Given these tough times, we are bringing a special episode of the Reserve Tank to you. We ask you to take a step back, take a deep breath, and take this time to focus on your health. Featuring Krystal Hess, the founder of Motorcycle Missions and member, Steven Boyd, to talk about their mission to encourage people to instill a life-long passion for riding and building motorcycles, that will help them enjoy a happy, healthy, and balanced lifestyle after trauma.

Featuring Krystal Hess and Steven Boyd from Motorcycle Missions speaking to the theme of the Motorcycle Missions platform on how DIY and motorcycling can be an aid in improving mental health.

About Motorcycle Missions Founder, Krystal Hess:

If anyone understands the challenges of starting over, it’s Krystal Hess. In 2011, Krystal left an abusive marriage. She dreamed of reinventing herself by moving from Canada to the sunny southwestern United States and learning to ride motorcycles. “I didn’t ever have bikes on my radar until I got divorced in Canada,” she said. “It was going to be my way of starting over, doing something cool.” Krystal met a guy who built custom motorcycles and moved to Austin, Texas to be with him. Within a year of her move, however, her new boyfriend attempted suicide, involving Krystal in a traumatic way. Once again, Krystal found herself picking up the pieces of her life — and the pieces of a motorcycle they had planned to rebuild together. “I had this big problem on my hands,” she said. “I had a motorcycle that I owned that was in a million pieces.” Rebuilding that motorcycle changed her life, and made her a true believer in the transformative power of two-wheeled machines. “I compare it to [the healing process] all the time,” said Krystal. Every part I put on the bike, I put back together a part of myself.” Since then, Krystal has rebuilt several motorcycles, started a successful powder coating business, and founded Motorcycle Missions, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans with PTSD heal through motorcycles.

Thanks for listening and a special thank you to Krystal and Steve from Motorcycle Missions for joining us on this very important episode!