The Real Work of Reinvention: Ryan Benes on Military Service, Storytelling, and a Second Voice

Hi everyone, welcome back. It is jennifer. I'm super excited to introduce you to our guest today We are going to be talking with lieutenant colonel ryan beans benez And he is a marine corps osprey pilot And he is an acquisitions professional and a voice Actor he was raised in southern california And is now based in southern maryland with his wife and two kids He has served in the marines since 2004 with five deployments including two to afghanistan And has flown in support of both president trump and president biden As a part of the presidential helicopter squadron Following his latest flying tour. He transitioned to acquisitions Where he continues to support the osprey within the v-22 joint program office As he approaches retirement later this year Ryan is carrying his passion for storytelling and authenticity Into a second career as a professional voice actor. So join me in welcoming Ryan, hi ryan. How are you? No, it's a pleasure. Thank you So nice to have you so you have such an interesting resume um, why don't you tell me a little bit about Like, you know, what were you like in high school? How did you get into the military? And I have to know about flying a helicopter. So kind of walk me through your early years here So, I mean growing up in southern california was like a dream. It was great surf in the morning and you know go skiing in the afternoons if you wanted to drive up in mountains, but Uh, to be honest after high school just a little bit lost didn't know what I wanted to do like a lot of people Um didn't do great in junior college for a little while um and just wanted to have fun didn't have a You know a goal in mind really where I wanted to go had a great time being a bartender and waiter for several years um, you know, I liked working with people but eventually my dad, uh He's a former marine corps pilot airline pilot as well um Kind of sat me down. He's like son like You need to make a decision here what you're going to do with your life and I was 20 years old at the time so things like So long ago now Um, so I was like, well, you know what? I want to fly I decided that so I was like great. So i'm gonna i'm gonna be a pilot I'm gonna be a commercial pilot. So Starting in 2000. I started flight training and I was good at it I'm, not afraid to say that and it worked out well And so I moved myself from southern california up to uh, the bay area Lived in alameda went to flight school there in oakland and uh You know, just the world kind of fell apart on 9 11. So I was on my way to flight school. Um that morning When got news of the the trade towers and 90 of my class quit the next day And I made a decision shortly thereafter that I would rather fly for the military than the airlines at that point in my life, so I continued training in the airline or the The flight school pipeline to get my qualifications and then went back to college got my degree And then joined the marines in 2004. So that was that was that route That's so interesting. It's not what I thought it was going That was very very interesting. Um, I do just want to comment. I love something that you said And i'm i'm not, you know, um embarrassed to say it I love that you just embrace that strength like yeah, i'm really good at that and I think that that's Something that I work with a lot of um students who are learning english and it's very different culturally in the u.s Just comment like yeah, this is my strength and this is something that i'm really really good at and it's great It's great to say that because then you need to share that to kind of sell your skills To other people absolutely So, all right. So then now you're in the military And were you in the u.s for a while or did you go straight to? Afghanistan at the time. Oh, so it's a long you got the training pipeline So being a pilot takes quite a while, especially for the osprey Um, what is that? I don't know what that is. I thought you might ask so actually I have a model. Oh, thank you Don't mind me So this is well get the osprey in there So they're like a big helicopter. So well, it's a tilt rotor So it flies like an airplane and also like a helicopter so I can land like a helicopter pick up and then turn into an airplane and Fly places really far away. So oh that is fascinating. Okay. Thanks for that very niche role Like if you had to land on an island a thousand miles away, that's the size of a football field Well helicopter is not going to get there And you know, you're not going to land a jet on there, but the osprey can so i've flown from North carolina across the pond to europe in the osprey, you know, and now we'll land You know in a soccer field. So crazy It's it's unique in that in that role. So Yeah, so it takes a while to train. So You know starting 2004 you go through basically ocs, which is boot camp for officers And you go through the basic school which is six months of Uh, well uniqueness to the marine corps where you learn how to be an infantryman or woman. Um Which is kind of like how we all In the marine corps, it's very unique. Like we work around the infantry Everybody supports the infantry whether you're your air or land, uh doesn't matter So we do that for six months and then you finally start your in my case flight school Um where you learn fixed wing then you go fly helicopters and you come back to fixed wing And so by the time I graduated flight school, it was