Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Hackett.
Hi Brandon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Growing up, I was always fascinated by ATVs, snowmobiles, motorcycles, boats, and anything that involved the outdoors and had an engine. We were poor, so we didn’t have much opportunity to enjoy those things, so it was more me watching other people rip down the trail behind our house. Knowing many people in our area and elsewhere would enjoy going out and experiencing these activities but might need help to afford the burdens that ownership has; we decided to start up Throttle RX. We aim to create amazing Recreational eXperiences (RX) that last a lifetime—getting people outdoors and providing them the vessels to explore all the beauty of the Northwoods. All while creating something for my family to enjoy for generations to come. Being on the border of WI and MN and along the Ice Age trail, our area is full of pristine water systems and rustic forests full of adventure and tranquility. Whether looking to go on an adventure to escape the hustle of big city life or just looking to get away and find a peaceful place to be one with nature and watch the stars around a campfire. Our area has something to offer to anyone. Working in the cities, I feel the stress melt away from me every time I am back in the area.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a rocky road (oddly, my favorite ice cream). There have been challenges all along the way, from issues with permits and contractors to thefts and truck fires. Even personal challenges include juggling a more than full-time job at the hospital, other small business endeavors, and becoming a father of 4 exceptional children 4 and under (yes, they are ages 4, 3, 2, and 1, lol). Our oldest son was diagnosed with sagittal craniosynostosis at 6 months old and had near total vault reconstruction surgery at 7 months old, then later diagnosed with autism. We have been through almost everything on this journey.
The most significant bump in the road, however, was one that changed my life forever. It all happened the day I signed the papers to purchase the property we operate out of—leap day. Just a few short hours later, I was being airlifted to North Memorial Hospital. Ironically, I was in a UTV accident while ice fishing with my girlfriend, friends, and family. The same type of vehicle I was revolving my business around.
I remember the machine starting to slide sideways, so I counter-steered, and then the tires caught something, and the machine started to roll. I had enough time to say “what the” then my head hit the ice and I came to with the machine on top of me. I went to pick it off of me like I would do with my much smaller ATV any time I crashed that one, only to quickly realize that the 1,500-pound machine wouldn’t be lifted off easily. I took as big of breath as I could, and all I could feel was my ribs sheering. Luckily, since I was fishing with a group of people, they all came to help get the machine off of me and call an ambulance. When help arrived, all I could say was “hospital.” My cousin recalls me telling him to stop talking because his breath smelled terrible (he says that was the only thing that made him think I would make it.)
I remember almost everything. I recall hearing my uncle arguing with the officer who arrived on the scene who was refusing to let the ambulance leave without drug testing me first. I listened to my uncle sternly tell the driver to get me to the helicopter now. Then he slammed the door shut. I could still hear him yelling at the officer, saying, “he doesn’t even drink; they can do all that at the hospital if he makes it.” It was much more colorfully worded coming from someone with decades of experience as an EMT and a local firefighter. It wasn’t until getting to the chopper that I lost consciousness again. I was trying so hard to keep breathing and fighting not only for myself but my, at the time, 1-year-old son and second unborn child. As hard as I tried, the damage was too significant, and I couldn’t keep up.
Things got a little odd after that. I recall being in and out of consciousness as I arrived at the hospital. Briefly but never fully with it enough to even know where I was. The next thing I remember is being a random head rolling around in darkness for what seemed like an eternity. I thought to myself, is this death? I hope not, and if so, this is stupid, and it sucks. Then, out of nowhere, I was beamed up in a light tube that reminded me of the Thor movie when they were going to Asgard. Next was, for lack of better words, what I would call whiteness. It’s just pure white everywhere. It’s not blinding or anything at all, just white.
As I looked around, I was overcome by this unimaginable and indescribable feeling of complete peace, calmness, tranquility, etc. Then, from the distance, a silhouette of a person approached me. No words were spoken between this being or person and me, but I knew and felt we were communicating. Then I saw its hand reach towards me. I felt it press on my forehead, and it pushed me backward. I felt like I was falling. I recall going from the crisp white to the sky to sun and clouds, then briefly buildings, and boom, I woke up. In an ICU bed, I was intubated. A nurse on my chest doing compressions, and others around me, including my dad and my very pregnant girlfriend. I had coded again. From then on, I was present but couldn’t speak or move. I remember the doctor coming in and asking about organ donation. I tried yelling and twitching, literally anything I could to be like, “Hey! I’m still here!” but couldn’t. I did vow to haunt him if he took my organs for granted he couldn’t hear me. I underwent a life-saving surgery before becoming more capable of being aware of my surroundings. I was relieved to see my girlfriend, father, and “brother,” who had been pulled from his deployment overseas, come to my bedside in case I didn’t make it.
