Soldier Strong with Chris Meek
Overview of this Episode
In this episode of the Trust Your Voice podcast, host Sylvie Légère sat down with Chris Meek, co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of SoldierStrong, founder of BraveMind and ReachStrong, also the Managing Director and Global Relationship Manager at S&P Global Inc, and adjunct professor at Syracuse University, on how to be a strong soldier in and out the field.
In this conversation, Sylvie and Chris discuss:
Story of building Soldier Strong and BraveMind
Building A Coalition To Broaden Impact
Bringing the most advanced technology to veterans
Reducing stigma about the mental health of soldiers
Chris has a podcast of his own where he discusses personal empowerment, commitment to our own well-being, and the motivation to achieve more, listen to him on Next Step Forward.
To help our veterans take their next step in life, visit SoldierStrong. To know more about other information about helping our veteran’s recovery, read BraveMind and pay ReachStrong a visit.
Let’s review three things on The Policy Circle: Armed Forces, Veterans, and Mental Health
We hope you enjoy the episode! Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple podcasts. Stay tuned for more episodes and be sure to subscribe to the Trust Your Voice podcast on your favorite podcast player.
Episode Transcript
Sylvie Legere 0:02
Have you ever felt challenged with making life changing decisions or leading in the public square or simply aligning your thoughts with your actions? Well, then you're in the right place. Welcome to trust your voice podcast. My name is Sylvie. And as a civically engaged entrepreneur, and mom, I understand the challenges of advocating for yourself and others. While attempting to balance your personal and professional demands. I had to develop a personal system of success in every area of my life. And now, I want to help you build your unique system and truly trust your voice, even and especially when it shakes. By the end of each episode, you'll be energized to spark your creative leadership make purposeful connection and confidently prioritize the matters that bring you the most joy. So let's start the show. Welcome to the trust your voice podcast. My guest today is Chris meek, who is the co founder chairman and CEO of soldier strong. And aside from his philanthropic work, he is also the Managing Director and global relationship manager at SMP global. And he's an adjunct professor at Syracuse University. We have a very detailed bio for Chris in our show notes. So I invite you to look at everything that Chris does. I'm so inspired and impressed with all of your engagement. Chris, welcome to the show.
Chris Meek 1:13
So thanks for having me. It's an honor and pleasure to be here today. Really appreciate it.
Sylvie Legere 1:17
Yeah, thank you. Well, Chris, I invited you to the podcast because I believe that your story will give our listeners a couple of keys. One is how to see opportunities, when to say yes to new challenges, but really also how to stay focus, and how to build a coalition that's really impactful. So I'm excited to go through with you your journey, and also your lessons learned and share that with everyone. So your journey you build soldier strong started 20 years ago, really on 911. And on that day, you were working at the World Trade Center at Goldman Sachs. And you felt a calling that day, having witnessed everything that happened in the World Trade Center. So tell us a little bit about that. How where it all began?
Chris Meek 2:01
Yeah, you know, it was obviously for those of us were there, you remember every second of every moment of that day. And I was waiting for trading operations for Goldman Sachs at the time. And so we were in four different locations between our office building three exchanges, and was responsible getting 29 people out a handful from for world trade, which is one of the smaller towers, but the twin towers are. But you know, as I was leaving our office, one of them on Broadway, which is directly across the street, right after the second plane hit, you're going to get the people out, you know, I'm seeing people jump, because that was their best option, you know, 103 floors up in the air. And I'm seeing people rushing away from the towers, you know, trying to get into a cab or to, you know, walk over the FDR, the West Side Highway across the Brooklyn Bridge. But one of my most lasting memories that day was the hundreds of first responders rushing into the towers, while 10s of 1000s of us for sprinting the other direction. And, you know, I knew at some point I wanted to give back. Obviously, that moment, I had no idea how or when or what it would look like, you know, then fast forward several years later, the time filter socks was launched. And that really catapulted me into this, you know, use the word philanthropic journey, but I like to call it more of giving back and helping others. You know, my mother had a phrase of help when you can, not when you have to. And that's stuck with me for 51 years now.
