Ben Owen

BlackRifle Co

President

VP of Strategy

Director Of Operations

GiveCredit

Advisory Board Member

We Fight Monsters

Co-Founder

Flanders Fields

Chief Executive Officer

MMA Signatures

Chief Marketing Officer

PartServ

Co-Founder and VP Sales

Re.Tech, LLC

LifeWatch Services, Inc.

Area Sales Manager AR/TN/MS

Pfizer

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

US Army

Infantry

Daddy to eight (sometimes ten), humanitarian, doer of good things, fighter of evil, bringer of hope, former addicted, alcoholic and homeless Army Infantry Veteran (barely).  

A serial entrepreneur whose mission in life is to go back into the hells I escaped and show the path out to those left behind.

Owner of BlackRifle Co, which has nothing to do with coffee, and everything to do with using data intelligence and digital media to generate strong ROIs for our clients, while philanthropically using our device level, OSINT and observed behavioral data to assist in conflict evacuation efforts, fighting human trafficking, and locating missing people.

Founder of Flanders Fields, which is an entirely volunteer run organization that takes once struggling vets, makes them whole, and helps them find purpose through taking part in world changing missions to help anyone we are able to.  We go into the worst places in America and abroad to bring a light into the darkness, freedom to the oppressed, hope to the hopeless, and safety to the terrified.

Today is my “freedom day” - 1,776 days free from addiction and alcoholism.  I had to go through hell to be willing to get sober.

Some folks can just decide to put down their addiction, lots of folks can see consequences on the horizon and make better decisions, lots of folks can see looming disaster and course correct.

I’m not “lots of folks”.

I had to learn everything the hard way.

For all intents and purposes, I was out from under my parents’ roof at fifteen.  They’re great parents, too, I just thought I knew everything and had to get out there and suffer as a result.

I had basically drank myself out of college when the towers came down on 9/11 and saw it as an opportunity to enlist and find structure and redemption in the infantry.

That didn’t work.

By 2005, I’d pickled my gall bladder, which had to be removed.  I stopped drinking for a year thinking I’d be able to control it on the other side.

That didn’t work.

On Easter Sunday of 2007 I was going a buck thirty (probably drunk, I don’t remember much) outside Scottsboro, AL and flipped my car, crushing half my tibia and breaking my pelvis in three places.  

That got my attention.  I put down the drink, for almost five years, and decided “now I can drink responsibly”.

That didn’t work. 

In fact, less than a year after starting drinking again, I set the TN state record (according to Baptist Medical at least) for the highest ambulatory BAC, walked into an ER puking blood with a .46.  9 days in the ICU with an upper GI bleed caused by alcohol consumption.

Over the next six years, the consequences became staggering.  I went from alcoholic to full blown addict on top, every substance known to man.

Lost my business.

My home.

My marriage.

My freedom.

I had a heart attack at 35 trying to detox myself at home.  A second at 36.

I got stabbed twice.

Kidnapped, held for ransom, taken hostage, present for all sorts of horrible things that I couldn’t stop—because I couldn’t stop.

It doesn’t have to be that way.  But know that if you’re a real alcoholic like I am, and you don’t take steps to choose something different, you’ll end up right where I did.  If you live long enough.

We Fight Monsters was formed to make sure nobody ever has to walk out of hell alone.  I’ve been there, I know the way out, and I’m not afraid to go back there to walk you out together.  

Personally, I’m here for anyone suffering.  Know that you have a brother in me.

We started a new mission to help folks reach their own freedom day, it’s called Operation: Gangland Express, and we’re giving jobs, trade skills training, and purpose building.  If you’d like to help celebrate recovery and carry that forward by supporting us as we employ and teach foster kids, gang members, veterans, addicts in recovery, and trafficking survivors, you can!  

Check the link in comments to shop some incredibly well-made, hand crafted, exotic hardwood cutting boards.

Let’s all observe a moment of prayerful silence today in remembrance of the thirteen American service members and roughly 200 Afghan allies and civilians who lost their lives in the Abbey Gate bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan three years ago today.

In addition to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, many more - like our friends Tyler Vargas Andrews and Doc Aiden Gundy - had their lives forever changed.

The last deaths of the global war on terror will certainly leave a mark in the fabric of time, as well as the lives of all of those left to carry the torch.

We can keep focusing on what makes us different and divided…or we can rally around what puts us in the same fight.  The right choice seems more and more obvious the harder the media and politics push us in the direction of division.

My eight year old was named after this kid - (the Dylan in James Dylan Owen) - and we haven’t seen him since he was James’s age.  He’s 18 now and hit me up on social media and asked if I’d mentor him.  

He’s turned into a DAMN fine young man.  

