New HeartSupport board member Bryan Fevold brings personal perseverance to his role

“Your future is yours to keep or lose. Whatever dark place you’re in, no matter how hopeless, no matter how painful, HeartSupport is there with open arms!”

— Bryan Fevold

We’ve introduced you to Bryan Fevold before, sharing how he is fighting for mental health while also fighting stage 4 brain cancer. Today, we’re reintroducing him as HeartSupport’s newest board member!

Bryan Fevold has been a diehard supporter of HeartSupport for two years now, but he’s been a heavy metal fan for much longer.

“Junior High is where it began,” he explains. “I listened to a lot of Metallica, Ozzy and Black Sabbath. When Korn released their debut album in 1994, I came unglued! That album is forever in my top 10.”

The energy and emotion continued to captivate him through the following generations of heavy music — including in bands like Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Slipknot, and of course, August Burns Red. As a photographer in the Denver area, Bryan says he constantly has August Burns Red blaring across his speakers when he’s editing photos or doing therapy.

Reflecting on what he connects to about their music, Bryan says, “It’s the powerful lyrics of pains and triumphs throughout their songs and lives, the rhythm guitars, the solos, the spine-punching bass and drums, and of course the goosebump-inducing growls and screams!”

And Bryan Fevold knows his fair share about pains and triumphs. In 2022, he was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. Because of the severity of his illness, the first doctor gave Bryan just 16 months to live. Immediately, Bryan became determined to prove predictions wrong.

“My wife, Lynn and I looked at each other, and without hardly saying anything at all, we decided then and there that it wasn't his decision to make. We were going to fight with everything we had,” Bryan recalls.

They quickly found that their two most crucial weapons in the fight were the same cornerstones that HeartSupport centers around: metal music and community. Bryan leaned into music on the hard days. At the same time, Bryan and his wife became surrounded by a community of friends and family who went out of their way to offer compassion, support, and care. Even as the battle dragged out from weeks to months to years, that fierce band of allies continued to show up for the Fevolds.

“For weeks, then months, then years, family and friends came rushing toward us to do whatever they could to help us out when we needed it most,” Bryan fondly remembers. “What a wonderful feeling, to be surrounded with love like that!”

That experience lit a fire in the music listener to pay that support forward.

He says, “The sad reality is, not everyone has a support team like we’ve had. I think that’s a big part of what drives me to help others. I know firsthand how dark your world can get and what support does to bring life back to light.”

When Bryan encountered HeartSupport at an August Burns Red concert, he knew that they shared the same dream of lighting up the worlds of those who were stuck in the dark. He personally chatted with a few members of August Burns Red, hearing their passion and having the omnipresent HeartSupport t-shirts explained. Shortly thereafter, he read Jake Luhrs’s book Mountains.

That’s all it took for Bryan to be all in. 

“HeartSupport is such a unique approach to mental health awareness,” Bryan says. “I feel like the metal music platform reaches out to a group of people that may not have felt like they had a place for their struggles to be heard. I found it really inspiring. HeartSupport felt like a community that I had so much in common with.”

Bryan Fevold didn’t just want to become a donor himself. He took things a step forward, arranging fundraisers and inviting his family and friends into HeartSupport’s work. He found that it began to open natural conversations about mental health with friends and family members. And in the HeartSupport team, he found community and kindred spirits.

“My new friends I have made at HeartSupport are so in sync with everything that healing the scene requires: the process of shining a spotlight on mental health, bringing awareness, creative thoughts on how to start those conversations, and how to fundraise so we can continue with our mission,” Bryan shares. “Everyone cares so much about helping, it’s incredible to be a part of something so profound!”

When HeartSupport was recruiting new board members, Bryan was a natural fit given how deeply familiar with and committed to the work he already was. He’s starting out 2025 in his new role, committed to continuing his mission of connecting others with the kind of support that has sustained him while fighting for his life. 

“I know what depression and despair feel like,” the advocate reiterates. “I would tell anyone that’s in that dark place today that your future is yours, to keep or lose. Whatever dark place you’re in, no matter how hopeless, no matter how painful, HeartSupport is here for you! This family is something special, and we want you to be part of it.”