In a time when less than 1% of Americans serve, one creator has become an unexpected bridge between the military and the public — not through politics or messaging, but through unforgettable storytelling. In this exclusive interview with Sam Eckholm, Military.com got to peek behind the camera to see what really drives him.
When Sam Eckholm talks about what he does, he doesn’t use words like “influencer,” “brand,” or “platform.” He uses a simpler one: storyteller.
And in an era where military service is often misunderstood, reduced to headlines, or overshadowed by political noise, Eckholm’s mission feels both rare and necessary.
“We’re never going to stray from authentic storytelling,” Eckholm told Military.com. “At the end of the day, good authentic storytelling wins out.”
A New Voice for a Rare Community
In a nation of more than 330 million people, only 0.6% serve on active duty. Even when you include the Guard, Reserves, and veterans, most Americans will never set foot on a base, ride in the back of a jet, or watch a special tactics team train up close.
Sam Eckholm knows this acutely — because at 18, he was searching for that very glimpse.
“I remember going on Google and typing ‘day in the life Air Force Academy’ or ‘what is this job?’ And there really wasn’t much out there,” he said. “No one was making the style of content that showcased the military the way it deserved.”
Today, millions of people who have never worn a uniform now get that glimpse because of him.
“We want the unit to be proud to share it. If they’re proud, we’ve done the story right.”
From Cadet to Global Storyteller
Eckholm didn’t begin as a filmmaker. He came from a military family, both his father and uncle were Academy graduates, but he didn’t take the stereotypical path.
He started college imagining he’d become a pilot or engineer. Instead, mock trial and public speaking drew him toward legal studies. By graduation, he’d integrated his passion for photography, video, and strategic communication, and earned one of the few public affairs slots out of the Air Force Academy.
That assignment changed everything.
At Langley Air Force Base, he discovered the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, a once-in-a-lifetime role that would send him TDY nearly 300 days a year, documenting the world’s most advanced fighter jet up close. For two years, he was the lens through which the world saw the Raptor.
“That’s where I really honed my skills,” he said. “My whole job was telling the story of that team.”
When he left active duty, that mission didn’t stop. It only got bigger.
Becoming a Guide — Not the Star
Ask Eckholm how he balances being the face of the channel with keeping the story focused on those who serve, and he laughs.
“I don’t want it to be about me,” he said. “I want to be the host, the guide, but never the story.”
But part of authenticity is presence. His team often reminds him: viewers relate to him, and that connection enables them to enter unfamiliar military worlds. So, Sam sees himself as a guide — someone who brings emotion and relatability into environments that otherwise appear superhuman.
Like the time he pulled 9.5 G’s in the backseat of an F-16.
“If you watch a demo pilot fly, they're world class at what they do and it looks like they’re in a commercial airliner,” he said. “But when viewers see me with my face melting and passing out — it shows what these pilots actually endure.”
That relatability becomes an emotional doorway to understanding.
“We spotlight the heroes who deserve to have their stories told — people who otherwise might never be seen.”
The Stories Behind the Stories
What makes Eckholm’s videos unique isn’t the aircraft, the bases, or the elite units he embeds with. It’s the people.
“The military is full of everyday Americans,” he said. “People think you have to be someone extraordinary to serve. But service members come from all walks of life.”
His goal is to help viewers, whether teenagers, spouses, veterans, or civilians, see themselves in those stories.
That connection — between the everyday American and the everyday service member — is exactly what Eckholm is trying to build.
Because that connection is disappearing. And in a country where so few serve, it’s needed more than ever.
Creating Clarity in a Complex Institution
Modern military life is complicated. Acronyms. Technology. Missions spanning the Arctic to the Pacific. Eckholm’s videos bridge that complexity for a general audience.
“We peel back the layers and tell the story in a way anyone can understand — whether you’re a four-star general or a first-time viewer,” he said. “We have to get that balance right.”
That balance also includes operational security (OPSEC), which is something Sam and his team take seriously.
All of their videos undergo multiple rounds of review, and sometimes sit for two or three months before release. It’s the cost of trust.
“Our entire business is built on reputation,” he said. “We don’t get invited back unless units are proud of the story we tell.”
Expanding the Mission — From U.S. Bases to NATO and Beyond
What began with Air Force content has now become a worldwide storytelling effort.
This year alone, Eckholm’s team filmed with:
- NATO forces in Iceland
- The Royal Air Force in the U.K.
- The Swedish Navy
- Units across every branch of the U.S. military
But the biggest shift is who’s now calling him. NATO asked his team to tell a story designed not for recruiting, but for global understanding. Lockheed Martin used one of his F-35 films on Capitol Hill to explain the jet to congressional staffers.
These aren’t just YouTube videos. They’re shaping public understanding at every level, from teenagers to defense leaders.
“It’s surreal,” he said. “We started by telling cool stories. Now these stories are having real-world impact.”
Flying the U-2 Spy Plane 70,000 Feet to the Edge of Space
The Road Ahead
With a full production team, a new studio in San Francisco, and representation from one of the world’s biggest talent agencies, Eckholm is already looking beyond YouTube.
A streaming series?
Partnerships with major studios?
“Possibly,” he says. “But the core mission won’t change. We’re going to keep telling powerful stories that highlight the men and women who serve.”
Even as he expands into civilian transportation, international militaries, and highly complex exercises, the heart of his mission remains constant:
- Show the world who America’s service members truly are.
- Make the military human again.
- Tell stories that deserve to be told.
“Service members deserve to be highlighted. They deserve their stories told — and told well.” — Sam Eckholm
A Storyteller for the 1% — and the 99% Who Don’t Serve
Sam Eckholm isn’t just making videos. He’s filling a national gap — one that grows wider every year as fewer Americans serve, fewer military families exist, and fewer civilians understand what life in uniform actually looks like.
And right now, in the United States, that gap is turning into a divide. Public confidence in the military, once the most trusted institution in America, is slipping amidst political polarization, social media misinformation, and nonstop national tension.
Most Americans support the military in theory, but many don’t actually know anyone who serves anymore. That disconnect matters. Because when the military feels distant, the people who serve become abstractions, symbols used in political arguments rather than human beings with stories, families, and individual sacrifices.
Eckholm is closing that distance, one story at a time. By bringing viewers into cockpits, onto submarines, inside cyber units, alongside NATO forces, and into high-pressure training environments, he’s accomplishing something that no press release or recruiting slogan can do:
- He’s making the military real again.
- Human again.
- Understandable again.
And in a country where service is increasingly rare and increasingly misunderstood, that work isn’t just creative. It’s necessary.
In a moment where America feels divided, disconnected, and often unsure of itself, Sam Eckholm is building one of the few bridges that still unite us:
A bridge made of stories — the stories of the men and women who serve.
