Its In Your Head

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About Us

Our Board

Hunter LaFave

Founder, President, & CEO
Hunter founded It’s In Your Head in 2019 after successfully fighting cancer. When he couldn’t find the support he needed both during and after treatment, he went searching across the world for the skills to regain and maintain his health. A certified yoga and breathwork instructor, behavior change specialist, and sports nutrition coach, Hunter utilized what he learned in survival along with formal training to lead his team in developing the B.R.E.A.T.H. Method. His passion is teaching from his experiences so others don’t have to go through the same struggles.

Dr. Carl Bridges

Vice President
Dr. Carl Bridges is a seasoned leader in higher education with decades of experience helping people expand how they think, learn, and grow, exactly the heart of It’s In Your Head. As Assistant to the President for Special Projects at Danville Area Community College and a former provost, vice president, and dean across major institutions, he brings a rare blend of academic leadership and real-world insight. Dr. Bridges has designed courses, built student success and retention programs, and led accreditation and online learning initiatives that put people first.

Carrie Hay LSW

Secretary
Carrie is a Licensed Social Worker on an interdisciplinary team at the University of Illinois, where she provides individual therapy to clients through The Village CU. She’s also Co-Founder of Luella's Lodge, which provides support to grieving parents. Most importantly, she loves her family obsessively. Carrie loves the personal mission and lived experience fueling the fire for IIYH, intersecting with Hunter and his team's genuine care for the health and well-being of others, as well as the authenticity of IIYH and how approachable and effective the methods are.

Ethan Darby

Treasurer
Ethan is a dedicated family man and successful entrepreneur who, alongside his brothers, owns and operates two manufacturing companies, ten funeral homes across three states, two cemeteries, and a sign shop. As a loving husband and proud father of two daughters, he finds balance and joy in his spare time through hiking, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, and exploring new destinations with his family. A resilient stage 4 cancer warrior, Ethan continues to face life’s challenges with strength, determination, and an unwavering commitment to his loved ones and businesses.

Our Story

It’s In Your Head was born from lived experience. Founder Hunter LaFave spent over a decade working in the high-pressure offshore oil and gas industry, where he witnessed firsthand the toll that unaddressed mental and emotional health can take, losing friends to self-harm, addiction, and tragedy along the way. The weight of those losses, combined with the relentless demands of the job, quietly pushed Hunter into his own battles with depression, anxiety, and addiction. On the outside, he appeared to have it together. On the inside, he was barely holding on.

When a stage 3 cancer diagnosis arrived in 2017, it forced a reckoning that went far beyond physical illness. Facing months of chemotherapy, radiation, and multiple surgeries, Hunter realized that surviving would require more than medical treatment – it would require a complete transformation in how he was living. He stopped waiting for the system to hand him answers and started building them himself. A pivotal trip to Thailand before his first surgeries sparked a deep dive into nutrition, nervous system regulation, and the science of sustainable daily habits. What he discovered changed the entire trajectory of his life.

In remission, Hunter traveled the world to deepen his practice and sharpen his skills. Through 10-day silent meditation retreats, intensive trainings, and leading mindfulness experiences along the trails of the Himalayan mountains, he developed and refined the self-care framework that would become the foundation of It’s In Your Head. These tools were forged under pressure, tested against adversity, and proven to work for everyone from toddlers to time-wisened elders pushing 100.

Since 2021, It’s In Your Head has brought these tools to over 10,000 people across a wide range of communities: students and teachers in public schools and colleges, corporate teams, police officers and firefighters, office workers, bereaved parents, and beyond. No matter the background or circumstance, the results speak for themselves: people feeling more in control, more resilient, and more hopeful about their health and their future. Our mission is to make these skills accessible to anyone who needs them, because the capacity to heal and grow isn’t found somewhere out there – it’s in your head.

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