Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robert Ham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Robert, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

Pat Tillman. I never heard of Pat until I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and there was a memorial at the USO dedicated to him and his story. There are still many people who don’t know who he is or vaguely know his story. The short of it is he was a professional football player who after the 9/11 terrorist attacks gave up a $3.6 million dollar contract with the NFL and joined the Army Rangers. He did a tour to Iraq and then one to Afghanistan where he was accidentally shot by a fellow soldier during a confusing firefight. Subsequently the military tried to cover-up his death. The aftermath of the story is the subject of several books and a documentary, but his widow Marie started a foundation in his name that continues to support military veterans in higher education. In 2016 while I was attending the USC School of Cinematic Arts I applied to the very competitive Tillman Foundation Scholarship Program and I was one of 60 military veterans who had received it that year (they get over 2000 applicants a year). The type of sacrifice Pat gave for something greatly than himself is something I strive to emulate in my daily and professional life.

Robert, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I own and operate a service-disabled veteran-owned small business called HAMMR Productions Inc. We are a boutique film/television company based in Los Angeles and was started by myself and my late-wife Melanie who passed from cancer a couple years ago. The focus of HAMMR is primarily veteran/military themed content but we are a versatile company that ultimately focuses on good stories told well. Courage, compassion, dignity, empathy are all attributes we strive to encompass in our storytelling. Our three main tenants are Service, Remembrance and Inspiration.

My personal story is at the center of what HAMMR is about. I’m an Army Veteran who was a combat videographer/storyteller in the military. During my time in the service I strove to tell the most emotional stories in the most complicated scenarios and became the most award-winning military storyteller in the post-9/11 era. After completion of my Masters in Film from USC, I then went into a new stage of my life, becoming a business owner turned caregiver to my late-wife Melanie Ham, a popular youtuber. She was unfortunately diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of cancer and passed in January of 2022. After her passing I made a feature documentary about her life and journey to help others remember and honor her. The film ‘Made With Melanie’ is now at over a million views and 413 thousand hours of viewing on her popular youtube channel.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There are a few times where I’ve been met with some difficult challenges and sometimes I rise above, sometimes I fail but I’ve always gotten back up and kept going. I think resilience is one of the most important human qualities. I thought joining the military would be one of my hardest challenges, or my combat deployment to Afghanistan or my transition from the military when I struggled with PTSD, isolation, alcohol and suicidal tendencies. Fortunately I was able to get through all of that and kept rising, not without alot of help from my wife, my family, my parents, therapy, medication and physical fitness. I think the hardest time for me however was when I lost my wife to cancer two years ago. She had a rare form of cancer that just kept aggressively coming back and watching her wither away with our children by our sides was excruciating. She was a wonderful, loving, creative, smart, beautiful woman and what happened was just the epitome of injustice but it happened and it was the hardest thing our family went through. The darkness that came after is something I will make a film about one day but the aftermath of her death I kept my shit together. I kept working, I worked out, I took care of my kids (with family help), and I finished two feature documentaries that I had been working on both of which I’m extremely proud of. I have since remarried and have two step-kids now along with my two kids and can actually say I’m happy again but it didn’t come without going through hell.

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

Building a reputation is something I’ve prided myself as long as I can remember. When you join the military reputation can make or break your career. People talk very quickly about whether they think someone is capable or not and if they want them on their team. That was something I carried on with me to the rest of my career. When I was at USC film school I also prided myself on doing the best job I could even at the smallest of jobs. I always tried to respect people and work with kindness and that goes a long way with people. Being kind and respectful though doesn’t mean getting walked on, I know how to communicate and set my boundaries also and if that grinds people then they will have to deal. Just like people will remember my reputation I remember theirs. Film and entertainment is very much a people business and garnering good working relationships is something that is very important.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hammrproductions.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hammrproductions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HAMMRProductions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaaronham/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/robertham1
• Other: www.melaniekham.com https://www.youtube.com/melanieham