“For the greater good.” That’s the mantra of this week’s guest, Chris Cruise. It’s amazing how being delivered a setback can cause someone to step up to the plate and take on what turns out to be a patriotic endeavor.
After being told that he wasn’t good enough to pursue a football career, Chris enlisted in the U.S. Army and subsequently deployed to Iraq, and learned that there truly is a brotherhood in the military. Chris sees it as the best thing he ever did as it was the path that led him to meet his wife. While re-acclimating to civilian life after his service, he didn’t know what to do with himself or how to adapt his heightened sense of awareness and constant wariness into his new life as a husband and a father.
His wife Amber gave him a new mission that grew into what has become Cruise Custom Flags. He figured out that woodwork was therapeutic for him. He’d found his happy place – a place where his mind could both rest and work at the same time, in balanced concentration and clarity of purpose.
There are not many things that scream “Kentucky” more than bourbon, and not many greater symbols of military service than the flag. So, the first custom flag he made from a repurposed bourbon barrel hung in their home. The next two were Christmas gifts for both of their fathers.
The flags were so well received, he made more for some friends and family. Word spread, and requests began pouring in.
• I get tunnel vision – nothing else matters – once I get focused on something – it’s on.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruisecustomsflags/
Special thanks to Speakeasy Podcast Network for giving Chris a place to record his interview!