This kid saw me at my absolute worst, saw me have a heart attack, saw me on the wrong end of a 12ga, saw me zip tie a stab wound to stop the bleeding - but, he also saw me get between his mama and a 6'4" violent drunk woman beater a few times.

Even in my madness, I had a heart to protect women and kids.

I don’t know how he turned out as well rounded as he did, but I’m grateful - and I had a chance to make proper amends to him tonight

Meet your craftsman!  This is Dalton, and this is his FIRST real job!  He recently aged out of foster care after being bounced from house to house his ENTIRE life.  You’ll learn more about him as time passes, but he’s just as much of a joy to be around as these pictures make it look.

Our first official Gangland Express product - we are teaching folks in (or aged out of) foster care, gang members on a better path, addicts in recovery, and trafficking survivors how to work with their hands and build a business of their own.  Robert has donated a MASSIVE quantity of woodworking equipment and wood stock, and I’m bringing in the human capital.  By providing jobs, we are offering "a way out" to folks who have only known a life on the streets, and by teaching them to build a business, we are giving them a purpose and a sustainable way to earn a living.

If you’d like to support Dalton - and trafficking survivor “Star”, who starts next week making these - click here and grab a premium hardwood cutting board handmade by them - https://lnkd.in/e_ZceyKq

“That was a very nice prostitute.”  Probably a wild sentence for most to hear from their 18yr old on the night before they start college 🤣.  Nothing odd about it at all in our house, and if you follow what we do, you already know why.

Let’s rewind the clock 24hrs.  Jacob left Memphis yesterday afternoon to make the ~8hr drive to his new dorm at north GA Tech, where he was to check in at 10am today.

He made it to holly springs, MS and had a blowout and discovered his spare had a hole in it.  

Didn’t call dad, handled it like a man, got a tow and bought a new tire, had it mounted, got back on the road.

Made it to Tupelo, MS, and his coolant reservoir cap blew off and he realized he had a problem 🤣.  At this point, he’s five hours into his journey but only made an hour and a half of progress.  He calls me.

I got in the truck and started heading towards him - best case he’s five hours from where he needs to be but he’s having to stop every twenty minutes to add coolant.

He made it to Birmingham by midnight, and I’d asked him to share location and he texted me that his brand new tire was flat and the reservoir cap was repeatedly blowing off - I checked where he was - 1st Street in Birmingham…far from a great part of town, but Jacob has worked some of the deadliest streets in America with us so I knew he’d be fine.

Sure enough, I pull up 45 minutes or so behind him, park and start walking towards his car - I get met by a black female halfway across the parking lot who needs to confirm that I am indeed “dad.”  

Jacob legit had a couple of prostitutes “protecting” him.  

They realized he’s not from around and was in a sticky situation, he showed them kindness and they showed him some motherly love.  

That exact scenario oddly kept me alive more than once during my time on the streets, and Jacob has obviously helped us work with a number of trafficked women, so he was kinda comfortable being where he was and he knew who he could trust.

That’s Jacob’s whole life summed up in one helluva eventful night right before he starts college.

His whole life has been chaos.  He was my baby boy for five years, then his twin little bros were born - but he was already embracing the role of big bro to his sister born a year before them.  

Then we added James and Ava, and he’s got a step little bro Brillo.  He’s been just as protective of his big brother Jackson as he has been of the little ones, too.

Jacob and I have always bonded around three things - anything with a motor, anything outdoors, and anything chaotic.

Our last day together as he begins his new journey got to have all three.  We had plenty of chaos, caught a big ole rat snake, and got to work on a car - and now I guess he’s off to college.

Part bittersweet, part sad, part exciting, but 150,000% proud.  Jacob has neve let adversity get between him and what he wants.  And right now he wants a degree in agri-business to become a farmer.  I’m all-in to see that happen.

Three years ago today, one of the most impactful events of my life occurred: Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.  The reverberations of this were felt around the world, and especially in the Veteran community.  With less than two years sober at the time, I found myself - barely a vet - thrust into global insanity.
Before it was over, we would run one of the largest networks of safe houses in Central Asia, assisting in the identification, location, protection, movement, sustainment, and eventually the evacuations of countless allied men, women and children.

Though the atmosphere destroyed what little faith I had in the institution of American government, it restored my faith in humanity and forged some of the strongest bonds I've ever had in my life.

It's where Flanders Fields came into it's own, and it was where the need for an org able to cater to enslaved women and kids was made apparent.

Today marks the three year anniversary of the only thing that has impacted my life anywhere near as much as getting sober did - and that's a staggering statement if you think about it.

In memory of all those we lost, I would appreciate it if everyone would watch and share this video as widely as possible.

I know yall have seen this shirt, and the link to order one.  Ima kick things up a notch, this is important, so please read it.  Our apparel sales have funded some wild stuff, from closing dope houses, human trafficking recoveries, Afghan evacuations, fighting fentanyl deaths, putting child predators away, removing land mines in Ukraine, and so much more. 

