If life would have gone the way he wanted and the gun would have gone off the way he planned, a then 19-year-old Bryan Martin would be on his way to a much different place than he

is right now. But instead, the 35-year-old breakout country artist is here, turning his stories of past struggles into the ultimate tale of survival.

And he ain’t going nowhere.

Martin’s story begins in the small town of Logansport, Louisiana, in a small church where the kid with the big heart first began to sing. He grew up singing hymns and spirituals created to heal

the broken, but his true essence came out when the four-year-old would tear into the fun-loving lyrics of the Billy Ray Cyrus classic “Achy Breaky Heart.”

He kept singing covers from the likes of legendary country music artists such as George Strait until the sport of bull riding caught Martin’s eye. The curious teenager at the time pursued the

sport with a passion while also working in the Louisiana hay fields, eventually making enough money to buy his first car – a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer.

But sometimes, Martin would retreat to the woods across the street from the double-wide trailer he called his house, and he would sit underneath the trees and bask in the peace that he could

never find at the home he was raised in. And in those quiet moments, he would often notice a measurable amount of pain pouring from his heart.

“I still find myself wanting to go back to that spot.”

Soon, Martin found himself giving in to temptations such as drugs and alcohol, resulting in the decision to drop out of high school and clean up his life in the military. But soon, he was sent

home – and the feeling of failure led Martin to ultimately attempt suicide.

“I took 30 Percocet and misfired a 357 when I was 19 years old. My first song came from a suicide note.”

The very next day, Martin met his wife, took a job on a rig, and eventually became a father to four forgiving kids who knew that their dad battled his share of demons each day, but continued

to work hard to make the best out of a somewhat painful life.