He was nineteen years old, drunk, and coming down off cocaine after playing at a music festival in Minnesota.

And then he heard a voice.

Not out loud. In his chest. Like words being pressed into his heart.

David. Where are you?

The same words God said to Adam in the garden.

In that moment — everything came to a hilt. The alcohol. The chaos. The broken home. The woundedness he'd been running from his whole life. And he realized: if I keep going down this road, I'm going to die. Body and soul.

So he walked to a lake. Sat there until the sun came up. And gave it all to God.

That was the beginning.

What followed was eight years in seminary, a leather business built from a calling, an Australian wife he fell in love with over video calls during COVID, and a daughter who screams "Papa pick you up" in the middle of the night.

David is the founder of Oré Moose — handmade leather goods that make faith felt. The rosary pouch on my desk is his. The journal my son smelled and said "it smells like Jesus" — his.

We talk about what it means to run from God and what it takes to stop running. About faith as a relationship, not a checklist. About seminary as an initiatory process for young men. About art as food for the soul. And about building a home where faith is the natural backdrop — not something pushed, but something lived.

This one went deep.

If you got something out of it — send $5 on Venmo @robbilljr. Top supporters get official producer credits.

// Face your demons

or they'll live w/ your wife

and raise your children.

x Rob