The Morning Formation Podcast
Hosted by KP Phillips—a U.S. Army combat veteran, former law enforcement officer, and seasoned instructor in tactics, firearms, and combatives—The Formation Podcast is built on the core pillars of Survivability, Situational Awareness, and the mindset to Adapt & Overcome.
Drawing from over two decades of real-world experience in combat zones and high-risk environments, KP leads authentic conversations with warriors, protectors, and everyday individuals who’ve faced adversity head-on. This podcast is more than content—it's a movement for those who understand that the fight begins before the event.
Through storytelling, lived experience, and expert insight, The Formation Podcast equips its listeners with the mindset, tools, and awareness to remain vigilant and prepared—whether on the battlefield, in the streets, or in everyday life.
The Morning Formation Podcast
Service and Healing: One Dram at a Time with Army Combat Vet Corey Rzucidlo
We dive deep into the powerful mission of Last Dram Standing, a nonprofit using whiskey as a vehicle to build community and honor fallen service members. Corey shares his journey from combat veteran to nonprofit founder and how he's turning personal pain into purpose through meaningful connection.
• Founded during COVID when Corey was seeking community after military service
• Uses whiskey not as a means of consumption but as a catalyst for meaningful human connection
• Created to bridge the gap between veterans and civilians through shared experiences
• Honors fallen service members through special bottle releases with proceeds going to charities
• First bottle selected honored First Lieutenant Levi Barnard, killed by suicide bomber in Iraq
• Offers unique experiences like barrel selection trips to Kentucky distilleries
• Structured as nonprofit to clearly communicate their mission isn't about profit
• Breaking the group into chapters allows for more intimate, supportive connections
• Focuses on creating safe spaces for vulnerable conversations about mental health
• Encourages veterans to acknowledge struggles and seek help from community
If you're struggling or know someone who is, reach out. The fact that you're acknowledging it is the hardest step. From there, seek help, find your community, and discover your purpose. Follow Last Dram Standing on social media @TheLastDramStanding on all platforms.
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Warriors fall in. It's time for formation. Welcome back to the Morning Formation podcast, folks, where we dive deep into the stories of survivability, resilience and real-world transformation. I'm your host, kp, and today we're uncorking a powerful conversation with a man whose nonprofit mission is raising awareness one dram at a time. Corey, from Last Dram Standing, joins us to talk about service, loss healing and how the single poor can serve a purpose far greater than itself. Corey, thank you for joining me on the Morning Formation today.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, man. It's a pleasure and it's been a long time since you and I got to connect and you know you're one of my favorite people. So this is I'm super excited to be here and super, super proud of everything you're creating and super happy to get into a little bit about what we're doing over here and and tell a little bit of our story.
Speaker 1:You know you've always been a very purposeful, uh, efficient and effective professional, and so I I've always highly respected you for that and, um, everything that you've done with this nonprofit so far, everything that I'm seeing, I am so impressed. Uh, even today, looking at your background and just your, your visuals, I can't tell you like how much I am like like kind of an envy. I'm like, wow, I want to be like that someday.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that. It's uh, I think we're. We're very similar in the fact that when we do something, we try to do it right. We have we do it with and intentionality, and I don't ever want to show up with less than my best. And you know, I have two daughters and I try to emulate that. I don't I don't think I can teach them through telling them what to do, but through my example. So it's the little things that you do. When you tell someone you're going to be there, you'd be there on time, you'd be there early. When you're, when you're working with someone, when you're working with someone, you show up with everything you've got and you do your best so that they want to come back and work with you again. It's the little things. I mess up and I slip up all the time and I don't get it right, but at least I try and that's something I you know every day. I just try to show up a little bit better than I did the day before. So that's all that is Right.
Speaker 1:You know, and I've often talked to veterans and just people that I know in general, who mess up and fail and they're embarrassed about it, and I always tell them hey, there's nothing to be embarrassed about as long as you walk away as a better man. And failing forward is a real thing and I can certainly relate to what you're saying. But let's get into the nonprofit. So those that may not know what a dram is, tell us what a dram is and what is the last dram standing and how did this entire mission come to life?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. So. It was somewhat organic, you know, a couple of years ago. First I'll start with what a dram is. A dram is just a pour, you know, a glass, right.
Speaker 2:And so in this modern day, when you're looking to name yourself other than you know your name, which is these Corys and my last name, no one can pronounce. So I wanted to come up with something. There's very limited options and as I was kind of scouring the Internet for what was available, you know the last man standing is a little bit tongue in cheek, but it's a little bit about just, you know, looking back at our history, the good parts of being man enough to face your fears and your failures, and you just do the hard thing first wake up in the morning to put your best foot forward. So there's a little bit of an homage to that. It's a comedy show with the guy from Home Improvement, which I watched as a kid quite religiously, but yeah, that's kind of where the name came from.
Speaker 2:I found something that kind of had a little bit of tongue in cheek but paid a little homage to what I was looking to do. But the actual nonprofit came from the fact that I was looking for a little bit of community. I found myself, you know, trying to engage with people, and as you get older that gets really, really tough, and I am an introvert at heart, so for me it's even more difficult, but I wanted to. You know, it was during the COVID times and I didn't feel like I was getting a sense of community. And, you know, the more I grow and get older, I find that that's really one of the keys to a healthy and happy life is community. So you build a really strong, hopeful community with your family and your close-knit friends, and then I think you should expand and challenge yourself a little bit to do things that are a little bit outside your comfort zone.
