Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share EP 26: John Dragoo — From Retired Cop With PTSD To Food Truck Entrepreneur
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
EP 26: John Dragoo — From Retired Cop With PTSD To Food Truck Entrepreneur
John Dragoo became a police officer because he “wanted to help people.” After nearly 20 years of service, with a severely autistic son who needed more support and attention, John retired from law enforcement and attempted to pivot paths in a direction that would see him at home more.
He got to work selling cars for a buddy until one day, he fell off a trailer and broke his right foot in half. Five surgeries and four years later, and John had spent most of his time forced to sit. Now physically disabled, he was also struggling with the PTSD he’d developed from his time in the service. In short, John needed a new plan. Around that time, he realized that his weekend habit of smoking meat for friends could be turned into a business.
Today, as the Blue Brisket food truck owner, he feels he’s finally fulfilling his original goal of helping people — just in a slightly different way.
“Instead of putting people in jail and making them miserable, I'm making people happy now by serving them brisket, pork, sausage, and smoked Bologna,” he said.
In this episode of the Working For a Dream Podcast, Patrick and John talk about John’s path of pivoting from law enforcement to entrepreneurship and how he got his business off the ground.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why do we need to make conversations about PTSD in civilians, versus the military alone, less taboo
- How John leaped and saw his weekend meat-smoking hobby as something worth investing tens of thousands of dollars in
- His best piece of advice to anyone else interested in opening a food truck
- And much more!
Favorite Quote:
“Whenever someone says ‘Man, this is some of the best food I’ve ever had,’ if you’ve never felt that compliment before, your chest just swells up.”
— John Dragoo
How to Get Involved:
Connect with John:
Connect with Patrick:
View all episodes
By Patrick Bolanos
4.9
6464 ratings
John Dragoo became a police officer because he “wanted to help people.” After nearly 20 years of service, with a severely autistic son who needed more support and attention, John retired from law enforcement and attempted to pivot paths in a direction that would see him at home more.
He got to work selling cars for a buddy until one day, he fell off a trailer and broke his right foot in half. Five surgeries and four years later, and John had spent most of his time forced to sit. Now physically disabled, he was also struggling with the PTSD he’d developed from his time in the service. In short, John needed a new plan. Around that time, he realized that his weekend habit of smoking meat for friends could be turned into a business.
Today, as the Blue Brisket food truck owner, he feels he’s finally fulfilling his original goal of helping people — just in a slightly different way.
“Instead of putting people in jail and making them miserable, I'm making people happy now by serving them brisket, pork, sausage, and smoked Bologna,” he said.
In this episode of the Working For a Dream Podcast, Patrick and John talk about John’s path of pivoting from law enforcement to entrepreneurship and how he got his business off the ground.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why do we need to make conversations about PTSD in civilians, versus the military alone, less taboo
- How John leaped and saw his weekend meat-smoking hobby as something worth investing tens of thousands of dollars in
- His best piece of advice to anyone else interested in opening a food truck
- And much more!
Favorite Quote:
“Whenever someone says ‘Man, this is some of the best food I’ve ever had,’ if you’ve never felt that compliment before, your chest just swells up.”
— John Dragoo
How to Get Involved:
Connect with John:
Connect with Patrick: