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Black Dog Creative

@createblackdog

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Bozeman based photo and video production
Hunt, Fish, Outdoor, and Adventure.
Marketing | Social Media Management
Veteran Owned 🇺🇸
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TEAM ULMAN CONQUERED MOUNT KILIMANJARO!!! 🏔️🔥 After months of training, fundraising, pushing through exhaustion, and taking one step at a time, our incredible team of 13 trekkers took on Mount Kilimanjaro. What made this team so special was the people behind every step. Some were climbing while currently navigating cancer themselves, others had faced cancer and come out the other side, and others were there for someone they love. Each person brought their own story to this mountain, and together, they showed what it means to be there for one another. They showed up for each other, carried each other through the tough moments, and reminded us what it looks like to turn community into REAL action. Signing up to trek 19,000 feet was never just about reaching the summit. It was about every person they were climbing for, every life touched by cancer, and every step taken to make sure no one has to face it alone. 💙 To our trekkers, their families, everyone who donated, and everyone who cheered this team on: WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU. You took on one hell of a mountain, and the impact of this journey reaches so much farther than the summit. A HUGE shoutout to @embark.exploration.co for guiding Team Ulman every step of the way, keeping our trekkers safe, bringing the fun, and helping make this experience one our team will never forget! We are so grateful for your expertise, energy, and for being part of this journey with us. And now we’re asking... WHO’S READY TO CLIMB WITH US NEXT YEAR?! 👀⛰️ If you’re interested in taking on Mount Kilimanjaro and making an impact for young adults impacted by cancer, email kaitlyn@ulmanfoundation.org to learn more. Your next life changing moment is waiting. 💫
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ASANTE, KILIMANJARO. 🏔️❤️ I SUMMITED THE MOUNTAIN, BUT THE REAL GIFT WAS THE PEOPLE, THE JOURNEY, AND THE WHY. Thank you for the laughter, tears, kindness, joy, and helping me reconnect with myself and the world around me. I made it (barely 😅), but the greatest gift was the people and the reminder of why we keep going, even when life feels impossibly hard and why we came to the mountain. To my 11 teammates who were strangers when I left — you are family. ❤️ You pushed me through my fears, showed me how strong I truly am, and helped heal my weathered soul. To the 52 Embark guides, porters, cooks, and waiters — you cared for me, loved me like a sister, and gave so generously of yourselves. Your kindness has changed me deeply. You are family, forever. ❤️🙏🏽 My heart is full. My soul is grateful. The mountain will forever have a piece of my heart. Asante, Kilimanjaro. Embark Adventures @embark.exploration.co . Ulman Foundation @ulmanfoundation 🏔️❤️ To donate click the link in my bio…we have 25,000 left to hit our collective goal 🙏#ulmanfoundation #embarkadventure #grit #cancer @brockyetso @reedsothoron @korsolini @ulmanduke @chacha_7251 @mishmosh336 @paulandrews10 @wmtironephotography @lindsey_rickards_ @mjones820 @createblackdog @ekoconn @v.i.c.t.o.r._raymond
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A successful Fight Club Return To Base program in the books. Veterans came together at the Patrol Base in Thompson Falls, Montana, united by a shared interest in BJJ and Muay Thai but left with something far more meaningful. Between hard training sessions, time in the Montana outdoors, meaningful service, and evenings spent around the campfire sharing open, honest, and vulnerable conversations, strangers became a community. We’re grateful to every participant, coach, volunteer, and supporter who made the week possible and, most of all, to the veterans who trusted PBA, embraced the discomfort, and took the chance to reconnect. Another group leaving the Patrol Base with a renewed sense of community, connection, and purpose! If you’d like to Support a Veteran to be a part of this experience today, please consider donating at the link in the bio. #fightclub #veterans #pbabbate #montana
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I may have a crooked wing but I’m still flyin💪🏻 Credits to @createblackdog @freeflyinglessons #montana #mountains #outdoors #adventure #photohoot
