Mending on the Fly

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Devin: [00:00:00] Welcome to Mending on the Fly the podcast about healing, fly fishing, and conservation. I'm Devon your guide as we float through engaging discussions, expert insights. And stories from the water. Whether you're a seasoned angler, perfecting your fly tying, a beginner overwhelmed by rods, reels, lines, leaders, and tippet, or a person interested in protecting our waterways, join us on this journey of healing as we uncover the benefits of fly fishing and being outside, ready to wade into the world of fly fishing, I will see you on the water.

Hey everyone, I'm honored to share the incredible story of Brady Busby, a veteran fly fishing guide, author, artist, and congressional candidate on episode four. Brady's journey of overcoming adversity and practicing healing through fly fishing and the outdoors [00:01:00] is truly inspiring. I was unaware of Brady's candidacy when I invited him on, and this is not an endorsement of his political values.

His message of resilience is one we can all learn from, and no one should be precluded from joining me in conversation based on political views or status. I focus on fly fishing, fly tying, and conservation on Mending on the Fly, and I hope you'll understand that Brady's story is one of profound healing and not a political spectacle.

Thank you for tuning in. I hope you enjoy the following conversation with Brady Busby. Today, I'm honored to have Brady Busby join us. Brady's not only an artist, author, and retired military chief warrant officer, but also a staunch advocate for the healing power of nature. Through his journey of overcoming adversity, including the tragic loss of his daughter, Brady has turned his passion for fly fishing into a lifeline for veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors.

As the [00:02:00] founder of Ashes Grove Foundation and a congressional candidate, he embodies the spirit of resilience and the profound impact of giving back. Join us as we explore Brady's journey, his dedication to conservation, and how fly fishing has become more than just a pastime. It's a path to recovery and renewal.

Brady, I want to thank you for joining us today. I understand you have many responsibilities on your plate, so I appreciate you taking the time to chat with us today and share your story. Thanks so much for being here.

Brady: Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Devin: Yeah. Why don't we, uh, to start off, why don't we just go back to before your, before your military time, I think you joined in, in.

99, if I'm not mistaken, but why don't you, why don't you take us back? Yeah. Why don't you, and, and kind of tell us a little bit about yourself and, uh, and, and then how you fly found fly fishing.

Brady: Okay. Well, I was, [00:03:00] uh, born in Texas, but I was raised in Arizona. I've always, you know, Arizona boy, but, uh, raised in Northern Arizona.

I did. You know, all the things I was into fishing at a young age, uh, sports, but, uh, fishing was particularly, uh, interesting to me. My parents used to take me, I lived in a little town called Holbrook, Arizona. Uh, it's on I 40 in the northern part of the state. But, uh, they used to take me to the local power plant that had some lakes there that were stocked with catfish and, uh, Carp and bluegill and stuff.

And so I would go and they would just drop me off and leave me there all day long. Uh, so they'd come back and I'd have a huge string of fish and yeah, so I, the, you know, I was hooked early and so I was fly fishing, fly fishing. I, [00:04:00] I was a, I was a boy scout. My scout master took me up to,

uh,

Brady: A place called Big Lake.

We had a, uh, an outing there and, and we were fishing and he, he brought me over his fly rod and then, you know, he got a big dry fly on there and he's like, all right, just leave it out there and wait. And so I, he's out there and. So right now, 15 inch rainbow trout came up and nagged it. And so I didn't know what to do.

So I turned around and I ran up the bank and pulled it out. I was so happy that I was just an amazing that, that, that feeling and watching it happen, that, you know, the dry fly action definitely was something that got me, but yeah, from a young age, I, I latched on to fly fishing early. So really, really great.

That's a great sport.

Devin: That's all. And so you were, you were [00:05:00] young then. I mean, it was, were you in your teens yet or, or just, and had your parents fly fishing or anything like that? No, not at

Brady: all. I've taught, I've taught them since then, but my dad, he, he hated fishing. Like the only time I would be able to go fishing with the family would be, well, if we went out to that lake, you'd, you'd.

He would, uh, appease me sometimes and he'd go with me. And, uh, I remember I had a big, big crawdad, big, big crawdad with a big old hook in it. And I'm like, he's like, please get that hook out of my back. So yeah, fly fishing is a little easier, but yeah, when I would go, we'd go camping like once or twice a year and I'd get to go and catch a bunch of trout and.

Fill up the freezer. I, I was in, you know, catch and release back there. And I [00:06:00] was like, everything I caught, I, I wanted to keep. So, and I like, I like to eat fish, but, um, people ask me all the time. They're like, do you eat the fish you catch? And I'm like, well, you know, I catch a lot of fish. If I kept every fish that I caught, there wouldn't be, you know, there wouldn't be any fish for anyone else.

Right. That's, that's what I tell people. So yeah, I was raised like that. Um, I moved to Mesa, Arizona, which is that's where I graduated high school and things like that. Um, before I joined the military, I was a broadcast engineer at channel three in Phoenix. It was a pretty big market share. And I was a You know, I did audio camera work, lighting, all the, all the things.

And I, I was doing technical directing and I was like [00:07:00] about 23 years old at that point. And, uh, and, and that's what you, did you

Devin: go to school for that?

Brady: No, I, uh, worked my way up from, I started off, my dad works at the, at the TV station and is in charge of the engineering department. And so I got on as a, I got on as a security guard first and, uh, I would sit in the lobby and read books and people are like, Oh, that's weird kid.

But then, uh, a job came up for a camera operator and I'm like, I was going to step up from a security guard. So, uh, went and, you know, within a few years I was doing all the Floor directing. I knew all the, all the camera angles, handheld camera, the robotic cameras, everything. So, when I, uh, joined the military as a [00:08:00] E1 private, yeah, that kind of threw my family for a loop, because none of them were really, uh, in the, well, my, my grandfather was in the military.

He was in the, uh, World War II in the Pacific. Um, Okay. Yeah, basically. He had some, some hard times. And so when I, by the time I met my grandfather, he was, you know, he loved to hunt. He loved to fish, loved to get outdoors and nature. And I, I didn't understand it at the time, but now that I've done my tours and everything, and, you know, been blown up, you know, PTSD, all the things, um, I understand it more now.

