We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Javier Rosa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Javier below.

Javier, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Well, my best friend Ray Bennett and I were scuba diving when I noticed that he, Ray, was more active in communication than normal. I noticed that scuba diving must have opened up something to him that allowed him to talk about anything freely. You see, Ray is a Marine Corps veteran who suffers from PTSD. He is usually quiet and short with words, but not after scuba diving; something changed. I told him that seeing him like that must have sparked something within him, and I mentioned that we should start a Facebook group for veterans around our area to get more vets to open up and share what they have been through or are going through. That was on a Saturday; we had a non-profit in the works by Monday.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So, we are a non-profit 501c3. Our organization provides scuba diving and overland camping to veterans who have PTSD as a form of therapy. We are not medical professionals, we are Veterans who have gone through the problems of PSTD, and we dealt with them on our own. We realize that doing so is a daunting task without support. So, we decided that we could help and provide some means to help other vets accomplish just that. See, in the military, we are mission-oriented individuals. Our purpose was always mission first. Our mission is life; by going scuba diving or camping, we challenge vets that their mission is life. If you scuba dive, you have a tank on your back filled with air, and when that tank runs out, you can’t breathe; therefore, your mission is to survive while enjoying the scenery. The same goes for camping; you need to plan to survive by bringing out the things that will help you do that. Therefore, that’s your mission. We are a non-stressful organization. We don’t pay member fees or anything that other groups do. We are a word-of-mouth group. We help where we can and never press anyone to get involved or participate in any events we do.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Well, Ray Bennett and I worked for the same company, and I was introduced to him by a mutual friend in the same company. Months later, I was transferred to a different department, where Ray became my mentor. We shared a lot in common, one being that we are both Marines. Since then, we have worked together for many years, and our friendship has grown as well. This is one of the reasons that we do good working together.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Well, you see, we are a word-of-mouth organization. We don’t market our group to anyone. We just help when help is asked, and we will be there when you need us. We are a non-profit, so most of our funds come from donations. Being that we are veteran-owned and operated, we get most of our reputation from within the veteran world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dddus.org