Born in Santa Cruz, California in 1987, some might say retired Gunnery Sergeant Alex Peterson lived a life that prepared him too well for the United States Marine Corps. Alex had to find his way while growing up in neighborhoods where fighting was sometimes a daily requirement. He was ready for what the Marines would ask of him mentally and physically, but it was within the structure of the Marines that Alex started to discover and develop abilities that would help him excel. 

Alex served 4 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 13 years in the Marine Corps. Like many veterans, he was not quick to talk about his experiences, found that he was ill-equipped to deal with their profound impact, and tried to tough it out. In 2017 Alex entered the Navy’s rehab for substance abuse, and then was sent to an inpatient facility to deal with severe PTSD.

In March 2017 he was introduced to surfing through the Wounded Warrior Battalion on board Camp Pendleton, California. Surfing became a form of therapy for Alex, and it started to make it easier to open other doors he had closed long ago. As a teenager, Alex enjoyed skateboarding and street art; he had notebooks filled with ideas, but he put all that away after joining the Marines. While in treatment, a fully-retired veteran who also suffered from PTSD conducted an art therapy class working with leather and became an example of what life could look like.

 Art quickly became just as important to Alex as surfing, because he could express himself through his art in ways that were difficult to express using words. His natural-born talent was given the tools to go deeper into turning what he could see in his head into something real for someone else to experience. He received strong encouragement about his work, which turned self-doubt into confidence. Along the way, Alex went from "art therapy" to Artist.

He was medically retired from the Marines in 2018 due to PTSD.

Alex understands how difficult it can be for veterans to deal with life after military service, and wants his own experiences to be an example to others. In 2021, Alex began the process to create New Bearing, a non-profit organization helping veterans have positive life changing experiences of service to themselves and to underserved communities.

 Alex entered into a partnership with Room To Roam, another Veteran-Owned company, after spending time at their location in Nicaragua. Alex found that Room To Roam's mission of giving back to their surrounding communities could also be helpful to veterans working with New Bearing, and they are currently working through the necessary logistics to bring their first group to Nicaragua, where veterans will be given an opportunity to grow through service retreats that help veterans while serving others.

 “I never imagined I'd be in a position to help others. When I started treatment for PTSD, it was all about what was going on in my life and wanting things to be better. It has gotten better, but I struggled with needing help. I want other veterans, regardless of what they're going through, to know that it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday: you can get help, so today can be better."