Mark Lee is the President and Founder of Casting Beyond the Combat. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Mark joined the U.S. Army as an infantryman in 2010 after graduating high school. He went on to complete the Tactical Explosive Detection Dog (TEDD) program and deployed to Afghanistan as a K9 handler. As a young Private First Class, Mark led patrols, scanned for IEDs, cleared landing zones for medevacs, and carried out countless high-stakes missions—relying on his faith and his dog to make it home safely. After leaving the military, Mark faced his own battle with PTSD. Traditional therapies didn’t always bring relief—until he discovered a foundation in Florida that taught him how to build custom fishing rods. That hands-on experience gave him a sense of calm, purpose, and direction. It stuck. Inspired by that gift, Mark founded Casting Beyond the Combat to pass on the same healing opportunity to others.
Today, Mark lives in Southeast Louisiana with his daughter Addison, and son Sonny—named in honor of his best friend who tragically lost his life to the invisible wounds of war. Through his work, Mark honors his friend’s legacy and stands by the belief that no veteran or first responder should be left behind.

“We aren’t broken men and women—we had a completely normal reaction to an abnormal situation. Sometimes we just need a little reset, something to focus our minds on, and a good dose of the outdoors to get us back on track.”