Speaker 2:So in an endeavor to do that, I found this whiskey club that had just started and it was started by a gentleman named Ethan Pope and he was like four or five people strong, and so, you know, I got a little uncomfortable and, you know, I joined the group and I ended up hosting one of the first events. It's a whiskey club where people from the northern Virginia area get together and, just, you know, hang out and share a pour, share some stories and use the dram not as consumption but as community. I don't look at the whiskey club as a club of consumption, but rather a club of community and bringing people together, and I think it's a really important distinction. I think whiskey serves just that single purpose to bring people together for camaraderie and to tell stories similar to what we used to do in the military. So it started there and then the group blew up. It was remarkable, you know, sometimes you just hit a chord and as the club blew up, you know, we started to say, okay, if we have this opportunity, maybe we should do a little bit more. And we started talking about it and ended up ultimately deciding that we wanted to use this group as an opportunity to give back and leave a legacy behind. And so that's what we did.
Speaker 2:We started the nonprofit with the Nova Whiskey Club and over time we expanded it nationally with a club called the Cask Collective, which is a single barrel organization where we go out and select single barrels and use the proceeds of that to give back to different charities. We've given back primarily to veteran charities, but we don't limit ourselves to veteran charities. We look for where we can have the greatest impact and support the community and beyond that we do something which I'm pretty proud of. I mean we can get into a little bit later, but every year we do a bottle that honors a fallen service member and, fortunate enough and unfortunate enough for me, I was able to honor, you know, my best friend in the military when we were in Iraq. He got hit by a suicide bomb, and so that first bottle that we ever selected was in honor of him, and we did it with one of our good friends, with Blue Bolt Spirits.
Speaker 2:It's an NDP, a non-distilling producer, and he's a Marine, a current Marine. He's doing fantastic stuff. And so we came together and went down to Mississippi and selected this amazing barrel and did it in honor of Levi Barnard First Lieutenant Levi Barnard, which was just a really, really amazing opportunity for me to show just a small part of his story to the world, and it kind of blew up from there, and then that's it. And so now we're just looking for ways to partner with different organizations in the community. We're going to do something at the Army-Navy game, hopefully next year with Travis Manion Foundation. So we're just looking at all kinds of opportunities to support, you know, not only the veteran community but any important charities.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I certainly feel like Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom is so far in a rearview mirror. A lot of people have kind of forgotten about it and it's pretty sad to say that. I remember a time where each and every day they would come out with a list of fallen soldiers that were dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. And you know, for combat veterans like us that sort of hits home because we were there at one point in time. Now, with the nonprofit, what position do you serve?
Speaker 2:So I'm actually the president and CEO of the nonprofit. So I stepped up. You know, just had some business background. I have an MBA. When I transitioned from civilian life to actually when I was in LA, I went and got my MBA. But so I decided, you know, we decided as a team that would be the best decision. So we have a board of committees. Ethan serves as the chief operating officer, he's the founder of the Nova Whiskey Club and then we co-founded the Cast Collective and we really look at it as a partnership. My title may be president, I don't view myself as that. I view myself as a partner and 100% will be forever with him and kind of accomplishing our mission. So, yeah, that's my first time ever being a president, probably the last, but it's been a fun little adventure.
Speaker 1:No, it's a great cause, for sure. Now, from my understanding, it sounds like this idea slowly came about and was executed slowly. Or was there a specific event that pushed you and your team to actually execute and create the last dram standing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it was a little bit of a challenge when we were looking at selecting our first single barrel.
Speaker 2:There's so many laws and regulations that surround operating in the in the spirits, you know community and and industry, and so while we were looking down that road, you know we, you know LLC and these different things and it felt a little odd. You know we were not in this for money Never were, never are going to be. This is not what our intention was and, like I said at the beginning, I want to do things purposefully and with intention and I wanted to be clear with the expectations for the group that this group is never going to be pushing alcohol and whiskey and other spirits for the sole purpose of making profit. So we thought the only way we could broadcast that in the clearest terms is to work on getting a nonprofit together, and so that's kind of what spurned the idea. We talked about it, we looked at the feasibility and there's precedent for doing this actually quite a bit of it and we found that that was going to be the best option for us. We're very happy we made that decision.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, what a journey. So, corey, tell me how. Tell me how has your own journey influenced the core message behind this organization?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I mean, my journey is long and windy, like most people's. So I will say, starting kind of midway through my journey, exiting the military, I found that it was quite difficult to find where I fit in, and I went through a really, really rough time. Although I didn't know, it was a rough time during that time. I think that story is very familiar to a lot of veterans, where you think you're fine and then you look back 10 years later and you realize that the damage that you had done was directly related to some of the trauma that happened while you were either in combat or wherever. You know. These types of things can happen in any situation, combat or not. And so, as I looked back, I realized how much I could have used a real community, a group of people that were not there, to tell me you know everything's okay and you know, do whatever you want, and the world owes you this and the world owes you that I needed a stronger community of people that I could share my you know needs and my issues and my challenges with, and also celebrate some of the accomplishments and joys in my life. And so I found, through the busyness of my life I've always wanted to get back to helping other people find that important community, and that's really really what drove us to kind of expand this group.
