Appalachian Pioneer Program

This is the story of how a dream became a reality

Since, I was a very young boy Ive always had hankering for all things Kentucky and Appalachia. 20 miles down a twisting country road from Morehead State University I grew up in the foothills of the beautiful Appalachian mountain range in a small town called West Liberty, KY. Listening to the tunes of the land, hiking the seemingly endless forrest and mountains, indulging in the cuisine and art, loving the cultural richness and most importantly cheering on the beloved wildcats. Doing all the things uniquely Kentucky and absolutely Appalachian.

My family was very involved in this small community much of my childhood through youth sports, church functions and multiple other ways to grow a better community not only for themselves but the future of the youth in the area. My mom (Doris) was an entrepreneur and pharmacy tech growing up and my dad(Richard) was a veteran of the US Marines and retired, turned unretired State correctional officer. I have a little sister named Lindsey who now attends Morehead State. She was born in 2000 and I was born in 1992 so you can imagine there’s a pretty considerable difference between us ideologically due to maturity and age difference but overall she’s one of my best friends.

In 2012 when I was in school at MSU my house was hit by a tornado and it destroyed most of my hometown. To put it lightly, imagine you’re playing or watching someone play call of duty in the WW2 era the surrounding in the map of play is what my hometown now looked like. The destruction was catastrophic for my family and lots of families in the area. It took a massive toll on my family and according to many grant programs even though we were very low end middle class we were ineligible to receive aid. Luckily during this point of crisis, years of hard work that my family had put into the community had paid off even though the government and its agencies were non existent in my families rebuild non profits and our community showed up big time . The parable that comes to mind is the one on building the well before you need a drink yourself. Being prepared and laying ground work that would eventually set you up for success even during times of distress. My family had constantly been there for youth in the community and others in church as well as helping with lots of local sports organizations. My family didn’t have a lot but it had earned a lot of respect and love in the community which paid off in our desperate time of need. This paying it forward mentality and being a servant to your community and the people around you was paying massive dividends. However, not everyone was as luckily as I was.

Though, I massively struggled with mental health issues for six years by abusing alcohol, horrible eating habits, not getting proper rest or exercising. I ballooned up in weight, something I had already struggled with much of my life. I was dying to make an impact but was ironically dying from the impact my physical body was making. I was over 400 lbs, laying on a couch when I wasn’t at work drinking (delicious locally crafted beer that I still throughly enjoy)playing video games, making every excuse not to be the best version of myself and living the life of a bum. I worked a job I hated and lived a life I also hated. I was meant for more and I could feel it in my bones.

In 2018 I sustained a head injury and my doctor essentially said, you’re overweight, you have high blood pressure and just sustained a head injury that isn’t healing. Life is only going to go down hill if you don’t get your health under-control and your head may never heal. “You’ll be lucky to be alive 10 more years”….. holy shit did that just say what I thought he said in his raspy broken English accent?! and he did. That statement blew my already broken mind and kicked my life into gear that hadn’t been personally conceived of. I always wanted to make an impact and kept giving myself ways out due to my weight and lack of energy but that was no longer an option. Several months later I had gastric sleeve once approved and in a 9 month span I lost 225 lbs. I was hell bent on changing my life and using my story of this triumphant comeback to not only inspire myself but others. Outside of being epically lazy I had molded myself to be someone who could use his acquired knowledge and skills to be propelled into a mission of overcoming ones lesser self…moving into a much grater version. One that not only yourself can be proud of but also your family and community.

Over the course of my transformation I have used my transformation to build a platform, media company/ podcast and now non profit. Ive always been heavily inspired by the stories and trailblazers of Appalachia and its past and future rather in exploration, art, business and ideas…which is why I chose to name my Non profit Appalachian Pioneer Program. The goal of APP is to improve health and media literacy in Kentucky and Appalachia through the influence of music, art, businesses, people and ideas that are going to flip that narrative that area is a problem into it being a solution. I have very ambitious goals with this non profit and plan on taking Kentucky from 45th in most major health statistics to 35th or better by the time I die.

I don’t plan on being able to fix all of the problems that we face as a country and region but I would with the loving brothers and sisters of Kentucky and Appalachia to follow the parable that I mentioned earlier in this post. The time for when we will be in need is unknown so lets build the well to water now, so when we need it, it will be there and even when we don’t need the well to drink from. It will be there for others. Together we can make a massive difference in the lives of folks who struggle and experience tough times. Love is the answer and the key to growth, success and fulfillment. There is no more fulfilling moment than helping someone in your community. Someone who one day may be there for you or your family in a time a need. Thus far I feel like we have done some great work to help make small impact to help people in our communities we love so much. I also can’t even begin to explain how helpful the artist and businesses have been in the area to make this dream a reality for me. Even though we haven’t even been running a year we are well on our way to making a massive impact! Each story begins with one step and we have taken a lot of great steps so far and year one has been completely epic but the goals and things we have in store for the future are even bigger! I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart from those who have helped so far but am even more excited about the work we have yet to do! Lets pioneer an Appalachian future we can be proud of. The work starts today.