the end of 2008 Okay, it took a long time. It takes a while. Yeah And at that point, yeah I got into my first fleet squadron in 2009 for the osprey and then shortly thereafter deployed to afghanistan in 2010 so that was So it was it was short-lived that was only in the squadron for a little bit of time A nugget as we kind of get called or um the young guy And uh away we went. Okay Wow, that's fascinating. So if someone doesn't know can you explain what infantry is? infantry is um basically the backbone of well, most of the military force they're your um The guys you see running around with the guns on the ground is the easiest way I can say it. So Um for the boots on the ground. Yeah So you've got your armored support, you know your tanks infantry fighting vehicles those kind of things and you've got your infantry Which are just your foot soldiers for the most part. They get supported by aviation assets like me um or other assets as well, so Okay, and I have one more question. Um for people who aren't familiar with the Military rankings you give us like a simple we don't need all of them But like what's kind of the as you move up the ranks like what are the basic ones? Uh, so you have your enlisted and your officer ranks. Um And a lot of times well you have to have a degree to become an officer Um, and you go through a different training pipeline and you you get trained a different way. Um to basically command and control Units and assets you start out as a brand new second lieutenant, you know a little gold bar work We have first lieutenant and you're a captain um, which uh is the equivalent of uh, Um an ensign in the the navy so like you might remember like the original top gun. Yeah Uh, he had the two shiny bars. Um, that's that's a captain equivalency in the marine corps. Okay Um, so that's where you're you know, the bulk of your pilots are for the most part Um, they're doing the work as captains when you become a major you kind of become uh Part of the the management level at that point You reach my rank you're a lieutenant colonel. That's that upper Um management, um before you really get into your your colonels and your general officers at that point. So, okay That was excellent. Thanks for that. Yeah um one other thing, um that I Wasn't really familiar with I have some family members who? Were in the navy and the marines and I didn't know that that was kind of the same Like how related those two branches were? um and I was also fascinated that most of the time people in the military just have Regular jobs so if someone's kind of interested in going into the military, can you talk us through a little bit like What are some of the jobs that you have because we're not always? Fighting most of the time. We're not we're just Here so like what are some things that people do in the military? Sure before I do that. I called a captain the equivalent of an incident a minute ago. I'm a lieutenant Somebody would get very upset but um Uh, you're right. Well, uh The vast majority of the military is not what we call combat arms um The ones that you envision kicking down doors or firing artillery There's most of the support roles so logistics admin admin medical The united states is basically we have the greatest like logistics military in the world. Um And we have to because we project power so far and so we can support Everybody at long ranges and that's just due to all these different roles and responsibilities and billets as we call them um, and all the branches to support that to happen, so um from all the day-to-day actions of getting you checked in and out of units to making sure you're um, you're up to date on all your vaccines to um Any litany of things you would imagine in a small little city? Kind of what the military is they run all that so your electricians your food techs your your truck drivers All those it's all You know packed into the military so That's fascinating. And then you get to pick what you want to do or you kind of steered into Uh, you get steered usually some people get a choice. Um And in my case, I got a a shot is what they call it in the marine corps We will give you a shot at aviation Okay, if you fail out We're gonna put you somewhere else, but we're gonna give you a shot. So it's like, okay, that's all I need um A lot of times you'll take a test before you go in the military. It's kind of your aptitude test You'll find out where your strengths and weaknesses are and where you might Be able to apply your skills. So maybe you're really good at uh Computer technical skills anything like that. They might steer you in that direction. You may go into the sole goal of Being infantry or jumping out and you know deploying parachutes and all that kind of stuff and if that's your choice Yeah, you you can you can push for that certainly And definitely if you go on like in the reserves, for example Where you're not active duty or you're serving that one week in a month You really get a choice up front of what what job you want to what I want to have So that's a great place for someone who really doesn't know What they want to do in life to try the military because there are so many opportunities and so many types of training That you can get that can really set you up for your career now I've been in the military for about 20 years. Yep, and How I know you kind of have to start planning for what's next kind of a while before because it's not like you're just finished this one day and then you're kind of moving