Speaker 2:It's kind of where I found myself lacking in life at a young age, in the formative years. I wanted to provide that opportunity and, like I said, this is a very small niche type of opportunity, so this will only serve a small subset of a group of people that are really interested in bourbon and whiskey and coming together to and, like I said, our group is very much in person. We want to. We saw a gap in what people were doing with whiskey. They were collecting and waiting in lines and all those other types of things, and so I wanted to bring people together for what we thought was the best part of whiskey, and so that's kind of what drove us to that to serve a little bit of the community in a way, to bring people together and then hopefully other people are doing the same thing and finding ways to get veterans engaged and just not even just veterans, just everyone, to find a sense of community and purpose in life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, community is so important when it comes to being understood and mental health. So, you know, on this podcast, I just recently started switching my direction towards survivability, both physical and mental. My direction towards survivability, both physical and mental. So tell me, how does the Last Tram Standing support those silently battling mental health issues that you mentioned earlier?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so we. I think the greatest part about what we're doing is, like I said, we got really big really really quickly, and so we realized we weren't able to serve the community in the way that we wanted to. Ethan and I couldn't talk to thousands of people on a regular basis. It's just not possible. It's not possible to meet that many people in a short period of time, because we have other responsibilities, both work and family, which continue to be priorities for me. So we broke our group up into different chapters and we identified people that we thought were strong pillars in the community and strong leaders themselves and kind of embodied the things that we found to be important. And by doing that, or by kind of separating these groups into regions, we're able to have these really, really purposeful small shares on a regular basis where people can come together and share their challenges. Like you just talked about, We've had numerous issues where people came to us with specific challenges and we were able to get them the help that they need, and it's through conversation.
Speaker 2:I gave a speech the other day for Veterans Day and the conversation revolved around you know, when I sat down I said what one thing, Because people don't remember much of what you say. They really don't. They remember like two or three things that you say at most. If you say good things, they'll remember two or three things at most. And so I sat down I said, okay, I can talk about a lot of things, but what one thing do I want people to walk away from as I speak to these people and that one thing was me is that you need to ask for help, that there's people that are willing to help you, there's people that want to help you, and so that's kind of what I want this group to be.
Speaker 2:When someone feels like they're backed into a corner and they have no one to turn to, they don't have friends or family that's willing to listen to them, that they have this community that they can go to and share some of those challenges or issues or pain points. And if we help one person's life with this mission, then that makes me happy. And I feel like we've already done that and hopefully we continue to use this group to make people's lives a little bit better, to give them a safe space, to have those important conversations and just to have fun, just to share some whiskey and try new things. But yeah, that's really how, and to me personally, I make myself available to anyone. I tell my story. That's the most important thing I think I can do is tell my story, tell that I was broken, that I didn't know how to have all the answers and I still don't and I hope that that vulnerability allows other people to feel safe talking about the challenges, uh, in their life and that's that's. That's kind of what we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can tell you that when I got out of the military I was the same boat as you with that. I got divorced. I remember my ex-wife. She said she said I'll never get involved with another military person ever again and I was like at first I was like screw you. And then I was like that still to this day has stuck with me and that was my calling to take some accountability.
Speaker 1:And, um you that that was tough because I actually threw away, like all my deserts, my dress blues, cause I just wanted to shed the skin and I had to kind of come full circle again and realize that this is who I am and this is what I've done. So, um, yeah, I can totally relate with with what you're saying and you know, suicide, suicide prevention, has been a really big thing, especially in the military community and for the first responders I know here LA County sheriffs I just saw an article today where they had like 13 sheriff's deputies kill themselves and the veteran community has been deeply involved in that as well. How do you personally stay strong while carrying such a heavy message through the non-profit?
Speaker 2:yeah. So staying strong is, is, is, is tough. I think, um, I'll tell you, I think perspective is is really important. I don't think that anything I do will ever uh diminish a little bit of of of what I'm dealing with, but I find that it gives me an outlet to funnel some of that pain, um, and mental, mental health, uh, challenges that I have Right. So so I think that that's kind of really the key. It's not that I'm strong, it's it's that I find productive outlets to to kind of leverage, uh, leverage or you know there's probably a better word but you know, expel some of that pent up pain.
Speaker 2:Because that's what happened for those 10 years is I didn't acknowledge it. Like you, I didn't watch a military movie. I got rid of every single thing. People didn't know I was in the military. I was ashamed of that time. I had survivor's guilt, which I didn't know was a thing until now, or until a few years ago, that I was carrying survivor's guilt with me. Everything I did, I was an imposter. I shouldn't have been here.
Speaker 2:The self-talk was awful. We kind of walk through this life and people you're doing everything great, you're a go-getter, you're an, a personality, you, you know you work hard, um and, but inside you're you're telling yourself you suck, and that's that's kind of really the. The painful thing that I don't think people see is is is everyone has their own you know burden that they're carrying and and and. So I've done a lot of work on self-talk and accepting that I'm not perfect and accepting when I fail and say, okay, I failed, acknowledge it, have accountability, fix it, it's okay, right, no one's perfect. No one is perfect, not even close to it, and so that's really important, like I started talking about is perspective and outlet. So I try to maintain perspective that there is no perfect path, but as long as you can try to do your best and go to bed at night thinking that you did your best and when you didn't talk to yourself about it, quickly Acknowledge it, make the correction and move on.
