Face Your Dragon: How Ryan Curtis Convinced the VA to Meet Veterans Where They Are

Does it matter who’s telling the story? In episode 171, I sit down with my friend, Ryan Curtis — an accomplished director, filmmaker, and producer — to unpack the creative and emotional mission behind the powerful new PSA campaign for the VA and DoW, “Face Your Dragon.” This campaign tackles one of the hardest conversations in the veteran and military community: suicide prevention. Ryan walks me through how he approached concepting a message that had to be both responsible and deeply human, and we talk about the role of storytelling in public service campaigns that carry real-life consequences. From concept to execution, Ryan shares what it means to direct a national message for the veteran community while balancing authenticity, trust, and impact. We also dig into the bigger picture of representation and storytelling in media targeted to the veteran community. Ryan breaks down the creative choices behind Face Your Dragon, the challenges of producing meaningful PSA content, and what filmmakers and producers can learn from working on campaigns that aim to save lives. Episode Sponsors: VM Merch Go Pills -- use "VM15" at checkout for 15% off your order. BUBS Naturals -- use "veteranmade" at checkout for 20% off your order. True Made Foods -- use "VET" at checkout for 15% off your order. Ruck Sox -- use "VETERANMADE15" at checkout for 15% off your order. Bravo Actual -- use "Veteran Made" at checkout for 15% off your order. Intro Song composed and produced by Cleod9. SOCIALS: https://www.instagram.com/veteranmade.ck/ https://www.instagram.com/ryan32curtis/