DES MOINES, Iowa — Army Veteran Troy Peterson started ValorFit almost six years ago.
“We take veterans who aren’t in the best position physically or mentally. And we partner them with fitness communities," he said.
Born and raised in Iowa, Peterson graduated from DMACC in 2001 and planned to get into law enforcement.
But then, a terror attack that shook the nation.
“Sept. 11 happened,” Peterson said. “It scared me. It made me mad.”
He signed up for active duty. At 20 years old, Peterson deployed to Iraq on March 13, 2004 with the First Cavalry Division as a Cannon Crewmember on Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
“That initial drive into Iraq is when things got real – things were still on fire – a lot of loud noises," Peterson said.
Conflict was about to escalate. On April 4, they were ambushed.
“One of our sister battalions was attacked," he said. "Seven of my coworkers were killed.”
His first sergeant was then killed by a rocket.
“Things really changed,” Peterson told Local 5. “I personally became hateful.”
Losing coworkers became normal.
“We have to keep going, because I have to stay alive. I want the people that are here to still stay alive," he said.
Peterson suffered a brain injury, and received an honorable discharge in 2006, returning home to a ceremony honoring him with a purple heart.
“I put on a face. Everything was fine. I wasn’t in pain. I wasn’t scared," he said.
But he was not okay.
“I started eating terribly, drinking all the time. Popping pain pills. I had no comprehension of who I was," he said. “Cried myself to sleep almost every night for 10 years. Because I didn’t know who I was, what to do or where to go.”
On July 30, 2015, Peterson attempted suicide.
“Those who were killed in combat was my biggest guilt,” he said, choking back tears. “I could no longer mentally work through anything, I was a lost cause in my head. I was trash. Garbage, no one understood me.”
Peterson is not alone.
In 2021, research found that over 30,177 active duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 have died by suicide, compared to the 7,057 service members killed in combat in those same 20 years. Meaning, military suicide rates are four times higher than deaths during military operations, according to the U.S.O.
“I made it home and I didn’t know what to do," Peterson said. "And they gave their life in defense of this country, and then I’m home and I’m providing nothing for anyone.”
Desperate for hope, Peterson realized he needed to shift how he suppressed his pain.
“I wasn’t letting anybody understand me. And that was what scared me the most was how to do that," he said.
He made changes, starting therapy and healing from years of substance abuse.
“We started focusing on not living in the regrets of the past and living for now and what I can do to move forward," he said.
He came to Crossfit in Waukee, and found much more than workouts.
Peterson found community and purpose he felt he lost when he came back to the U.S.
Now, over eight years sober, he runs ValorFit – a focus group for veterans.
“And if we can give veterans a place to go, when they’re at their worst, to feel a part of the team, to feel good about themselves, to have positivity in their lives, it can change.”
Veteran Justin Wolfe has been working out for several months with trainer Tom Zoeckler.
“I didn’t know if I’d be able to do anything,” Zoeckler said. “I had multiple sclerosis and was medically retired out of the Airforce after 13 years.”
But with each lift of weights, Wolfe said “It’s awakened up muscles that haven’t worked for a while like standing is really hard for me."
Wolfe adds that when working with ValorFit, “You get capable again, you’re able to do things. And just the empowerment from the freedom of when you can’t get out of bed, it sucks. But if you work at it and you work on the muscles to get out of bed. Getting your muscles strong turns into your mental strength because you can’t quit because quitting, nobody wins when you quit.”
ValorFit is also changing how community can better support veterans.
Trainer Tom Zoeckler’s uncle was a veteran who died when Zoeckler was young. Zoeckler didn’t know how to talk to his uncle about his service.
“I didn’t know how to ask any of those questions or sort of get to know him on that level,” Zoeckler explained. “But now working with people like Justin and being a little more older and mature understanding their experience for sure has opened up my eyes to what that is like and how important it is to have something like this in their life.”
For Wolfe, with every push, he is becoming the man he wants to be. “I love it. It just wakes up the muscles.”
It’s that confidence that is exactly what Peterson wants to share with more veterans.
“Asking for help isn’t a weakness,” Peterson adds. “It’s a strength that you want to make changes and that’s what we provide.”