Sylvie Legere 3:14
And I think in your book, and to quote your book, and we'll give our listeners the information to get your book, but you say my calling in life was to help others take their next step forward. And that became your focus. There was a long time before you actually started. You connected with men and women who were deployed overseas. And then you started on that journey of actually helping people take their next step forward. So tell us how it all started that moment you felt, okay, this is the way to enact this calling.
Chris Meek 3:49
Sure. So a friend and mentor of mine was a former Marine and he always tells me you know, once a Marine, always a Marine, you're never retired. He'd give me a copy of a letter he'd received from a marine deployed in Afghanistan, Sergeant Major Luke converse, so I had the privilege and honor of meeting a couple years ago. And the letter simply stated, they weren't living on bases. They were in jeeps and foxholes. They were hiking all day. And so we asked for tube socks because they throw the old ones away. And baby wipes. They really have a lot of water. And so baby wipes were their best option for personal hygiene. That's how they would take a shower. So my buddy, his name is Chris, also, he can use it. You know, Chris, I know you're involved in a few things locally, maybe you can put some care packages together. So had some young kids in school here in Connecticut and reached out to a local pharmacy did the baby wipes and they were very patriotic and say, Chris, you know, we'll give it to you at our cost. And then whatever you purchase, we'll donate and kind. And the same thing happened to local New Balance sneaker store, actually, their sock vendor was a Marine. And so he said, Okay, we'll give you the socks at cost. And we'll also donate the same amount and kind and so did some things locally here with schools and churches and temples and businesses and our first one was 1500 pounds. And it sort of snowballed from there.
Sylvie Legere 4:53
And it snowballed from there because it connected you to not just the Stanford Business community but also the broader biz As community, and you said you were collecting at one point you were collecting socks from Miami to Maine? And what do you think was the key moment where you were able to turn this effort from a neighborhood effort to a national effort, but also that you decided to make that happen, right? Because as when you start initiative, there's also that moment where you say, okay, am I taking this national? Or am I keeping it really local and intimate?
Chris Meek 5:29
So one day, I'm at work, and my neighbor calls me, and she said, Chris, I think I just heard something about you on the radio, I kind of scratch myself, you know, what are you talking about? She said, I was listening to Elvis Duran, who was New York City based and he's syndicated 40 markets with 8 million listeners. And she said, he was just talking about collecting socks to send to troops overseas. Now, I had no connection or affiliation to Elvis at the time, it was definitely not for us at that time. I thought, well, you know, what the hell let me give him a call and reach out and see what I can do. And so literally just went to their website and hit the info@illustrated.com email, gave them some background in the organization. A couple days later, his executive producer called me and said, Chris, we'd love to work with you. Will you come on the show? And, you know, I've never done national radio, luckily, was radio, because I've got a face for radio, apparently. But you know, went on and Elvis was in his team, they were just great. very patriotic, very giving. And he's the one that made the calling for us, and says, How about America, you know, let's get some socks going here. And literally all those radio stations across the country started sending us socks, and baby wipes. And that is what put us on the map. That's what took us national. And it's great in theory, and it still is great. But you know, I live in the Northeast. And when you've got a garage full of socks and baby wipes with two feet of snow outside and your wife can park your car inside. I'm not a family favorite that point.
Sylvie Legere 6:44
So what's wonderful about that story also is that it connected you with servicemen and women who were deployed, but also with veterans. So tell us a little bit how that became the Connect point to your next venture to soldier Strong's.
Chris Meek 6:59
Sure, as the word got out, and as our shipments kept going over, either family or friends have deployed troops, right to us, asking for their son or daughter or neighbor, whoever it would be to be added to our list. deployed, troops would hear about us. And so they'd reach out to us to the website. And that just really started building the coalition of active duty service members. And then when they would come back home and the tours will be over, they would have to stay active duty back here stateside, or become retired. And so really started to build that military and veteran community network, if you will. And that is a brotherhood and sisterhood. You know, and for somebody who never had the honor of wearing the uniform, to become part of that is honestly been one of the greatest thrills of my life. And that just really kept us moving in that mission, you know, above and beyond the care packages.
Sylvie Legere 7:41
Yeah. And I think that you met some severely wounded veterans. And that's when you realize you're like, Okay, there's another way to also help people take their next step forward. And that is physically and you decided to start this is where you, you kind of looked at what's available, right for wounded warriors, what's available for them to be able to continue their life, when they returned, share a little bit like your focus there. And what is soldier strong, like, what happened next, where you went from socks to now soldier Strong's and what it provides.
