From Sick Kid to Impact: Tom Kotter’s Journey of Feeding Kids, Faith & One Small Step

In this episode of Reinventing Mental Health, host Mary talks with Tom Cotter—founder of the nonprofit Backpack Friends and creator of Rebel 90—about functional approaches to mental health rooted in purpose, habits, and community. Tom shares how Backpack Friends began in 2014 after a Pflugerville High School student passed out from not having food over the weekend, leading him and his wife Heather to start feeding 12 kids and eventually serve about 190,000 kids across Central Texas. He explains Rebel 90 as a free 90-day protocol focused on small daily steps across body, mind, and spirit, emphasizing sustainable habit stacking, identity shifts, and accountability. They discuss loneliness, community’s role in longevity, and Tom’s book, Unleashing Your Creativity.