If you’re a fan of mountain biking, you understand the feeling of zoning out on a ride. Whether you’re taking on a steep climb, navigating technical trails, or bombing down hill, there’s little room for distractions. Between the adrenaline and line strategy, the dialed-in focus and energy you feel is both healing and invigorating.
This feeling is what inspired veteran Jonathan Hagerman to create The Dirt Therapy Project.
Originally from Utah, Hagerman grew up during the freeride explosion. Saving money for a Kona Stinky with a paper route, he had dreams of becoming the next Wade Simmons or Brett Tippie. But shortly after graduating from high school, Hagerman enlisted in the Marines.
Hagerman went to boot camp in 2009, and ended up in Southern California working as a utility engineer. By December he deployed to the Sangin District of Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
"It's considered one of the most devastating deployments for the Marine Corps since the Vietnam Conflict," he shared. "In four-and-a-half months, the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines suffered immense loss. At 22, I had accepted the fact that I might not return home."
While the veteran experience is both broad and unfathomable to civilians, there is a unified camaraderie they all find together. A shared bond and understanding that is difficult to find outside of their unit.
“You don’t realize the gravity of what’s happening while you’re in it,” he explains. “The mission goes on; you have to compartmentalize. Coming home, I struggled with this unresolved trauma exposure. It's very surreal; the severity of the deployment was such that the entire battalion was put on a 90-day watch.”
After completing his active military service, Hagerman decided to attend grad school. Living in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and their young children, he describes the ‘lost’ feeling that is common amongst veterans re-entering civilian life.
“I was a combat veteran in grad school working at a Fortune 100 financial institution. It had been ten years since I had ridden a bike, but I found an old Kona on Facebook Marketplace and started riding as much as I could. I fell in love with the sport and noticed the impact it was having on my life; both the adrenaline, which is great for military, and as a stress reducer. When you’re in it, you can't think of anything outside of what's in front of you.”
At this time, Hagerman had been out of active service for five years. He reached out to veteran groups on social media to start a group ride, then decided to form a non-profit to help create access for veterans in the outdoors. The Dirt Therapy Project (TDTP) became an official 501c3 in April of 2018 in San Antonio, Texas.
“When I started it, I had no intention of it becoming what it is. I thought a few folks would get together to ride bikes and we’d fundraise to offer a few bikes. A year into it, I realized it was more than people wanting to be on a mountain bike; it was people seeking a community and a sense of belonging.”
Hagerman hosted the first Dirt Therapy retreat with a road trip to Bentonville. Hagerman, Kevin Guiler (Sport), and Simon Garcia spent a few days exploring NWA trails, where they met University of Health and Performance (UHP) Founder and CEO, Matt Hesse.
“We ran into Matt at COLER in 2022. He saw us cooling off in the creek and asked if we were a group of veterans. We stayed in contact, and in 2023, I flew out to meet with Matt about UHP. During that visit, he encouraged me to move TDTP to Bentonville and connected me with the Veterans Future Foundation (VFF).”
Hagerman took a position as VFF’s Director of Operations and soon after, decided to hand TDTP operations over to VFF. Today TDTP operates as a program of VFF, with Hagerman as its Executive Director. He explains that VFF exists to support graduates of UHP–a transformative experience that empowers veterans to rediscover their purpose and forge a new path beyond military service. With this merger, the TDTP community now has access to many of the resources available through UHP and VFF.
In addition to monthly group rides and seasonal retreats, TDTP is working with groups like the American Alpine Club to draft legislation that would include seasonal coaching in the GI Bill. NWACC; their trailbuilding and MTB Cert are already GI Bill eligible. The only program in the country where they are eligible to be used with the GI bill.
"By widening our offerings, we can get more folks outside to discover their own path to healing."