My girlfriend, Brea, who is still with me today, had all of her information transferred to my hospital in the event I was still there when our second son was born. Three weeks later, as I was relearning how to walk, our son was born via high-risk delivery. I was lucky enough to be present for his birth, and he was born two minutes after I got into the room. COVID-19 was starting at the time of his birth, and the hospital tried telling us that visitors would not be allowed. They wanted to kick me out! Thankfully, since I was an inpatient, and guidelines were not in place for inpatient visitors visiting other inpatients, so they allowed me to stay and spend some time with our brand-new baby. Brea and our son were released 4 days before I was, but I still had a long road to recovery. Even to this day, I am still limited by all the injuries I incurred.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I do lots of different things. I work full-time as a pediatric and adult cardiac sonographer. I also own and operate some small businesses. I own Throttle RX Rentals and Throttle Services. I also have a small laser engraving business and a small shirt-making side hustle. Brea has several 3D printers. She makes things and sells them on Etsy and helps with businesses. The Laser engraving and shirt-making all started when a close friend started his business, Knot Normal LLC. He did various woodworking, and I helped with some things and got the laser to engrave some of his projects. The shirt stuff was used to make some of our merch to sell and use for promotional stuff. Throttle RX Rentals is a premier Polaris Adventures outfitter offering side-by-side (UTV) and pontoon rentals in and around Danbury, WI. We love to help our customers explore our area. I was showing them how to get to all the unique areas and local favorites for food, entertainment, crafts, and other points of interest. We even go as far as to create custom routes we can load into the machines for the customer to optimize their adventure without worrying about navigating unfamiliar areas.
Throttle Services is an extension of what we do for our customers and our fleet to the community around us. We offer service work and maintenance for UTVs, ATVs, snowmobiles, boats, and other small engine work like lawnmowers and snow blowers. We also sell and install various accessories and parts. Throttle Services offers trail recoveries to the surrounding area, and depending on the situation, we do mobile repairs if possible.
Cardiac Sonography was something I randomly wound up doing after a different crash. I was talking to the lovely lady assessing me to see what was damaged and inquired about her roles. After some online research, I applied to a cardiac program and was accepted. In the program, there wasn’t much on pediatrics, but the complexity of the congenital lesions and all the ways the body would try to adapt fascinated me. Plus, it was more challenging, which also intrigued me. Once out in the workforce, I pushed my way into pediatrics. I always had a soft spot for working with kids. Growing up, I worked with troubled youth as well as people in group homes. I was assisting with Special Olympics and community integration programs. In a way, I was a troubled youth growing up and always wished I had some guidance. Working with them is my way of giving something I didn’t have.
We do a few other side things, but they are all small. One that had a tiny bit of unexpected success. Brea’s attempt to prove our life could be more interesting since it’s not. She made a TikTok mammaneedsatequila (funny because neither of us drinks, but there are many reasons to need one). There are more, but those are the main ones. The downside of ADHD is you have more ideas than time to complete them.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the culture in all the cities. I am seeing the differences that make each unique and special. What I like best about the city the business is in is the laid-back, small-town vibe. I want the abundance of nature, tranquility, and majesticness of Mother Nature; being a small town far from a big city, it is easy to see the stars at night, and in the fall/winter, you can often see the aurora borealis. Crystal-clear streams and rivers are great for canoeing, kayaking, camping, hiking, fishing, and much more. Our area is covered with wild berry bushes, including raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
Pricing:
- We are currently restructuring this. Still, we offer various options with different price points depending on the duration of the rental and any additional things. For example, we have 2-hour, 4-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour, and multiday options. As well as some packages like Thrills and Chills (UTV ride with tickets to our favorite Halloween attractions) and our river ride experience (UTV rental and canoeing and kayaking).
- Watch our social media and subscribe to our email list for exclusive discounts.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.throttlerentals.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/throttlerxrentals/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/throttlerxrentals