Chris Meek 8:18
So in the summer of 2012, the wars were winding down, and troops were coming home. And so there was a need for the care packages anymore. And we were really looking to close up shop, because there's nothing else for us to do, thankfully. And another friend of mine came to me and said, Chris, I think you should look at the post 911 GI Bill, there's some pretty significant gaps in there. And so apparently, my friends think I have nothing else to do but these these projects, but did some research and found out that that was true that there were some some gaps in there. And so my thinking is that, if someone's willing to sacrifice their life for us, they should be able to go to any school of their choice and not let tuition get in the way. So we launched a scholarship program to different universities, now three universities to help veterans transition from active duty to private sector and public service. So we established that program. And to help us make that transition, we came up with a mission line of helping service members take their next steps forward. And the idea there was stepped foot in the battlefield with tube socks and baby wipes. And now steps forward and job training education. So that sort of catapulted us into this next chapter or evolution for the organization. And went through that for about six or eight months. And then was the spring of 2013 came across an article in a magazine. And the company is just outside San Francisco that makes these exoskeleton devices. And what that is, is it's literally a wearable robot that enables a paralyzed person to stand and walk again. And so I thought, How great would it be to help a veteran take little steps forward? And so through what I call the modern miracle social media, I reached out to the CEO through LinkedIn, I was gonna be on San Francisco in business and he said, Yep, Chris, come on up. We would love to have you and we're out there and toured the facility and was just amazed at what they were doing, and said, Okay, I'm in signing up for 10 of these. And I made the big mistake. There is a sales guy. I didn't ask how much they cost, and each one costs $150,000. So we'd never raised that and he here before because most of our donations were in kind through socks and wipes and things like that, but I thought, okay, you know, let's go into our fundraising crusade here. And let's start raising money. And in December of that year, we raised the 150 Grand and donated our first device.
Sylvie Legere 10:11
And it's exciting. And then you felt that, you know, In Helping Veterans Take their step forward, you could have gone in in various direction, you chose to go to technology. And now it's really the mission of soldier strong right of providing the most advanced technology to help wounded warriors. Do you feel like this focus on technology is it because of your background and in technology as a professional and you decided to make that the focus of soldiers wrong?
Chris Meek 10:40
That was certainly the launchpad for it. You know, the original firm I worked for before Goldman Sachs was called Whole trading. They're a Chicago based options market making firm. But I was in New York for the the floor train operation there. And they were one of the first firms to use handheld electronic devices for real time pricing. While the firm's would have to update their we call them pricing sheets every few hours as market moves and market volatility change. And so that really got me early on in terms of technology and trading, and then the evolution of different investment products as well. And so from there, I tried to figure out how I could use my business experience in the public sector here, the nonprofit world, when we enter the exoskeleton space, we've given a few of those away to first one individual, but then the device isn't ready to be worn 12 hours a day, it's more like physical therapy for the individuals like you and I go to the gym everyday with a personal trainer, and so on one, we found out then that we were the only veteran nonprofit out of roughly 46,000 doing medical devices. And so it really was a needle in the haystack moment. So we expanded that to see what other medical devices we could provide that the VA wasn't providing. And so we now offer, I believe it's six different devices. Two of them are different exoskeletons, prosthetic arm, exoskeleton arm for upper extremity, limited mobility, and a prosthetic leg, which has propulsion on the ankle, which eliminates the hobble when the veteran walks.
