Meet Jeremy Blair
Fresh mountain air cooling you after a challenging climb.
The beauty of the sky and land you travel through and feeling pride at how far you’ve come.
Unwinding in front of a fire under a canopy of stars, talking deeply with new friends, feeling understood and valued.
These are the healing experiences Veterans and serving members of the forces can have through True Patriot Love’s Expeditions.
One of the many sport and nature-based programs funded by True Patriot Love, our expeditions bring military participants together with business and civic leaders on a literal journey of reconnection and purpose.
Jeremy’s story
For Veteran Jeremy Blair, taking part in a True Patriot Love expedition changed him in ways he couldn’t have imagined.
During his 23-year military career, Jeremy served in the infantry and went on five deployments. He dreamed about becoming an adventure guide after his service, but it wasn’t until years later, when he participated in True Patriot Love’s Antarctica Expedition that this dream started to feel more within his reach.
“The idea of leaving the army is terrifying. The army is a completely different world. And everybody in that world gets you. So I wasn’t comfortable socializing with civilians at first,” he says.
“But over time, on the Antarctica expedition, we were all starting to bond – Veterans and civilians. I realized that maybe I was missing the point of the trip. It wasn’t just a physical challenge, but a mental one, too.”
One of the civilians Jeremy met on the True Patriot Love expedition was a corporate executive who opened doors for Jeremy and even joined him on some of his first guided trips into the wilderness. He helped Jeremy realize that with a bit of a shift in mindset, he could lead very successful trips with civilians.
Fast forward to today and Jeremy now owns Off Trail Odysseys, a company staffed by military Veterans like him who lead trekking adventures that encompass the full spectrum of skill levels, intensity, and duration.
Jeremy has also stayed connected to True Patriot Love, now working with us through his company to provide these life-changing expeditions to Veterans and serving members of the military. Off Trail Odysseys has designed numerous expeditions for True Patriot Love, including the Algonquin Adventure, Barbeau Expedition, the Devil’s Brigade Expedition, Gros Morne Expedition, and the Invictus Expedition in BC. He is now studying the terrain and planning the next True Patriot Love Expedition in Mount Waddington, BC, scheduled for 2026.
Jeremy knows from his own experience that True Patriot Love’s expeditions offer Veterans and civilians the potential for life-changing growth.
These expeditions provide a meaningful partnership opportunity and shed light on the challenges of transition. Business leaders offer one-on-one support to military participants as they begin civilian careers. Against a backdrop of natural beauty and intense physical challenges, business leaders, Veterans and military participants work together and share their experiences, learnings, and skills for a mutually beneficial experience.
Click here to learn how a True Patriot Love expedition to Baffin Island ignited a Veteran’s self-respect and led to a new career.
Programs like our expeditions offer unique support to Veterans and serving members of the forces as they transition back into lives of renewed purpose.
An expedition can change a life! But it can only happen with generous contributions from donors like you. Click here to make your gift today.
