Ryan Del Grosso on Fitness, Service and Life After Lymphoma Treatment
After lymphoma treatment, Del Grosso says training and community helped him regain a sense of agency. His story also spans leadership, service and sport.
For Ryan Del Grosso, fitness has been a source of structure through demanding work, service to others and cancer treatment. He says training gave him experience working through difficult challenges, but his account also shows its limits: exercise supported his sense of agency during treatment; it was not a substitute for medical care.
Del Grosso grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where his parents had previously served in the Air Force. He was in fifth grade during the September 11, 2001 attacks and says that period influenced his decision to serve. Films including Black Hawk Down, Annapolis and Into the Wild also helped shape his interest in attending school out west. He eventually entered the Air Force Academy, coming from a rural Ohio school without connections to service academies.
At the academy, classmates who had already served became an important source of support. Del Grosso admired their maturity and confidence, and says learning from them left him with a lasting respect for what each person can bring to a team. That lesson carried into his work in special tactics, which began with a two-and-a-half-year training program. As a class leader and officer candidate, he learned to recognize people’s strengths and help them work together under physical and mental pressure.
Leadership measured by what others achieve
Del Grosso served in Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, commanded teams on three deployments and took part in Joint Special Operations Command exercises. Yet he says his proudest memories are often about helping colleagues succeed. Over several years, he wrote and advocated for two Silver Star medals to be upgraded for a fellow operator. He also mentored a younger team member through the planning needed to lead a large operation involving several forces.
Those experiences shaped his view of leadership: a leader’s contribution can include helping others earn recognition or prepare for responsibility. That emphasis on developing teammates began in training and continued throughout his career.
Finding ways to serve after leaving the uniform
After his service, Del Grosso earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and continued working with veterans and other communities. He served on the board of Huts for Vets, a Colorado nonprofit that offers veterans and active-duty service members wilderness therapy retreats at no cost. He also served as its chairman before stepping down to make room for new board members. He says participating in the organization helped him heal and broadened his understanding of how to support other veterans.
Del Grosso also co-founded IMPCT Group, an agency and strategic advisory firm working at the intersection of business innovation, social impact and brand growth. He says he wanted his work to reflect his values, with an organization’s purpose influencing both its goals and the way it pursues them.
During his time at Harvard, he took part in an MBA fellowship with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. His interest in sport grew from personal experience: distance running, wrestling and training had helped him find community, test himself and pursue opportunities. He wanted to help others access some of those possibilities. The fellowship offered a way to connect that goal with the role sport had played in his own life.
Training during lymphoma treatment
In March 2026, Del Grosso was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His treatment included surgery, placement of a port and chemotherapy. He tried to keep training as part of his routine with support from Be Fit, Be Well, a group that provided trainers, community and progress tracking during his cancer journey.
He describes the group’s patience as meaningful, including on days when he arrived frustrated. At times, he used a sled push to work through that frustration; the trainers made room for him to do so. His experience is personal and does not establish that exercise improves lymphoma outcomes. Treatment needs and the amount or type of activity a person can manage vary. Anyone considering activity during cancer care can discuss what is appropriate with their oncology team.
One month after finishing chemotherapy, Del Grosso climbed a Colorado mountain reaching 14,000 feet. He says the climb was slow and difficult, and that he considered quitting. Completing a challenge he had chosen helped him feel that his body belonged to him again and gave him a sense of control as he began to look beyond treatment.
Looking ahead and advice for veterans
Del Grosso, a husband and father, is now looking toward the Military World Games, scheduled for summer 2027. He sees the event as a chance to share stories of strength and show that veterans can continue contributing to their communities.
His advice to people leaving service is to give themselves time before expecting to have their next chapter fully mapped out. He suggests thinking about what matters, identifying where they would like to contribute, and connecting with people already doing work they believe in. Experience gained in service, he says, can be useful in places a person may not have considered.
Del Grosso’s account points to a practical idea: routines, teammates and meaningful goals can help people navigate change. For anyone facing cancer treatment, those supports may be worth discussing with their care team, alongside questions about safe activity and recovery. Del Grosso can be followed on LinkedIn.
M&F Senior Military Editor Rob Wilkins contributed to the original Fit to Serve article.