Uh, I didn't even, I mean, he got a distinguished flying cross in World War II for shooting down like six zeroes and he got shot in the hand and then he had to, you know, go to the base to the hospital and then his plane went out and they got [00:09:00] shot down. So he has a lot of survivor's guilt and all, all that stuff that he never talked about, but I didn't, I didn't find out about until I was doing some research for one of the books I read.

And, uh,

Devin: yeah. And so was he, was he a naval aviator or army air corps or

Brady: army air corps? Actually, it was an engineer on the plane. So he did, he was like one of the tail gunners and, you know, kept the, yeah. Things like that.

Devin: Well, I imagine, have you watched masters of the air yet on Apple? I have not watched that.

Yeah, no, it's, it's, it's pretty good.

Brady: Oh, okay. Yeah. It's probably good for me to watch.

Devin: Yeah, it's a, well, I mean it, like I, I, I hear what you're saying. I was a Marine, uh, you know, and, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it's, um, yeah, there's [00:10:00] so many people that have these different experiences that don't translate.

And haven't been supported, but I think we're getting to a point where you can talk about them a little bit. Yeah. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Well, so going back to before you became a private, what, so you had, you, you, you, you started working your way up. You're 23 working at the news station and then you joined the army.

Like, how did that happen? Did a recruiter just trick you or, or how did that happen there?

Brady: Yeah. I, I'm very patriotic.

Um,

Brady: so when I was sitting there watching the CNN feed live from Iraq and Clinton was in office at the time, it was bombing or something, and they had a live feed going on and when they were not on [00:11:00] live camera, I could hear them talking and, you know, see what they're doing.

And I can't say the name of the anchor, but she's well known and very anti American, saying all sorts of bad stuff about our country. And I got fired up enough to talk to a recruiter and I joined as the E1 private in the army, like two weeks later. And originally I wanted to go into military intelligence.

And they, they said, uh, well, You gotta get a securing clearance and it'll take you some time, but you know, I'll give you 4, 000 bonus if you sign up to go short range air defense and blow stuff up. I'm like, oh, sweet, I'll do that. So, uh, I did. I joined the Army. I went into short range air defense. I was a Stinger Avenger crew member guy.

[00:12:00] I graduated distinguished honor grad from my class and I was awarded a, like a live stinger to go and shoot. And so I, they shot up a rocket and I shot it down at the live stinger. It was pretty cool, but that's about as much of a stinger. I mean, there's not at the time in 99, we had Kosovo going on, but there's no real air threat anywhere.

So, uh, I did my first tour in Kosovo. Uh, from I was at for drum and I, I, uh, volunteered. Um, I was always, you know, tip of the spear type of units in the middle. Yeah. So I, you know, I was in the, the ace a platoon and the first squad just ready to go ago, and nine 11 happened. Uh, we were in the middle of training up to leave for Kosovo and.

They were getting ready to issue us live rounds and we didn't [00:13:00] know what was going on. And, you know, I pulled a little TV out of my Avenger and put the Ravagers on it and I watched, you know, the second plane coming in the Twin Towers. And so, you know, I knew at the time, you know, it was war. We were at war.

And so I left the next month, October 2001, but I went to Kosovo. on a peacekeeping mission, which I did more patrolling and, you know, more stuff that I, you know, I ended up getting a TV. I had to expose the TV because I was out meeting with elders and all the taking interpreters with me and all the little villages.

And, uh, yeah, so I went, I would go back. You could live in churches and outposts and stuff. And so I'd go back to a camp bond steal. To do my laundry and, uh, reset for like a month, get some snacks and some good [00:14:00] food and stuff. And there was some, some junior soldiers and they're sitting there with, you know, fresh uniforms and shiny boots.

This was back when he shined boots. And I'm like, I'm like, what do you guys do? They're like, Oh, we're in military intelligence. We, you know, we stay on the base and we do everything here. And I was like, all right, I wanted to do it before. And so. You know, I had progressed in my career, so I was a sergeant at the time, and they were given another bonus to transfer over to military intelligence, so.

I'm like, well, that kills two birds with one stone. So I'll get another bonus and I'll enlist, I re enlisted to, to switch to military intelligence. And, and, uh, they said, great, you know, here's, here's your bonus. Uh, but you got to do a year in Korea first. So I did a year in Korea, then I volunteered for Iraq and I did two more tours in Iraq.[00:15:00]

And then I, I had PTSD after my third tour in Iraq, and they kind of just medicated me and brushed it under the rug a little bit because I was in special ops. And, uh, they gave me a, they sent me to Germany for a break from deploying. And when I got there, I was, I was a new warrant officer at the time. So I was a sergeant first class before I became a warrant officer.

I transitioned to get my commission and when I got to Germany, they didn't have any money.

Devin: For anyone listening, can you just explain, uh, kind of the, the, the difference there between enlisted warrant officer and officer?

Brady: Oh, okay.

Devin: Yeah. So, and just how that works, how can you go from enlisted to warrant officer?

Brady: Okay. So I joined as E1. Worked my way up to E7, Sergeant [00:16:00] First Class. And you go through a selection process where you get letters of recommendation. Uh, cause I didn't have my degree at that time. And I had, I had certain, certain amount of college credits, you know, that I, I was taking college classes while I was in.

And, uh, Got my, got my letters of recommendation. My. I think the one that really did it for me, my 10th group commander wrote my, my letter of recommendation. He was a general later on, but, uh, yeah, I got selected, uh, went to Fort Rucker, did my Warrant Officer candidacy, which as a sergeant first class. Go into Warrant Officer Candidacy, they, basically it's, you're starting over, so they treat you like a private, you know, you had to clean everything, have everything rolled a certain way.

Right. It's, it's pretty, it's pretty intense, like they want to put a lot of stress on you to [00:17:00] see how you react. So, uh, once I graduated that, I got my commission as a, as a Warrant Officer. And the difference between a Warrant Officer and a regular, uh, You know, officer, um, warrant officers are highly specified in a specific field.

