Mike De Geus grew up in a tiny town. He and his four brothers all found their ways into lives of public service. Mike, after building success as an entrepreneur, found his outlet to public service through becoming a Secret Service Agent. For 12 years, Mike traveled the world on special assignments or dug in to his own town to act as the Lead Agent on a presidential detail. 

Mike has since left the Secret Service to return to his entrepreneurial calling – but he brought his sense of service with him. His two companies are centered on providing invaluable support and protection to those who find themselves in life-or-death situations, or are reeling from the economic fallout from mandated COVID lockdowns.

Mike was still working for the Secret Service when he saw footage of a campus shooting. 

Coupled with the story his own brother shared from a shooting incident he experienced as a police officer, Mike felt a bolt of inspiration as to how he could be a part of saving lives in incidents like that.

It struck Mike that almost every student shown fleeing the campus shooter had a backpack on. What if, thought Mike, those students could have used their backpacks as protection?

Leatherback Gear was conceptualized at that moment. Today it is securely established as an innovative and essential company providing protection to otherwise defenseless students.

It’s not a “fix” to the real issue of violence, but it is a step toward decreasing the casualties in those incidents. 

In addition to Leatherback Gear, Mike De Geus launched HERO Beverage.

HERO stands for Help Keep Everyone Operational. The company crafts specialty coffees geared to help people raise money and support their communities. By donating a portion of proceeds to designated charities, Mike is able to fulfill some of the requests for help that pour in on a regular basis.