The Reboot Project: Chris Belli Experience

I first met Bryan Bush on a video call at 6am in March of 2024 while I was visiting family in Melbourne, Australia.

Bleary eyed and likely hungover, I hopped on the call and was greeted by a charismatic and captivating, yet seemingly flighty and erratic longer hair man who spoke enthusiastically about a Veterans program that he had in the works, but needed assistance in bringing it to life.

Bryan articulated the vision for his transformational program.  He had company and program names already selected.  He had a well thought out brand hierarchy that was carefully considered to preserve the integrity of what he passionately spoke about, which was his desire for a program that could facilitate transformational change in Veterans and First Responders.

The main reason for our connection was Bryan’s desire for a design agency like mine to bring his vision to life - verbally, visually, and digitally.  Given that my head of Brand Design is an Airforce Veteran, I knew that it was work that we could excel at, and I quickly spun up a scope of work as to how we could help bring The Reboot Project to life and I sent it over for his review.

In my years in business I’ve met 100’s of people with ideas who couldn’t find a way to get out of first gear - and to be honest, the skeptic in me felt as if Bryan may fall into this category and I would never hear from him again.

To my surprise, that same day we received a signed agreement and a deposit to start work.  As I’ve come to learn with Bryan, flighty and erratic were never accurate descriptors, yet phrases like structured disorder, managed mayhem, and systematic unpredictability more accurately describe the inner workings of his personality.

Fast forward approximately six months, I am now standing in Indianapolis Airport about to board a flight to Denver, to meet with Bryan and 14 other Veterans, First Responders, and supporters of The Reboot Project.

Not only had Bryan contracted my design agency to execute his vision for The Reboot Project brand and website, but somewhere along the engagement Bryan had subtly conditioned me in to thinking that it would be a good idea to join him on the climb of the 14er in Colorado with the Conquer Your Mountain program participants.

Joining the group in Dillon, Colorado (our base camp) I really didn’t know what to expect.  If you’ve ever lived in a shared house, you’ll understand what I mean when I describe a never ending stream of people joining the party.

Convoys of cars turned up at all hours of the day and night as 16 people from around the country descended on Dillon to support The Reboot Program, and ultimately summit Grey Peak (elevation 14,253 feet).

Bryan had assembled a group of individuals that included his drill sergeant from his boot camp as a fresh faced marine back in 2001, a Retired Green Beret with five tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, Conquer Your Mountain program participants including a Former Army Medic, a Former Marine, and a Current First Responder, a film crew to document the journey, supporters of The Reboot Program, and Me.

For the previous three months I had traded the barbells for the stairmaster.  Everyday grinding out time on the highly traumatic Glute Punisher determined that my training would assist me in reaching the summit without becoming a liability to the group. 

To say that I was prepared for the climb was an understatement.  However, what I hadn’t prepared myself for was a journey of self reflection and deep introspection, the type of deep introspection that occurs when you are surrounded by selfless individuals whose only aim and desire is to do good for others.

For personal reasons, the previous 18 months have been some of the most challenging times of my life.  I knew that this climb had a lot of meaning for me personally, but being surrounded by a group of people who are all prepared to openly address their vulnerabilities and listen with intent to others, shifted my mindset from just being in the moment, to allowing the experience to change me.

“Letting an experience change you.  Allow the situation to change you, and give you a different perspective.  Instead of just being in the moment.” 

- Yohance Boulden, retired Soldier with five tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Climb Day started with a 3am alarm, with the plan to leave the house in three vehicles by 4am and be at the Grays Peak trailhead to start stepping by 5am. 

5am in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains is very dark with headlamps being mandatory.  The first 90 minutes was relatively uneventful and felt like it was an acclimatization period. The air starting to feel thinner and thinner with each step.

Hiking in the dark is an experience in itself.  Alone with your thoughts and only able to see 10 feet ahead of yourself, it became a peaceful quiet time of reflection.

As the sun starts to shine over the mountain ranges, you find yourself in a unique position experiencing sunrise in the Rocky Mountains, and you begin to realize the enormity of the open space.  Conversations between hikers started to pick up, and general wellness check-ins started to become the norm as the altitude started to take effect. 

Climbing alongside Derek Purtee who is one of The Reboot Projects first program participants, I started to understand the impact that such a transformational program had on his physical fitness, his physical appearance, and ultimately his mental state.  Within the past 10 years I doubt he’s had such a period of mental clarity than he had right now.  He had trained for this physically and had supported that training with a strict nutritional plan as well as coaching from the program’s coaches. 

While I knew that the altitude challenges would eventually present themselves, it still felt surreal as it started to take its toll on the body. At 12,000 feet I really started to feel it in my lungs and it started to feel like the mountain was physically pushing you back down the hill.

I noticed conversations between climbers had slowed down somewhat as everyone was trying to Conquer Their Mountain. Somewhere between about 13,000 feet and the summit, the climb started to feel very personal. It became a private challenge - alone with your thoughts - alone with the strategies on how you are going to take the next steps. What started out in my mind as a “long climb”, I was now breaking in to smaller sections or challenges. Things like - 100 steps, then a break. Or - just to the next boulder, then I’ll get some water. Or - I’ll get around this cut back, and I’ll wait for the group to catch up. This little series of challenges helped occupy the mind and helped manage the body.

As we got closer to the top, I waited about 20 feet below the summit, opting to let most of the others get there before me, particularly the The Reboot Project’s first participants.

Getting to the top meant a lot to me, but I could truly see what it meant to the others. They had not only trained physically for this, but they’d put in the work in the kitchen, they had challenged their minds, and they had let themselves be vulnerable. They had taken a leap of faith in to this transformative program, crushed the challenges along the way, and now they were celebrating on top of the world.

“That’s when you look in your soul, and ask yourself how much more of this can I do.  And the answer is however much it fucking takes.”

‍- Bryan Bush, Founder of The Reboot Project

When Bryan said “That’s when you look in your soul, and ask yourself how much more of this can I do.  And the answer is however much it fucking takes.” he was referring to climbing the 14er and the upcoming challenges that some of the climbers were likely to face as they encountered the steep terrain and the continuously thinning air due to the altitude. 

Bryan’s quote resonated deeply with me as I repurposed its meaning to be a renewed attitude towards any of life’s struggles.

CHRIS BELLI
Owner, CRUE Design Agency (thecrue.co)
The Reboot Project Supporter