Transforming Minds, Empowering Lives

Zach enlisted in the Marine Corps straight out of high school, and served as a machine gunner with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines for four years. He excelled in the military, having reached the rank of E-5 in just three years. He deployed twice, and thankfully never saw combat. On his second deployment, Zach was informed that his wife was having an affair with another man, ultimately leading the couple to go their separate ways in March of 2018.

Just a short time later, Zach was in a motorcycle accident that resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury(TBI), and he began to spiral. He became impulsive, agitative, and eventually took to self-medicating with alcohol. He was honorably discharged in August of the same year, and returned home to Colorado where he began pursuing a nursing degree and new career. From an outsider’s perspective, things were going great—but he continued spiraling into an increasingly dark place in his mind. By the Spring of 2019, he’d reached a tipping point, and he decided he didn’t want to live anymore. Four days later—on March 31, 2019 he held his Glock 19in between his eyes and pulled the trigger.

Somehow he managed to survive, but his life would never be the same. When he was taken off of life support, Zach awoke to find that he was completely-blind and deaf in one ear. Refusing to fall victim to his new circumstances, Zach stepped out on a journey to build himself back up and break down barriers.

A close-up of Zach since losing his sight. He has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a big smile. He has some scarring between his eyes and across the bridge of his nose from his facial reconstruction surgery, and his right eye does not open all the way.

Zach enlisted in the Marine Corps straight out of high school, and served as a machine gunner with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines for four years. He excelled in the military, having reached the rank of E-5 in just three years. He deployed twice, and thankfully never saw combat. On his second deployment, Zach was informed that his wife was having an affair with another man, ultimately leading the couple to go their separate ways in March of 2018.

Just a short time later, Zach was in a motorcycle accident that resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury(TBI), and he began to spiral. He became impulsive, agitative, and eventually took to self-medicating with alcohol. He was honorably discharged in August of the same year, and returned home to Colorado where he began pursuing a nursing degree and new career. From an outsider’s perspective, things were going great—but he continued spiraling into an increasingly dark place in his mind. By the Spring of 2019, he’d reached a tipping point, and he decided he didn’t want to live anymore. Four days later—on March 31, 2019 he held his Glock 19in between his eyes and pulled the trigger.

Somehow he managed to survive, but his life would never be the same. When he was taken off of life support, Zach awoke to find that he was completely-blind and deaf in one ear. Refusing to fall victim to his new circumstances, Zach stepped out on a journey to build himself back up and break down barriers.

A close-up of Zach since losing his sight. He has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a big smile. He has some scarring between his eyes and across the bridge of his nose from his facial reconstruction surgery, and his right eye does not open all the way.
Zach on his second deployment. He’s standing on a Ridgeline in the Australian Outback in his camouflage uniform wearing body armor and war paint, and has an M240B medium machinegun slung over one shoulder. He’s standing next to another machine gunner and with the coastline in the distant background.
He began learning how to eat, brush his teeth and walk again—and just eight-and-a-half months later, he was in the Rocky Mountains trying to snowboard again. A month after that, he was back in college, where he was introduced to a new kind of barrier. His classes weren’t accessible with all of the access technology he’d spent months learning to use, and he decided to become part of the solution—dropping out of college to teach himself how to code so he could create software everyone could use, regardless of disability. He founded Dark Horse Game Studios with the goal of increasing awareness surrounding digital accessibility, and published his first application just two years later, in 2023. His efforts with his first creation, a word game called Zanagrams, won two Game of the Year awards from accessibility-focused sites, and he continues his efforts with Dark Horse today. In addition to his inspiring professional career, Zach constantly seeks challenges in ways many wouldn’t expect; he skis, rock climbs, whitewater kayaks, skydives, and even competes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu against practitioners without disabilities. His endeavors, experience, and reflections have given him a new perspective on life, and he’s now working to motivate and save the lives of others by sharing his story.
Zach on his second deployment. He’s standing on a Ridgeline in the Australian Outback in his camouflage uniform wearing body armor and war paint, and has an M240B medium machinegun slung over one shoulder. He’s standing next to another machine gunner and with the coastline in the distant background.
He began learning how to eat, brush his teeth and walk again—and just eight-and-a-half months later, he was in the Rocky Mountains trying to snowboard again. A month after that, he was back in college, where he was introduced to a new kind of barrier. His classes weren’t accessible with all of the access technology he’d spent months learning to use, and he decided to become part of the solution—dropping out of college to teach himself how to code so he could create software everyone could use, regardless of disability. He founded Dark Horse Game Studios with the goal of increasing awareness surrounding digital accessibility, and published his first application just two years later, in 2023. His efforts with his first creation, a word game called Zanagrams, won two Game of the Year awards from accessibility-focused sites, and he continues his efforts with Dark Horse today. In addition to his inspiring professional career, Zach constantly seeks challenges in ways many wouldn’t expect; he skis, rock climbs, whitewater kayaks, skydives, and even competes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu against practitioners without disabilities. His endeavors, experience, and reflections have given him a new perspective on life, and he’s now working to motivate and save the lives of others by sharing his story.

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