My name is Darryl “Chuck” Charles II. I was born June 13, 1990 in Springfield, Massachusetts. My father, Darryl Charles Sr., served in the Marine Corps for 24 years and my mother, Minda Bowers, worked in a Casino in Las Vegas. Due to my father being in the military, I was raised by my grandmother in Massachusetts until the age of eight. From there, I lived with my mother in Las Vegas, Nevada until I was 14. Then I lived with my father in San Diego, California until I was 18, when I joined the military.
I joined the Marine Corps in December 2008. I served 5 years in the military. After the completion of boot camp and the School of Infantry, I was assigned to 3rd Battalion 7th Marines Kilo Company Weapons Platoon in Twenty-nine Palms, California. During the length of my enlistment I served two tours in Sangin, Afghanistan.
In October, 2011, during my second deployment, I was involved in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Sangin, Afghanistan resulting in the loss of my right leg above the knee. My experiences in combat and becoming a casualty of war have brought about many obstacles in my life. Even though my physical injuries are the most noticeable, those obstacles were easier to overcome compared to the mental and non-visible injuries I have sustained. Even with these obstacles dealt with on a daily basis, I don’t let them interfere with my quality of life. If anything, I feel that scars are the marks that push us to greatness and I work to not only better myself, but help those around me to grow and succeed in any goals that they pursue. I spent two years recovering at the Naval Medical Center San Diego Balboa. Upon completing a majority of my recovery at the Naval Medical Center, I was Honorably Discharged from the Marine Corps in 2013. Currently, I am a student at Southwestern Community College working to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Sciences.
If I had to choose any trait that I admire about myself, I would have to say my sense of humor. Laughter and making others laugh has helped me get through some of the most difficult times in my life and continues to help me get through day to day life.
If I could choose any superpower I would want to be able to run at supersonic speed. With this superpower I would be able to go anywhere and back in no time at all.
First time I met AJ Roberts, I new he was a no bullshit business man who is successful because of his work ethic and his never quit mindset. Our first conversation at the barbell mastermind breakfast club was about meditation and letting go of relationships that sap your energy. He is a man of depth and his story of resilience and perseverance is inspiring.
Enjoy his story and share with others! Pay it forward…
Trevor is my nephew and a man I have seen grow in so many ways in the past 5 years. I am inspired by his dedication to his health and his family. I am proud of Trevor and excited to see where his training, and career dedicated to helping those with addictions using fitness as a healthy outlet. Read, share, and be inspired! Pay it forward…
I am a certified personal trainer and a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. I currently work for an addiction treatment center in Irvine, CA running fitness classes and lectures. My life is dedicated to help people who are newly sober channel the energy from their addictive tendencies towards physical activity and find freedom from their old habits. In my free time I train at Orange Coast CrossFit and enjoy spending time outside, whether it be paddle boarding in the ocean or shooting guns in the desert.
Growing up I always walked on the side of rebellion. I always wanted to live “independently” and had a very distorted perspective of what would make me happy. I began experimenting with drugs in middle school and quickly fell into the dark world of addiction. I eventually dropped out of school, started selling drugs to fuel my own use, and ran away from those who loved me. I dabbled in all sorts of substances that would help me escape reality but it was heroin that eventually took everything away. Through the years of using I was in and out of handcuffs, hospitals, and rehab centers. It seemed like I had dug myself so deep that there was no way out. On August 4th 2012 I woke up in a hospital in Laguna Beach after one of my common blackouts. I remember looking out of the bedroom window with a gorgeous ocean view and all I could think about was running out of that building to go get high. That was the turning point when I realized that I wanted something that was killing me more than anything else. I wanted to stick a needle in my arm more than I wanted to breathe. I had to make a decision… it was do or die. This moment of clarity gave me that initial push that I needed to begin my road to recovery. I gave up trying to hide from my fears of life and jumped into positive action. In the past three years life has had its ups and downs but every new experience, good or bad, is something far greater than what I had before. I have a life filled with family, friends, laughter, career goals etc. All of which are things that I could never dream of having before. Today I am able to give back to those who struggle with what I once did and that is utterly priceless.
I admire my own resiliency. My ability to endure the painful moments in life and without them defining who I am.
I would want to have the ability travel around outer space without any equipment. I have always been fascinated by the galaxies and would love to explore them.