Now let’s get personal.

See that girl on my left?  She’s from Afghanistan, the daughter of a commando who devoted his entire life to our country and was left behind in the withdrawal.  A massive effort by multiple NGOs helped get her out, and her own grit, determination and bravery got her the rest of the way to America.  She lived through hell in Afghanistan, again in Pakistan, even worse in Panama, but ultimately she made it the nation we all love with one thing in mind - finishing the education the Taliban told her she couldn’t have.

We tried INCREDIBLY hard to get her into Rhodes College in Memphis, but unfortunately we weren’t able to pull it off for the fall semester.  We’re housing her with us in a Flanders Fields safe house in north Memphis, we’re keeping her fed, clothed, entertained - she wants for nothing (aside from getting into college).  T shirt sales help shoulder the load we’re honored to shoulder.

This shirt is significant - because to get her here - and to do literally every other crazy thing we do - requires aligned around shared values and ignoring belief systems.

In our line of work, there is no color, no race, no gender, no religious or political differences - we rally around ONE thing - we’re all human.  

And in Memphis, we’re ALL AMERICANS.

This shirt embodies that ethos - and so we are from here forward committing 100% of proceeds of sales of this design to funding Arezo’s education.

We know it won’t cover it all, but if everybody that shares our ethos grabs one - and if you comment and share this around - maybe we can make a big dent in an overwhelming need for a girl who deserves it more than anyone we know.

You can grab one here - https://lnkd.in/eetgk5Vv - and if nothing else, PLEASE share this post!!!

Daddy to eight (sometimes ten), humanitarian, doer of good things, fighter of evil, bringer of hope, former addicted, alcoholic and homeless Army Infantry Veteran.  

A serial entrepreneur whose mission in life is to go back into the hells I escaped and show the path out to those left behind.

Owner of BlackRifle Co, which has nothing to do with coffee, and everything to do with using data intelligence and digital media to generate strong ROIs for our clients, while philanthropically using our device level, OSINT and observed behavioral data to assist in conflict evacuation efforts, fighting human trafficking, and locating missing people.

Founder of Flanders Fields, which is an entirely volunteer run organization that takes once struggling vets, makes them whole, and helps them find purpose through taking part in world changing missions to help anyone we are able to.  We go into the worst places in America and abroad to bring a light into the darkness, freedom to the oppressed, hope to the hopeless, and safety to the terrified.

Joel Cropsey

In 2017, I went "missing." A few days, and one death, later - I surfaced in a trap house (a house where narcotics and women are bought and sold) at 1192 Melrose Street in South Memphis' Soulsville community.  This block was "ground zero" for our mission to take back Memphis streets and bring hope into some of the darkest and deadliest zip codes in America.  

Underneath my hand is a piece of the floor from that hell house...

These serving boards are made with pieces of the century-old hardwood oak flooring from that house - which we shut down and acquired in 2023.
Serving boards are pretty handy - similar to a cutting board but designed for lighter duty and decoration and less maintenance! Use it to hold your keys by the front door, as a carcoochie board, or potted plant pedestal - the possibilities are endless.

These are made from similar stock to our hardwood cutting boards, with the trap-house wood accents to add character. Roughly 18”x12”x1/2” (Freedom Fractions)

Made by addicts in recovery, kids aged out of foster care, formerly homeless veterans, and one VERY resilient Afghan Christian girl who smuggled herself through fifteen countries to get to Memphis so we could put her through college - grab yours here before the trap house wood is gone - https://lnkd.in/e4SpcZzN

Four of my “why”s.  I got a lot of them.  Lily, 14, is my firstborn daughter, but she’s not my oldest - I adopted one later, she’s 20 now.  The twins came a year after Lily, three babies in a year’s time.  Chaos is a constant in my life.  

On the right, we have Arezo, 22.  She came into our lives the day after Christmas, 2021 - a terrified Afghan girl in Kabul trying to find salvation for herself, her parents, and her younger siblings - an allied special forces family left behind in the disastrous withdrawal out of Afghanistan.

The growth, resourcefulness and resilience she’s modeled over the last three years sets an example for EVERYONE’s daughter to aspire to - it’s what kept her alive on a 2.5yr journey through 14 countries and got her to America.

We just left an Iron Sharpens Iron prayer breakfast where several more of my “why”s showed up, men and women we’ve been honored to help navigate their path to recovery and restoration, one brought his son, another bought his pregnant girl - relationships that weren’t possible prior to finding their purpose.

That’s a lot of words for “what’s your why?”

What’s your reason for never giving up, for pushing onward and upward no matter how tired you are, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how bad it hurts?

If you haven’t found a “why” yet, are you looking for one?

