Our founders know hardship. Roger served 20 years in the U.S. Army, 13 of them in Special Operations, which forged him into someone who didn’t quit—someone who embraced the grind. As a member of the fastest deployable task force in the world, he had deployed nine times before 2010, answering the call to serve without hesitation. But while Roger was grinding through combat zones, Mary Ann was grinding through something just as demanding back home.

She was the rock—the one who held everything together when the weight felt impossible. Three kids, a household, endless nights of uncertainty. She never knew when the next phone call would come, or when a knock on the door might shatter her world. She handled school drop-offs, sick days, broken-down cars, birthdays with an empty seat at the table—all while carrying the invisible burden of fear.

Then, on September 11, 2010, everything changed.

Roger was in Bangladesh when he became violently ill. This wasn’t exhaustion. This wasn’t dehydration. This was something darker. Likely poisoned, his body shut down. The Army rushed to get him out—MEDIVAC'd to Thailand, where he was hospitalized, barely hanging on. From there, he was transported back to the U.S.

Mary Ann was waiting. But the man who returned wasn’t the same one who had left.

Bed rest. Three months. Specialists. Hundreds of ER visits. The warrior who had charged into warzones now struggled to stand. The Army considered discharging him. He wasn’t ready to stop fighting—but now, it wasn’t just his battle. It was theirs.

Mary Ann became his caregiver. She managed doctor visits, filled out endless paperwork, and stood by his side, refusing to let him slip into the darkness that had swallowed so many before him. All while still being Mom. Still handling homework, bills, and the crushing loneliness of a life spent waiting.

Roger clawed his way back. He wasn’t done. Against all odds, he redeployed five more times. But Mary Ann knew the truth—while his body had healed, the battles inside him hadn’t stopped. In 2015, the Army diagnosed him with PTSD. Two years later, in 2017, he retired.

For the first time in two decades, there was no mission. No objective. Just silence.

That silence is what breaks so many soldiers. But Roger and Mary Ann weren’t built like that. They had survived too much. They had endured too many sleepless nights, too many impossible moments. And they understood something most people never would: the grind doesn’t stop when the war does.

So they built something new.

In 2020, they launched Grind, a toothpaste brand that wasn’t just about oral care—it was about resilience. About the people who push through when life knocks them down. About never quitting.

Starting a business was its own kind of battlefield. They sold their home, put everything on the line. There were nights where they barely slept, nights where it felt like they had made a mistake. Bills stacked up. The uncertainty of Roger’s condition still loomed over them. But they had been through worse. They knew how to survive.

Then came 2022. Walmart’s Open Call. A single meeting that could change everything. They walked in with nothing but their story, their product, and an unshakable belief in their grind. They walked out with the Golden Ticket.

In February 2023, Grind launched in 356 Walmart stores. By 2024, it had expanded to 600 stores across all 50 states. But their success isn’t just measured in store placements. It’s measured in every person who’s ever faced an impossible challenge and pushed through anyway.

Because Grind isn’t just about toothpaste. It’s about the fight. The fight Roger endured in warzones, in hospital beds, in his own mind. The fight Mary Ann endured in empty houses, late-night ER visits, and the unshakable resolve to hold everything together.

It’s a testament to every person grinding through their own battle, unseen but never alone.

You got this!

Keep grinding. Never quit.