Chris Eaton
After serving in the military and spending time in Iraq, Chris Eaton returned home carrying more than just memories. Like many veterans, he struggled with the invisible weight of trauma, navigating years of internal battles that eventually led him to a breaking point. But these moments didn’t define him. He found what lay behind it.
That decision became his mission.
Today, Chris works closely with veterans, helping them navigate PTSD in a way that feels approachable and real. He doesn’t rely on clinical language or complicated systems. Instead, he meets veterans where they are, in terms they understand, drawing from shared experience and teaching simple yet powerful tools like breathwork and self-regulation.
His approach focuses on something often overlooked: self-control.
Chris helps veterans understand how their bodies respond to stress and how to slow it down, he gives them the ability to regain control in moments that once felt overwhelming. And beyond the techniques, he creates something just as important: a local space at Trinity Yoga Wellness Center, where veterans feel safe, understood, and not alone.
Because for Chris, healing starts with one simple truth. “You’re still in the fight, and you’re worthy of winning it,” shared Eaton.
Mark Wilson
Some of the toughest battles veterans face come after combat.
After serving in the United States Navy, with multiple tours overseas, Mark Wilson has carried that same sense of duty into civilian life. Today, his focus has shifted from serving his country to serving those who stood alongside him. Veterans facing one of life’s toughest battles - cancer.
Mark’s journey into advocacy wasn’t planned. It was personal.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Mark realized that while care through the VA exists, navigating the system can be overwhelming. “Many veterans don’t know the resources available to them, and most don’t know the right questions to ask,” explained Wilson.
Mark has become their guide. “Some of us are just wired to stay in the fight. There’s no such thing as leaving someone behind. You stay with your fellow man until the end, no matter what,” explained Wilson. These are words Mark continues to live by, helping other veterans get through their fight with cancer.
His mission is to ensure no one feels lost in the process. Because to Wilson, beating cancer is not the finish line, it’s the beginning of a new chapter. Mark takes the time to not only educate but provide the emotional support most fighting men need.
After battling cancer twice, his mindset hasn’t changed. He believes in pushing forward to look for ways to contribute and help others. This belief shapes everything he does. Building his community, making connections, and finding recourses that create pathways for veterans to get the support they need. Because even in his hardest moments, his mission remains clear “Keep fighting, and never leave another veteran behind.”
Ryder Gaston
For some veterans, service doesn’t stop when they take off their uniform. Their service simply evolves to take on other forms of support.
After serving on active duty throughout the 1990s and continuing in the Air National Guard, Ryder Gaston carried more than memories into civilian life. “I understood firsthand the challenges veterans and their families faced that go unseen,” said Gaston. This became a foundation to help others when they need it most.
While running a martial arts school in Colorado, he and his family offered free classes to children of deployed military members. It gave those kids structure, confidence, and a place to belong during a time when their home life was anything but stable. “What began as a small act of support quickly revealed a deeper need within the military community,” explained Gaston.
After returning to civilian life, Gaston faced his own health struggles, dealing with chronic migraines for over two decades. Gaston was introduced to holistic therapy, which changed his life. For the first time in years, he found relief and a shift in energy. His life became more manageable, and he wanted to share this profound way of healing with the other veterans around him.
His transformation sparked a new mission. Today, through their wellness center, the Gastons provide free holistic services to veterans. Over 500 sessions each month. What started as a small space has grown into a full facility serving hundreds of veterans regularly. The impact goes beyond just physical relief. It provides genuine change for other veterans.
Gaston reflected on watching the healing journey of a 97-year-old World War Two veteran who came to him being told by others there was no hope. He had MRSA and was in pain and had trouble walking. After 6 months of treatment, the MRSA was gone, and he is thriving and perusing his dreams.
Gaston is faith driven and knows that all the signs he has needed to continue his mission come from the path he is forging through great connections in the community for support and the many smiling faces from healing veterans he continues to serve.
Chris Sowell
After 16 years in the military, local veteran Chris Sowell found himself searching for a purpose in civilian life. Sowell built his identity around leadership, teamwork, and mission driven work. Once the structure was gone, he felt something missing. Many veterans face challenges that are not visible on the surface. Pain from injury, addiction, and the quiet weight of post-traumatic stress. Sowell works every day to help fellow veterans find peace and functionality through the Warrior Wellness program.
Having lost so much on his journey to civilian life, Sowell found himself volunteering and giving back, and wanted to do his best to keep others from experiencing the same loss he did during his path to restoration. “At Warrior Wellness, we do not just treat symptoms, we help people. Giving veterans the space to rebuild, to heal, and to reconnect with themselves to find life meaningful again,” explained Sowell.
Chris sees the transformations happen firsthand. “Veterans who arrive on Monday withdrawn and overwhelmed at their lowest. When I see them on Friday, talking with others, uplifted and laughing and crying with joy from what they experienced, there is no greater feeling than that,” shared Sowell. It’s clear Warrior Wellness has a true, lasting impact. Chris is bringing veterans out of the darkness that may surround them, back to the enjoyment of a fulfilling life.
Chris will continue to work hard, side by side with his fellow veterans, by welcoming those who come wounded and broken to show them there is a life worth living and provide them tools to find the happiness they so deserve.
“Some of us are just wired to stay in the fight. There’s no such thing as leaving someone behind. You stay with your fellow man until the end, no matter what,” explained Wilson. These are words Mark continues to live by, helping other veterans get through their fight with cancer.