If you answered “yes”, I’ve got a suggestion for you - try going out and finding somebody with a need.  It can be a small one.  Meet that need and see how it makes you feel.

I’m CONVINCED all of us were created to serve.  And we find our purpose on earth through service of our fellow human.  

It all comes down to human connection.

In pursuit of the divine.

Give it a shot - the worst thing that happens is you’ll accidentally become a decent person.

Christmas of 2019 was HARD. Not only was it my first Christmas sober since being homeless, but I was living on a couch at my parents, with Jess and two of our kids upstairs. To top it off, my very best friend on this earth overdosed and died and I had to scramble funds to lay him to rest.  It goes without saying that buying Christmas presents for my family wasn't possible.

Enter Robert

He knew I was in early recovery, he knew my circumstances, after all, he witnessed me take my last drink and encouraged me to go find an AA meeting.

He also knew I NEEDED to find a sense of purpose and self-worth - idle hands and all.  He invited me over to his house to teach me how to make hardwood cutting boards. I thought it was a dumb idea, but it would allow me to make something - with my own hands - to gift my wife and my mama for Christmas.

He took me to shop for the wood - and I love all things rare and exotic, so that was an awesome experience, and I was sold.  Then he taught me how to run jointers, planers, and all sorts of cool machinery - and I was hooked.

Needless to say, Jess and mama LOVED their gifts, and it was the first thing I'd ever given either of them that was crafted and shaped with my own hands, so the feeling of accomplishment I got from it was something I both WANTED and NEEDED.  It was a critical first step in regaining my sense of self-worth.

We launched our mission to teach these same skills - and to impart that same sense of worth - into the population we serve (homeless vets, trafficking survivors, reformed criminals and gang members, foster kids, folks from the streets) using the exact same concept: teach them to work with their hands, do something new, create, and learn how to sell it for income. We used these cutting boards to bring Gangland Express to fruition, and so I decided to dig my VERY first one up and have a look at it - this is it.

Ash, Cherry and Cedar - I think I'm gonna modify it to hold some of my favorite challenge coins I've been handed over the last few years. 

Take a look at these coins, it's wild to think I'd ever be in a place to get any of them - there are INSANE stories behind each of them.  If Robert hadn't asked me to come learn how to make a cutting board - if he hadn't TAUGHT me - I may never have stayed sober long enough to have earned any of them.

Sometimes, the simplest of things can play a huge role in our recovery - and sometimes the simplest of things aren't as simple as we think.

If you'd like to grab a similar cutting board, handmade by another "Ben" in the making, you not only get an amazing piece of art, you are playing an active role in saving someone's life, shaping their future, changing a trajectory, putting parents back in their kids lives, breaking generational curses and so much more.  It's a LOT more than just a piece of finely crafted exotic woods.  

And you can have one of your own here: https://lnkd.in/e_ZceyKq

Your calling is going to crush you.

Completely and totally.

If you are called to mend the brokenhearted, you are going to wrestle with a broken heart. 

If you are called to heal God’s little ones, you are going to experience your own share of trauma. 

If you’re called at all to the lost and broken of this world…the throwaways…you will be ridiculed, shunned and hated long before you are appreciated.

If you are called to empower, your self-esteem will be attacked - your successes hard fought. 

Your calling will come with spiritual warfare and a sifting - BOTH are necessary for your mantle to be authentic, humble and powerful. 

Your crushing won’t be easy because your assignment is not easy - and you can’t minister POWERFULLY what you haven’t been willing to walk out. 

…you can’t minister POWERFULLY what you haven’t already walked out… 

Read that sentence again and again.

No olives, no oil. 
No grapes, no wine.
Your oil is not cheap or easy my friend.

Take heart!

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of POWER, LOVE, and self control!

At Gangland Express today, we got an Army Vet, an Afghan refugee, a kid who aged out of foster care and ended up homeless as a high schooler, and a former gang member all making cutting boards to support themselves and learn a viable trade to either 1) put themselves through school or 2) build their own business.  YOU can help them towards those ends by shopping here - https://lnkd.in/e9_YFGbV

During the evacuation out of Afghanistan, Jess and I sold one of our businesses to a young dude in recovery to get funds for safe housing.  He made a down payment that covered said safe housing, and we owner-financed the business for him - to be paid as a small percentage of sales until the loan was paid off in full.

About a year into the deal, he defaulted, we let that go on for the next year and a half or so without giving him a hard time about it, but his landlord wasn’t as understanding.

We came up with an arrangement that made him and the landlord extremely happy, and it allowed us to bring some capital equipment back to Memphis to use to create some jobs there.

It’s a win-win-win!

I will ALWAYS walk away from money before I risk damaging somebody’s recovery, or their life, when I see them showing up every day for themselves - and THAT is what it’s all about!

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