Dylan Hudock was millimeters from not making it home.
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Army veteran was spending a guys' night in a friend's garage, surrounded by buddies, several of them fellow vets. Someone nearby was taking apart a 9mm handgun and didn't clear the chamber. When they pulled the trigger to remove the slide, the gun fired.
The round tore through Dylan's right arm and into his chest. It shattered his ribs, passed through his diaphragm and liver, and came to rest on top of his aorta.
"When I collapsed in that garage, all I could see were the faces of our kids, Lincoln and Lennon, and I thought about them growing up without their dad," Dylan said.
He survived. And today, he and his wife Kasey are the owners of D1 Training Wake Forest, a facility they built as a direct answer to the question that night forced on them: what are we waiting for?
"We Stopped Treating Someday as a Plan"
Dylan was lucky. The friends around him carried trauma kits and knew how to use them. What followed was almost two months at Duke and a long road back.
For the Hudocks, that night reset everything.
"That night changed how Kasey and I look at everything," Dylan said. "We stopped treating 'someday' as a plan."
Owning a business had been Dylan's dream for years. Covid had already shown the couple how much your health shapes every other part of life. The injury brought those two ideas together in a way neither of them could ignore anymore.
Rebuilding From Zero
The summer that followed took almost everything from him. Dylan missed Father's Day, the Fourth of July, and a family vacation the Hudocks were set to leave for the very next day. He went nearly two and a half weeks without eating or drinking and lost about 35 pounds.
When he finally came home, he couldn't get out of bed, get dressed, or use the bathroom on his own. Months of physical therapy three times a week and chiropractic care twice a week followed, all so he could handle the basics again.
"When your body gets taken down to zero, you learn fast what your health is worth," Dylan said. "I'd always worked out, but rebuilding from nothing showed me that strength, mobility and conditioning aren't about looking a certain way. They're what let you pick up your kids, coach on the ice and be around for the long haul. For me, longevity stopped being a buzzword."
That lesson is the same one D1 is built around: training that prepares people for real life, not just for the mirror. It's why D1 offers adult training right alongside its youth athlete programs.
The Army Showed Up When It Mattered Most
Dylan's military training kicked in before he even realized it.
"Lying on that garage floor, my training took over," he said. "I told the guys I needed a tourniquet on my arm and a chest seal for the wound in my chest, and they got to work while someone called 911. Stay calm, communicate clearly, execute. That mindset probably saved my life."
He carried that same approach into recovery, treating it like a mission. Small goals every day. Showing up to PT whether he felt like it or not. Trusting the process even when progress was slow.
The Army also confirmed something Dylan had felt for a long time: he wanted to be his own boss. He has run his own DJ business since 2017, coaches youth travel hockey and has always had a side hustle going. D1 is the biggest version of that drive yet.
"As a new owner I lead the way the Army taught me: set the standard, take care of your people, own the outcome and never ask anyone to do something you wouldn't do yourself," he said. "I'm still learning every day, and I'm bringing the same discipline to it."
For veterans considering what comes next, Dylan's path is a familiar one across the D1 system. The discipline, leadership and mission focus built in the military translate directly into running a facility that develops athletes and builds a team of coaches.
A Second Chance, and a Miracle Named Ellie
Recovery gave Dylan something he'd never had much of before: time to think.
"I'd been given a second chance, and I didn't want to spend it waiting," he said.
Then came the biggest blessing of all. Two years after the worst night of their lives, Dylan and Kasey welcomed their third child, a daughter named Ellie.
"If it weren't for that night and the miracle that followed, she wouldn't be here today," Dylan said. "I wasn't just fighting to get back to the life I had. I was building a life for a daughter who only exists because of everything we went through."
The couple started having bigger conversations about what they wanted their life to look like and what they wanted to leave behind. They wanted to build something real that all three of their kids could watch take shape, something that would help their neighbors get stronger and healthier.
"A business built around health and fitness in our own community checked every box," Dylan said. "It was our way to take the worst thing that ever happened to us and turn it into something good. D1 was exactly that."
It's a common thread among D1 owners. Very few start out shopping for a franchise. They start with a purpose, then find a proven system that lets them act on it. Learn more about what sets the D1 Training franchise apart.
Giving Back to the Community That Carried Them
The night Dylan was shot, Kasey was home with a one-year-old and a very sick seven-year-old. When she reached the hospital, she couldn't find him. She waited for hours with no updates until a nurse walked out and handed her Dylan's wedding ring.
"She carried our family through that whole summer," Dylan said.
They didn't do it alone. Neighbors, friends and family drove the kids to camps, hockey practice and school. They brought meals and mowed the grass.
"They showed up for us in ways we'll never forget," Dylan said.
Dylan grew up in Wake County, and D1 Training Wake Forest is the family's way of returning that kindness. It's also a place where Lincoln, Lennon, and Ellie will grow up, watching their parents build something from the ground up.
"They'll grow up in this gym and see what hard work and a second chance can turn into," Dylan said. "Standing on the turf on opening day with Kasey and all three kids was a moment I didn't know I'd get to have."
A Second Home for Wake Forest
With the doors now open, Dylan and Kasey are focused on giving Wake Forest real coaching for everyone, from seven-year-olds to adults. That means structured programming, great coaches and the tools to measure progress, so kids and adults alike can see what consistency and hard work produce.
"We love that a kid and their parent can train under the same roof, each chasing their own goals," Dylan said. "We want this place to be a second home. It's where a young athlete finds confidence, a parent gets back into shape, and the Wake Forest community has a place to get better. More than anything, we want people to invest in their health now, before life forces them to."
For Dylan, the mission is personal.
"I got a second chance, and so did our family," he said. "My hope is that D1 Wake Forest helps people build the kind of health and strength that keeps them in the game for a long time, for themselves and for the people who count on them."
Follow along with D1 Training Wake Forest on Instagram or visit the Wake Forest facility page to see what the Hudocks are building.
Write Your Own Next Chapter
Every D1 owner has a reason. For Dylan and Kasey Hudock, it was a second chance they refused to waste. If you've been holding onto your own "someday," start by contacting our team to learn more.