He went into the Army straight out of High school joining up as an infantryman. His tenure in the Army saw him take the first team into the Pentagon on 9-11 as well as a combat tour in Iraq from 2005-2006. Since that time he has helped build SoldierFit, a gym based out of Frederick MD, from one sub-let location to 3 stand alone facilities with 3,000 members and over 50 employees. He went from being homeless to generating 2.2 million dollars in revenue this year alone. Soldierfit is now franchised and Danny hopes to open 1-2 franchises as well as 1 more corporate location by the end of the year.
Recently he Co-founded his first 501(c), Platoon 22, to combat veteran suicides. He is currently a sought after motivational speaker and was selected to the 2013 "Top 40 under 40 V.I.P" by The Daily Record, as well as one of the Top 5 Mens health Ultimate guys. Soldierfit has won numerous awards including Small business of the year in several counties and the state. His goal is to revitalize the American dream and remind his fellow Americans no other soil on earth is more fertile for their dreams then America’s.
What is Platoon 22? Platoon 22 is a traveling memorial started by the non-profit 22 Needs A Face. The boots in the Platoon 22 memorial symbolize the 22 lives lost per day, 682 lives lost per month, and over 8,000 veteran lives lost each year to suicide attributed to PTS.
We need to raise awareness of the epidemic across the United States. Free and fun events to bring the veteran community together to strengthen the sense of community and camaraderie that they have lost in transition. Raise capital to help support severally underfunded and undermanned crises call centers to make sure someone answers their call for help. Advocate for legislative and VA policy changes that will ensure a mental health professional sees every veteran as part of the military out-processing and VA enrollment procedures. If it is deemed that they may need or do need further counseling then ensure they are assisted to make the transition into the VA systems (VBA and VHA) a seamless and efficient process.