Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brett Ellis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brett and Leslie, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
For me (Brett), I developed Anxiety and Depression while I was in the Air Force due to the experiences and stress associated with working in the military environment. A surprise to me was that the Anxiety and Depression was only exacerbated when I moved away from the Air Force and back to civilian life. I think the reason for that is, while the military environment takes a toll, I was also surrounded by people that were experiencing the same thing and those people were my friends and support system. The people I worked with were the same people I hung out with outside of work. We were not just co-workers; we were friends. Those are just some of the reasons why there is so much comradery in the military environment. When I left the military, I lost my support system. Additionally, the way I knew to be was not always helpful in the civilian work environment or civilian world. My first job outside of the Air Force was with Citi. While I would not say that it went bad, I would not say it went well, either. Part of the reason the job did not go as smoothly as I wanted were my own actions that came from working through the transition, but there was also a lack of leadership. While there are all types of managers in every environment, what I felt we had a lot of in the military was real leadership. Several of my experiences in the civilian workspace were with managers that would micromanage and supervisors that would stand in front and take credit for positive things that occurred, but pointed fingers when it came to the negatives and neither of those types of management is leadership. Those management styles do not inspire confidence because it feels like it is more about self-preservation for those types of managers.
On a personal level, making the transition from the military world to the civilian world was incredibly lonely. The stories of my experiences in the military were always greeted with understanding, sometimes laughter, and there were always similar stories to be told by others; however, those same stories were met with a cringe, disbelief, and other actions that made me feel lonely and like I did not belong. Those reactions led me not to talk about the experiences that created who I had become and that often left me with nothing to really talk about because the military had made up the previous ten years of my life.
It was a slow start, but I started working on myself by going to therapy and working with a psychiatrist to help find the medications that helped me the most. One of the things that I find atrocious is the lack of support for mental health. There are a lot of therapists that do not take insurance because insurance companies make the therapist jump through hoops to get paid. I also found it hard just to find a therapist that was covered by insurance to begin with. On top of those things, it can be hard to find a therapist that is a good fit. There were a few times that I would see a therapist, only once because I did not feel like there was a level of understanding. Training is good, but experience is better and there were a lot of therapists that did not have that aire of understanding. I have also gone through several psychiatrists as well. This is mainly because when I run into situations where my anxiety and depression have peaked, I cannot get into seeing the psychiatrist for a 15-minute Zoom consultation for four months. That is just not reasonable. These are big setbacks for people working on their mental health. I have come a long way over the past eight years, but I still have a long way to go.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
OG Cabins focuses on creating the Glamping experience. There is camping in a tent, there is staying in a hotel, and then there is Glamping. Glamping falls between camping and hotels and that is the experience we create. It is easy to go to the mountain towns in North Carolina and spend $150 a night on a hotel and the only thing you plan to do there is leave your belongings and sleep. When individuals stay at our cabins, they get more of an experience. We provide a couple acres of land, fire pits, great views, rain captured showers, and just a great overall experience that people come back to experience multiple times.
Our first cabin “The Rowdy Bear” is located in Bryson City, NC, but we have purchased a second piece of land in Laurel Springs, NC and are currently building an additional three cabins. Like the Rowdy Bear, the new cabins will be secluded, but within 30 minutes of two different towns. One of the new cabins will be a Zome. A Zome is similar to a Dome but comes to a peak at the top. The Zome will be different from the Domes that are currently being rented out on Airbnb because it is not a kit with a plastic PVC cover. We purchased a plan and are building the Zome from scratch, using wood. The Zome will be 16ft and approximately 40% of it will be glass so guests will have a big view. The other two cabins will be similar to the Rowdy Bear, but one will have a great mountain view and the other will be situated in the woods, but we have gone through and removed the small saplings so guests can see deep into the woods. Each of the cabins will offer something different so that each cabin stands out.
Another thing that will make the new cabins stand out is that we are right on The Blue Ridge Parkway. Guests will have to get on the Parkway to get to the cabins. Anyone who has been on the Parkway can tell you that it is beautiful. Additionally, there are a couple of really good restaurants and a winery within 10 minutes that guests can get to without having to drive into town. Between the different cabins, nearby restaurants, winery, National Parks, and towns, guests could come multiple times and have a different experience each time.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
We think the qualities and skills that help us the most is our creativity, ability to jump in and figure everything out, and our resilience. When it comes to building on a piece of land, there are many things to consider such as the layout, the types of cabins that will be built, and trying to create a feeling that everything is in sync with nature. We want our guests to feel the seclusion and the relief of being in nature but have the main things that will make their trip more comfortable, such as a shower, restroom, and comfortable bed. We keep the buildings smaller and use colors that stand out in a positive way and don’t clash with the surroundings.
We will be the first to tell you that we jump in with a basic concept and the details come when we start working on clearing out parts of the land. The layout of the land and the types of cabins we will build has changed multiple times over the past few months since the purchase of the Laurel Springs property. It always comes back to how do we make it more interesting, how do we make it an experience, and how do we make sure we do not overdo it. The changes may seem small, but there are so many nuances that have to be considered for each change.
Resilience is a major quality. We do most of the work ourselves, which involves cutting down trees, clearing out the timber, digging and pouring footings the hard way, and building the cabins. In the beginning, things move fast and that is a boost to morale because you can see the changes immediately. But, when we hit that midpoint where we started having to hire a couple of contractors to take care of some of the bigger items and have to dig and pour footings, everything slows down to a crawl for a period of time. Additionally, ground work is incredibly hard and time consuming. Being able to plan, hire, and push through that portion is tough. What we have learned is that we have to break those items up in a way where we can feel the small victories more often and that helps us.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
We have a lot of plans so compressing everything down into that short of a period would be tough. Traveling is a big thing for us. Ditching most of the belongings that tie us to an area and being able to move around for a while would be amazing. We would stay in furnished rentals in the areas we are interested in, explore the area until we are satisfied, and then we would move on to the next area. Creating something for ourselves is also big on our list. We would like to find a larger piece of property and make it our own. There is a high level of fulfillment in what we do with the cabins and we would like to do something similar for ourselves, but have it just the way we want it to be, while not having to consider what may be best for everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: carolinaglampingcabins.com
- Instagram: og.cabins
- Facebook: ogcabins
