Forward Momentum (Day 1 of 365)

Today starts a new direction for Mint Discs.

This is a recommitment to who we are, and how we will achieve it.

We sold our first Alpha on April 21, 2017. We have legally been operating Mint Discs for 7 years, 8 months, and 11 days. That is 365 days a year for almost 8 years.

To me running a business, is like building a family. If you want to do it right, there are no days off and no excuses. You just keep going for as long as it takes. 

So it's probably time to tell our story before we forget some of it.

How we got started:

The business plan for what became Mint Discs was started in early 2015, culminating in our first trip to our future factory on September 12, 2015. 

I have that date memorized because my birthday is September 12, 1985. I was going to fly to our factory on my 30th birthday. I don't think you could align the stars any better.

At that time we had no name for our business and did not settle on the name Mint Discs until late 2016, with our initial branding being finished sometime in early 2017. 

I had no clue where it would take me or if we could succeed but I knew I was doing it with two good friends: Guy Boyan and Chris Herbert.

We knew our direction was crystal clear:

If we can make Austin(TX) the Disc Golf Capital of the World, we can not fail.

The Austin community had already been thriving for decades behind staples like the Waterloo Disc Golf Club, Disc Nation, Play it Again Sports, and the Heart of Texas Tour. Not to mention, two of the best course designers in the world had cut their teeth in Austin: Mike Olse and John Houck.

Oh and let's not forget, Central Texas also used to be the home for Millennium. We came up in that environment, and we wanted to do our part to keep it going.

It was never about the discs or being the biggest brand in the world. We didn't have the type of egos that cared about that stuff. Mint was just a vehicle to help build a community and if we were lucky, keep a roof over our heads. It was the next chapter of our disc golf careers. 

This where the Mint story stops. For this blog. :)

The rest of this blog is going to be about me and my story. I will turn 40 this year and have started to feel the toll wear on me. Many around me have noticed I think. It has nothing to do with the economy, and everything to do with...I have just been at this for a long time now. I am tired.

This is a brief summary of what my "legacy" looks like:

Disc Golf has literally been everything that is my adult life since I started around 2008. My family and most importantly my wife, Jessi, have shared me with this sport since then. It was never fair, but they knew that was the deal. I love them deeply for that.

I did not get into this to make money. I just wanted to make an impact. I never questioned what I was doing or why. I just started doing things. It became my life faster than I ever expected.

I did it all because I love throwing frisbees and the creativity of that. I had grown attached to the community. Before disc golf, I had no voice or direction. I was spinning in place before Disc Golf. 

Do you know what my goals were in 2008 when I started?

• Be 1000 rated (done)
• Be a Sponsored Pro (done)
• Sell my own discs (done)
• Build my own course (done)
• Win the Capital of Texas Open (2nd place...)

But something changed in 2024.

I had completed 99% of my own goals.

Immediately following the completion of US Women's I fell into a deep depression. I refused to talk to my wife about the event, to the point that I was shaking with anxiety and sadness when it came up. It had a hold on me that I did not understand and could not explain.

My brain could not comprehend what my body was feeling. I had never experienced this type of feeling. While I know many of us deal with depression on a daily basis, I had never experienced anxiety attacks and depression to the degree that I was in 2024.

While going through this, I decided to start to sharing some of my thoughts about the industry on my personal Facebook page. I needed a place to talk. I had spent 15+ years trying to lead and help by example. This was my way to stay involved when I couldn't in person.

Now I was ready to use my voice. I was confident it would fix my own personal problems. I was going to try to pull myself out of this funk with my experience. I was going to lean on my community one more time to help me.

While my Facebook posts got great community feedback, it also led to a lot of things I wasn't ready for.

In person I had people telling me things like:

• "Hey man, you signed up for this"
• "I've read your emotional Zach posts"(this was a daily one)
• "What did you think was going to happen?"

I started to have a lot of hatred and resentment for people that deep down I was just trying to help. Did they not understand how this comes across?  While I am sure their intent was nothing but the best, it was not what I needed to hear.

It is not what anyone needs to hear. Ever.

I stopped making posts. I felt ashamed. I let them win.

At that time I knew where I needed to go, and what Mint needed, but it was blurry. I was spinning in place.

I had lost who I was.

For the most part I tried to hide it, but it came to a head in July at the Sizzler. I literally called my wife on Sunday and said I want to come home. I was done. A dream on Sunday morning, that I can't even remember, triggered a panic attack. I had woken up crying and shaking.

