Active duty father, mountain ultrarunner, photographer and lover of nature.
My name is Gabriel Fanelli and I am a father of three. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and joined the Army out of Santa Barbara. Before joining the Army I was a TA for the Middle East Studies department at Santa Barbara City College – and this is where I started my lifelong journey with Arabic. Now 10 years into the Army and I am fluent in 5 different dialects of Arabic and continue to be passionate about the region.
Over my career in the Army I have done many things, from infantryman to teaching Arabic at the Defense Language Institute, to SOT-A team sergeant here at 3rd Group.
No matter what job I am doing, one constant remains – my desire to retreat into the woods whenever possible to recharge my soul. I’ve spent years in the Yosemite backcountry and in the coastal mountains of Big Sur finding out what it means to be connected to nature in a way that heals your soul. At the same time I’ve used my wilderness adventures to perfect my passion for landscape photography and I’ve had my photography featured by numerous National and State Park organizations.
My other wilderness activity is ultrarunning, and I’ve competed in over a dozen trail ultramarathons. Lastly, I have a passion for people and helping them overcome things they may think impossible – like depression, PTS, and anxiety. I have experienced all of them and if it weren’t for a strong connection to nature, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I believe in the healing power of nature and I want to share that with as many people as I can.