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Some people come into your life for a reason. I truly believe that. At the most recent Return to Base with @pbabbate we did something that I have done before but it hit me harder than I expected, we filled a sandbag for my brother, Casey West. Casey is a Marine veteran, an absolute warrior, and one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. More than five years ago, Casey was diagnosed with brain cancer and given only a few months to live. Five years later, he’s still here. And he’s still fighting. Every. Single. Day. Even while battling his own cancer, Casey played an instrumental role in my late wife Tabitha’s cancer treatment. He did everything he could to help us find resources, answers, and hope when we needed it most. He was fighting his own war while still showing up for my family. I will never forget that. The three of us…Chris, Casey, and me are veterans. We came from different places and walked different paths, but somehow our lives crossed because of something incredibly dark and traumatic. Chris, with that magnificent beard, is the one who brought Casey and me together. And I’m grateful every damn day that he did. At Patrol Base Abbate, the sandbag isn’t just a bag of sand. The sandbag is what defends us from the enemy while we are behind friendly lines so we can take our armor off and rest and re-fit. It’s a symbol of carrying the weight. You fill it, carry it, and take that weight with you. It’s a reminder that we don’t leave our people behind, and that sometimes, when someone is carrying more than they can bear, we carry some of it for them. That sandbag was for Casey. For everything he has endured. For the battles he continues to fight. For the people he’s helped while fighting his own battle. For Tabitha. For the hope he gave our family when we needed it most. Casey, you have carried a hell of a lot of weight for a lot of people. I don’t know why certain people are placed in our lives. Maybe we aren’t always supposed to understand it. But I know I’m blessed to have found these two brothers. Sometimes something beautiful can grow from the darkest places. Until the wheels fall off, NEVER FOLD🤙🏻
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Patrol Base Abbate’s Golf Club brought 27 veterans to Thompson Falls, Montana, for another successful Return To Base built around a shared passion for golf, service, and community. For 3 days, participants played the beautiful, serene, and truly magical Rivers Bend Golf Course, surrounded by the mountains and quiet of northwest Montana. They spent an afternoon kayaking and paddleboarding the tranquil waters of the Clark Fork River and came together for a meaningful service project. But, as always, the most important part of RTB happened after the activities ended. Each night, participants gathered around the campfire and began opening up, sharing stories, experiences, challenges, and laughter with a group of people who, only days earlier, were strangers. A common interest in golf became the foundation for something much deeper: trust, friendship, and community. 27 golfers arrived at Patrol Base looking for an experience and left with something far more meaningful, a renewed sense of community, connection, and purpose. Thank you to everyone who made this RTB possible, and especially to the 27 veterans who took the chance, embraced the experience, and trusted PBA enough to drop their packs behind friendly lines. This is Return To Base. If you’d like to Support a Veteran to be a part of this experience today, please consider donating at the link in our bio or reach out directly. #ReturnToBase #PatrolBaseAbbate #GolfClub #Veterans
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“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ’s disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.” - A River Runs Through It Credits to @createblackdog @freeflyinglessons #outdoors #mountains #montana #flyfishing #nature
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Carrying the American flag is never something I take lightly. Every time I ride into an arena with Old Glory, I’m reminded that it represents generations of sacrifice, courage, and the freedom that allows us to pursue the lives we’ve been given. To have the privilege of carrying it on horseback on Independence Day is an honor I’ll never stop being grateful for. Some moments are over in a matter of minutes, but their meaning stays with you long after the ride is finished. 🇺🇸 #independenceday #patriotic #rodeo #americanflag
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I’m struggling to put the PBA RTB experience into words, but here goes nothin… Even though the weather swapped forecasted 80s for soggy 50s, we caught fish, lost flies (sorry, Buck), untangled enough knots to make me almost never want to fish again, laughed until I definitely peed, and spent a week somewhere that makes you want to tell civilization to fuck off… not that I need help with that. TBH, fishing wasn’t the most memorable thing. I met ppl who somehow understood pieces of me that I didn’t really know how to translate. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The veteran community is fucked like that. We speak a language that comes from surviving and enduring. If we see someone struggling, we’ll always jump in to help - sometimes at our own expense. Confession: I almost didn’t go. IYK me, you know I’m fragile. Not like a flower. Like TNT. I’ve spent years intentionally distant from veteran spaces. I wasn’t sure I wanted to crack that door open. But fuck, I leaned in and what I might call ‘too much’ came pouring out. To my surprise, no one asked me to be quieter or smaller. They just let me exist exactly as I am. Coming home has been harder than I expected. Lisa and Mary, from encouraging me to just fart already to conversations about the deepest wounds we carry. We covered the entire spectrum. I’m so fucking grateful our paths crossed. Tara, thank you for making this happen. Only living an hour away is a treat. Josh, thank you for capturing moments we’ll treasure forever, and apparently bringing me good fishing luck. To our guides, thank you for your patience and belly laughs. Tiffany and Kevin, thank you for creating a place that’s welcoming, calm, and safe. Nick, you restored my desire to practice yoga. Now to find a foofoo-free studio here. Cat, you made me fat. I’m thankful to call you a friend. I hope everyone walked away with even a fraction of what I did. Thank you to every single person who made this week unforgettable. I miss you r________’s already. ❤️