A few weeks earlier I had admitted to Guy that I was struggling. We had some very hard conversations about what that meant. I told Krissie she might have to TD the final day of the Sizzler by herself because I was losing it. She didn't flinch and acted like she expected me to stay. Thank you for that Krissie. Thank you for everything you have done to pick up for me this year. I stayed and we finished the event.

I was going to be ok.

Except I could no longer give 100% of myself to disc golf.

I had spent the last 16 years building this momentum inside myself. Crossing off these goals and doing everything I could to help people.

But what was next for me? Was I willing to keep going all in?

Forward Momentum:

The concept of Forward Momentum was something I had learned on a forum called Disc Golf Review(now defunct). That forum is where I first met Rick, ZAM and two brothers(Chad & Brad) that went on to start MVP Disc Sports.

This forum was known for being the place the disc golf nerds ended up. All the big collectors and sellers were there. It was also where a lot of technique and teaching ideas started to develop. Many of the concepts you now see on youtube about bracing and bent elbows started here.

This is where I learned the secret to every throw: Forward Momentum.

The idea that throwing a disc had very little to do with spinning yourself was revolutionary to me. The motions were essentially the same, but the concept had changed in my brain. I was no longer spinning, I was moving forward.

Once I focused on creating that Forward Momentum, my disc golf game expanded. I learned how to throw far, shape shots and make big putts. This one concept changed all of that for me.

It became the foundation upon which I built my disc golf goals.

I don't know when I remembered this, but I did. I started to feel happier.

My focus started to sharpen. I could try again.

Forward Momentum is what brought me back to Mint.

Now that I understood how to get there, I needed a way to start building it again.

What was my next goal? What did Mint need? What did Austin need?

I remembered.

Austin, Texas is the Disc Golf Capital of the World.

If you don't believe that now, then we will show you. 

We have to get back to lifting up the people that helped us.

We have to be unafraid of change.

We have to make disc golf events about the people, not the money.

We have to be willing keep moving this sport forward.

So this blog will be dedicated to that.

The Challenge presents itself

I am no longer afraid to use my voice. My personal depression is mostly gone. A new year certainly helps with that. Kudos to all of you choosing to start new habits today. I hope you can achieve your own goals. I know you can.

This blog will be used to cover a variety of topics: New Releases, Events, PDGA, and really whatever else I want to talk about.

I will do it for 365 straight days in 2025.

1 post a day. Maybe more.

You can ask Jessi and the Mint team...They tell me every day I don't have time for these 20 new ideas I came up with. This blog can help talk about those ideas and maybe I'll inspire someone who has the time and resources to do them.

If no one read its? If Mint fails one day? If Austin disc golf collapses?

Who cares. We tried.

I do not care about the formatting or typos or grammar in this blog.

I care about the context. The end goals. The lessons I need to learn. The experience I can share for the next generations.

The format for these posts will change with each one. It is a giant experiment that I need in order to be who I want to be.

My only expectation is that I keep moving forward with it.

Let it become what it wants to become.

If I get depressed again? I'll figure it out. I have this post to remind me. I have friends who will help me.

I love disc golf again.

We need to build communities in this sport that do not take this toll on the people that run it.

Why? My story is not unique. Many before me have been forgotten. Many before me have been broken and walked away. No longer loving what they loved. I wish that upon no one.

Many before me did it all before the idea of DGPT or the Texas Hall of Fame existed as a reason to do it. They did it for the love of it. 

I needed to start the blog this way to set the tone. I needed people to understand our mindset at Mint. A lot of people see it regionally here in Austin, but very few get to hear my message publicly.

For many of you, disc golf is just a frisbee in a park. For me, it is what keeps me going. It is my life. I think I have always been compelled to share that.

My story and the story of everyone else in disc golf deserves to be heard.

This blog will do that.

What is to come:

• 1/2: Salamander News & Updates
• 1/3: Team Mint 2024 Recap and 2025 Team News
• 1/4: Stamp Party & Hot Foils
• 1/5: Team Tryout Recap
• 1/6: MYSTERY TOPIC!!!
• 1/7: Salamander Flight Ratings by plastic.

Mint is very personal to me and I love that Guy and Chris have let us keep it that way. If you come here expecting a buttoned up brand built by consultants, you will be disappointed. We are disc golfers, not millionaires.

Thank you to everyone that has supported us this far.

Thank you to everyone that will in the future.

Thank you for the time.