Founder's Story
I believe my story is much like that of most men. I grew up with dreams of doing exciting, unique, and meaningful things with my life. I was successful in high school, attended colleges with strong reputations, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees, and have been climbing the corporate ladder for about 25 years. I married my college girlfriend and am the father of two—a daughter and a son who are almost fully out in the real world (almost!). During much of their youth, I didn’t have much time to focus on myself, my health, or my personal achievements.
Then, like most men do, I woke up one day and realized I was in my 40s—and that time in my life was running out. Up to that point, my achievements had been family and work. I did not have any significant achievements to my own name. That moment of realization happened to coincide with the health scare of COVID, and that combination—the awareness of time and the fear of the end—is what truly woke me up and pushed me into action.
During that period, I started working out regularly, lost weight, and signed up for one of those extreme obstacle course races in Canada (par for the course for a midlife moment). Then I began doing more and more—surfing, skiing, scuba diving, traveling. However, I realized that engaging in these activities at my current level was not worthy of being called a life achievement. I realized that performing at levels that required only mid-level competency or experiencing life at a cursory level would not fill the gap I felt as a man.
So I had the idea to create a series of trials for myself across a variety of disciplines—trials that could only be completed through substantial effort, discipline, and mastery—and that, in aggregate, would create an undeniably awesome life resume. That idea became the foundation of The Armored 8, which I believe can lead to a renaissance for men in a similar situation.