Not your typical path to success...
Undrafted out of high school,[2] Gattis committed to attend Texas A&M University on a baseball scholarship.[3] Terrified by the prospect of failing at college baseball, Gattis began to self-medicate his anxiety with alcohol and marijuana.[3] Instead of going to college, his mother brought him to a drug rehabilitation facility where he had a 30 day inpatient stay. He then went to Prescott, Arizona, where he had three months of outpatient therapy.[3]
Gattis enrolled at Seminole State College, a junior college in Oklahoma, after receiving a phone call from the team's coach. Gattis redshirted as a freshman and played for half a season in 2006.[3] He injured his knee at Seminole State, became burned out on baseball, and quit.[1]
Wandering
Gattis' first job after quitting baseball was as a parking valet in Dallas.[4] He then visited his sister in Boulder, Colorado, and decided to reside there. He sold his truck and worked in a pizza parlor and for a resort as a ski-lift operator at the Eldora Mountain Resort.[3]
Seven months later, Gattis moved to Dallas with his brother, where they worked as janitors for Datamatics Global Services. He met a spiritual advisor there, and on her advice, he followed her to Taos, New Mexico.[3] There, he lived in a hostel and worked at a ski resort. Three months later, he moved to California to find more spiritual gurus.[3] Gattis also moved to Wyoming, where he worked at Yellowstone National Park.[1]
Return to baseball
Gattis decided to return to baseball in 2010. His step-brother, Drew Kendrick, was a college baseball player at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB). Brian Reinke, the coach of the UTPB Falcons, remembered Gattis from his high school career, and offered him a spot on the team
Undrafted out of high school,[2] Gattis committed to attend Texas A&M University on a baseball scholarship.[3] Terrified by the prospect of failing at college baseball, Gattis began to self-medicate his anxiety with alcohol and marijuana.[3] Instead of going to college, his mother brought him to a drug rehabilitation facility where he had a 30 day inpatient stay. He then went to Prescott, Arizona, where he had three months of outpatient therapy.[3]
Gattis enrolled at Seminole State College, a junior college in Oklahoma, after receiving a phone call from the team's coach. Gattis redshirted as a freshman and played for half a season in 2006.[3] He injured his knee at Seminole State, became burned out on baseball, and quit.[1]
Wandering
Gattis' first job after quitting baseball was as a parking valet in Dallas.[4] He then visited his sister in Boulder, Colorado, and decided to reside there. He sold his truck and worked in a pizza parlor and for a resort as a ski-lift operator at the Eldora Mountain Resort.[3]
Seven months later, Gattis moved to Dallas with his brother, where they worked as janitors for Datamatics Global Services. He met a spiritual advisor there, and on her advice, he followed her to Taos, New Mexico.[3] There, he lived in a hostel and worked at a ski resort. Three months later, he moved to California to find more spiritual gurus.[3] Gattis also moved to Wyoming, where he worked at Yellowstone National Park.[1]
Return to baseball
Gattis decided to return to baseball in 2010. His step-brother, Drew Kendrick, was a college baseball player at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB). Brian Reinke, the coach of the UTPB Falcons, remembered Gattis from his high school career, and offered him a spot on the team