent run in.

Um, and so, so that was something that, um, really helped us and we, we worked together that way, but it’s great that, um, you know, the program has that flexibility and, and, you know, Uh, you know, kind of involved there, where, where those families can do stuff like that. Um, [00:34:00] yeah.

Tom Tice: We want, we want these veterans and their family members and first responders to simply live a better quality of life. When you do things like exercise and meditation and breath work, mindfulness work, you’re going to live a better quality of life. These are only healthy habits that are going to create better opportunities for you in the future.

And, uh, we deserve, and these men and women deserve, um, a better quality of life. And, uh, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to give to them.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, a hundred percent, uh, agree with that. Um, eh, because that, you know, yeah, sure. Exercise has a benefit of, you know, Longevity, you know, in improving the quantity of life. But if the quality of life sucks, then what are you really extending? Right? And so this has that benefit. It kind of has a dual benefit, right?

Because doing the exercises, that’s going to help, uh, you know, improve your overall health. You’ll, you’ll, you’ll live longer, but, um, you’ll also have a better [00:35:00] quality of life because you, you get the, the mental benefits, you get the physical benefits, you get, You know, an overall, uh, kind of holistic type of benefit through, uh, the, these types of programs.

So, um, so that’s awesome. Um, the, the, the veterans or family members who want to get involved with Warrior Strong, are there, are there any upcoming events, uh, you know, any, uh, You know, things that are coming up or where, where can they go to find out more, uh, you know, about what, what Warrior Strong has, has to offer.

Tom Tice: Yeah, go on warriorstronginc. org, our website, download our mobile app. If you’re a veteran, veteran, family member, first responder, go on our website, click on join now, sign up to be a member. It’s free. Um, we have a wellness event coming up at the VFW in Morris Plains. Also partnered with the American Legion and the, uh, Welcome Home Veterans of New Jersey organization.

We’re just spreading the word, um, [00:36:00] fundraising, volunteer opportunities. We have an annual gala coming up April 16th, Wednesday night in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Um, that’s a great event supporting our veterans and first responders. Just join our community. Find, find that sense of, uh, camaraderie again and do something good for yourself.

The choices you make today will impact your tomorrow. And, um, I want, I want people to know that If you, if you do Warrior Strong and you be part of what we do, um, you’re going to live a better quality of life and you’re just going to, you’re just going to feel better. Trust me.

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. Yeah. And those in person events, I, I imagine that you probably have all that information on your website, uh, that, that folks can find out.

Tom Tice: Yeah. All on our website, you know, go under events. Um, you’ll be able to register for the gala and for the wellness event. The wellness event’s free. Any, any kind of health and wellness program for our veterans. It’s free. Um, you know, I didn’t even get to talk about the aqua [00:37:00] therapy program that we do with the West Morris area YMCA in Randolph, New Jersey.

But. Putting, putting veterans of all ages in a therapeutic pool at 88 degrees, moving their body. You don’t have to worry about hurting yourself. It’s such a safe area to work out and you’re getting a great cardio workout. Um, it’s incredible. And I, I just, Warrior Strong is such a small nonprofit. We don’t, we don’t have the funds to do mass marketing and connect with thousands and hundreds of people across the country and the world.

So doing a podcast, um, with you guys, it’s just, it’s just remarkable. And it really helps get the word out.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, and I’m, I’m glad to be able to do it too, because, you know, like you said, there’s, there’s Mega organizations out there, they got huge budgets and they can send a postcard to every house in the country with, with all their information, they could, mass emails, they could do all the, the social media advertising and all that stuff, but that stuff costs money and, um, you know, I’m glad to be able to provide the service of, you know, uh, promoting and getting, uh, [00:38:00] organizations like yours, uh, out there to, to folks so that, um, So that they can, uh, so that they can find out, you know, what services are available so that they’re not just relying on, you know, maybe just one organization, the VA or, you know, wherever.

Um, now if you were to give any sort of advice, uh, to a veteran who’s maybe currently transitioning into, uh, civilian life, uh, what, what would you give them as far as advice for, for that transition period?

Tom Tice: definitely. You know, I’m, I’m not a veteran, so my advice take with a grain of salt, but, um, I think. I think get involved with the community again. Get connected with the local veterans. They might not have served with you. They might not have served in the same war as you or the same time period as you, but get connected with other veterans because I believe, and like I said, I’m a civilian, but I believe the best help a veteran can get is from another veteran showing them and guiding them and directing them [00:39:00] to getting that help.

Um, I think that’s where the, the real magic is. Um, they have that, they have that, that bond already. And, um, you have that instant connection cause you’re both servicemen and women. Um, so get involved with the community, find that camaraderie and don’t be afraid to, to ask for help.

Scott DeLuzio: Absolutely. Great advice. Um, especially, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Um, you know, you can always reach out here. Uh, you know, to me, I, I’m happy to, Point people in the right direction, get them connected with with the right resources. I’m sure you’re the same You know whether Warrior Strong is the right resource or not You know, I’m sure you have other organizations that you can point them in the right direction depending on what their needs are But you know Warrior Strong I think is is doing a great job a lot of fantastic Programs that are available and I want to encourage the listeners to Go out, uh, check out the website.

I’ll have the link in the show notes, [00:40:00] um, and, uh, and, and check it out. But Tom, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the show. Uh, thank you again for all the work that you’re doing to support the veterans and the first responders, their families, uh, throughout the, know, their transition and beyond, and, uh, creating a, you know, such a great community, uh, at Warrior Strong.

So thank you.

Tom Tice: Thank you, Scott. Thank you. The Drive On Podcast. Um, Can’t wait for this, uh, for this to air, and I’m excited.

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. All right. Thanks. Thanks again.