on so How did you kind of start planning for your? Transition, which I know is coming up here Well, thankfully the military lays it all out for you. They're like the requirements you have to do You've got to take these separations courses learn how to put on a suit and tie write a resume um Learn how to talk civilian. Um, you know, that's interesting. Yeah in the military when we have like a you know, kind of a dark humor sometimes, um and you know some things are just not acceptable in the civilian workforce and you learn like what you should and shouldn't say and how to hold yourself and how to have a normal conversation without you know, like not everybody can relate to your acronyms too, and I still catch myself doing that like We have our own lingo in the military, right? People just don't understand that if I said like yeah, i'm going to go vfr direct to the store today I say that to my wife sometimes like okay For just basically going in a straight line um To do aviation. Yeah visual flight rules. You're just flying visually and you're just going there like as the crow flies. Okay interesting There's a litany of things like that. So it's like it's good All right, so that's great, too So once you're in the military, they kind of are there to help you figure out what to do and then kind of how to transition Yep such great opportunities for young people like I know so many people who have Gone into military not knowing what they want to do and it really worked out great for them So i'm a huge proponent. So thanks for sharing all of that It's four years if they wanted to do it. It's kind of you know four years to you get out Started 18 22 year out and you've just got that Behind you i'm a veteran the rest of my life And you know you may get a marketable skill like um, but at the end of the day, you're probably gonna find something about yourself, which is What I did like you find out what limits you really have and yeah Um, and that's the biggest thing I think Yeah, that's That is such a an invaluable Piece of knowledge is to know yourself Because I think sometimes when kids are 18, I was like this you think you kind of Know everything you kind of think you really know yourself And you only know what you know And then not until you get out there and like really experience things. Can you really find out? What you like and who you are? I know so many kids they go into college and they think i'm going to do this because that's what they've always thought they were Going to do and then they get there and they're like, oh I know this is this is not for me and then you've invested all of this and you know, so Um, the military is offers so many Opportunities, which I think is great. And I know my sister-in-law She was in the military and that helped put her through school. So that's how she went to school. So there's just lots and lots of options For that so what's next for you? It sounds like you're completely changing What's coming up tell us so Professional voice actor which is um, it's a it's a bit of a transition Going from a field that is Um known for a lack of emotion if you will, um have to be very very compartmentalized to Trying to harness that emotion into voice acting and the different breeds that I do and it's been it's been great to To learn that so far. So i've been doing it about five years Um, and I listened back to the stuff I was recording five years ago and like wow It's different, um, and you're always getting better you can never stop improving with it. So yeah, that's that's what's next for me Okay. Um, I love what you said. This is kind of becoming a theme with everyone that I talk to which is Oh when I look back at what I first did i'm kind of like, uh, like it's i'm it's so different now It's so much better now and I think that that's such a good lesson that I'm that kind of keeps coming up which is like No one's perfect when they start something. It's just you kind of get better and better As you work through it, how did you find this first? This is kind of a niche Thing to be a voice. Um, you have a great voice but like thanks. Yeah, and that's not that's not what it's important anymore it's like, uh it can help sometimes like the first time anybody told me I had a good voice was I was working the drive-through at mcdonald's when I was 15 And somebody's like wow, like you should do radio. I still remember that. Yeah. Oh, thanks, you know here's your big mac and um and but then you hear it and then it gets you thinking then the more you like to communicate and storytell and and it was um In afghanistan again 2012. I was in my rack which is your bed at night. I was out of my I want to tell stories and Act When i'm done And so I ordered a microphone and a bunch of equipment and I had it shipped to my house It'd be waiting for me when I got home And I didn't open it. I got life got in the way when I got back and only Covid was Terrible in many ways, but in other ways it opened some doors. So like I was like a little bit of time now that box up and and Started learning. Yeah, that's kind of where that started That's amazing. Have you always been into storytelling or is this something you? Yes, but I don't think I realized how much I was enjoying it It just became it was part of my personality people like to you know, just joke around tell stories but people think voice actors they think You know that voice of god or the the 90s announcer trailers of movies and And then you start to realize wow, it's