Sylvie Legere 11:55
And also share your vision for that, because you started this your focus on providing advanced medical device, but you also see this as a pathway to achieve a greater vision of providing the most advanced technology to our veterans. Because if we are to say, No, we have the most advanced military, then we have to say, well, we also need to provide our veterans with the most advanced chnology when they come home when they are injured and wounded. So share like that vision around that because you always what I so appreciate about your journey. And what you do is you're always raising your gaze and seeing the big picture and how you can impact nationwide and have a run impact
Chris Meek 12:37
you there on the head there in terms of just you know, looking forward and seeing what else is out there. What's next. And all the medical devices that we provide were are byproducts of something called DARPA, which is not a part of the Depart of defense, but their job is to think and look at the battlefield 30 years from now, and then create it today. And so the exoskeleton in particular was for something called the Hulk program, which was it's a load bearing device. And so the idea there was to have foot soldiers wear this robot, and then they could carry 200 pounds on their back because we just transfer all the way to the ground. And we're putting additional strain on the body of the needs of the joints. And so that was the transition from this particular device. In my pipe dream, if you will, I mentioned DARPA is to create DARPA, so that would be for veterans. And so to your point a moment ago, Sylvia, if you know, our department defense, their job is to give our military the most advanced revolutionary technology. Well, don't Our veterans deserve that? Certainly the injured veterans that were willing to sacrifice everything for our country. And so I spoke to members of both parties, both chambers in Washington about this, that's my ultimate goal is to create a DARPA because right now, DARPA has rules that they can make anything once it hits government department event speculations, there's no transition from government work to the private sector or commercialization of those products. And so their job is literally done, and things will just be left there.
Sylvie Legere 14:00
Hi, Sylvie here, are you ready to trust your voice, I've got something just for you. Get your copy of my newest book, trust your voice. In the book, I give you big ideas and practical steps to gaining confidence so that you can take on new challenges in your life and trust your instincts and your own voice. You can find it on amazon.com And you can also reach out to me at Sylvie at trust your voice podcast.com If you have any questions or feedback about the book or this show, so now let's get back to the episode. When something is developed by DARPA, is there a patent that then can be purchased or acquired by a private entity to produce a commercially viable product or medical device?
Chris Meek 14:44
There isn't and typically they'll let them expire, isn't that focused on it and then somebody will come in and find it and scoop it up and go on to the commercial side.
Sylvie Legere 14:52
So yeah, that's so that would be the whole idea of in a way of Barba is to capture that intellectual capital to be able To provide advanced medical device was also I had the incredible honor of meeting, Tyler Denford, who received a exoskeleton suit and came to Chicago in through the first batch. And Wrigley and it was such a touching moment, I actually brings tears to my eyes, because one of the things that he said he was like, this is the first time in five years that I am standing up for the national anthem. So it was incredible. And I think like part of you, meaning all of these veterans who have benefited from having a advanced technology to take their stuff forward, you realize, or and you saw studied right under the mental image effect of that sound, just physical. And that I think took you another Launchpad and next level, so share a little bit about that.
Chris Meek 15:51
Sure and before I do that, I just want to touch on what you just mentioned, you know, you're just getting choked up in terms of seeing Tyler Stanford walk again, I've seen veterans stand up and walk 100 times, for the first time. And every time is special, because you literally have changed their life in ways that you could never think of. One veteran in Palo Alto said, this is the first time I've been able to stand up and kiss my wife and three years, one veteran was able to get rehabilitated and walk his daughter down the aisle for a wedding because of this device. And so just knowing that you can help change lives is as you know, all the reason to do it. But your question regarding the mental health space. A few years ago, we'd given an exoskeleton to the Denver VA, and their chief spinal cord doctor said, Chris, in addition to physical therapy, we would like to use this device for a mental health study. And that kind of scratched my head Scible mental health study and what and she said quite simply, for someone to stand up and be eye level with the world again. And that's obviously something I take for granted every day. I'm six foot three, and so my eyes limit higher, and they shared some early results with me. And they were astounding. You know, it feels great to be a five foot seven giant again, it's awesome to not look at somebody's belt buckle or haven't looked down on me like I'm a five year old child. And so that led me into the research of Okay, so what's out there and veterans mental health is something we had been exploring, but it's a big space, it's a crowded space. And I didn't know where our business model of Vance revolutionary technology would fit. So just did some Google researching and veteran mental health, which led to post traumatic stress, which led to veterans suicide, and then end up coming across a gentleman named Dr. Skip Rizzo at the University of Southern California, who had created virtual reality software to help post 911 veterans. So again, through LinkedIn went out and reached out to him, went to visit him in Southern California in February, which living in Connecticut was a good time for me to go and try the the equipment and it was just fascinating. He's got 14 different scenarios or worlds, Afghani village, you're in a Humvee with helicopters flying over, it is going off. There's one for military sexual trauma. And so I said, Okay, before I say I'm in, how much does it cost? This time, I actually asked. And he told me, and this was something again, that was initially developed by Department of the Army department and DOD. And you know, they'd spent $30 million and then walked away from it, because I didn't realize it would need system upgrades every few years, just because the software got better. So we ended up giving them $100,000 Grant, upgrade this software, and now we fund it, donate this technology to VA medical centers.
