Pathbreaker
Who I Was: Pre - Pathbreaker
Hey brother/sister, I’m Gary — the self-proclaimed Chief Experimenter around here.
For most of my life, I was that “Nice Guy.” Always trying to make people happy, always the dependable one — until I realized I’d built a life full of smiles and surface connections, but no real me underneath it all.
That moment hit hard. I didn’t just lose people; I lost myself.
So I started experimenting — diving into new experiences, stripping away what wasn’t real, and testing who I actually was underneath the noise. And let me tell you… sometimes I nailed it, and sometimes I “Scorpion-fell” flat on my face. But that’s the point — growth is messy.
Now, I live to share those lessons with men walking through the same fire. Because when you learn to live with authenticity — when you stop pretending and start leading from truth — that’s when everything changes.
Stick around, and you’ll get a front-row seat to my experiments in becoming a better man — faith-driven, purpose-led, and real as hell.
Let’s break some paths together.
We fight together. We rise together. We serve together.
My Story: Gods Version of Me
When I was a kid, I was that handful. You know — the curious, can’t-sit-still type who always had a thousand questions and zero chill. I’d take things apart just to see how they worked, even if it meant breaking them in the process. Babysitters didn’t last long, and the neighborhood definitely remembers the time I accidentally flooded a backyard or broke a window trying to “help” my friends get into their house.
Back then, everyone saw it as trouble.
Now I see it as training.
God was already shaping me — through curiosity, through mistakes, through those “oh crap” moments that built the man I am now. He wasn’t punishing me; he was preparing me.
That kid’s wild energy turned into the same drive I use today to dig deep, test ideas, and help men uncover who they really are. It’s funny — what looked like mischief as a boy was really God’s spark waiting to mature into mission.
I guess I’ve always been an experimenter.
Just took me a few floods and broken windows to realize it.
My Story: Then There Was Conformity
When I was twelve, my family packed up and moved to Sun Valley, Nevada — and according to my mom, that’s when I finally “chilled out.”
(Though if we’re being real, that might’ve been the same year I smoked my first joint… so take that how you want.)
What actually changed was baseball.
That game became my obsession. I wasn’t the most talented kid on the field, but I worked my ass off. My dad had me playing just about every position — except shortstop, because “The Truck” (yeah, that was my nickname) didn’t exactly have the quickest range.
Baseball kept me grounded, but it also taught me how to perform. I learned how to play the part people expected — the reliable teammate, the hard worker, the good kid. What I didn’t realize was that I was building a habit of living for everyone else’s approval.
And man… that habit stuck.
For nearly 40 years, I stayed in that lane — chasing stability, trying to be the good husband, the good employee, the good dad — until one day, I hit my own “rock bottom.”
Career stalled. Marriage broken. Faith shaky. Compass gone.
If you’re reading this and that hits close to home — I see you, brother.
But here’s the truth: rock bottom isn’t punishment. It’s a wake-up call. It’s the moment God finally gets you still enough to listen.
And when I finally listened, He told me something clear as day:
“This isn’t the end. This is the rebuild.”
So no, I’m not here to preach. I’m just here to tell you — God’s been doing work on me. And if you’re still breathing, He’s not done with you either.