We recently connected with Mark Stepanishen and have shared our conversation below.

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

I’ve been out of the Army for about 7 years, and have been back from Afghanistan for about 10. Through that time, I’ve gone through a long and winding evolution reflecting upon my time at war and how I felt about the things I saw and experienced. In short, from dismissive, harsh and in-denial to empathetic and thoughtful. Along the way, I’ve been the benefactor of an incredibly strong support system (family, work, living situation, faith) that has allowed me to integrate into the civilian world relatively seamlessly and without significant difficulty.

However, since returning from war, I’ve lost more than twice as many men to suicide as I did in Afghanistan. I’ve watched brave, strong, smart people succumb to drugs and alcohol addiction, become felons, abuse their loved ones, and otherwise figuratively lose their lives because they couldn’t take the horrors of the things they saw and did, reconciled with the strain of ‘regular’ life. I began to spend time with fellow military veterans trying to understand how we could better support one another. The grim reality is that many resources are available, many people truly care to help those suffering with PTSD, but many more individuals with PTSD are (at best) unaware of these resources or (at worst) are paralyzed by stigma and shame and feel they only have one way out.

Additionally, I met a friend who opened my eyes to the prevalence of PTSD among those who have never served in the military or been to war, as a result of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, accidents, loss, etc. I came to appreciate much more greatly just how many people are truly suffering daily from the effects of PTSD and mental health challenges.

Lastly, I was inspired by Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, several Russian Olympic Figure Skaters and a number of other prominent athletes who had the courage to speak publicly about their struggles with mental health and the value in seeking help.

Over time, I came to appreciate the power of being heard, the power of feeling seen and the power of community in supporting others. I also considered (maybe a little childishly, but I stand by it) the average person is more likely to wear a bold slogan on a t-shirt than to say it out loud. To that end, I thought there would be great value in creating a community of those suffering from PTSD and mental health challenges (and allies) to further normalize ‘the struggle,’ and to inspire those struggling to feel seen and heard, and possibly seek help!

With all that said, I decided to create a t-shirt company whose brand was to be overly positive, overly supportive, and focused on overcoming the difficulties of PTSD and mental health challenges.

The final detail, critical to success in my mind, is making this company fully not-for-profit, with all proceeds donated to charities committed to providing resources and support to those struggling with PTSD and mental health challenges.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m 35 years old. I’m a husband, a father, a 6-year veteran of the US Army, and a full-time employee of a well-known healthcare company. I live with my family in NY, just outside the city.

I don’t have any formal training in graphic design or art, but I’m proud to have designed and crafted each LFRF design. Although the company is only about 6 months old, I have been very fortunate along the way to have learned from, and been able to be mentored by many others in sharpening and improving all aspects of the business. I have made many mistakes but always tried to focus on learning quickly and doing my best in support of this mission, about which I am so passionate.

Something unique about this business is that it’s a one-man-show. I design and create the products, manage the financials, run the social media accounts, and interface with customers as a customer service liaison. Primarily I work early mornings, in the evenings and on weekends. It has been an awesome learning experience!

I often get questions about the name of the brand, “Left Foot, Right Foot.” This is a common military saying and is a Soldier’s way of saying, “Just Keep Going!” There are many times in the military when you are tired, hungry, cold, wet, scared, confused… but you can always take another step. One step, becomes another, which becomes another. Over time, by focusing on a small task in front of you, the things out of your control drift into the background and your mindset shifts from fear to accomplishment. I thought this phrasing was not only memorable and pleasing, but hit the motivating tone I was looking for as well.

How did you build your audience on social media?

@lfrfcompany on IG/FB

I’m still learning every day on social media, and do not consider myself an expert, by any means. However, I’ve learned a lot over the last six months or so that I’d love to share.

I’ll never forget the feeling before jumping in and launching. The website (LFRFshirts.com) was built and I was pleased with it, and I had created an IG and FB business page with 1 follower each (my personal page). Initially, I had a partner who I envisioned running the social side of the business, and I was very excited to not have to deal with it. Much to my displeasure, I was going to have to do it myself, but I tried to look at it as a learning experience.

I spent a few days questioning myself; how would I do this?; could I do this?; How would people I know (or don’t know!) respond?; could I handle this failing? I spoke with a few trusted friends to get feedback, then jumped in. I was inspired by the mission, so it was my job to communicate that clearly and convincingly to others. I had to take my own advice; left foot, right foot; just keep going!

The most important thing I learned from the social media is to be authentic. I try every day to communicate in a way that I would if we were talking in a coffee shop, whether it’s on a post, a caption, a story or a DM response to someone. There is pressure to fit in, or be like someone else who has a massive following, but that feels emotionally draining and to be anything other than yourself is not a pathway to success.

Secondly, I recommend being consistent. Just like weight loss, physical fitness, learning a new skill or building a relationship, nothing valuable will happen overnight. You likely won’t see results day by day, but by staying consistent and keeping at it in an authentic way, you’ll make great strides forward!

Lastly, I encourage you to lean in to the positive side of social media. Ignore the critical comments (delete them if you want!), and focus on the opportunity to connect with others committed to a similar mission. Be brave to collaborate with others, don’t be afraid to spend money to give away products or services, offer advice and help to others freely and do your best to make the digital aspect of our world a better place.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell my products through the website LFRFshirts.com – on a platform hosted by Shopify. The fulfillment of products runs through an integrated app, Printful, which allows for on-demand production and drop shipping.

This business model is one that allows me to minimize risk and (I think) provide a higher quality of product and service to my customers.

I spent a great deal of time researching different fulfillment models and was really hoping to support a small, veteran-owned printing business, but I was unable to find an agreement that allowed me to minimize risk, limit on-hand stock and best predict demand like this model does. I regret not being able to directly support a small business, but my business wouldn’t have survived without the current fulfillment model. Printful and Shopify have been super helpful and have contributed a great deal to the success of LFRF that has allowed us to donate nearly $3,500 in profits to PTSD and mental health-focused charities.

Contact Info:

• Website: LFRFshirts.com
• Instagram: LFRFCompany
• Facebook: LFRFCompany
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markstepanishen