a lot more than that. It's all your commercials it's and there's a story behind every one of them and And that's what the learning curve has been is I listen back. Like I said to my my early reads And it's just like anybody can read something. Yeah, but it's now I have to take even something that's about toothpaste or Maybe there is a real emotional read in there But who am I telling this to and why do they care and why is the listener going to care? Don't have that connection in there the audience isn't gonna care and it's gonna sound like Ai and yeah, that's that's a big thing these days obviously is um, you know ai it sounds great, but it You know, it doesn't have a soul it doesn't have that emotional background of um the loss of you know a pet or the birth of a child or Um a deployment to combat or any of those a litany of emotional backgrounds you can draw on You know, I did a read recently where I was um Uh, I was remembering how I felt when I came back from the mu which is the marine expeditionary unit We float around on a small aircraft carrier Um for about seven months My daughter was two and I was terrified when I got home that my daughter wouldn't remember me She was so small when I left And that emotional is is is ingrained in my brain and so I draw on that sometimes for certain reads where It's a it's an emotional pull. Yeah, you know ai Can't do that. It'll sound good But it's heartless. Yeah, there's something that's missing I 100 agree. I love two things that I love that you said. Um Number one is that you had time Like once covet hit and also when you were laying in your bunk I think you had all of this time to kind of think and process. So it's interesting to me that You kind of have these quiet times to kind of come to this realization and then to actually finally act on it um, so I want to hear a little bit more about that and then also This is just for my typical audience I I just say this all the time and this struck me since you're doing this professionally It's more about the audience and not about you It's about what do my students want? Um, and it's the same thing that I say to my students all the time, which is you need to be clear You don't have to be perfect, but you need to be clear and you need to be authentic and it needs to be From you and like you said like all of that emotion and all of your experiences really, um You know really help with that um Talk to me a little bit about your your thinking time because I feel like this kind of keeps coming up is that you have these like aha moments when just like when you have a lot of time, is this like a Something that happens to you often in your life or is it just these two times? No, I mean well, yeah, I do try to to brainstorm and think and um, you know, where is this, uh, you know, I Normally keep a recorder in my car. Oh, wow and Um as thoughts come in i'll record them and you know, just kind of process those later Um, that's a great tip writing things down all the time. Yeah, i've got the notebooks. I'm old school like i'm terrible with google maps Yeah, it's like Um without that i'd get lost and i'll write you know little things in there as soon as I think about them, yeah and Fall back on those notes. So interesting. Yeah, so Writing things down and thinking I I love that So what makes someone? Successful as a as a voice actor So again, it's it's not the voice there's a voice for everything, you know, you've got children you've got pets you've got Animals you've got everybody voices something and they're all unique and everybody you said the buzzword a second ago, which is authenticity if you're authentic to yourself, that's what people want but It's taken me years and i'm still working on it to be authentic It is so hard to get in front of a microphone and not Talk to the microphone. Yeah or to the Ladies and gentlemen today it's like What are you talking about? Nobody's you know, you're talking to a real person at the other end of the line And that's what it takes to be successful um, you have to have marketing you have to have business skills, so You can't just you know have some great acting ability at the end of the day. It is a business so um, that's the other part of my training all the time is learning how to run a business Did you learn any of the running of the business? While you were in the military or even at mcdonald's I love that that was your one of your first jobs Sure. I mean, I guess there Yeah, i've learned a little bit all along the way. So mcdonald's to the waiting jobs to You know I got a business management degree Um, which is now woefully out of date. Yeah But uh, you learn a lot of those things there and then of course all the books there's so many books and then Just you know not giving up i'm reading one, uh, where is there I know it's uh failing forward and it's just learning from your mistakes and you know realizing your failures aren't you know a failure of you it's just You know the most successful people out there fail constantly and They embrace that and just be cool. I learned from that and move on um, and that's kind of been business as well as like Little failures here and there I go. I'm not going to do that. Uh, but I learned from it. I'll make an adjustment Yeah, it's still blessed now with like well not a fan of ai for voice and stuff, but it is great for helping you with You know i'll help it or help me build business plans and uh excel spreadsheets for tracking of things Um, and it's really