BRAIN DUMP: A WOTW History Lesson - and our FIRST YouTube video!

‘Dear Diary,’……….

March 3, 2023.  Winchester, CA.  My first ever YouTube video

Almost exactly twenty years after we kicked off Iraqi Freedom in a little sand patch in Northern Kuwait.  That deployment is what led me to start a YouTube channel talking about veterans mental health.  This is my first ever YouTube video as I was concurrently learning how to ride a motorcycle safely and how to film at the same time.  Multiple reasons for sharing this, not the last of which is an important message or two.

In no particular order:

Everyone starts somewhere.

Its not supposed to be easy.  Things worth pursuing are usually fairly difficult.

Enjoy the journey and learn to believe in yourself.

If people have told you something consistently throughout your life without you asking it’s likely something you should take seriously.  In my case it was a ‘radio voice’.  I never could have imagined where that one thing would take me.  I just thought it was my voice. 

If people dare you to do things that aren’t harmful in some way they probably see something in you that you not be able to see within yourself.  In my case it was my passion and eclectic creative skill set that - when I started riding and filming - went absolutely bonkers in powerful ways.  There is a vast canyon between photographing weddings and beach animals to mobile cinematography and filmmaking for deep purpose.

882 days (this video post to present day) can be a long time or a short time depending on what’s happening in your life.  Speaking metaphorically, for me it’s been a lifetime and gone by so quickly I can’t process it.  A lot of the days I have felt like I’m failing to do ‘what I’m supposed to’ which is built around on core principle of letting veterans know how much they still matter.

These metrics are for anyone who thinks something is impossible.  For reference, in 2022 I had hit rock bottom but I had also dropped some massive boulders from my backpack that I won’t elaborate on here and may not later.  Boundaries.

Feb 2023 I started riding motorcycles.  Something I said I would never do because of ‘know thyself’ limitations.  I’m an adrenaline junkie and I’m fearless.  Dangerous combo on a bike.  But at 44 years young I knew I had reasons to keep that part of myself at bay.  I have things to lose now.

March 2023 I started a voiceover YouTube.  Richwell Correa dared me to.  I laughed at him and his idea for the name of my channel (@dallasthevoice).  He told me to talk about what i know.  In my case I knew deeply how combat veterans struggle to reconcile the things they’ve been through and how to reintegrate into American societal norms.  I had NO IDEA what I was doing and it intimidated me to put out content in a big way.  Even I thought the videos were stupid and they were my videos. 

I’ve now made 275 YouTube videos, roughly one YouTube video every three days.  Filming, editing, sometimes storyboarding and directing, engineering filming configurations, creating five camera mount prototypes, learning AT LEAST ten different software platforms, audio engineering (created by Satan himself I think)……. 20 years of frustration as a photographer trying to make his way clicked almost instantly the moment I had a 360 camera mounted on a motorcycle.  Everything suddenly looked different and I had PURPOSE and self-belief - a very powerful combination.

FFwd to June 2023 when I took construction work near San Francisco and bought 20-year old BMW adventure bike (Havoc) for $3,150.  Light years faster, safer, and more maneuverable than my 2023 Triumph Bobber I had bought because it looked cool and felt like it chose me.  It was a great bike that I graduated from in four months of riding.  A learning experience that I eventually ended up training for a Ducati Monster 937.  ‘Sparrow’.  My BMW in San Francisco made me a motorcyclist.  Sparrow turned me into a peregrine falcon (no disrespect to Hayabusa fans who can read kanji).  I’m Batman on the BMW; Superman on the Ducati.  This is out of order so I digress.

San Francisco changed me because I reconnected with a Marine veteran Ammaron Vahai.  Ammaron Vahai.  He saw my passion for veteran su!cide prevention, introduced me to Angel Studios where ANYONE can submit film ideas and dared me to make a documentary.  About me.  What the $@&% does that even mean?  Challenge accepted, Sergeant Vahai.  I took the bait.

October 2023:  After two months of filming the mean streets of San Francisco topped off with having three laptops and a fair amount of footage stolen I started Warriors of the Wind Foundation and put together a board of directors second to none. The foundation was started for the sole purpose of building a television miniseries around veterans mental health, su!cide prevention, and healing together on motorcycles. 

I landed on a biographical docuseries because of the dozens of veteran interviews that established a trend. 

“My motorcycle saved me when I got back from Vietnam…Korea….Iraq….etc’. 

Understand that these veterans don’t often say things like this to non-veterans and some don’t say it to anyone.  These guys were suic!de risks and motorcycles kept them alive.  As soon as I realized this undeniable truth I realized ‘my documentary’ wasn’t about me at all.  ‘Dallas the Voice’ was a way for veterans to share the stories they were holding in - painfully - and resultingly taking them out - badly. 

I left out the part where I started riding with CVMA near Temecula, CA.  I wouldn’t get patched in until I was living in Lemoore but CVMA 33-3 is where i cut my teeth with veteran group motorcycle rides.  I found my biker family with CVMA 33-5, Yosemite Chapter.  I cannot possibly overstate what these guys have done for us as a foundation.  Combat veteran bikers.  Loud bikes ridden by bearded teddy bears with huge hearts.  Sailors, soldiers, airmen, and the lucky few Marines that make the other guys jealous.

November 2023 I met the coolest woman and best person I've ever met.  She even loaned me a bike.  We went on a ride together with 400 veterans in places that looked like Yosemite.  A few months later she even bought and donated a bike to Warriors of the Wind which I objected to but the problem was she’d already bought the bike and she wasn’t taking no for an answer on this one.  Stinger - throw back to my Marine Corps unit mascot and my old friend Snoop, a scorpion.  Stinger is a Yamaha V-Star 1100 bagger.  She calls these bikes vegan bodybuilders.  They’ll move but you may have to whip them on the butt to get them to speed up.  They’re a slow-fast and they’re very fun bikes.  They’re the safest bikes I’ve ridden with exception of maybe Havoc the BMW and definitely the new Indian Sport Chief RT I rode a few weeks back in Hollister.  Newer bikes are inherently safer and Indians feel like they’re designed and built by rocket scientists and….rocket builders I guess.

So…. Things I’ve left out that I need to get written down so I can get on with my day:

Warriors of the Wind has lift-off.  We have two HUGE things happening in the next 2-3 weeks.  Stay tuned for that.  When I mentioned YouTube I didn’t mention the hundreds of videos on TikTok, live rides on Facebook, fundraising, looking for a job in a down economy, becoming a substitute teacher at a school three minutes from my house (a short ride but still a ride), or the fact that I am in hands-down the best relationship I’ve ever known with the coolest biker I’ve ever known.  She has been riding for 30+ years to my 2.5. I’m flippin’ crazy about her.  To this person, thank you for everything you do, seen or unseen, said or unsaid.  I love you.

I reserve the right to update/edit this post on our blog. Oh yeah - My son built our website too.  He got some video games out of the deal but I have to keep it updated and well…. Thank goodness we have Facebook.

Cheers, ride safe, GFDD, and Godspeed.