We recently connected with Brandon Battlehart and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea of Vengeance Overland, as I had personally experienced the methods used by the Veteran Affairs for mental health, and they were not effective, at least for me. Alongside all of that, as I was battling some very dark depression myself from the Afghanistan withdraw. I was in a very dark place and it almost took my life. Suicide and depression are unfortunately very bad symptoms of PTSD, and as such I found overlanding and off-roading in the outdoors therapeutic for those symptoms.

As I was given a second opportunity at life, and very fortunate to be able to overcome those symptoms, I looked for a sense of purpose that I could pay forward to other veterans as an outlet other then the bar, drinking and feeling alone. The campfire atmosphere or just being in nature, is a very good antidote to the poisons that flood the mind in the darkness of one’s battles with PTSD.

As such Vengeance Overland was born.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My story is a bit dark, but it started with being adopted at 20 months old from Russia. I do not remember much about my adoption process other than in the first 20 months of life I was transferred between 8 foster homes, presumably being transferred into the county. From there I was adopted by an alcoholic and abusive father and mother, that essentially used me as a meal ticket from the government.

The natural course of life happened, I grew up, albeit with a rocky childhood, and I ended up graduating high school, then dropping out of college to enlist in the US Army. I became a man within my time served, and even though I felt bullet proof after surviving war like any other 21 year old, I came home to a very broken home. I had lost everything, was disowned by my foster family that raised me, and became homeless. Honestly they couldn’t abuse me anymore, and through that adversity, this led to probably the best years of my adult life.

I learned perseverance, I appreciated little things, because having nothing teaches you a lot. Losing everything may have singlehandedly built me into the man I am today. I fought every day to better myself, and ended up being assisted by Wounded Warrior Project to get my VA Disability claim handled. I was a recipient of a food voucher and hotel voucher from Wounded Warrior Project, and I bounced around in a few VA and non VA homeless shelters. As I got a job I was able to bounce back and get on my feet, get an apartment, and with some help from my disability, pay off debts and move forward.

In the present day, I am very grateful to be a father to my son Bane, who is a little copy and paste of me, and learning how to discipline the (ME) out of him. I am married to my beautiful wife Haley, and the mother of Bane, who has helped me grow into the man I am today.

All in all, I have been very lucky through my life, and I started Vengeance Overland to try and share that wealth of life; by paying forward what Wounded Warrior Project did for me. Hopefully Vengeance Overland sheds light on my troubles, to provide light at the end of the tunnel for other Veterans who may be dealing with similar, or the same life trials and tribulations.

In essence it brings meaning to the saying Death Before Dishonor, and I got your 6. This means as veterans we will always fight for each other even off the battlefield. Being forgotten by the very same institution that trains us to have integrity, and never leave a fallen comrade, falls on deaf ears; especially when I overcame almost all of what being left behind entails.

If I can do it, so can other veterans. They just have to know they are not alone. This in turn should help elevate magnitudes of suicides/DUI’s that our nations heroes endure when they come home from war. Overlanding is just one facet of that, and really the core of why Vengeance Overland came to be.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Honestly one of the hardest lessons I have had to unlearn was the “hero mentality.” As a veteran I will always have this morale obligation to protect the innocent and the women of our country. I believe this mentality is one of the things that has been lost the past few years in the United States of America. Unfortunately with politics, and political violence, sometimes that “protect and serve” mentality is actually a hinderance and can get people you love hurt, or worse 6 ft under.

Of course follow your local laws, both at a state level, and federally, but sometimes being a “Good Samaritan” can get you in trouble even if you are legally doing right. It really challenges the morale compass of who I am as a person, but some battles have to be lost to win the long term war so to speak.

I feel that metaphor is all too true, especially for someone who has sacrificed their lives protecting the countries flag on their uniform, for everyone even sometimes at the cost of their own lives.

I think we forget all too often that our “freedoms” that we all so graciously have, were granted to us because our nations heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice defending those “freedoms.”

The true definition of freedom, in my opinion, is that you are free to do what you want, whether I agree with it or not. However I try and live my life to the best of my ability to the phrase, United We Stand, Divided We Fall. It’s both patriotic and true in everyday life.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh well this one hits home. So being that I have already discussed my childhood, raising a child, especially my own, has been one of the biggest pivots of my entire life. We all know the saying, if you don’t have children ultimately you do not know what it’s like. I am sad to say that is true.

Before I met my wife, the dating scene, was well interesting. I have always tried if someone had children to try my best to treat them as if they were my own. I thought this can’t be that hard, I swore an oath to protect my country. It was ingrained in me to protect the innocent lives of children and defend our countries women, as they are well the lifeblood of well life. I am a dude, I simply can’t pop out a baby. It is really that simple. For the country I fought for to thrive and grow for years past my time on this earth, new generations have to happen.

Well then it happened I made my own little copy and paste, and frankly I was so lost on how to do anything, it was extremely overwhelming. I tried googling, reading books, everything to prepare, not good enough. You just have to learn by being thrown to the fire of being a dad. Good luck!

What that learning curve has taught me is patience, I am a very high energy, go getter type of person, and that worked great in the Army. I thought, I handled war in the Middle East, raising a child is a cake walk.

Worst possible way to look at it. If you think being shot at, blown up, and all the nitty gritty of war is easy, raise a kid.

At least being puked on, pooped on, pee’ed on, is far better than fighting in a war, but still just as hard if not harder of a learning curve. Honestly I still am learning every day how to be a better father, husband, and be a better person. It is something I have to work on every day, and raising my son to look up to me is one of the proudest heartwarming things I have done. It has also and continues to be one of the hardest things I am currently learning to do.

Best advice I can say is this. Cherish having a child. Bringing a life into this world, some people don’t have that opportunity. It is a blessing to be able to. It will make you a stronger, more resilient person, a more patient person, and you will reach a new level of adulthood that will be beyond rewarding, but also just as challenging. If I can do it, so can you.

This has ultimately allowed me to be privy to different perspectives that I would have otherwise not known, and ultimately allows me to have a better insight into operating Vengeance Overland, through my struggles and everyday life, to hopefully be there for other veterans who may benefit from my experiences.

At the end of the day, as long as Vengeance Overland saves lives, it is a win. I hope sharing some light into who I am as the founder of Vengeance Overland helps shine some light on why I am so passionate about paying forward what I was given, and lucky to have, to others. Thank you for taking time to learn about my story.

Contact Info:

• Website: wearevengeance.org
• Instagram: Instagram.com/vengeanceoverland
• Facebook: Facebook.com/vengeanceoverland
• Youtube: YouTube.com/@vengeanceoverland