Hey imgur. This is me, and this is my story

My name's Tyler, and motorcycles probably saved my life.

I'm a United States Marine and a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan

Having been through two foreign wars and holding my father as he died on the side of a snowy road, it's pretty easy to say that I've got some demons. I've battled with depression and had a really hard time finding a way to deal with it.

That is until me and my buddies did something awesome

That guy right there is one of my best friends. Loston is a US Army Ranger and a bike guru. He decided that he wanted to give back to veterans by building a motorcycle and donating it to a charity for them to raffle off so that they could make some money for their cause. When I heard about what he was planning to do, I just had to jump on board and help.

The charity of choice was 1pet1vet, an awesome group that rescues dogs that are scheduled to be put down, trains them, and donates them to disabled veterans to serve as therapy and service dogs. As a Marine who struggles with depression, I can say that one of the best therapies ever is just having a dog

Being able to put my hands to work, learn, and help make this bike a reality helped pull me out of the bottom of a bottle and bring a little sunshine to my dark days

I made awesome friends for life and started to properly cope with some of my issues. Through a lot of hard work and dedication we finished the bike, sent it off, and helped to make a difference.

I continue to work on and build bikes with my friends and it helps me to keep my head on straight and I couldn't be more thankful for that. It makes such a huge difference when I'm able to go down to the shop and just turn wrenches. Don't wanna be too long winded so just enjoy some of the pictures from our journey with this bike

Loston's dog Mia is always ready to lend a helping paw

Making the carbon fiber front plate for the bike

That handsome bastard on the right is Aaron, US Army Scout

You can't work on bikes and not have beers. That's just crazy

This is Zach, our carburetor and electronics wizard. I took this picture literally seconds after he electrocuted himself and said 'okay I think that means I should take a break'

Completed custom carbon fiber front plate being adjusted for placement

I had no formal training with building bikes so with the guidance of my buddies they had me working on all sorts of stuff

That's Timmy, all around computer wizard and local standup comedian

We've moved the shop from that tiny little hole in the wall to something much larger and continue to work on more and more bikes

I was sad to see that bike go but loved every minute of working on it

Dog tax.

I can't thank my buddies enough for helping to get me into working with and building motorcycles. It's the most consistant thing to keep me from slipping back into a self-destructive depression. Loston, Aaron, Zach, Timmy, James, and everyone else who was a part of this build, thank you. Whether you guys know it or not, you probably saved my life.

Video of us testing out the finished bike: https://youtu.be/QGX1CQuYmWs

We're starting our next charity bike right now and I couldn't be more excited. Follow me on instagram and watch this next bike unfold.
Instagram: @foxhoundmarine