Like I was, I was a sergeant first class in military intelligence and signals intelligence. And so I went to warrant officer school and I stayed in that field. So I was a 352 November Papa, which is a airborne SIGINT chief warrant officer, uh, in the army. So I did a lot of, uh, Targeting specific, uh, focus, uh, a lot of target development, uh, pattern of life, things like that.

And then we would do execution of those targets. So, um, yeah, after my three tours in Iraq and my third tour in Afghanistan, [00:18:00] um, we were doing a mission and I was outside and mortar came in and landed right next to me and pretty much finished me off for my career. Pretty good brain injury. Um, I didn't get punctured by any of the shrapnel, but I took the full blast.

Um, you know, we were in the middle of a mission, so I got my, got my soldiers in the bunker, mortars had landed. They didn't hit right in the same spot, luckily, but, uh, when I was over, we went back to work. I didn't get to go to the medics till the next day. Cause we were, you know, we didn't, we were on the other side of the airfield and I had to get a four wheeler to drive over to the other place.

But. They're like, well, you know, I'm bleeding. You're good. So I got home. Motrin, Motrin and water. Motrin and water. They're like, what's wrong? My heart was always beating faster than normal. So they're like, did you run over here? I'm like, no, it's like [00:19:00] 130 beats per minute. But yeah, and I, I had PTSD. So I got home and something was wrong.

My ex was like, you need to go talk to someone. And so when I did, uh, I would spill the beans. I said, you know, this is what I've been, you know, nightmares. You know, all the things that you have to deal with when you're getting back from deployment, plus the brain injury and just not being able to think straight and everything.

So I, I was retired as a chief warrant officer too, and I cocooned myself so no, nothing or no one could hurt me. I, that's the way I can describe how I was when I got out. I was pretty bitter because I didn't. It wasn't my choice to retire at that time. I was 37 years old when I was retired [00:20:00] and, uh, fly fishing in particularly, uh, got me out of that.

I mean, I, I joined a group called Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. They're a national group and I was an, I was an ambassador for them. Actually, before I got to that point, I would, you know, I didn't even talk to anyone. I was shut off.

Um,

Brady: just going back,

sorry,

Devin: just going back a little bit, the, so when you got out and I think it's important, I think there's quite a few listeners who are veterans as well.

I mean, I seem to meet, like go into some of these fly fishing conventions and shows. It seems to me that there's just a lot of former military folks or even active or reserve with your PTSD. Obviously you had it while you were in and [00:21:00] probably developed it fairly early on. Um, maybe even right off the bat in Kosovo.

I mean, you never know how, how quickly did it manifest itself when you got out? Uh, or had it already started manifesting and you'd just been able to ignore it. Cause it's kind of the, the culture of the organization.

Brady: I ignored it. Um, the military intelligence, you know, if you talk to a psychiatrist, you know, I had a top secret security clearance, SCI, you know, read on to all sorts of things and, uh, my flight surgeon, when he was clearing me to go back to Iraq my third time, he's like, Hey, you know, what's this?

Uh, and I was pissed. I'm like, why is that even in my medical records? And that was not supposed to go in the medical records. No, I didn't talk to anyone. And so when I got back and I really had blast, you [00:22:00] know, concussion and,

you

Devin: know Yeah. Like clearly when the mortar landed next to you.

Brady: Yeah. Um, and I talked to, I talked to a psychiatrist and my career was over at that point.

And

Devin: yeah,

Brady: he, he, uh, yeah, he said. Wow. He's like, I had the worst case of PTSD, combat related PTSD that he had ever dealt with in his whole term in the military. And I was one of the first severe, uh, cases to come out. I mean,

I'm

Brady: trying to forget, 2012, I was retired. So between 2001 and 2012, I did, you know, seven tours.

Plus, you know, Germany and Korea. So I was, I was all over the place, every school I could get. So when I, they told me it was time to retire, I, you know, I took that to heart. I was like, I felt [00:23:00] like a, you know, I failed my, my goal was to do 20 years. And there's a lot of negative feelings that go along with that.

So yeah, fly fishing helped get me back.

Devin: Before we get into the fly fishing, uh, the, the VA and, you know, I've worked with the VA still working with the VA, uh, how did you work with the VA, um, psychiatrist and, and therapist or where did you seek private care or how did, how did that all work in 2012 and how has it changed for you? Okay. Um,

Brady: why?

When I was retired, they sent me back to the States. You know, I had terminal leave. I was out in August, but they sent me home and from Germany, uh, sent me home in like July or June. And so at the time I was hooked on [00:24:00] opiates, you know, I had like, I was on 80 milligrams of Oxycontin a day at one point. Um, and then they, uh, decided, uh, Not to give me painkillers anymore, but, uh, so I, I did a few things to, to help myself rather than focus on the military.

They, they did a couple of back surgeries on me and, but the VA was one of the worst things they ever said to me was, Oh, you're not a veteran yet because I got, I came back to Arizona and I was, uh, You know, seven tours and I needed medication and I went to the VA and they wouldn't give it to me. They said, you're not a veteran yet.

And so I Because you hadn't

Devin: officially been discharged.

Brady: That's right. So I Jesus. You know, battled back and forth between Fort Huachuca in Arizona and I was able to get medicine there. And then a few months [00:25:00] later, I was officially retired and then I could go to the VA. But the transition was really hard.

Um, I, I was, I didn't have to, I didn't have to fight with the VA or anything. So, I mean, I was a hundred percent, uh, right off the bat from the get go. Yeah. I didn't, I never had to fight. Well, social security disability. I did have to fight for, they denied me right off the bat because I guess they deny everyone right off the bat.

Um, so that was going on and really wanted, yeah, you gotta, I mean, I had, I had a family I was taking care of. I was the sole provider, um, even as a chief warrant officer, the, the retirement isn't that much. So yeah, I needed the social security and you know, it, it went through eventually, which a lot of people [00:26:00] have to get.

to help to get that done. But it's possible. Um,

Devin: yeah. And so what did you do work wise? Uh, right after you, right after you got out and kind of with this new, this new, I went back to college, this new situation. Okay.