Speaker 2:Do not sit and let it eat at you. And if you did damage, that's the other thing. If you did damage to someone or a relationship, you know, fix it, talk about it, have a conversation. You know clarity is kindness. You know don't leave words unsaid. Talk to that person and acknowledge your part in it. And if they're wrong, if they did something to you. Okay, you know, grant them grace, because it's not a competition. So some of those are like life skills that I've learned over time and I am far from perfect. If my wife listens to this she'll probably laugh, because I'm still making the same mistakes I made before. But I think, more than ever, I think I have a little bit more internal dialogue and try to wake up a little bit better and learn from my mistakes, where in the past I would bury them and move on. So that's a little bit better and learn from my mistakes where in the past I would bury them and move on.
Speaker 1:So that's a little bit about how I handle it. Accountability is absolutely huge and I always tell veterans you know, a lot of times veterans are like, well, civilians just don't get it, they don't get it, they don't get it. Well, I mean, how about you meet them in the middle? Understand that, like most people didn't have to worry about rockets and mortars and IEDs when you were 24 years old. Not everyone has that experience. So let's meet them in the middle of the pasture and try to understand that their perspectives are not the same as ours and I think that will help you digest and help your mental health a lot more. A lot of times. And you mentioned positive outlet. I mean, for me it was Brazilian jujitsu back in Chicago, Like I, literally anytime I had a rough patch in my life, I would just submerge myself in that and just go to the gym almost every single day. Um, what were some of the positive things that that you that helped you through and, uh, get through those tough times?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So when I was not acknowledging them, probably not good things, right. So I probably did things that you know helped me mask the pain a little bit. But you know, I look back and I say that's what I needed. I don't think I was old enough Old enough meaning not age but I wasn't mature enough to to deal with it Right. So my body, my brain, uh, found its own coping mechanisms. But once I acknowledged that I was in pain, um, I found hobbies and found family and found different things that brought me joy. I try to look at things, uh, that that brought me joy in life and and and pursue them with a passion.
Speaker 2:You know, I got into woodworking and started building furniture around my house, which gave me a sense of satisfaction to learn and grow in a specific skill set. You know, stuff like that craftsmanship always scared me. I'm not good enough to, I'm not creative, I can't figure this out. So one day I said, screw it, I'm going to go build a workbench with just the tools that I have, and it sucked. But I spent months building it and, you know, learn, but along that process through failure. This is the perfect example of failures. Woodworking is nothing but failure. I mean, you literally fail every step of the way, and you figure out how to fix it and cover it up, but it's never a perfect fix. That's okay, though, because an end product when you, when you, when you learn and grow from these challenges actually looks fantastic, and no one is the wiser when they look at these woodworking projects that there's mistakes riddled throughout, because you've kind of done your job, you've grown and you've figured out how to kind of repair that to the extent that you can. Like I said, there's still imperfections, but you're not broken in any real way because you've grown from it. So that's one of the things I did, and then I just really dove into my family and enjoying my time with my daughters and my wife, and you know, me and my wife at one point, we've never done this before to the extent that we did.
Speaker 2:So. You know we needed time for ourselves. Our kids are getting a little older, we can leave them with the grandparents, and so we took what money we had, and you know. So, instead of buying things this year, let's go on a really remarkable trip, and we went for 10, I think it was almost 12 days to Thailand and a little self-care, you know, take care of yourself. There's a lot of guilt with parents about doing things like that, and I understand it. You know every. You know time and and money are really important, um, and you want to make sure that you're doing right by your kids.
Speaker 2:But for us, we thought we'd show up as better parents if we finally took a time out for ourselves. Um, so that was another way. You know, me and my wife found a way to connect and and had some really really powerful conversations about who we are and what we want out of this life and acknowledge some of our you know our challenges. This wasn't any type of like marriage trouble thing, but I think you know I've been married, I've been my wife 20 years. It's time to you know, go go, go re, get to know each other a little bit after having you know kids for 10 years. So, yeah, that's, that's a little bit what I do.
Speaker 1:I love, I love how you weathered that storm, because I feel like a lot of especially combat veterans go through that with their marriage A lot of times. It's weathering that storm, getting through it and then the veteran eventually taking some accountability, ideally. And I remember when you were doing the woodworking thing, you did a couple of pieces on Instagram with that and then I didn't see anything else after that. Next thing, I know you're popping up on Instagram like doing all these videos for the last dram standing and I gotta say, man, you, you're very polished. I don't know if you've been, uh, in the background doing like Instagram video training or what, but your videos are really nice, man, I, I, I'm really proud of you for that.
Speaker 1:Um, you know each and every combo I, combo I the conversation that I have. I feel like I learned so much about myself and other people. Um, how do you think this journey with the last tram standing has challenged you to better understand other people and to and and what stories have you heard about? You know, adapting and overcoming in in some of the most unexpected ways?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's actually a really fantastic question, right. So, um, I, I can say for certain that it was. Remarkably, I'm an introvert, like I said, and I don't like, uh, you know, new situations. I don't like the awkward. First meets Uh, and this group is nothing but awkward first meets, right. So, uh, now that we're a little bit uh farther into developing this community, it's a little less so for me, but, um, so so for me, first it was a challenge, right. So I got to, I got to learn how to embrace that awkward tension at these kind of early engagements and realize that there's a reason I'm doing this, right. So, once you get past that awkward tension, you get to meet some remarkable people, and that was something I never like. I was like I don't want to do that because it, because it's awkward. Well, I had to like talk to myself again. Well, what happens if I can just embrace the suck and and and face that that kind of fear of mine? And I've met some amazing people, people I would never would have met in my entire life that tell me, uh, stories that I would never have had the opportunity to, to hear about and to learn about their challenges. It's really interesting.
