MANSFIELD — Zach Caudill’s life revolved around service.
Before launching an energy drink company, Caudill spent more than a decade serving in the military, including time with the 164th Cyberspace Operations Squadron (part of the 179th Airlift Squadron) at the Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base.
His work as a loadmaster took him around the world aboard a C-130 cargo aircraft, transporting supplies, equipment and personnel.
As he considered his future, Caudill realized his greatest ambition wasn’t becoming a military pilot. It was becoming a father.
However, Caudill’s dream and the loss that followed led him down a different path.
He and his wife, Kate, lost their son Archie (who was stillborn before in late 2024. The future they had imagined for their family changed in an instant.
The loss left Caudill searching for a new sense of purpose. He couldn’t change what had happened, he said, but he could choose how he lived moving forward.
He decided to build something that would make his son proud — a commitment that eventually led him to create Battle Flow.
“I decided that I was just gonna live the rest of my life in a way that would have made Archie proud. That became my purpose,” Caudill said.
Battle Flow became a way to channel grief into something positive.
A decade of service
Caudill grew up in a military family and knew from a young age that he wanted to serve.
His original plan was to enlist, use military education benefits to finish college and become military pilot.
His work at Mansfield’s 164th Squadron, which is now the Cyberspace Wing, took him to 26 countries by the age 26.
Caudill remembers one mission at just 21 where ISIS was mortaring a runway and firing rockets toward an aircraft taking off. His crew witnessed an attack on the helicopter ahead of them before they took off.
“It was very scary, I mean I was terrified,” Caudill said.
The experience also introduced him to a new feeling that became the idea behind his company: flow state.
Caudill remembers a feeling of intense focus while his crew navigated the dangerous situation. Upon returning home, he researched this feeling called “flow state,” to have hyper-focus and deep engagement in an activity.
Caudill eventually met Kate while attending Ohio State University, but deployments became more difficult as their relationship grew and he worried if being away from family would become easier.
“More than a pilot, I’ve just always wanted to be a dad. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Caudill said.
He made the difficult decision to leave the military after more than 10 years and be present for the family he hoped to build.
Finding purpose after loss
Caudill and his wife were pregnant in 2024, but their son died before he was born in late 2024. They named him Archie.
He said the months that followed were the lowest in his life. He said even now, grief can surface unexpectedly.
Caudill started to look for ways to direct his energy into something meaningful. He took time to work on his health and ended up losing 35 pounds, completed a Spartan race in the top 6% and volunteered at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Balancing a corporate job, working out and making time for family left Caudill drained by the end of the day even after drinking energy drinks.
He started looking for alternatives that gave him energy and focus without the added ingredients to avoid, a feeling that could give flow state. That’s when he started to develop Battle Flow.
Battle Flow is an energy drink with caffeine and nootropics without artificial flavors, sugars and dyes. Caudill wanted his memory of intense concentration he experienced in the military to capture what Battle Flow should feel like.
Rebuilding work, life and family
Caudill launched Battle Flow at the Arnold Sports Festival in March 2026 and the business soared. The company sold out of Battle Flow after the first 75 days and is now sold in about 50 locations. He worked day and night to perfect the drink.
“I would just like walk over to a hotel lobby and sit down my computer work on Battle Flow to like two in the morning,” Caudill said.
He and his wife worked endlessly while they prepared for the arrival of their son, Miles.
Miles recently turned one, and Caudill said becoming a father has given him another reason to keep pushing forward.
“After we lost Archie, we had sort of this heartbreak and an anger. Then that sort of turned into love in a way. Then having Miles has been just sort of like a fire to provide for him, and between those two fuels, I guess it’s just been like this huge wave that’s just pushing us forward every day,” Caudill said.
Caudill’s commitment to service and making a difference continues, just in a different way. He hopes his experience can help someone facing tragedy find a positive way forward. Battle Flow was Caudill’s promise to keep moving forward.
“Even if you never try the drink, that’s okay,” Caudill said. “I really would get so much more out of if I knew that somebody heard my story and they were inspired.”
