Ryan Curtis thought he knew exactly who he was supposed to be.
An Army veteran and Massachusetts native who deployed all over the world as well as a filmmaker and producer, he spent years building a career rooted in storytelling for the likes of Oprah, Nike, and the VA. Making films was always the ultimate dream.
Music, however, had other plans.
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“It really messed with me at first,” Curtis told We Are The Mighty. “I had planned my entire life around being a filmmaker. So when music came along and doors started opening, opportunities started to come from all angles, I had to listen to the universe, for lack of a better way to put it.”
Though an unexpected chapter, this one had its origins during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world had slowed down and isolation became the norm. Curtis found himself with something he had not really had in years: time. He picked up a guitar and began seriously teaching himself how to play. What started as practice slowly evolved into songwriting, first through what he jokingly described as “terrible songs” and eventually through collaborations with musician friends Nick Gomez and Jon Gus.
Curtis is a true storyteller at heart and had originally begun writing songs for a movie script centered around a country singer. Somewhere in the process, though, something shifted.
“I really fell head over heels in love with the process,” he explained. “Songwriting is something that speaks to my soul in ways I’ve never felt before. And it comes so naturally in a way that nothing else ever has in my life.”
The songs kept coming and so did the reactions to the music. It was overwhelming.
Friends began encouraging him to take music seriously. People he trusted. People who, in his words, “would never blow smoke up his ass” saw something in him before he fully allowed himself to see it, too.
“It started when I would watch people’s reactions to the music,” Curtis shared. “The kind of reaction they can’t fake. People were fully surprised and blown away. I think other people saw it before I allowed myself to see it.
For Curtis, stepping into music professionally in his 40s has been equal parts both exhilarating and significantly terrifying.
“There are so many doubts and things that creep in,” he says. “It’s hard not to think it’s too late or we’re too old. But honestly, it’s something I love and if I don’t give it my all, I’ll always regret it.”
That fear of regret has become a driving force in this season of his life.
“There have always been small things that, looking back, I wish I would have done,” he reflected. “Those things stuck with me in a way that I don’t ever want to regret not doing something again.”
It is a sentiment that is deeply familiar to many veterans.
Military service often asks people to place parts of themselves on hold while focusing on mission, survival, family and transition. Dreams get delayed. Creativity gets buried beneath the responsibility or the mission first mentality and reinvention can feel risky, especially later in life.
But Curtis believes veterans are uniquely equipped to evolve.
“We serve our country and come to the civilian world much later than most,” he says. “But that means you have a life that most people can’t even imagine. The experiences you’ve had, they’re stories worth telling.”
This perspective is woven throughout both his music and the band he is building alongside Jon Gus and Victoria Rene Hand, both of whom also come from military-connected families. Curtis says the military community remains central to both his identity and the stories he hopes to tell through his music.
“There’s just a knowing when you meet someone who served,” he says. “Or for my wife, when she meets another military spouse. Those are the people we gravitate toward and those are the people I want the music to resonate with.”
That emotional honesty is perhaps what makes this transition feel so vulnerable.
For someone used to filmmaking, where stories are filtered through cameras, scripts and production, music feels far more exposing for him.
“Music is so vulnerable, especially singing,” Curtis says. “I still get nervous before I perform but I love it and every time it gets better.”
We Are The Mighty had a chance to preview the music. While some songs lean into fun, energy and country swagger, others allow him to perhaps explore the softer side of himself rarely seen before.
RustRiders | Wild Buck Official Music Video
“I’m such a big idiot, and us military guys aren’t really known for our emotional depth,” he joked. “But for some reason the music has allowed me to put my walls down.”
Now, after years of writing, recording and quietly building toward this moment, Curtis is preparing to release his new single and music video, the first major introduction to a musical chapter he never saw coming.
“It’s been almost five years since I found music,” he said. “It’s been an absolute labor of love. Now we just hope people dig it.”
Regardless of what happens next, Curtis already seems to understand something many people spend their entire lives trying to learn: sometimes the most important thing you can do is finally give yourself permission to go full send and make it happen.
“If you truly have something that has been a burning desire inside you,” he implored, “Go for it.”
You can follow RustRiders and Ryan Curtis’ journey into music through their Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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