Speaker 2:It's not a veteran group. There are so many veterans, so many veterans. And I went to a veteran dinner the other day for you know, working on some charitable opportunities, and we sat around the room and every one of us brought a skill set to that table that no one else had. And at the end of that we're like we just built this amazing team that can accomplish so much by stepping out of our comfort zone, having this dinner and learning and listening about each other. I mean, one guy is transitioning out of the military and we had the conversation that you know he's such amazing things in the military, he has all the skill set and he can't even do the bare minimum in the civilian world. He's not qualified to the bare minimum in the civilian world and he's like what do I do? What do I do?
Speaker 2:And I said you know that you have these individuals that you know lived a very, very, very, you know remarkable life and were leaders in their community and leaders in the military, and they come into the civilian world and it's jarring to find out that you're not, you know, just going to pick up a job like it's nothing, so hearing those people's challenges and being able to come together as a community. You're not, you know, you're just going to pick up a job like it's nothing, so, um, so hearing those people's challenges and being able to come together as a community and find ways to help each and every one of them has been been pretty interesting. So, um, you know, one of the gentlemen that that, you know, I talked to, basically just grinded as it was interesting. He did woodwork and he didn't know what to do next, and so he just started grinding and trying to figure out how he can add value and he found this little niche of a market that wasn't being serviced and now he is in every single distillery.
Speaker 2:This guy is down the road, he's in every single distillery across Kentucky pretty much, making bottle caps that go on Glencairns, which is, you know, the tram, basically the thing you drink whiskey out of. You can drink whiskey out of whatever you want. But you know, you see a lot of us people who think we know something you know, drinking out of those fancy glasses.
Speaker 2:Well, he made a cap for them to keep the dust out from what we're eating, to keep the aromas in. And he is making a remarkable business and just got an offer to get bought out Just by, you know, putting his head down and facing a challenge. He just had a really difficult time losing his dad and he wanted to find a way to keep his mind busy and be productive. So that's one of the stories that go on for days about people's individual accomplishments, but it's a big, rewarding part of this community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's amazing to see and just have those conversations with folks and how they've evolved and how they've progressed in their own personal lives and some of the amazing things that they come up with. Yeah, I started smiling when you were talking about being an introvert and having those awkward conversations. I don't know if you remember or not, but I was. I encouraged you once to go to the American Legion in your own neighborhood and you said it was the most awkward thing. He walked in, you walked in there and then they, uh, nobody talked to you and you sat down and they just like do you like? What are you doing here?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did not enjoy it and, um, now I would just walk up and strike a conversation with someone and just get over the awkward, but back then, all right. Now, you know, like I said, we grow every, every, every day, we grow, um, you've, you've seen me. I, I've loved people. I don't love the awkward conversations, but I'm I'm trying to do my best to get better at it I.
Speaker 1:I would say that, for I mean and I'll say this, like the vfw, the american legion, the ones that I've been through over the years, that's probably one of the biggest problems they have. They can be very, very clicky at times and then if you're an outsider coming in for the first time, you may not feel as welcomed. It takes a little time to warm up at those places. So that's why, like an event like yours with Last Dram Standing, where, like you can actually get on social media, get to know Corey and what Corey's about, kind of gives you a little warmer feeling. I guess walking through the door knowing that you're going to feel a little more welcomed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely that was some of the purpose of, like I said, don't like social media, I'm introvert, but everyone was encouraging me like get out there, tell our story, tell your story and be a little bit, you know, fun with it and hopefully that can make people put a face to the group and then when they have to show up that first time to someone's house or event, they feel they feel like they can go up to at least one person and say hey, I saw you and strike a conversation. So a little bit of an opportunity there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a great opportunity. So what have been? What have been some of the most creative ways you've used events or whiskey tastings or storytelling to connect with your audience and just raise the awareness overall?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so one of the things we do is try to give people opportunities to do things that they've never done before, right? So, for example, we'll start with a single barrel program. So, going to Kentucky and becoming an industry insider for a day and walking the warehouse like no one else gets access to, and drinking multiple barrels and discussing what's better, what's unique, what can we offer this community? That would be something special that only this small amount of people will ever get to taste, because it's only one barrel. Most whiskeys are a massive blend for consistency. Right, when you buy something, you want it to taste the same every time because you have an expectation. Well, that's not how single barrels work, and so we get to go out there. So what we do is we make sure that it's not just me and Ethan or some of the leaders in the organization going. We offer it up to other people. We do lotteries. No purchase, no nothing. Just put your name in and say you want to go and we'll do a random generator.
Speaker 2:I think giving is one of the best things that you can do in life and I think for people that aren't giving the first time you give, just sit and reflect. You'll realize that you feel much better than when you receive. At least that's how I feel, and I find that a lot of people find a lot more satisfaction and joy after giving. So one of the things we like to do is give people opportunities to do a once-in-a-lifetime experience and go with us to Kentucky or Tennessee or wherever we may go, to do that single barrel pick, and that's where deep connections are built right. It gives me a very military vibe. You're out there for the weekend, you're traveling around, you're, you're kind of exploring and you spend the day, you know, doing this experience where you're choosing and then and then the crazy and really amazing part about that is is you come back home and then that bottle arrives Right and you get that bottle and then that experience, those memories are kind of trapped inside of that bottle. Those memories are kind of trapped inside of that bottle, and so you really get to kind of relive the nostalgia of that moment that you got to experience. It sounds like a little bit overdramatic about, you know, just trying whiskey, but I'm telling you it comes back. It's not about the consumption, it's about the community, it's about the experience.
