Jason Barbknecht grew up in a small rural town in Minnesota, where he was always involved in fishing and hunting. After school, he joined the military, where he served for 30 years across three different branches of the armed forces. During those 30 years, he met his wife, Sandi, and together they raised their two sons. He was the pillar that held everything together for much of that time and beyond. The family endured many tragedies that would have broken most people, but instead Jason chose to use each as an opportunity to rebuild the family and their life. During this time, he continued challenging himself and built new furniture for himself and the rest of the family.