WILMINGTON — Scott Fortune, a 1989 Wilmington High School graduate, recently launched his business Fortune International Supplement with his friend and fellow Wilmington grad, Shawn Logan, Class of 1988.

The company sells supplements for general health, weight loss, sports nutrition, and other needs.

According to the company’s website, Fortune, along with his wife Almira and longtime friend and business partner Logan, launched the company. Fortune, a retired Master Sergeant of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, “nurtured the dream of building a supplement company,” according to the website. Fortune and his wife currently live in Phoenix, Arizona. Logan now resides in Lake Elsinore, California.

Fortune told the News Journal he and Logan, who served in the U.S. Air Force, developed the business idea and others while both were stationed in California in the 1990s.

The two have a long history given that they met at a young age.

“(Logan and I) met when we were 4 or 5. We used to play in the pee wee baseball fast pitch league,” said Fortune. “We’ve owned a few businesses over the years. He’s the vice president of my leadership and supplement company.”

The leadership company — Leadership Fortune International Seminar — is about helping individuals to leave their comfort zone and achieve their goals and dreams, according to Fortune.

“It was based on the five-paragraph operation orders that we used in the military for missions we had,” he said.

Fortune researched the industry, consulting with experts and conducting market analysis, along with Logan.

Fortune’s motivation included personal familial experience. Fortune lost his father to heart-related issues. His mother had open-heart surgery. Long lost his parents to serious health-related issues. The website indicates these things “reinforced (Fortune and Long’s) commitment to promoting health and wellness supplements that positively impact overall well-being.”

The two remained dedicated to the prospect despite setbacks they faced, including the COVID-19 pandemic. They looked for innovative solutions to certified and approved manufacturing facilities, made in America, all the while making it affordable.

Fortune’s journey saw him face a lot of challenges, including a time when he and his family were living out of the family station wagon in his grandmother’s driveway. Around the sixth grade, Fortune, his father, and his siblings ended up in this spot after his parents divorced, his father lost his job, and their house was foreclosed on.

“They (unsure if it was people from the bank or somewhere else) just started moving stuff out of our house,” he said. “People thought we were having a yard sale. My dad had to chase them off.”

They also had help from friends, other family members, and members of their church during this time. He noted they would stay in their grandmother’s house but only when there was room available — at times there wasn’t enough space for them. While at his grandmother’s house, he recalls having to get up early to get ready for school. This was so no one on the school bus would see how he and his family were living.

His family eventually moved into the apartments near Wilmington College, being among the first tenants to move in.

On the supplement company’s website, they state their mantra is: “Aim high. Chase your dreams. Achieve greatness, while adding value to as many people along the way as possible.”

Fortune wants to deliver a similar message to anyone else in a similar spot he was in, especially kids.

“In order to make it, we need to make that step of getting out of our comfort zone,” he said. “Acknowledge the obstacles in life but do not give them power. Obstacles are not just obstacles. They’re divine intervention to help get you on the right track,” he said.

He also wants people to never stop dreaming.

“I’m 53 and I’m still dreaming,” he said.

To learn more about Fortune’s new business, visit fisprohealth.com.

Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574