Speaker 2:And at our age, you know, even in your late 20s, 30s and 40s. It's hard to get together with people. We live busy lives and we're not really good at making new friends. It's honest, my kid can walk across the street and make a friend in three minutes. It's remarkable. We just don't do that, and so this is a pretty cool opportunity. So that's one of the ways.
Speaker 2:And then we do really really try hard we're young to find ways to make it a little more inviting. So we're trying to do a golf charity tournament right now to get to different distilleries to sponsor a whole, and so we put it on neutral ground. We give people opportunities to go somewhere they're familiar with. They don't have to play golf right, and when you do these types of charity events, it's closest to the pan, or, you know, we can be silly with it and make people comfortable, or you can just come in and be a part of the event and the barbecue and stuff like that. So that's one of the things we're working on, and then we hear feedback from the community. Whatever the community wants to do, we listen. So that's, that's some of the things that we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have you guys came up with any type of annual event yet that you plan on doing? Because I saw on your social media a couple of years ago you did the bourbon trail, but I don't think that was related to this, was it?
Speaker 2:So it depends. I did one on my own where I went and selected a bottle of Blanton's for a restaurant, and then I did the bourbon trail with some friends one time and then I've done it multiple times since then. Obviously, so, depending on which one, I've done it multiple, yeah, so repeat that question. Sorry, I got lost on that.
Speaker 1:What type of? I guess the main part of that question was well, what?
Speaker 2:the. Maybe you didn't ask, but you were just chatting with me about the.
Speaker 1:Kentucky Trail. Oh, I was talking about the Kentucky Trail. Yeah, I'll erase this part right here. Let me write down the 34 minutes. I'll fix it. 24 minutes, I'll fix it. Yeah, so the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I know that you were on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail before. I'm not sure if you did it with the nonprofit or you did it on your own, but for those out there that aren't aware of what it is, can you tell them what the Bourbon Trail is all about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so the first time I went I thought it was like a little path and you go to distilleries and have, you know, have a good day. But it is absolutely not. That it is basically all of Kentucky. So the Bourbon Trail is just a way to talk about the numerous distilleries that are, you know, out there in Kentucky and it's pretty remarkable that you got Bardstown, you got Lynchburg, you got Louisville, you got so many different, or Lawrenceburg and so many different locations, and so what you do, really what most people generally do, is you go to Louisville, which is kind of the core of the Kentucky Trail, and there's distilleries up and down, you know the main street there, and then you spend a day there.
Speaker 2:You'll spend a day in Bardstown and you go to the different areas and kind of experience the different distilleries, whether it's Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, whatever you're interested in Bardstown, which is my absolute favorite distillery, and what they're doing and kind of how they go about making whiskey. It's really just a remarkable thing that they're doing and they put out good stuff at good costs, which in a market that it is right now, is a little unfortunate some of the prices. But yeah, that's the Kentucky Trail. You do it however you want. There's no right way to do it and there's plenty of things here. You can collect stamps and stuff. But when I did it a few times, just go to as many distilleries as you can, spend time with friends and family and have a good time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I wanted to ask too was are you guys planning on coming up with any type of annual meeting or annual event?
Speaker 2:that's going to happen on a regular basis, absolutely. So I think fiscal year 26, I call it fiscal year because of military and government, but calendar year 26 or however we want to do it. We're probably looking at doing that for the first time. So we do four events a year. They're called our all chapter shares, where we rent a space and we do a really massive event. And that's kind of been our four way.
Speaker 2:You know our entry into doing some of these larger scale events, uh. But we do want to do one big annual charity event. Uh, you know whether that's something in Kentucky or whether that's something you know here. Most likely we'll do here. And then we have the cast collective. So maybe we do something a little bit bigger where we invite people to do the trail with us. There's some opportunities there. But probably the first big event we're going to do is this golf event and maybe that will become our annual event, like an annual fundraiser for whatever we decide to support. But that would be a really good opportunity to bring the industry into the fold and also bring all of our members and kind of combine and have a really, really massive event that supports a good cause.
Speaker 1:You guys are also reaching out to civilians too, Like this isn't just about military veterans. So this is kind of the bridge between civilians and our military right.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and you'd be at least. I'm amazed at how much people really care about the veteran community that are not veterans. I think everyone has a veteran in their life or at least know that a veteran or heard a story. And so when we do support you know, with these annual bottles that we do to support a fallen service member, the support is tremendous and I think really people can really get behind that cause, that ultimate sacrifice that some of our peers have given, you know, just so selfless, just to protect our country and to protect our people and to protect what we hold so dear in our families and our freedoms. And so, yes, it's definitely a large cadre of civilians, and then there's a large cadre of veterans mixed in.
