About
In 2015 during my transition from active duty in the United States Marine Corps and returning to civilian life, the whiplash of going from hyper-structured to nothing along with the absence of a mission, had an extraordinarily rough effect on me. Yet, even with this and more factors that occurred, the true Unraveling happened when going through the VA and engaging in the mental health model... Discussing experiences that occurred during my time in country, reliving the sense of failure and disappointment, connecting to why I was how I was now as a civilian, I was diagnosed with PTSD and Post Separation Anxiety. In other words, they told me that even though I received extensive training and being relentlessly dedicated to my craft, I was now broken. It has taken me over nine years of diligently studying and learning through more primary experiences, as well as rigorous education, to understand that it was not a flaw within me. It was a flaw within the system in place.
Let it be known I do not claim the title of War Hero, it was my job to get my war heroes home from Country so that they may be reunited with their families. My specialty was learning, teaching specialized skills while in garrison and to be a battle coordinator and thinker in country. These priceless skills, the ever-evolving progressive overload in real time situations, all has resulted in a very specific and significant toolkit that is meant to be taught to you. After being Medevac’d from Afghanistan in 2013 I spent the last year and change of my enlistment in the Marksmanship Training Unit at 29 Palms, California. It was there that I earned the title of Chief Instructor, and it was there that I was introduced into the concept of “Train the Trainer”. This is the model of teaching that I have utilized since then, it is the maneuvering used for all of Invictus Clinic’s programs and coaching.
My role is not to keep clients for extended periods of time, it is to give you the tools for your toolkit for you to master in your own life. To provide guidance and structure, but make no mistake: you must make the climb out of the hole and up the mountain. To say that you need me is a disservice to you, but if you do not know how to go, or what route to take, or what tool is for when, you may not reach the summit. You deserve the effects of earning
the view from the top, my job is to make sure you can do so.
Invictus Clinic will not try to convince you that your life is all sunshine and rainbows. The reality of life is that hardships are unavoidable. The only difference between the victor and the victim is your embracing of the events and what you do because of it.
Meet the Founder
Bradon Vermaat
After one of the great Unravelings of my life occured, it was the Iron Church, the memory of my mentors, and knowing that there are so many others in the same position and without the same skillset as me. I needed to find the Way through so I could help those who are in the same position. In other words, You are the reason why I am still in the game. Being able to help provide structure and guidance through primary experience, education, and rites of passage is what enables me to truly stand in this position. I do not take this lightly, and it is a honor to work with every one of you who are Invictus ready.
In the Iron Church I learned that your greatest competition is who you were yesterday, that the stressors don't get lighter but you get stronger, and that no one is coming to save you. Through reliving the same series of events I experienced as a child but in a deeper level, I gained even more understanding about the curriculum I have for my Life's progression.
I have had the opportunity to raise myself ever since being a child; being able to witness the strain of my brothers and sister putting on our mother made me intentionally decide that I wanted to make her proud. I have always wanted to make others feel respected, seen, and protected. Its been this way since I could first remember, and it is with this that enabled me to find my own Way through Life. This would have been commented on by many saying what a horrible thing to endure as a child, but really it was this fact that enabled me to view the forced upon rites of passage as a gift rather than a detriment. This was the foundation to me living intentionally ever since I could remember. It was then that I realized that in order to be great, you had to embrace what others would reject and do what others believe impossible.
I enlisted into the Marines on 9/11/2010 when I was 17 years old. Got medevac'd out of country. Gained Chief Instructor title. Left the service of my country honorably... All to do it again and a greater level when being a civilian as it was there I understood my service to my people had just only begun. Graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science and Nutrition. Gained the Certified Exercise Physiologist to combine with my extensive performance experience. I invested 10 years of constant studying the science and art of performance and wellness I built a robust toolkit which has helped countless others achieve mastery in any aspect of their life.
Not everyone needs to take the oath of enlistment to live a full life, but to be able to learn how to construct yourself intentionally and align to a better tomorrow. This is everything. It would be my greatest honor to teach you what I have learned, implemented, and mastered through fields of fire and rites of passage.
Life is happening for You, not to You.
The Origin
To better give this concept a better understanding, when I was staring into the abyss and searching for a lesson to stay in the fight, I discovered that very reason one night while watching Painting with Bob Ross. It was three in the morning, my mind screaming at the perceived reality in which I found myself in, and during this time the episode that came on was Bob sharing the news of his wife having cancer and that you had to take the good with the bad. During this display of vulnerability as well as intention, I was downloaded with a thought that has stuck with me ever since:
“Your Life is your masterpiece. From the day you are born, to the day you die, you are adding color to the canvas. Yet a painting with too many highlights is superficial and has no depth. A painting with too much shadow is murky and you cannot see anything clearly. Only when a painting is properly balanced with highlights and shadows
do you have a true masterpiece.”
This is what enabled me to stay in the fight, was it easy? Not by a long shot, for to make something new I needed to embrace even more ‘failures’ than ever before. Was it worth it? To a degree that is hard to believe. It is my deepest desire for you to understand the same truth in your own life without having the learn it the hard way and without guidance. Just as Ram Dass once said, "We are all walking each other Home."