Filing a Cup I Didn’t Know I Had - Josh Rembusch’s TRP Experience

For the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of volunteering with The Reboot Project, a nonprofit dedicated to helping heroes find purpose and community after service. The Reboot Project is more than just a wellness and mental health program; it’s a lifelong commitment that begins with a transformative year focused on nutrition, exercise, and intentional life planning.

By the end of that first year, each hero has not only reached nutritional and physical goals, but also gained a deep understanding of macronutrients, designed a self-directed life plan built around five personal goals, and climbed a 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado. That climb isn’t just symbolic; it’s a living, breathing metaphor for resilience, growth, and shared purpose.

I never served in the military, and I think it’s important to own that. There’s always been a part of me that wondered what it would have been like to serve my country, how it might have shaped me, changed me, or altered the course of my life. I’ll never truly know. But I do know this: my commitment to The Reboot Project feels like the right way, at the right time, to give back and serve those who’ve already given so much.

And maybe that’s why I’m drawn to the mountains. Since moving to Colorado five years ago, I fell in love with climbing, and I’ve been fortunate to summit many peaks. There’s something sacred about climbing alongside people you respect, especially when the climb itself represents something greater than the summit.

Volunteering with The Reboot Project has filled a cup I didn’t even know I had. Every year brings new challenges, new friendships, and new lessons in humility. One of the most profound gifts of this second year was witnessing veterans open up about their struggles and emotions. They came prepared to share courageously and without pretense. Listening to these men and women speak about their journeys is an honor beyond words.

It creates a space that’s raw and real, a space where vulnerability is strength and humility is courage. Over the past couple of years, I’ve developed a massive appreciation for men who are unafraid to be emotional, for those who are willing to explore their humanity rather than hide from it.

The Reboot Project empowers men and women to raise their hand when they need help and show up for themselves and for each other. It’s a community that delivers lifelong change, built on trust, respect, and shared growth.

One of my favorite messages to share during our mountain summit is this: a summit doesn’t always mean reaching the top. Over the course of a year, these veterans conquered hundreds of summits, big and small. And sometimes, it’s easy to lose sight of just how far they’ve come. My role is to remind them of that, to help them see the power of their own progress. Those are the summits that truly matter.