useful for that. So yeah. Yeah. Um, I i'm a big I love ai Um, I personally don't think it's going to take over Everyone's jobs. I think everything's going to shift and I I do think that um It's such a great tool. Like you were saying like I can do so much more in my business And everyone's worried like well, you know it can kind of teach your lessons but it kind of can't because My lessons are authentic to me because of my experiences. I grew up with a regional accent And so like I get the pain points of my students like you said you're kind of drawing on your emotions and Ai just doesn't have that. It's still just a machine even though it is learning um as it's processing through things, um, I I definitely think it's a good tool that is It is definitely here to stay More people come back and be like, hey, we we hired We used ai We'd like to hire you instead um That's interesting. Well people like that. Well, you know some of the younger generations like human interaction is a little more difficult sometimes um But at the end of the day if you're a producer you want to talk to somebody, you know I had a phone call today. I was just talking through it. I was like, oh What are you thinking through this? Oh, we can have a conversation. I can change the word here or there And uh You know, you can have that connection there. I can shoot a happy birthday email You know People still need that. Yeah, it is all about it's all about connections. Uh, what were you like as a kid? I was uh I don't know. I was a Bit of a greaser if you will I was big into cars had the rolled up jeans, uh, you know and just the Converse shoes I didn't know what my place was in the world, but uh, um, I was a little wild um I needed some discipline, which is what the Marine Corps definitely gave me. Yeah um but uh, you know, I was outgoing fun, but I always describe myself actually as like a um An introvert with an extrovert's exoskeleton Yeah, I like my alone time. I like to work alone a lot But at the same time like I put on you know when I need to to be you know Uh outward and around other people and sometimes that's nice, but I also need my you know um Antisocial time a little bit of that going through high school um And everybody's got rough upbringings like with school and stuff I was You know, I was bullied more than I wanted to be You know growing up and I got a lot of regrets on how I handled that now. I'm like why did I just take some of that stuff and You know, it's just it's part of growing up just depends on Where you are in life? um But it shaped the person I am now and I learned and grew and Yeah, seems like you've always had just tenacity And hard work and curiosity though Absolutely. Yeah, I was always like an inventor and and uh wanted to you know, go forward and build things do things. Uh, Kind of the entrepreneurial spirit a little bit Yeah, I love that Creating something new and That that mindset that was always fun Terrible at math, but uh great at all the other studies It's surprisingly so, you know, even in the osprey. Well, thankfully we have a calculator in there. Okay. Oh, that's interesting I'm kind of surprised that they have a calculator in there um So i'm curious. I really am fascinated with all of your different Experiences like a bartender working in a restaurant working in fast food the military voiceovers Is there like one characteristic or kind of like through line? That has helped you in each of those Or something that you've learned Being empathetic. Well, i'm pretty good at reading people and I can I can just I don't know I know how to relate to people whether I like them or not a lot of times and you learn that really quickly especially in like the um the service industry um And just being able to to work well with other people Whether you like them or not and that's critical in the military, too. Um You just you have to be able to read people and work with them and and find out how they like to be led or lead um you know, some people like to be told and some people just There's other ways and you learn all that. So I think that's just figuring that out quickly has been one of the strengths through time Yeah, you just seem like you are just here to help everyone and I love that Some people wouldn't say that but yeah, it's it's but yeah, it's it's that's what comes across. I mean you sound like you just really do care about Other people and you want to help them the best way that they need to be helped and I think that's just commendable um So do you have any tips for people who are transitioning? Out of the military or You know who who maybe want to start something that's even just completely different like you are even if they're not in the military any big tips You got to start with a plan um, look at your finances like at the end of the day, there's still logic that applies like what Can you can you not do you afford to do? Make sure your basic needs are met before you jump off the bridge and take that big risk sometimes and if you can afford to Do it You don't want to have any regrets later and that's kind of what this is Um, there's so many resources if you're in the military, the resources are there seek them out Everything from what you'll find on militaryonesource.com to what you can find on reddit There's stuff out there And take advantage of all the opportunities. I know a lot of people that just choose to not take advantage of the things that are offered to them because like I don't need that or I don't