The story behind Hap House — the name, the mission, and the guy who built it.

Hap is an old English word — rooted in Old Norse — meaning good luck, good fortune, the chance that things turn out well. It's the root of happy, happen, and hapless. It's also the root of mishap.

A brain injury is a mishap. Something that happened — on the field, in the game, in the years of accumulated hits — that took hap away. Cognitive decline, behavioral changes, relationships strained past their limits, careers that became impossible to sustain. The good fortune of the life that was being built, gone because of what the game did to you.

Hap House exists for one reason: to bring hap back.

The good fortune. The happiness. The life.

Hap House is a psychedelic facilitation practice built specifically for former athletes living with brain injuries sustained during their playing days. The conventional western medical model — neurologists, pharmaceuticals, talk therapy — didn't work for most of them. Hap House offers a different path: psychedelic facilitation, nutritional support, and lifestyle guidance, conducted in a legal, regulated setting in Colorado.

The goal isn't symptom management. It starts with acknowledging the brain injury — what it is, what it's taken — and moves toward acceptance and meaningful change. Quality of life. Reconnecting with who you are and what's still possible. A fuller, happier life on the other side.

Kevin Bishop — Founder, Hap House

After a highly decorated high school career as one of the top players in Florida, Kevin Bishop played linebacker at the University of Maryland. The trajectory was there. Three torn knee ligaments ended it before it could go anywhere. After football, he moved on — stepped away from the game, stopped following it. Then CTE brought it back to him.

He and his wife had built a design and marketing agency in Chicago from scratch — nearly two decades of work, a career he was proud of. The first sign was an inability to focus — sitting at the computer for a full day and getting an hour of work done. Maybe two. Then it got worse. Rage. Paranoia. Lashing out. Deep depression. Anxiety. Suicidal ideations.

He did what you're supposed to do. Saw the specialists. Tried the medications. Went through the protocols. Some of the best in the country. Nothing took.

Three years ago, Kevin tried something different. A week of psychedelic medicine in a legal, regulated setting in Colorado — four sessions over several days. What the medicine does is hard to put into words. The rage lifted. The depression loosened. The underlying trauma, unresolved for years, finally had somewhere to go.

It wasn't a cure. It was a clearing. And from that clearing, Kevin built Hap House — to offer former athletes the path he couldn't find when he needed it most.

Education & Licensing

• Trained at the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness, Boulder, CO — NMHA Licensed Psilocybin Facilitator, State of Colorado
• B.A., University of Maryland, College Park — Go Terps.
• MBA, Brand Strategy — DePaul University