Brady: I, you know, as a hundred percent, I could, I mean, I could barely walk. I was on a cane. Um, you know, my brain injury was so bad.

Well, I went back to college and. With, with that brain injury, I was able to get my degree, uh, in 2015, uh, at a geography and environmental studies degree, which was perfect for someone with a brain injury and into outdoors. And I minored in geology because I, I love rocks and I love going out into nature and just looking at stuff and I, I enjoy being by myself out in nature.

You know, now that's progressed. So I love, I enjoy [00:27:00] taking others out in nature so they can get the same thing out of it that I did.

Devin: So, and, and so had you been fly fishing at all, uh, during your military career and in between deployments or, or had that taken a pause?

Brady: Occasionally, I mean, I, I tried tying flies.

They were hideous. Uh, yeah, it's

Devin: arts and crafts. Like I talked to a week ago and I was telling him that, uh, when I was about nine, my parents brought me to an Orvis store in upstate New York where I grew up and got me, you know, the basic fly tying kit, some fly tying lessons, a casting lesson, and I started tying.

Like just pink, orange, it was arts and crafts. They weren't flies, you know, they were just, uh, I thought they, I thought they looked cool.

Brady: Yeah. [00:28:00] Yeah. So when I got on project healing waters, that really, you know, I got in the fly fishing, like hardcore. I mean, I would go out, uh, I had pictures of me like, you know, 40 mile an hour You know, all bundled up, I'm out there fishing by myself, and it's grinding away, and I am pretty good at it.

Uh, I was a fly fishing guy for four years in Colorado after I graduated from college. Um, there was a fly shop I went to all the time, and they were like, I said, you know, I was having trouble in college and stuff. And they were like, um, you know, once you graduate college, come back and we'll hook you up.

And so I was, you know, I had, I had tutors, like I had to take extra time doing things, but I, I graduated [00:29:00] and then I went in and I said, Hey, I graduated college. How about a guide job? So I started guiding and that was, that was fun. That was a fun job until it wasn't. I mean, I had a couple. I had a lot of fun and so, so I had a couple of clients that made me not want to do it anymore.

Uh, what

Devin: was that like for the, for the, for the, uh, customers out there? How shouldn't you act?

Brady: I'll just, I'll just tell you what the guy, like, were they just, were they

Devin: just clowns? Yeah. Oh yeah.

Brady: So in Colorado, uh, we were on a forest fire watch and first off he calls me and he's like, You know, don't bring in any of your, you know, crappy guide rods. I want your best rod. Right. [00:30:00] He was, he wanted me to stop and pick him up a six pack of beer on the way.

And then he proceeded to smoke a big stogie on the creek in a fire restriction. And then he was, he didn't take my guidance. He, I was focused on the other guy cause he said he knew what he was doing. And then he came over and started instructing the other guy. Uh, cause I wasn't doing it right. Ram. Just really treated me like that.

And then I didn't even get a tip on top of that. So, um, the other guy actually paid for the trip and paid for everything. And that guy was just, you know, a clown. But I had a couple of those, but then I had really good clients. Like I had a, a nine month pregnant lady that I took out and she caught more fish than her husband.

So it was, you know, you can have bad things and good things. [00:31:00]

Devin: Was that a waiting trip or a float?

Brady: That was a waiting trip. We had to get the biggest waiters we had. And, you know, tuck her in her feet. We're like this big, and the waiters are like this big. So, tuck those into your boots. Right. And she, she was about ready to pop.

And I was, I was worried I was going to have to deliver a baby, but she, she didn't

get

Devin: right out on the water. That's hilarious. And had you, did you join project waters first as a participant and then start guiding, or did you reach out? Okay. You did.

Brady: I joined as a participant. I worked my way up to where I started mentoring.

Oh, other soldiers. Um, what, what was the, and I just, I, I still, I still to go back, still do that with the organization today.

Devin: Awesome. So you still volunteer with, and what was it like? Can you just describe the, 'cause I'd like to talk to Project Healing Waters [00:32:00] too. I think I talked to Susan Gates from Casting for Recovery for Women with breast cancer and uh, uh, so Project Healing Waters does amazing work.

But can you describe. What it's like as a participant for anyone that might be interested out there, who is experienced with fly fishing,

Brady: especially, yeah, especially with that organization, um, if you have a disability through the VA, you qualify to go out on those trips. It's not, it's not combat specific or something like some of the other ones.

Um, so everyone is so nice. Generally nice. Um, you, you eat good. They normally take you to a place that's, you know, has fish and stocks. So you, you're almost guaranteed to catch something and Right. You have someone with you at all times and you [00:33:00] don't, you don't have to talk about what you did in the military or anything.

If you don't wanna talk about that, we can talk about anything. Um, picking up a rock and see where it kind of buzz.

That's weekend. Weekend,

Brady: yeah. Is they. Then Colorado Springs, the program there was pretty active. So we have, you know, I went on a trip, maybe two trips a month, uh, for a while there. Oh, cool. Um, so I did a lot of fishing and got a lot of people and I started public speaking for the organization, like raising money and, um, get others to get into the program.

And it, so it took me from. Um, where I couldn't talk to anyone, you know, just basically by myself and, um, to get me out of the house and go in on these trips. And then they got me to where I was guided helping others. And then [00:34:00] speaking about it in public, like I spoke to a crowd of like 500 people, uh, for my first, my first one.

And then I was, then I was an ambassador. I got somewhere good.

Devin: Well, so like, how do you think that actually happened? Um, I mean, you get out in 2012 and you are essentially a shell of the person that you were before and a shell of the person that you want to be. How, how do you think that, that fly fishing actually made that change for you?

Brady: Uh, it, it's a lot of small little accomplishments like I took fly tying classes, you know, when I'm able to, to finish a fly with the right knot and it doesn't unravel on you or, um, or [00:35:00] getting a first fly and catching a fish with that fly is so rewarding. And so, uh, just little successes, you know, brought me back.

