Brandon Collins, 46, has had a non-traditional road to his faculty position at Nevada’s Recovery and Prevention Program at UNR, including spending nights in jail due to drinking and fighting and getting a DUI in Cuba.
"My goal is to provide students with resources and advice that I didn't have access to. I want to help build people's confidence so that they can navigate their own life and become independent,” he explained.
Collins served in the United States Marine Corps and battled his own addictions during that time.
After coming back home in 2002, after being a bartender, he wound up opening a tattoo shop in Reno, Nevada with a friend that he had met in New York, while still battling his demons through alcohol.
On a flight back from Cabo in 2015 after a week straight of drinking, he decided to make a change.
Getting sober was hard and he had to find new outlets to channel his energy besides partying.
He discovered climbing while a client was in the shop talking about his love for teaching it.
Collins went climbing that very day for the first time and hasn't stopped since.
A short while after, he sold his tattoo shop and a skin care company, and traveled the world visiting over 50 countries, while continuing to climb.
Back in Reno, now working at UNR and having helped set up the local non profit Reps for Recovery, climbing has become part of his essential routine. He also works with the Mesa Rim rock climbing gym on Harvard Way to facilitate what is called a sober climb night.
For the veteran, it is a form of meditation which brings him into the present moment.
Our Town Reno reporting and video by Zach March