In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, chats with old friend and fellow former U.S. Marine Andrew Toothman about his Mental Grenade blog site and FOB Truth non-profit plans. 

As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details.

Here Are the Show Highlights:

• Max has known and been good friends with Andrew “Drew” Toothman since they met at U.S. Marine boot camp. They later attended the Marine Music School together. Max invited Drew on to discuss his non-profit ambitions for vets, first responders, and others needing moral, emotional and spiritual support. (Max, 0:22)
• After their School of Music time together, the two friends got separated. Drew was sent to Okinawa for a year. He got married to Misty, then got sent to Twentynine Palms, in the Mojave Desert. He was trained in explosive ordnance disposal and was deployed to Afghanistan. After experiencing multiple concussive hits and serious concussions, Drew was medically discharged from the Marines after more than 12 years. (Drew, 4:14)
• Drew, Misty and their three kids moved to Pennsylvania, and Drew attended auto diesel school. He had extensive problems transitioning from military to civilian life because of the relative lack of structure. He didn’t feel like he had a community any longer. (Drew, 5:42)
• Drew was dealing with PTSD from his military days and before, and going through a period of intense self-reflection. 7:38)
• Drew helped establish, then worked on, a non-profit organization dealing with the mental health needs of veterans, until he left the organization at the end of 2019. He learned the importance of community, so he worked to set up his own online community, which became FOB Truth. In the military, FOB stands for “forward operating base.” But in his new life, Drew had FOB Truth mean “fundamentals of Biblical truth.”) (Drew, 8:53)
• Drew started a blog called Mental Grenade, and used it to draw people to his regular Thursday evening Zoom meetings where they discuss the Bible and their own spiritual and emotional needs. That’s FOB Truth. (Drew, 17:50)
• The way FOB Truth is structured, the first two hours are Bible study, and the next two are support group chat. People check in and check out whenever they want, so it’s not a matter of having to commit to a four-hour Zoom meeting every Thursday evening. (Drew, 31:02)
• The stories that attendees tell can be very dark and personal, which is why Drew would never record or put the meetings online. (Drew, 32:46)
• While Drew’s community is currently online, he’d like to get to where he could meet with his community in person. To that effort, he invited two men who’d found him online to stay with the family for a while and help prepare his eight-acre property for future community events such as meeting around a campfire and talking in-depth. What Drew is trying to do is the opposite of establishing a mega church. He’s following Christ’s example of talking with small groups of people rather than large crowds. His efforts are more one-on-one. (Drew, 35:33)
• Drew’s weekly FOB Truth online meetings have drawn veterans, law enforcement personnel, nurses, EMT workers, therapists, pastors and civilians from all walks of life. Some just attend a meeting or two while others have become long-time regulars. (Drew, 38:11)
• The way to join FOB Truth is to reach out to Drew through his blog, MentalGrenade.com, or reach him at his personal phone number: (434) 473-8886. Join the community. (Drew, 45:29)
• You can also go to [email protected]. (Drew, 47:06)

If you’re thinking of selling your mobile home park or RV community, contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected].

Power Quotes in This Episode:

(On leaving the military) “But then you get out and you're suddenly saying, ‘Who am I outside of this uniform? And what am I supposed to do with my life? Because if my rank is no longer part of my name, and my job title doesn't mean anything to anybody on the outside? What am I supposed to do,’ and you have these veterans who are left without structure.” (Drew, 5:42)

“It takes more avenues of approach than you think it does to find stability in your mental health if there's been trauma and other things.” (Drew, 7:38)

“Humans are tribal, they're meant to be in community. And when they're not, and they're in their own environment, and they can just order their groceries online and have them delivered to the dorm and they don't really have to go anywhere…I mean, imagine that the American knowledge worker sits at a computer all day, gets paid by direct deposit, doesn't have to go pick up a check. And they can order their groceries online, they don't have to leave their house, all the services are networked to their one place, and they live in isolation. And it's crushing their soul.” (Drew, 8:53)

“I realized, like, we’ve got to start pulling people out of isolation and getting them into community…there’s just a lot of spiritually unmoored people out there drifting.” (Drew, 8:53)

“I just started this group, and I started inviting people online, and it slowly formed and morphed a little bit. But ultimately, it became known as FOB truth. (Drew, 8:53)

“I was spiritually lost when I was out there in the thick of combat in Afghanistan.” (Drew, 15:07)

“God’s word can transcend culture and timeframe.” (Drew, 17:50)

(On going to church as a child) “I remember just getting up on Sunday and getting dressed, going through the motions, doing the whole hand gesture, get the wine, I'm like, you know, a 10, 12-year-old boy during a while feeling like I was, you know, I was on top of the world, and the communion as well, and go home, and then forgetting about it. And then as I've gotten older, you realize, like, it's just not as powerful as the community aspect that you're talking about. (Max, 21:56)

“That's been one of the things that God blessed me with over the last decade, was to keep my mouth shut and listen to people.” (Drew, 28:13)

“I kind of view FOB Truth as a halfway house church.” (Drew, 35:33)