This year at the 2015 ORVIS Guide Rendezvous in Missoula, MT ORVIS awarded its first Breaking Barriers Awards to Chad Brown of Soul River Runs Wild and Lori-Ann Murphy of Reel Women. The Breaking Barriers Awards were created to honor individuals who have gone above and beyond to bring new blood into fly fishing, breaking down the barriers of introduction.
In 2010, Chad Brown was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 15 years after working as a Combat Explosives Engineer in the US Navy and completing two tours of support of Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, as well as operations in Cuba, New Zealand, Iceland, Egypt, Korea, Kenya, Antarctica, Afghanistan and Spain. PTSD became a daily struggle and reality in Chad’s life. Chad knew he wanted alternative therapies and was introduced to fly fishing by a friend. He knew then that connecting with the outdoors would be his path to healing.
He started Soul River Runs Wild, a non-profit that is an outdoor, specifically water-based organization bringing under-served inner-city youth and veterans together to the river and returning them home as inspired ambassadors of nature and individuals who have shared in the healing power of fly fishing.
The non-profit operates at zero cost to participants. Military veterans volunteer and serve as mentors to the kids. In 2014, Soul River Runs Wild connected more than 300 kids, ages 10-18, with fly fishing, entomology, river reading, casting, navigation, team leadership, and more. Chad expects over 600 kids to go through the program this year.