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Another successful 2026 Return To Base (RTB) program is in the books! Patrol Base Abbate’s Fly Fishing Club Return To Base (RTB) brought together 29 participants who embraced every challenge the river threw their way. Through the rain and difficult conditions, they persevered, landed some beautiful fish, and discovered that the experience was about much more than what was at the end of the line. Each day began with yoga and mindfulness practices that encouraged participants to slow down, be present, and reconnect with themselves. They shared incredible meals, completed a meaningful service project that included cleaning up the river that had given us so much throughout the week, and spent long evenings gathered. As always, the most impactful moments came in those nightly conversations. Veterans got open, vulnerable, and honest with one another, sharing stories, struggles, and victories. Strangers became friends, and friends became family. A special thank you to the dedicated leaders of our Fly Fishing Club who continue to create opportunities for veterans to heal, connect, and find purpose through shared experiences in nature. And to the 29 participants who trusted the process and said “yes” to this experience, thank you for your willingness to show up, embrace the discomfort, and invest in one another. The fish were a bonus. The real catch was the renewed sense of community, connection, and purpose that each veteran was able to take home. Together, we continue to build a community where veterans can rediscover the connection, purpose, and sense of belonging that many miss after service. We arrived as individuals from different backgrounds and experiences, but we left as something stronger, a tribe. We look forward to our next RTB, Vet+1 (Spouse), partnered with the Big Fish Foundation, will take place at the Patrol Base in Thompson Falls, MT. If you’d like to Support a Veteran to be a part of this experience today, please consider donating: https://lnkd.in/eRuRvGah #ReturnToBase #PatrolBaseAbbate #FlyFishingClub #VeteranCommunity #flyfishing
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The Fly Fishing Club RTB (Return To Base) program combines the core of what Patrol Base Abbate is all about; building community, fostering connection, rediscovering purpose, and creating space to unplug and reconnect with yourself and others, but with the added gift of spending long days on the river, immersed in the beauty and tranquility of nature. Turn your volume all the way up and let the sounds of the river take you there. 🎣🌲 #veteranssupport #returntobase #patrolbaseabbate #flyfishing #montanaflyfishing
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Another successful Return To Base (RTB) is in the books. This past week, members of Patrol Base Abbate’s Book Club gathered for an immersive RTB centered around the novel Glorious Exploits. Through thoughtful discussions of the book’s themes, engaging workshops, daily yoga and meditation, paddleboarding and kayaking adventures, and a service project, participants found countless opportunities to reconnect, with themselves and with one another. As always, some of the most impactful moments happened around the campfire. Night after night, veterans shared deep, open, and vulnerable conversations that stretched late into the evening, strengthening bonds of trust, understanding, and community. We extend our deepest gratitude to the dedicated leaders of our Book Club, whose commitment and service have helped shape this community since the earliest days of Patrol Base Abbate. Your passion, leadership, and unwavering support continue to create meaningful opportunities for veterans to connect and grow. To every participant who took a chance on this experience and placed their faith in Patrol Base Abbate, thank you! Your willingness to show up, engage, and be vulnerable is what makes these programs so powerful. Together, we continue to build a community where veterans can rediscover the connection, purpose, and sense of belonging that many miss after service. We arrived as individuals from different backgrounds and experiences, but we left as something stronger, a tribe. We look forward to our next RTB- Fly Fishing Club will take place at the Patrol Base in Thompson Falls, MT with world class fishing on the Thompson River. At this time, music and run club RTB applications are still OPEN! Apply at the link in our bio! If you’d like to Support a Veteran today, please consider donating: https://lnkd.in/eRuRvGah #ReturnToBase #PatrolBaseAbbate #VeteranCommunity #BookClub #Connection
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