Speaker 2:I've found that to be one of the most important parts of this is letting you know veterans enter this community and then learn both from the veteran community. There can be echo chambers in the veteran community which can be a little bit toxic, uh, and so you know, not all of them, I'm not. I'm not saying anything poorly about the veteran community, but sometimes we get into our own heads and we just want to complain about the same thing over and over again. That does not no one any good. So talking to civilians that can give you options, give you alternatives, give a different perspective, for once I think it is really really helpful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I agree a thousand percent. That's why, with this podcast, I was specifically doing military, military, military military. Now I've opened it up to talking to civilians too. I mean, I've got a D1 athlete that I interviewed, I've got content creators that are very successful that I've interviewed and, you know, everybody has a story and a lot of times I'm relating those to the stories that I brought, I bring to the table from the military Um, but there's civilians talking, so it's, it's that bridge, and that's what I love about your nonprofit and just everything that you're doing with this Um, you know, it's what's the one thing that you well, I guess, what kind of impact do you hope to leave behind through this movement?
Speaker 2:So I think, I think it's simple, I think it's it's and I like to say, and chat and meet and tell their story or escape in a really healthy way, right it just, you know, you get through the mundane of the day and we forget that this is a life we're living, right, it's supposed to. I mean, I don't know what it's supposed to be, but I know that I don't want to just be on this hamster wheel and sometimes life can feel like that. So, you know, if we can shake that up a little bit and you know, give someone a weekend to do something a little different and meet with a bunch of people and have a few drinks responsibly and, you know, goof off a little bit, and that's really, really important. So the legacy I want to leave behind is kind of twofold in that sense is to give people in our community the opportunity to meet and build a sense of community that's going to, I think, be healthy.
Speaker 2:I know we're talking alcohol here, but there's a lot of science behind the fact that if you don't have a community, I think it's actually you live a much shorter life, right, and that's because there's purpose, and I don't know what it is about purpose that's innate with us, that makes us healthier and happier, but it does, at least from my opinion, and the science seems to back that up.
Speaker 2:And so giving people an opportunity to meet and find their why, find their purpose I don't know if we'll do that for a lot of people, but hopefully for a few and then, you know, create an organization that is able to take that really awesome experience in our community and leverage that to help other people from a charitable aspect, right. So this is serving not only our local community people. But we're going to take it's crazy that we can take this thing that we're already doing and then hopefully, you know, turn it into even more by giving back to those that really need help, really need support, whether that's, you know, gold Star families, or you know veteran families, or you know children with cancer, or whatever it may be that we find our community is really passionate about. That's what we'll go at.
Speaker 2:And hopefully I can leave and that continues and is a safe space for everyone to enjoy each other's company.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just to play a role you know is is is really important, um, changing lives and saving lives, and I've been doing this podcast for almost three years now and, uh, I went through my, my stage of just being awful, terrible and to where I'm at now, which I'm still trying to get there. But, um, I love it when people say that they found someone else through my podcast, like I like them being able to find resources, finding help, finding that voice, find that community and I know nonprofits there's a local golf nonprofit here in Los Angeles and there's a lot of veterans and find that community that you're talking about specifically Now over the horizon. Uh, you talked about some of the events. Um, is there any partnerships or any type of expansions that, uh, that you're aware of right now, or is that still in the works?
Speaker 2:Yes, there's a few I can't talk about, but there's one I want to give a shout out. So there's a group that's a nonprofit that's just coming up. They're called Whiskey Valor, and Luis is an amazing, amazing guy and he's really working hard to give back in a similar fashion. His isn't a club based like ours, but it is a nonprofit surrounding whiskey that's sole goal is to give back to the veteran community and he's blowing up right now. So I'm going to go have dinner with him in the near future. We already did one and just talk about the art of the possible. So we're really, really excited about partnering with them in the future to see how we can come together to make a bigger impact.
Speaker 2:And that's one thing. I don't think we can do this alone. I think, team, I think you know this about me at least, I hope you do. From a leadership perspective, my job is only to empower the people around me to do great stuff and to follow their dreams and their passions and give them every tool and tear down every wall I can so that they can be successful. And so you know, when you're talking about running an organization, you know I look at it the same way. I don't have all the answers and I need help.
Speaker 2:So partnering and collabing with different people and organizations giving freely with expecting nothing in return I think will end up being very, very beneficial for us, because I think it always comes full circle. So I just hope to be a part of the community, be part of the conversation and continue to kind of grow this. And, like you said, you know, I think the civilians are really, you know, a big part of our organization, a large part. So we'll look to do stuff both in the civilian and the veteran community. But really, really excited about a few other partnerships as well that I'm really excited about. I'm really excited about Whiskey Ballard, but there's some I just can't talk about right now, but once those come to fruition maybe we can circle back and you know we'll chat about it, because it's going to be. It's going to be an exciting development.
Speaker 1:That sounds awesome. You know, the one thing, speaking of leadership, that I've always envied about you was the fact that you allow people to take initiative and to utilize their own creativity, and you're great at developing as well and recognizing folks and their skills and attributes. Last jam standing man, it's no surprise to me that you are as polished as you are with your social media, and it's simply just getting more and more popular and gaining more traction. I appreciate it, corey. If someone out there is listening today and is struggling, or knows someone who is struggling, what message would you give them right now?
Speaker 2:So I'd give them a lot of messages if I could sit them down and talk to them, but I think that I would tell them that they're almost there. The fact that they're listening and they're hearing what we're saying and they're acknowledging it is literally the hardest step. I mean, it took me 10 years to acknowledge I was struggling. You know you're hurting, but you don't know why. But if you acknowledge that you think you found that you're, you have to talk through whether that's through therapy, whether that's through, you know, fixing your life, you know creating structure back in your life. You leave the military and all that structure goes away and you become complacent and you build bad habits, you know, or you rely on motivation to get you through the day, and that's never going to work. It's discipline and it's community and it's support systems that are going to get you to to achieve your goals. And so I tell them that they're, they're almost there. And now the big step is to seek help, and that's whether it's a friend or a family member, or reaching out, you know, and getting therapy. It's. There's no shame in any of them.
