What Inspires You?

A donor shares what motivates him to give

July 2023

Brandon Hardin of Primal Skis has been an enormous supporter of BYEP. Earlier this year he came up to Big Sky to host a BBQ cookout for our teens, flipped burgers again at our Give Big Lot Party for Youth Empowerment, and donated Primal Skis to our Bingo fundraiser event. Those are just some of the ways Brandon has given back to vulnerable teens in our community. For him, being able to help with BYEP takes the sting out of having lost a childhood. Here is what Brandon shared with us.

“I recently had an epiphany about my own childhood which I'd like to share. I have long had this need to figure out what it was in me that I was able to make it out of my situation (survivor's guilt I'm sure). I witnessed a lot of kids become life long addicts and end up behind bars or die early - both describe my brother. Throughout my whole ordeal I had this belief that I would make it out, though I didn't know how I would make that happen.

“It recently occurred to me that someone intervened at a crucial point in my life. In seventh grade I got expelled from school. It was right before the school's ski club was taking its annual trip to Utah for a week. The woman who ran the ski club intervened and said she still wanted me to go on the trip. I’m sure she observed me on some of the day trips we took and saw I was a good kid — despite my acting out in school. After that trip I did not get to ski again until I was 20. My life between that time was a nightmare but I think that gesture had a big impact on me.

“The story I tell people is that skiing is what turned my life around, but really it's just what kept me on the right track once I did escape my situation. The truth is my life had already turned around. I decided to move here because I knew I needed a change in environment. I think it was through skiing that this teacher was able to observe who I was at heart. I don't think my brother or any of the homeless youth I ran with ever had someone say ‘I know they are a good kid’. I got myself out of my situation because I had something in me that was saying ‘this is not you.’

I do find skiing to be really therapeutic for some of the baggage I carry today so I am very happy to have it, but it's possible I wouldn't even be here if not for that woman. At the very least you all are doing this for these kids.”

We are grateful for Brandon’s generous support! BYEP wouldn’t be possible without people like Brandon who care deeply about the challenges that teens face today, and believe that we have the power to have a positive impact in teens’ lives.