And I, I got to the point where I liked it so much. I would go out by myself and spend time in nature. And, and

that's

Devin: awesome. I'm actually going down to Maggie Valley, North Carolina this weekend. Just for a little trip. Chrissy, my wife is going to watch the kids all weekend. So I am going to just go to the mountains and I like to tell people that.

I spend 99 percent of the time fishing and 1 percent of the time meditating, but it's really, I spend 99 percent of the time meditating and 1 percent of the time catching fish because it's, I mean, ultimately the, the fish are nice, but it's like the, the being outside and [00:36:00] just at peace is the most rewarding part for me anyways.

Brady: Yeah. Mine was, you can't. I can't think of two things at the same time. So if I was thinking about reading the water, I'm not thinking about all this stuff that bothered me. Um, so I just learned everything I could. When I was mentoring, I'd go to classes, I'd learn entomology. Um, I became so good at fly tying that I was able to mentor others and teach them how to tie flies.

And, um, Yeah, I mean, it was a great organization. I, I moved from Colorado in 2019 to Arizona, and I still, I still mentored a couple of trips, uh, down in Arizona for Project Healing Waters. They weren't as active, and it was after COVID, and, I don't know, COVID was rough. I mean, a lot of, I had a nonprofit at the [00:37:00] time and it, you know, when donations dry up, kind of, it's hard to run a nonprofit because there is no profit.

And, uh, yeah, so I, I had a nonprofit for, for veterans, combat veterans specifically, and we went out hunting and fishing, uh, same, being outside in nature, uh, it heals you. Um, just little, little successes and they make a big thing. I can dig.

Devin: What, and was that, what was the name of that nonprofit?

Brady: Oh, it was called hooks and fur.

Uh, hooks and fur. Okay. Yeah. A friend of mine, um, from Mesa, Arizona, we grew up, went to high school together and stuff. You said, I want to, I want you to, to start this nonprofit with me. And so I had a [00:38:00] benefactor that, that gave us some money and we, we did some good stuff and I went fishing for Marlin in the, uh, in Florida, went, you know, fly fishing for tarpon in Florida, did, um, lots of fishing trips in Colorado.

And Arizona we're mostly hunting. We'd go out hunting coyote predators and things like that. So it was a, it was a good, good thing for the time.

Devin: And what, so that was, so that brings you to, well, so you got out in 2012.

Brady: Yeah.

Devin: Um, graduated college in

Brady: 2015.

Devin: Okay.

Brady: And then 2019, yeah.

Devin: Cool. And then I know, uh, you, you're, you're big into art [00:39:00] and you're also an author.

Um, and the book is called Ashes Grove, finding peace after the storm. Um, yeah,

Brady: that's, that's my, that's my second, second book. So my, my first book I authored. We talked about Ashley. She was my, my daughter. Um, so she passed away in 2018. Um, she died by suicide and that was the hardest thing. Um, and a few months after that, I wrote, I wrote my first book.

It's called healing waters. Um, and it was, it was about my journey, about my wife and about. Uh, raising my daughter, Ashley, and, uh, eventually having a tragic ending. Um, so it, it, it wasn't, [00:40:00] it ended, but there was a lot more story to go. And so after my divorce, um, I moved up to a, an awesome place in the mountains.

Um, found a, found a place and I named it Ashley's Grove. Um, and we, we have the Ashes Girls Foundation where we, we actively take, uh, veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors, um, we take them out into the wilderness, or up here in the mountains for a few days, we get them, you know, off, there is no signal, well there is a signal, but you can't check your Facebook or whatever when they're, we take them out and we get them off those phones and get them into nature and heal.

And, you know, as a, as a guy, you know, I can, I can guide people on the, on the streams and I teach them how to tie flies and we do a lot of activities that, that really things that helped me. I use that [00:41:00] to help other people.

Devin: That's that. How much, I mean, first of all, I appreciate you sharing that because, uh, I'm like, I know you wrote a book about.

Your journey and Ashley, but I appreciate you sharing it because it's, you know, people are going through tragedies pretty regularly. And I think a lot of times there's such a stigma surrounding

a

Devin: whole variety of things. I mean, it doesn't have to be just suicide. It can be. Just about anything, whether it's drug use, alcohol use, something like that.

So thank you for sharing that. It's a, I think an important topic and just like PTSD is something that's vital to get out there. [00:42:00] Uh, cause you know, sadly your story isn't necessarily. The only one that has tragedy in it. And so if someone listening hears that you have the same story, I think there's a lot of value in that.

Um,

Brady: yeah. Other than losing my daughters is that I've lost quite a few friends as well.

Um,

Brady: did tours with them. They made it all the way through, you know, the war. And then there's the war at home that they didn't make it through, but

Devin: Yes. And how much of. You do. Yeah. How much of your guiding and the working, working towards getting other people healthy?

How much of that is, is therapy for you too?

Brady: Well, uh, especially after Ashley died, um, [00:43:00] when I help other people, it's, it's, it's helping myself. Um, I. You say the saying, uh, you know, you rise by helping others and I, I've made, I'm not going to say I've made a recovery from it, um, but it's always going to be there.

It's just in a ball and you just have to learn how to grow more. And you'll, you'll have a life that you can get back into. And there's always that, that hurt and that loss and feelings. But I mean, I was lucky because my daughter left me with a lot of artwork. She was an artist and I've been able to use that artwork to, we had a, [00:44:00] an art show for her and, and.

showed people her work and, you know, she, she had some PTSD too from a sexual assault and, uh, you know, eventually she, she couldn't handle it anymore. And it was, I mean, I hope that no one listening has that situation, but I know that, um, it is. It's something that people have to deal with. Um, so yeah, the way I help myself is by helping others and, and it's fly fishing or getting outdoors.

Helps others. Then, you know, I'm there right with them. And when I, when I see someone's excitement from catching a fly on the, or catching a fish on the first fly they tied or. [00:45:00] holding a fish. People, you'd be surprised. People have never even held a fish before. And, uh, releasing, releasing the fish, watching it swim off after an epic battle, you know, that you had with it.