have time or You know, you're not going to get that chance again, so so yeah those opportunities while you have them and any other career it's just You know if it's a passion of yours make it happen like there's a way to do it and you learn that in the military like you don't have limitations like Your mind can push you to do just about anything you want so um Apply yourself and do it, especially if you're younger. Oh, man, like yeah, what is your oyster like It there's so many opportunities. Yeah I I couldn't agree more. I'm a big believer in Just say yes to any opportunity that comes your way. You don't know what it's going to lead to um, and I couldn't agree with you more that Your mind is your greatest limiting factor, but also your greatest strength. You just have to like Harness all the good and like push all that like negative doubt out of your out of your mind, um And I also love just just do it, especially when you're young you have nothing but time I remember looking back and thinking like I was so busy. I'm like, oh for goodness sakes Oh, no, you're not when you're 18. You have nothing but time like even if you're working two jobs and going to school you still have Time on your money in your retirement account Yes, exactly. There's always gonna be more money later. I'll make more money. I'll put more money in the ira later Whatever it is just start. Yeah start compounding interest. I love it. I think it's like a miracle. It is a miracle um, so my signature closes I always want to know I am I just want to help people in this world That's why I have my youtube channels. That's why i'm doing this So so many people have helped me over the years like I would not be here without just everyone helping me so I know it takes a lot of hard work and saying yes to things but who has helped you the most you don't have to name names you can if you want to but like How do they help you? There's too many Because well in the military you move around so much and every command is different, too um well So i'm gonna a few probably so like my father for for getting me off my butt so to speak Pursuing a career choice at some point. Uh, yeah um And then early on in the career just the things you get taught which shape your entire career Later on the basics like excel in the basics, you know bloom where you're planted like I had a job I hated at first in the marine corps and I was like That's like bloom where you're planted beans I did I did good at it. And then I moved into another job and you carry that reputation with you And I was like, oh wow reputations are important that reputation carried through until probably I would say like I was vouched for To join the presidential helicopter squadron and your reputation that's been built on all these years before you It's you know members, you know say That's the guy or gal and that was You know, I I know people that vouch for me and that means a lot Um, and it's not fake speech anymore. It's not just oh, yeah, dude. You're the best or whatever, you know Really comes to foolish and then when you're like, wow They really thought so or they wouldn't put you in a position like that. Yeah um That that means a lot. Yeah, if you're um helping two presidents, you must be good at Yeah, it's a great job and I I love working that one it's one of the few places There's no politics. There's no nothing you just focus on your job Fly and you be the best pilot you can and That's it. Okay We're gonna need to have you back on because I really do to know what um, it's like flying in the presidential What is it called a helicopter? Yeah, so Like executive lift, yeah I love that. Is it called like air force one or helicopter one or anything? Well, so whatever aircraft the president is on is designated that so oh, I didn't know that It's air force one if he's on a marine corps helicopter. It's marine one So, yeah, I never knew that it's all the helicopters the ring or the all the helicopters the president uses are From the marine corps and typically all air force one jets are well air force Well, I learned something new Brian, I can keep talking to you all day. You are so Fascinating. Um, I loved sharing a little more about the military and all the opportunities and Just your transition, which I know you're kind of undergoing Now, is there anything that I didn't get to that you want to talk about before we sign off here? No, we'll have to do it again. Yeah, just so many lessons learned out there Just yeah, you don't know what you're capable of until you really just apply to it. So yeah You're an inspiration. This was so great. Thank you so much You've been you've been phenomenal too. So thank you so much. Thanks. And if someone wants to Contact you or maybe even learn a little bit more about the military. Do you know where people can learn more? Um call sign vo is my website for voiceover. Uh, it's got my email address on there as well It's just ryan at call sign vo.com Reach out if you got questions on the military aviation voice stuff um You know how to build a voice booth Oh, I might be calling you about that. I get lots of complaints about my microphone situation. Yeah So well, I don't do my recordings. I have a whisper room over on the side of me, which is like a big box Okay but um, yeah happy to talk through where I started in a closet to Where it is now, so yeah All right Thank you so much. Thanks everyone for being here ryan It's been just a delight and um, i'll see you guys all again soon. Take care