Speaker 2:And and my, you know, last jam standing is my, my title on Instagram, but you know anyone can reach me, um, and if someone's really hurting, that that would give me no, no greater joy in life to just be a a you know, a year to listen, um, and and generally I try not to offer too much advice.
Speaker 2:You know I will if, if, push my. My job is to job is to listen to you and help you kind of walk through that path and figure out what you know, what the next step is for you and you know I just try to use my own life as an example is the biggest thing for me was learning to acknowledge and learning to talk about it. And from there it was a journey, little step, baby, step by time, to come to terms with what it means to be healthy mentally and physically, because when your mental health goes, your physical health goes as well, in my opinion. So that's my only advice Find your purpose, find your why. You don't need to find it out today. Seek help from those around you, and I think the good things are right around the corner.
Speaker 1:That's great advice. That's really great advice actually. Um, seeking help, becoming a stronger person, resiliency I'm the type of person now where I mean you can't say much to me to really bother me, because I I've already probably said it to myself, especially if it's negative, and I think it's made me a stronger person seeking help, seeking therapy over the years. Was there anything in this podcast that I didn't mention, corey, that you want to mention before we wrap things up?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think, first of all, I'm just really proud of everything you're doing. I think you know we talk about purpose and community. You're doing both and I think that's really, really awesome to show the world that you know. You're doing something that I think you can be really proud of, and it has meaning behind it and purpose and it seems very genuine in this day and age.
Speaker 2:Sometimes these types of things are done for the wrong reasons, and I know you well and I know that you're really in this to help people and it means a lot to you. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met and you know you've been in a lot of chaos with me and you know I always try to be, you know, calm in the storm, and I've seen that from you as well. You know calm in the storm, uh, and I and I've seen that from you as well and so I think, as as, as you know, we've wrapped up this, this podcast I think that's that's all I want people to understand is that maybe you can find a way to find purpose and to find meaning. Um, it doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be life altering and shattering, and it can be something that's been done a million times, but if it brings you joy and it brings you purpose, then I think everything else falls in line. And, like I said before, like we've covered a lot, I think, if you, you know, back to the whole thing that we're doing here is find your community and find your purpose.
Speaker 2:And I'm telling you, you know, try to be a little bit better every day. Just show up. I think you're going to have a fantastic um, or I think you're just gonna be shocked at how quickly things you know move in the right direction for you, and then I think people around you are going to take notice and hopefully that becomes toxic in a good way. More and more people um, try to get better and try to help people and give back, and I think you know, once we all start doing that, this is going to be a fantastic, freaking world man Um, and I'm excited for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no doubt I appreciate you calling me kind, because that's the first time anyone's ever called me kind my whole life.
Speaker 1:But, um, man, I tell you what I've been very blessed to know and have worked with great folks like yourself, professionals, um, and had so many awesome opportunities.
Speaker 1:You know, once you hit bottom and you get back up again, um, there there's really, it makes you like Teflon.
Speaker 1:So I've been there before and I just hope that anything just like you, anything that I've ever failed at, I hope that I can share with other people to save them from making the same mistakes, but also to that nothing was ever done in vain. So I appreciate your raw honesty and unwavering mission to turn pain into purpose, with the last tram standing, and this is a reminder that even the smallest moments, a conversation, a sip, a shared memory can save a life. And for our listeners, remember survivability is not just about making it through the battlefield, it's about staying in the fight when no one's watching through the battlefield, it's about staying in the fight when no one's watching. So if this episode moved, you share it, please tag someone, talk to a brother or sister who might need to hear it. And, as always, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused and stay motivated, but I want you to also follow Corey's mission on Instagram at the last dram standing. And, Corey, do you have other social media platforms that you want to mention too?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's pretty easy because I found the name that was actually available everywhere, so it's always at the last train standing. Youtube, instagram, tiktok, which I'm. You know I'm on TikTok somehow, and in every other space you're going to find me Twitter, all at the same name. So, if you don't mind, I'd be remissed. And I hate to add one thing, but it's. You know, I woke up today and realized that it's May 21st, and so Levi Barnard was, you know, unfortunately killed. You know, 2009,. May 21st, which is today. And it's kind of serendipitous that you know you invited me on this podcast on this day. We didn't select it for any reason other than it was available. So the fact that we get to film this today and just shed a little light on my brother and just tell his story you know it's been quite a long time I'm just proud and very thankful that we get to do that. So thanks, man. You're just, you're fantastic. Love what you're doing.
Speaker 1:What an absolute honor. I had no idea. Love what you're doing. What an absolute honor. I had no idea. So thank you for giving me the opportunity, on especially this memorable day, to interview you for the podcast. And you know things happen for a reason, Corey. Absolutely, Things really do happen for a reason. And for everyone else out there, I guess we would dedicate this episode to Lieutenant Barnhart. I didn't know that, that's a surprise to me. I'm kind of shocked right now, but dedicate this episode to him, his family and his memory. And thanks again, Corey, for sharing the nonprofit. And for everyone else out there, as always, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused and stay motivated. Warriors fall out.