MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Dean Bennett knows the meaning of hard work. The multi-sport athlete from California enlisted in the Marines at age 18.
Sergeant Bennett survived several combat missions in Afghanistan and returned home with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.
He acknowledged that losing comrades to suicide and combat injuries had been extremely painful.
“Having friends lost in combat, seeing friends come home with permanent physical and mental scars, and having experienced combat myself and been exposed to gunfire, it definitely takes a toll. It changes you and forces you to mature and grow really quickly,” Bennett said.
As he began his transition from active duty to civilian life, Bennett became connected with nonprofit organizations. Semper Phi & America’s FundThey provided emotional support and financial assistance while aiding his recovery through fitness.
“They hold me accountable. They don’t let me slack off, so I don’t expect anything less from them,” Bennett said. “They’ve helped over 33,000 veterans and they’re A+ rated. They’re the best nonprofit I’ve ever been a part of.”
With help from the foundation’s apprenticeship program, he opened his own gym. Direct Action Athletics In the Mechanics Building.
His gym is named after his service in the military, with “direct action” referring to infantry operations.
His goal is to help others who, like him, are dealing with PTSD and trauma through movement and friendship.
“I found it allowed me to burn off some of that excess energy. The need for an adrenaline rush. The need for community and support from like-minded people,” Bennett said. “Feeling that I’m not alone, that I don’t have to be isolated, and that I don’t have to deal with these issues alone.”
About a third of his clients are active or retired police officers, and the other third are military veterans.
He has since had military badges and other memorial tattoos inscribed on his left arm as permanent reminders of the ultimate sacrifice made to protect our democracy and freedom.
“When they come home, they are left with invisible scars such as depression, anxiety and suicide, which is a major factor in military deaths after deployment,” he said. “PTSD is a real battle that a lot of veterans are battling.”
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