Uh, I've, I've caught some big fish and there's, there's a talent to catching bigger fish. I mean, yeah, you have to play them completely different. You got it. But it's a, it's a skill that I have learned and I try to teach that to other people.

Devin: I love it. And there's therapy in, in what you do, uh, as a guide and as, you know, setting up the Ashes Grove Foundation, but writing the books too, I imagine had to be, you is [00:46:00] some sort of release or some sort of therapy in its own.

Can you describe how writing the book helped or writing both your books helped?

Brady: Well, part of, part of PTSD is you have all these thoughts going on in your head all the time and they get really confusing sometimes. So getting that story out of my head and on the paper and having others, Um, it helps them to hear that someone else has been through something like that and made it to the other side.

Devin: Um,

Brady: so, you know, I, I'm very active. I went through a lot of therapy. So I've done implant therapy, art therapy, you know, talk therapy, group therapy, uh, prolonged exposure therapy, which is my least favorite, but [00:47:00] I try to, everything that's worked for me, I try to reincorporate that into, um, how we help others.

Devin: That's interesting. And so with your foundation and with the folks that you bring in, is there a therapy associated with it or is it, is it really just them and the outdoors

Brady: right now? It's just them and us and the outdoors and I guess talking. Yeah. I, I, I talked to a lot of people and especially the people that I can have empathy because I've been there and I've done that.

So I can, I can talk to a lot of people that they don't normally talk to other people about stuff and you know, while we're fishing or, or even if they don't want to talk about it, they just want to go out and hang out. You know, that's beneficial, but [00:48:00] eventually, you know, the more, you know, the foundation gets going, I want to, I want to have like a staff position for a counselor and I want to have, you know, specific, like the warrior path program, like I'm going to prepare that, but, um, on my, yeah, they actually had a booth, I

Devin: think at the,

Brady: yeah.

And actually, it actually has grown very little. There's a big flat area and there's a lot of rocks. So, part of the warrior path is, is Native Americans, when they, when they would go off to war, they would have this symbol, and they would leave their, uh, weapons of war in the middle, and they would, uh, when they would go off to war, they'd leave the family and they'd go in this path, and they'd get their weapons and then they'd go off to war.

And then when they come back from war, they'd go back in this labyrinth and they'd leave their weapons. And then they [00:49:00] would come back and rejoin the tribe. Um, so I'm trying to recreate that on the property as well. And I'm going to have a, um, like a maze type of thing where they can grab this. I have a lot of rocks, um, the screen and everything.

So I want them to grab the rock that they feel a connection with. Like, uh, trauma, like a trauma rock or something, and when they go in the path and they leave it and then they come back and join everyone else, that's a very, it's a significant act of growing, because you're going to, you're going to theoretically live head.

I've had therapists say, Oh, you know, box it up and we'll talk about it next week. No, it's not. It's not that it's, you know, symbolically in your head, this is all your, the trouble, the pain [00:50:00] that you've been through and symbolically just leave it, uh, in nature and join, join the tribe again. That's, that's what the main goal is.

Get people out.

Devin: I love that. I got goosebumps. I mean, that's, uh, There's a lot of power in that tradition, I think.

Yes.

Devin: And what, uh, it's an interesting way to make it tangible.

Brady: Yeah.

Um,

Devin: yeah, it's really, really interesting.

Brady: Yeah. And I'm into, I mean, I was a geology major or minor, so I, I love rocks. Right. I do like gym and mineral shows.

I polish them up, I cut them. I do all sorts of lapidary work. So, you know, everything that I went to school for, I, I pretty much use in my life, um,

Devin: now. And [00:51:00] so how moving away from Ash's Grove, um, and fly fishing just a little bit. I mean, it, it's related, but for, for Conservation and, uh, environmental advocacy.

Uh, can you, can you talk about your involvement in, in conservation issues or, or advocacy, whether it's in Arizona or elsewhere? I've

Brady: spoken, uh, like I was on the board of Arizona flycasters. They huge program that is advocates. They, they put, uh,

Uh,

Brady: they help stream restoration in some places they do tons of, uh, time and, and, um, education is big.

But then like we, we would put on educational, um, Zoom [00:52:00] calls during COVID because no one could get out and fish. And so, uh, I would do like. . I went to the San Juan fly fishing, and so I took a bunch of pictures and I came back and I put a little presentation for no one who's ever been to the San Juan. I told them these are the, these are the line, the, the wave of a rod where I went, everything that they would need to know, uh, down to the flies and gave her a presentation that anyone could go.

And I love the San Juan River, by the way. It's if you haven't been in New Mexico, never or below Navajo band.

It's a,

Brady: it's a

Devin: bucket list. Well, I'll Just push my arm. Oh, okay. Alright, that's,

that's good.

Brady: As long as you don't

Devin: Nah,

just I

Brady: would, I would love to meet you. There's a, there's a little place [00:53:00] called Fish Heads.

And they, they have There's not a lot there, but that's a place where you can sleep. They have rooms to random and they have, um, they have boards, so they have food too. So when you, when you, when you plan on coming out, we'll stay at fish house and then I'll show you exactly where to go.

Devin: I'm in man, for sure.

And how, how have you integrated your environmental advocacy? Into support for, for mental health. I mean, it sounds to me like ashes, the, the ashes grow foundation really kind of does that, but has that, has that been on purpose? Have you worked, do you guys talk at all with, with the folks you're with about environmental advocacy at all?

Brady: Um, we, we do, cause we live up in the mountains and, you know, [00:54:00] Pollution, I mean, it's all bad. People would come up from the valley and they, you know, trash the creeks and everything. And so I'm, I'm very mindful of, of our earth and taking care of it. Yeah. You know, leaving it as some place that our kids can, I would love my,

you know,

Brady: My youngest daughter, she's off in college, but I'd love someday for her to bring some kids up here and go fishing in the same creeks that I go fishing in, you know, so we got to be good stewards of our, of our world so that can happen.

