Chris Hansen

Chris Hansen is the Founder and Director of Time On The Water. Chris’ idea for Time On The Water started in 2013 after he realized how much fishing helped his anxiety from a TBI in April 2012.  The TBI was caused by a fall while roller blading with one of his rescue dogs, a pitbull mix named Jeffrey. Chris’ head injury was so bad that doctors thought he had been beat up. At Regions Hospital, Chris was put into an induced coma for 30 days and spent another 36 days in therapy. Struggling with PTSD, Chris was now experiencing levels of stress and anxiety he didn’t understand. Chris turned to his passion of fishing to start the healing process.

Chris had been fishing Lake of the Woods, Sioux Narrows Ontario, Canada since 1988 with his uncles and friends. After the accident, Chris started taking trips to Canada with just his service dog, McGradie. This was time away from the day-to-day stressors for Chris to get his head clear and allow him time to think about how to heal from the accident. Slowly Chris began to heal emotionally and physically.  By the end of the 2013 fishing season, Kim, Chris’s girlfriend at the time, noticed these fishing trips were actually helping Chris.

Chris knew he could help others by getting them out on the water. In the beginning Chris didn’t know how he could help or who he could help, but he knew he was on to something to befriend, support, and serve others.  In 2014 Chris read an article about the emotional and physical suffering some of our military Heroes endure daily.  Chris wanted to find a way to show his appreciation for their service and help relieve some of their struggles through fishing. Chris knew he wanted to take these Heroes to Lake of The Woods because of the magic this part of the world offers. Because of his this injury, he was now helping others. Chris’s injury actually changed his life for the better.

2015: Time On The Water becomes a 501©3 Non Profit!

Eventually Chris recognized our First Responders were also experiencing similar struggles and could benefit from these fishing trips. Many times our First Responders are also Veterans.

It is an honor to take these Heroes fishing to the GREATEST LAKE IN THE WORLD to help them settle their thoughts, relieve stress, anxiety, and show them how much we appreciate what they do and have done for our county and our communities.

In addition to donations, Chris relies on his Real Estate business to fund these fishing trips. Chris is a Licensed Realtor with Lakes Area Realty in Minnesota and Wisconsin.