SAN ANTONIO — Nineteen years ago, Reel Recovery started exposing men to fly fishing to take their minds off cancer.
"It delivers those men from their constant thought of being involved with taking care of cancer and being absorbed with cancer," Rafael Torres said.
He got recruited by the late Warren Wolf, who established a branch of the non-profit in Texas in 2007. The Texas group has touched the lives of 500 men since its founding.
"I've had participants from the age of 16, which is pretty young for this program, all the way up to 70s," he said.
While Torres has never had cancer, his parents did. And so have friends and men he's stood beside through Reel Recovery.
"A lot of men are apprehensive about seeking help or being given anything," Torres said.
Nationally, the group puts on 30 free retreats each year for cancer warriors. Six of those weekend getaways are in Texas. Travel is the participants' only expense, and lodging and food get covered.
"I went home one day after this church, and I just kind of passed out," William White said.
White is an Air Force veteran and retired San Antonio police officer. The 58-year-old husband and father got diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer.
"I can't say that a little bit of fear didn't set in because of the unknown," he said. "I had this trust and believe my faith."
White's PSA levels are down, and his cancer is in remission. But during that journey, he never had the chance to connect with men this way.
"This is being around people who've experienced the same thing you've experienced," White said.
He and three other men got invited to a veterans-only retreat at Camp Capers in Waring. Organizers said the participation level became slightly smaller coming out of COVID, and the retreats typically house 14 men.
"They've given their time, lives and blood, sweat and tears for us, you know, protecting our liberty," Torres said.
Friday is check-in day and the beginning of 'Courageous conversations.'
Men share their cancer experience with the group and a professional therapist.
"We (Men) like to keep things inside all bottled up sometimes,"
White said.
There are multiple courageous conversations across the weekend where the sessions become candid and emotional.
Saturday comes with the vest ceremony, where the participants get the fishing vests of men who have come before them.
Names from across the country get written on the vests to show who it is and where it got real—California, Idaho, and, of course, Texas.
"Most of them have come out and survived cancer. A few of them haven't," Torres said.
The men get paired with experienced fly fishers who are called fishing buddies. Their job is to teach the cancer warriors how to fly fish because no experience is required. That's where the magic of Reel Recovery starts to really work.
"It's hard to put into words just how impactful it is," Zach Adair said.
Adair is a science teacher who clears time on his calendar to volunteer for Reel Recovery. He gets paired with White, who knows how to fish but doesn't know to fly fish.
"My main goal for today is just have a good day," he said.
Adair begins his lesson on casting a line as he and White walk into the Guadalupe River. He said someone told him to think of throwing a line like 'Flicking a tomato' off a reel.
White takes his first try. Audibly, he said, "Tomato on a stick."
Torres, once a fishing buddy too, said the men start to bond---that's the real blessing.
"It was more the interpersonal relationship that each of these fishing buddies will develop with their participants," he said. "And it's just beautiful."
When the men catch a fish, they take a picture and release it. The triumph of catching a fish brings joy, laughter, and support.
"Rejuvenates the inner man," White said. "And that's what it did to me---rejuvenate my spirit."
On Sunday, the men do a closing ceremony where it's obvious their haul is more than a weekend retreat. Some things need to be experienced rather than written.
The group's mantra is 'Be Well. Fish on.' And they are looking for men recovering from cancer to cast a line and catch some brotherhood.
Reel Recovery can get contacted at 800-699-4490 or infor@reelrecovery.org.