Devin: Well, I saw a story recently on the PBS news hour about lithium mining and I don't have an electric vehicle, but. To be honest, I'd love one, but after seeing this report, it was done by an investigative [00:55:00] journalist with, with the PBS news hour and in coordination with Arizona state university. And they talked about

the

Devin: growth of the lithium mining industry in the U S which I had no idea about.

Uh, and it's, I think. I'm certainly no expert, but my understanding is that the majority of it right now is in, is in the Southwest. Although there are mines popping up like in North Carolina and South Carolina or some exploratory stuff. Uh, and there's there, you know, they funnel in water from all of the, the streams and rivers, and there's not really a clear way to get there.

Way that the water is being cleaned and, and refiltered back into its natural system, but, you know, it's a real interesting issue [00:56:00] as we start to see the growth of,

uh,

Devin: lithium battery, electrics, electronics. Yeah.

Yeah.

Brady: Yeah. A lot of lithium was used because the batteries were created in China, and they're having excess of lithium.

Uh, so the new mines are popping up here in the United States, and there are issues with, well, strip mining and all things that go along with mining in general. You know, um, we're,

um,

Brady: We're happy to have it done in China because the pollution stays in China, so There's got to be better ways. I mean lithium

Is

Brady: the way to go right now, but I I look at things like, you know, hydrogen I Just built an oxygen hydrogen separator [00:57:00] You Yeah, I got goofy science projects going on all the time.

Devin: I mean, yeah. Sounds like Apollo 13 to me.

Brady: Yeah, well I've been retired since I was 37 and I found out early, but you gotta keep your brain, you know, busy. You just sit there and stare at the wall all day, so I'm always thinking of random things. Let's build an oxygen

Devin: hydrogen separator. That's weird. Yeah,

Brady: it's, it's, uh, you just run a current through, through some water and put some electrolytes in there and it separates the oxygen and hydrogen and it's a very, uh, volatile gas, so you can separate, it's electrolysis is the, the name of it, but.

Oh,

Devin: okay. So like, you know, people cleaning cast iron

and.

Devin: They can throw their old, you know, old antique cast iron and stuff in there.

Brady: Now [00:58:00] you use the electric current to get it to go and not the gas that it's created is, is they're separating the oxygen and hydrogen when that happens. So you collect the gas and then you can use it for different things.

So if they can, if they can get a, an electric car to say, uh, produce a current. And generate, uh, gas and generate fuel from water. You know, I'm, I'm all for it because the, the, the excess, when, when that ignites, it's water vapor, that's the only thing that comes out of it. So, um, there's, there's processes out there that we can

use,

Brady: um, to help the environment, it's just getting the knowledge and the experience.

Out there and the, the willpower is, you know, a lot, we have, we got a lot of oil and we got a lot of gas in [00:59:00] the United States and you know, it costs a lot more to import it from another country and you're, you're supporting a lot of things that don't exactly align with American values and things like that.

So, I mean, I'm, I'm for the environment, but I'm. Realist. I don't think you can just say we're going to do all electric cars right now and, and that worked out good. It's not, it's not like that. You gotta like, like opiates, for instance, I couldn't just go clean. I had to, I had a detox eight days in the ICU, um, to get me off the Oxycontin.

So, uh, and then nine percent.

Devin: We were handing them out like jelly beans.

Brady: Yes, totally. I gotta switch my iPods real quick.

Devin: Okay.[01:00:00]

Brady: All right.

Devin: Yep. Gotcha. Can you hear me? All right. Um, no, you're good. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, you're good. Okay. And you're an artist too. On top of, on top of everything else, you're, you're an artist. Uh, I had a, I had a, Talk to me a little bit about you. I

Brady: was always an artist. Like growing up, growing up in school, I took an art classes, jewelry classes.

Yeah. I've always been an artist. My grandfather was an artist, painted. And so I used to paint and sculpture and all the things. But then after I got PTSD and blown up, my, my hands shook really bad.

[01:01:00] Um,

Brady: and, uh. So my daughter, Ashley, she took my art supplies and she's, she became an amazing artist. And, uh, so when she passed away, I took some of her art that wasn't finished and digitally finished some of it.

Um, I started painting again, uh, in, in ways that I, I can. A lot of my artwork is digital because of my, my hands tremble.

Um,

Brady: but still I've, photography is big with me. I, I make a lot of, uh, reels on Instagram and Facebook and put, you know, footage and music, but I live in a beautiful, beautiful place. So I share that with others.

Devin: Yeah, I saw, I saw you guys bringing that, uh, that was fine. So I said, you guys should [01:02:00] probably have a block and tackle up there. It looked like a fun, a fun weekend exercise.

Brady: Whoa. Did you use one? That was a great, they brought a,

Devin: oh yeah, I think you have to

Brady: walk in and they, uh, they put some ropes around it and then they had a truck.

Going one way and it's pulling it up this way and it's fine. But I, I, I can't, I couldn't help them because my back's so messed up. So I was like, all right, you know, it looks good. Glad they did it. It's not keep up the good, good work guys. Now that it's in, it's in here. It's not moving.

Devin: Yeah. You're not taking it out. Um, So, uh, I know that you are also running for Congress for in, in Arizona, second district. So how, how, [01:03:00] how did we go from 1990s working in the TV station to, you know, uh, seven deployments? Several foundations, fly fishing, guiding, author of two books, artist to, uh, to, to running for political office.

Brady: It's not something that I aspired to doing when I was growing up. Um, I've done several interviews. Um, About fly fishing and some of the other things I've done, but one of them I did was for PBS and, um, I had a friend I served with in Afghanistan and he works for the Senate Intelligence Committee up in, up in Washington.

And he saw my interview and he's like, Hey, uh, you should really think [01:04:00] about running for Congress. We need some good leaders up here. And so I, I thought about it. And other people talked to me and I was like, yeah, I was, I was raised, you know, in this area. I'm a hundred miles from where I am now. I, I live here.

It's my, my home, my friends, my family lives here. And politics is, is a tricky business. Um, and the reason I'm running is this, you know, I want to, um, Still serve my country. Um, when I was retired from the military, like I said, it wasn't really my choice. Um, so now I'm choosing to continue to serve. And I think I've, I've made enough progress to where I could be of help to the country still.