I am an engineer, athlete, and adaptive athletics advocate. At the age of eight I was unintentionally engaged in a shoving match with a semi-truck. At first contact it became immediately clear that I had lost. However, not content with a simple knockdown victory, the big rig then proceeded to continue down the road dragging me along underneath. Fortunately the truck eventually stopped, allowing my life to continue. Defeat resulted in a long and intimate relationship with hospital beds an operating tables. My tractor trailer vs. pedestrian carrier ending with a cumulative 0-1 record. My retirement gift, a new unrecognizable version of my right leg, a mangled one.
I was left with an incredibly complex and unique injury and level of functionality. I soon resigned myself to the box that my disability seemed to sketched out. Twentyish years passed and I still found my condition standing in direct opposition to the life I wanted. With decades of ill fitting advice and solutions behind me, the realization slowly dawned on me: No one is going to solve these problems for me. My next thought was as eloquent as it was novel, “F*ck this, I’ll fix them myself.” No excuses, no more “what-ifs”.
I now spend my time creating solutions to push the boundaries of orthotics, orthopedics, and adaptive athletics. Utilizing the summation of my life to administer demolition to conceived barriers. You’ll find me on the workbench, training, coaching or on some stupid adventure that will probably get me hurt. I work with the amazing folks at the University of San Francisco Orthotics & Prosthetics Department, San Francisco CrossFit, Stanford Engineering, Crossroads Adaptive Athletic Alliance andIAmAdaptive. I am the creator of GoodLeg.org and MakeAdaptive.org (work in progress). #crossfit #snowboarding #tennis #cycling #running #justabouteverythingelse
Corporal Jorge Eligio Salazar was born in Bakersfield California and was raised in Delano, CA. He joined the Marine Corps on December 8, 2008 and completed basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. He graduated infantry training and was assigned to 1st battalion 1st marines Camp Pendleton, California. From there he deployed once on the 13 meu and once to Afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom. On August 10, 2012 during an operation in Kajaki, Afghanistan he was wounded by an improvised explosive devise while trying to medevac one of his squad members. He was taken to naval medical center san diego where he is now part of wounded warrior battalion.
I spend a lot of time these days teaching and coaching to help people become more resilient. I think I am passionate about it because in the past I have flopped SO spectacularly. It almost leveled me.
When I left the Marine Corps, I had a hard time carving a new identity for myself. I was terribly invested in what others thought of me. My public story was of crisp uniforms, physical fitness metrics, and successes. I always looked good on paper. My private story involved destructive choices, broken doors and holes in the walls, hiding weapons in the house, and getting dragged across the living room floor by my hair. I was as far from God as a person could be, but had no idea at the time.
I had no words to explain the disaster that had become my personal life and felt crippling shame about being one of “those people” with disordered drinking behavior going through a violent divorce. I would have fit right in on the Jerry Springer show.
Right now we are losing more veterans to suicide than to combat. I’m a pretty decisive person with limited ability to ask for help and zero trouble taking risks; there was a time I could have become one of those statistics.
I stumbled quite by accident into three things that helped me regain my footing and become more resilient. I’m grateful for that stumble and always will be.
First, I started treating myself in a healthy way again. I ate a little cleaner and made time for physical movement.
Not my typical physical movement, the kind where I used throwing up or a stress fracture as evidence that I was working hard enough – REAL, wellness-building movement that strengthened my body rather than punished it. I found myself on a yoga mat and never wanted to leave. In truth, I came to yoga as an athlete looking for something challenging, a fitness fad to master, and something to help me bend my unyielding muscles a bit more easily. What I found on the mat changed my life entirely. I found a practice that was about more than my body.
Be still and know that I am God –Psalm 46:10
For me, a huge part of self-care involved slowing down enough to listen. I spent a little less time talking and a lot more observing. That made space for faith and for a focus on other people. All of a sudden, my energy was redirected. I could be generous with myself and with the people I cared about. I found a new tribe of healthy people who shared those service ethic values.
And that was my beginning.
We can weather storms much better than I did – we don’t have to wind up tearful and alone with only a six-pack of beer to help us mourn. Resilience can be taught. Self-care modalities, social support cultivation, and spiritual practices are the components upon which we must rely to build our foundation in advance of the storm.
I am Kate Hendrick Thomas and I am and always will be a warrior.
Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas is an assistant professor of Health Promotion at Charleston Southern University. She is the author of Brave, Strong, & True: The Modern Warrior’s Battle for Balance. Kate is a former Marine, a yoga teacher, and mom to both a fearless baby and the Great Dane who dotes on him. Kate can be reached via her website, www.katehendricksthomas.com or via @precisionwell.