Sylvie Legere 18:07
It's amazing. And what's also how do you see these opportunities, right, you're always thinking of the next thing, right? Like what goes through share with us like what goes through your mind because you saw people, and you saw the mental effect? And I think in your book, you refer to those invisible wounds. And you're like, Okay, what can we do to address those issues? So what goes through your mind to always be thinking of the next level?
Chris Meek 18:35
It's really just seeing what is available to you today? And what the need is, you know, where are there gaps? And if you can find the gap, then find something to fill that gap, figure out, why isn't that gap and fill yet, and if there is a reason for it, then you know, I view it as my job to go out there and to fill that gap. You know, for me, it's become sort of, I guess, my my life's work, if you will, for lack of a better phrase, which is quite funny. If I think about packing tube socks, and baby wipes 1015 years ago, and now funding virtual reality and robotic devices, it's fun to see what else is out there, knowing and especially in today's world, how fast technology is changing, you know, used to be five to seven years now it could be you know, one to three years or five to seven months. And so things are getting faster, they're getting smaller, they're getting more useful, they've got longer duration. And so it's really just being able to combine my professional experience with my now 10 plus years of nonprofit experience and merging those two. And I think being able to see through the lens of both public and private sectors has enabled me to advance this mission. But then your point also looking to see okay, what else is out there and then on the next horizon?
Sylvie Legere 19:39
it is a gift to be able to focus on the gap right and seek it and see, okay, well, how can I make a difference? And this issue of mental health is a broader issue is and impacts veterans, as you said the suicide rate are, are really high, but also I think, I want to mention that the policy circle published a brief on mental health that anyone can use use to really host and drive a discussion around the issue of mental health and in debrief and mentioned that in 2019, American Psychological Association survey 87% of respondents said that a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed of. But 86% also believed that mental illness carries a stigma and almost 40% said that they would use someone differently if they knew that that person had a mental health disorders. So indicating that there's still a lot of stigma that remains. And usually also, fewer than half of individuals diagnosed receive treatment. So I think that's also another area right that you're seeing a space, a gap to fill is changing the stigma. And this affects every community, I was talking about this issue with people in Montana, where there's also one of the highest suicide rate in these beautiful mountain towns. And stigma also came up. So you founded yet another organization, right to address stigma
Chris Meek 21:02
I did. And what led me there was as we rolled out the for Tralee program in the fall 2019. To your point, stigma is a big reason why veterans weren't seeking treatment. And specifically, if they raise their hands, if they need to talk to somebody, they could lose their gun, their security details, their job, their benefits. And so they, you know, they didn't want to do anything about that, they would just sort of bury it. But given what has happened to veteran suicide, that's really raised a lot of red flags. And so what I want to do, and I'm starting to do is to your point, mental health is affecting everybody. And so in January 2020, I launched an organization called REACH strong, with the idea of creating virtually software for private citizens. So maybe for people going through public shootings, or have gone through sexual trauma, or children who have been abused, or things of that nature. And so transitioning from the, you know, the military population we've been serving to everybody. And, you know, then COVID hit, obviously in March of 2020. And that's when you really start to see big spotlight on mental health. And I've been saying for over a year now that that's been the one positive thing of COVID is a has put a huge spotlight on mental health and on stigma in a positive way. It's making people realize, you know, the phrases, it's okay to not be okay. And, you know, you're looking at statistics there. And one of the stats is, I believe it's 50, or 55% of the people said they have a mental health issue or problem. And that's the people that are admitting it, a lot of people won't because of stigma. And so what we're seeing now are a lot of big name, faces in the community, in public sports in business coming out and coming forward and saying, I'm struggling with some things right now. And that's what we need is more people like that, who are in the public eye under the Public lens, saying, you know, what, I'm the seventh time Olympic gold athlete, you know, Michael Phelps is an example here, look to commit suicide, you think he's got everything going from the world with commercial endorsements with seven gold medals, etc. And he's not. We saw Naomi Osaka in tennis, you see more and more all the time. And so my job now is to go out and figure out how we can build this technology and get it out there to to folks, but the one big thing for me is just to be able to have people start talking about mental health in a positive way.