Um, so that's why I'm running.[01:05:00]

Devin: That's awesome. That's cool. And have you, well, so I know that you have a few days left to, to gather signatures and is that,

Brady: It's going well, uh, as an independent, uh, I need to raise more signatures, get less money and have the same constraints that the other. Uh, political guys have, so, uh, I am coming up on a deadline, 1st of April, uh, just like the other two.

They need to get their signatures in just like I do, uh, to qualify me for the ballot in November. Yeah. So, that's the big hurdle right now.

Devin: Okay.

How,

Devin: how do you manage,[01:06:00]

I think we all know at this point that politics is rough. Uh, and, and any sort of public office is rough and you have been through a lot and have struggled through a lot and fought through a lot, uh, but, but you're out now on the other side of it. It seems like, I mean, it, it seems like there, I mean, there are things we're, we're all kind of in recovery to some degree.

Uh, it's a constant venture, but how have you managed to deal with the stress of politics, which I imagine can be all consuming at times,

Brady: um,

Devin: while maintaining your mental health? That's a

Brady: fine line to [01:07:00] cross, uh, maintaining your mental health and politics. But, um, I, I'm, I'm right, I'm right of center. I was Republican all my life and I, I'm independent because I don't believe everything that both sides have going on.

So, uh, I have a lot of experience and I have a lot of common ground with people. So when I, when I do talk to people, um, generally everyone I've talked to, we have something in common that we can talk about. Um, I have empathy for people who are struggling and, um, if I can, if I can help out, that's why I'm here.

So I'm still here for a reason. I've been blown up, shot at, you know, I've done all the things in life, came, came face to face with the anti personnel mine in Kosovo. Um, so that just turned up my career. Um, [01:08:00] but if someone's I mean, people are hurting the nation, the country's hurting. So I'm, I'm volunteering my service to come back, to leave retirement, to come back and serve my country again.

That's why I'm doing

it.

Devin: I think that there is a lot of honor in that. And, and I'm glad I'm for one glad you're here and I'm really thankful that you're here and and able to share your stories and experience with us. Um, it's, I think your, uh, your story clearly has a lot of ups and downs, but I think that, you know, the empathy that you can show to other people, I think other people can also draw from your experiences and, and say, Oh [01:09:00] yeah, well that happened to me too.

And, um,

Brady: yeah.

Devin: You know, if Brady made it out to the other side, I, I can too. Um, that's what I'm, that's what I'm hoping. It is certainly, especially in the, in the veterans realm. Yeah. I mean, especially in the veterans realm, it's like, it's, uh, incredibly important. It's particularly with the suicide rates of veterans and the, the difficulty, or at least the perceived difficulty in, in getting help, um, you Yeah.

I think it's really important to talk about, and I appreciate you, you talking to us about it now here on mending on the fly. Our conclusion is called the whip finish, which I'm sure you're familiar with. Yeah, thanks. I know it's cute. Uh, um, so, uh, a couple of things. One [01:10:00] is. What is your message for listeners who might be struggling with their mental health or facing personal challenges?

Brady: My message to them, just get out, get out of the house, take a drive. I mean, when I lived down in the Valley, I would, I would get in my car and I'd drive to the lake. Uh, go to the pond. I, I used to, I used to walk the canals and catch the big giant grass carp, um, on a fly that I designed. So, uh, just get out, get into nature, nature, nature, it heals us.

It, you know, when you go up to the mountains, you don't have all the distractions you can pick up on the, I'm all about frequencies as well. I think there's, there's frequencies up in the mountains that you can't tune into when you're down in the valley [01:11:00] or in the city or whatever. It's just, it's healing to be in nature and that's what our foundation's about and that's what, you know, I believe.

Devin: Yeah, I, I know I for one certainly benefit from just getting outside and I know fly fishing for has been the The catalyst to really get me out. And it allows me to go explore random corners of Maryland and Virginia that I wouldn't otherwise consider really. And how can people support the ashes grove foundation?

Uh, and, uh, and how can people follow you on social media and, and, and get involved?

Brady: Okay. So, uh, As far as the Ashes Grove Foundation, you know, we, we can take donations, but I'm my book, uh, all the proceeds or all the [01:12:00] money I make from the book is going back into the foundation. Uh, uh, right now, and that is finding peace after the storm.

They're on Amazon. Both books are, um, just, There's tons of ways to help, uh, you know, just getting to know the story is, is helping because that's spreading the message of healing and nature. And also, um, it's keeping my daughter's spirit alive. Um, and bringing people up here to, to a special place and having them feel that.

That helps me as well. So yeah, but you can, you can order the books online and people getting,

Devin: yeah. If you want to get in [01:13:00] touch and how can people get in touch with you or follow you on social media? I just,

Brady: I just use my name, Brady Busby. I'm on Instagram. I'm on LinkedIn, Facebook. Uh, the only one I don't do is tick tock because it's Chinese.

Propaganda, , um,

Devin: you're not doing, uh, any dances or anything yet?

Brady: No, I've, no, I, I danced enough when I was younger, , but, uh, yeah, I, I, I'm goofy. I I do crazy stuff. I'm, you know, I'm still a kid at heart, so, so even though I turned 50 in a couple months, you know, I still, I like to make. Hydrogen and oxygen things and warm up in the backyard.

I like to go hunting. I like to go, you know, I, well, I do a lot in the outdoors, so, and that's what helps me. [01:14:00] But yeah, um, yeah, I love

Devin: it, man. Well, well. Cool. Well, I would love to meet you in person one day and, and uh, share a stream with you. That would be, that would be an exciting piece of the journey for me.

So, uh, I hope that that can happen. I'd love to

Brady: plan a trip to the San Juan.

Devin: Well,

yeah.

Brady: Oh, I'm in,

Devin: I'm in, we'll, uh, we'll, we'll, we'll do that. We'll line that up. Well, good luck with your, uh, campaign and thank you so much for your time tonight, sharing your story with us and some insight into fly fishing.

Well, thank you. Thanks

Brady: for

having me.