Joining via zoom from Ohio is Austin Owens, a Prior U.S. Army Infantryman, who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2011.

Austin joined the U.S. Army at the age of 19 in 2009 and originally wanted to be a K9 Handler, but had to settle with 11Bravo. Austin discusses the lack of mental health awareness training during his time in the Army as they made fun of each other, Command would tell you to "Fuck Off", and it was expected to be a macho man.

In January of 2011, Austin (21 years of age) found himself in Afghanistan and was able to work and train with the Afghans, which was dangerous at times. On June 5, 2011, Austin and his team were ambushed via RPG's, where one nearly struck him. After this event, Austin was awarded the Purple Heart. Austin still has shrapnel in his leg and suffered major traumatic brain injury from the injuries.

After getting out of the U.S. Military, Austin found the gym which opened up a lot of doors for him. Austin believes physical fitness and the micro achievements within fitness greatly benefit our community.

Austin is now working with Catch A Lift Fund, which is a fantastic resource for our Veteran community. The Catch A Lift Fund enables post 9/11 combat injured veterans all over the U.S. to recover and rehabilitate both physically and mentally through physical fitness, motivation and support.

https://catchaliftfund.org/