Sylvie Legere 23:08
So I'd love before we wrap up, I would love to kind of connect the dots for our listeners, because you've done like so much. But it's I think, in your case, it's really fascinating to actually go through the dots of your trajectory, right, your primary job was in technology and financial services 911, you felt this calling, I want to help people take their next step forward. 10 years later, your neighbor brought attention to a very specific problem, the lack of tube socks, and you decide to do something about it. And you turn this into a national adventure. And as the need disappeared, instead of keeping it going, you decided to say Well, the next step forward is actually to help people get a job, get the right training, get a job, that also then also led you to just looking at the physical and the invisible wounds of veterans, and how can we bring the best technology to help people heal, and take their step forward. So it's amazing that the focus that that you maintain, and also your your gift to see the gap and find a very impactful way to fill it. You also have a very unique ability to bring the right people to the table to advance your goal. And in conclusion, I'd love for you to share with us how do you identify the right networks to become part of? And what's your key to unlock locking the deadlock right and getting results and having the right people because you are at these tables where you want to influence public policy. You want to change mind and hearts and see real actions. So share with us. How do you do that?
Chris Meek 24:48
I've been the beneficiary really lucky to have what I call an eclectic Rolodex and so had some helpful friends early on, and then as we get some some I'll call some wins or some successes that just got more and more 10 Often, a big win for us was having the VA Secretary Bob McDonald at the Palo Alto VA, seeing our exoskeleton donation. And so I established a relationship with him. And then when you start getting some, some key policymakers or key stakeholders like that in your orbit, they have a very big orbit. And so they'll say, Hey, let me introduce you to so and so over here, or you should talk to this person here. And so the more wins and successes you have, the more that you can show like, I'm not a one trick pony, or I'm not in this for an interview on TV or whatever a book deal or movie. It's I'm doing this for the greater good. I'm doing this for the right reasons. People want to help they want to be involved, I think people really want to give back. And certainly now we saw it really after 911, we saw that the country come together like you've never seen since World War Two. We need that today, more than ever, unfortunately. And so just being able to establish those relationships, and approve that you're not going to just use their name or use their connection for personal gain or something like that. But actually to do something good, will help you get more introductions, and they will actually go with you on that journey as well. And I think a real key to that is to show them, okay, yes, we've been funding exoskeletons. But that's not the only thing that we do and be able to you mentioned earlier, looking at their eyes and having that gaze up, trying to fill those gaps, being able to identify those gaps. And also knowing when it's time to pivot, you might not be taking the right next steps forward, you may have to go in this direction. And so realizing that, understand that there could be a bit of a change in your path or direction, I think also gives you more credibility with those individuals who are helping you go along the journey.
Sylvie Legere 26:28
Well, thank you so much, Chris, for being on the show and for sharing your journey. And, Chris, your book is coming out. Next step forward. Is that the title of your book? Correct. So we will be including in the show notes, links to get your book, and also to soldier strong.org, which is your umbrella organization where I think people can find links to all of the other organizations, right?
Chris Meek 26:57
Yes, thank you. And all proceeds from the book are going back to soldier strong itself. Well,
Sylvie Legere 27:02
Thank you so much.
Chris Meek 27:04
No, thanks for having me. Really appreciate your time. It's been an honor.
Sylvie Legere 27:06
Thank you for joining us today, I invite you to do three things. One is review the policy circle brief on mental health that you can find on the policy circle.org website, to you can use the brief to host a conversation in your community or your network, there's still a stigma and today more than ever, we are seeing high rates of suicide among the youth. So it's critical that we facilitate conversations about this important topic. And finally, your third thing, visit soldier strong.org and tune into Chris Meeks podcast. Next step forward, and also look for his book on amazon.com. So thank you. Thank you for joining me Silvija on my trust your voice podcast. I hope that this episode brought you a new way to think about your voice, how to trust yourself, and how to use your voice for good in your life and in your community. If you like this podcast, be sure to leave us a review in Apple podcasts. And subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast player again.