As a student at Portsmouth High School in the late 1990s, Brian Devolve loved his car — a 1985 Monte Carlo — and looked forward to what he hoped would be a long, decorated military career. The car was well cared for.

“There wasn’t even a clear coat on it, but I used so much wax … and forensic analysts would not have been able to find a crumb, I vacuumed so much,” said Brian. The military career, likewise, was decorated — with 15 medals in just five years. But it was unfortunately relatively brief, ending following a 2009 deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His job there was to serve in detainee ops.

“We did interrogations. I was part of a team that brought detainees to trial,” Brian said. “I can’t talk about some of it.”

One day in November 2009, two months after his deployment began, he was on tower duty. From 60 feet in the air, his job was to monitor inmate activity on the ground and report on communications and movements in an effort to quell detainee organization and attacks on guards, which were frequent. “There’d be hunger strikes, or inmates would stage fights in a deliberate attempt to move to a different camp to share information,” he said. “It’s easier to see what’s going on when you’re above something.”

He has no memory of the accident, but was told he reached for something and lost his balance and the soldier stationed in the tower with him attempted to help, but both men fell 60 feet to the ground. The other man was relatively unscathed; Brian suffered serious leg, back and head injuries that persist to this day, leaving him disabled.

Brian finished his tour with minimal medical rehabilitative assistance and returned home at the end of his tour physically and emotionally broken. “For months I didn’t leave my house,” he said. “I was seeing things, I was scared to go out, and I was drinking way too much.”

Within the year, he made an attempt on his own life.

With intervention, he was able to get on the road to some measure of recovery, but it turned out, the best weapon in his arsenal had been with him all along. Always a busy man, Brian needed to stay occupied once home. He bought himself a BMW and began to spend hours detailing his vehicle in his driveway.

“Keeping busy, the attention to detail, it clears my mind,” said Brian. “I had to work a lot on myself to get where I am now, and this really helped. I don’t want idle time where my brain can act up.”

Soon, his neighbors started to notice his exceptional work and request his services. It’s all in the detail, and in Brian’s ability to focus. “If I’m happy with it, I’m positive the customer will be blown away,” he said.

His business — B&G Auto Detailing — grew organically from his Portsmouth driveway to being officially established in 2017 on Buttonwood Street in Bristol. Brian has also been a Bristol resident for the past several years.

“I work seven days a week, except Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas,” said Brian. With that much time spent doing physical labor, in his condition, when Brian’s not working he spends a lot of time at home relaxing and recuperating with his beloved dog. Though he doesn’t go out much in person, Facebook has helped Brian connect with the community, with others frequently recommending him in various local Facebook groups like Around Town Bristol.

In addition, Brian frequently posts inspirational messages of the day on his Facebook page, posts he refers to as his “rise and shine, Warrior!” posts, which have struck the hearts of other veterans and strangers. One even shared with Brian that a particular inspirational post deterred him from taking his life.

“I’ve been able to build this successful business thanks to my Facebook page. And through my page, I hope to inspire and support others who may be going through their own struggles with mental health.”

“My work is my therapy, and it has literally saved my life,” said Brian. “I would not be alive and here today if I didn’t have this keeping me focused.”

B&G Auto Detailing is now another successful veteran-owned business here in Bristol, and with Brian’s reputation preceding him, and a couple of very large commercial accounts on his regular schedule, there’s no shortage of work to keep him focused. He’s now becoming known well outside the East Bay, and receiving attention from product manufacturers who want him to use their products for advertising and endorsements.

“Before, I didn’t feel like I had purpose, and I needed to feel I had something to give back,” said Brian.

“Now I do, and I’m really good at it.”