Why We Started AOG Off Grid

Every business has a story. Ours starts with a pair of working hands and a habit of figuring things out.

Education First

Before any of this began, our founder studied Applied Computers at RIT and Networking Systems at Hocking College. That technical foundation combined with years of hands-on trade work would later become the backbone of AOG Off Grid. Not just a guy with a website, but someone who understands both how things are built and how systems work.

Hands That Build

Our founder spent years as a carpenter on a crew that built houses from the ground up. Foundation first, then framing, then windows and doors, dry box it in, and move on to the next one. That work teaches you something you cannot learn from a book: how things actually go together, and how to solve a problem when the plan meets the real world.

That background never left him. It shows up in everything AOG Off Grid does today.

The Ministry Years

He served as an Appalachian Immersion Intern at Good Works, a ministry in Athens County, Ohio, serving people in rural poverty. Nearly four years of formative work, cut short near the end by an accident that nobody plans for. It was some of the most impactful time of his life, and it was there that his resourcefulness really showed itself.

Two projects from those years stand out above the rest.

The first was fabricating a maple syrup arch from used bed frames and plate metal, then using it to make maple syrup completely from scratch. He tapped the trees, collected the sap, fired the arch, ran the evaporator, and bottled the finished syrup. The only pieces he did not make himself were the evaporator pan, the filters, and the jars. Everything else came from his own two hands and whatever material he could find. He even co-hosted a community workshop teaching others the entire process start to finish.

The second was building a 9 Square in the Air court from complete fabrication. If you have not seen it, picture a cross between volleyball and 4 square played up in the air across nine elevated squares. He designed and built the whole structure from scratch. It became a standing fixture at the ministry and remains there to this day, bringing people from every background together around a game that needs no explanation once you start playing. That is the power of something built well. It outlasts the builder and keeps bringing people in.

Around the ministry he became the go-to person for creative solutions. Somewhere along the way he picked up the nickname the Chainsaw Whisperer. When something needed fixing, building, or figuring out, he was the one people came to.

A Turn in the Road

Near the end of his time with the ministry, a motorcycle accident left him with a broken fibula. Time off your feet has a way of making you think. During that stretch, the idea that would become AOG Solutions started to take shape.

What AOG Stands For

AOG stands for Armor of God. Those values are the foundation of everything we build here. We believe in doing honest work, treating people right, and standing behind what we sell. This is not a faceless dropship storefront. It is a business built by someone with real roots in rural Ohio and a genuine commitment to the off-grid community.

Who We Serve

AOG Off Grid exists for the entire off-grid community. Homesteaders. Preppers. Rural families. Folks living in cabins, RVs, and vans. People leaving the grid behind on purpose, and people who never had it in the first place.

Our sourcing story runs deep through the Plain and Amish communities of Ohio and Indiana, where reliable off-grid products are a way of life, not a trend. That heritage means the gear we carry is proven in the real world, tested by people who depend on it every single day.

Why Online

A lot of the best off-grid products come from small makers who do not have much of an online presence. They build great gear but they are hard to find unless you know somebody. We wanted to change that. AOG Off Grid brings those products together in one place, with free tools that help you figure out exactly what you need before you spend a dime.

Our solar calculator, load calculator, and system builder are not gimmicks. They are there so you can buy with confidence instead of guessing and hoping. We would rather you get the right setup the first time than sell you something you will regret.

The Mindset Behind It All

Find a way. Build what you need. Make it work with what you have. That is the mindset that built a game court out of raw steel and a maple syrup arch out of bed frames, and it is the same mindset baked into every corner of AOG Off Grid.

Welcome. We are glad you are here.

A Note to Suppliers and Manufacturers

AOG Off Grid is actively looking for quality off-grid products to carry. We are building out our catalog and our System Builder tool, and we need real products from real suppliers to make it work the way it should.

If you manufacture or distribute off-grid solar, battery, lighting, DC appliances or related products and you dropship, we would love to talk. Getting your products in front of a growing community of off-grid buyers costs you nothing to explore.

Interested? Contact us and let us know what you carry.

Ready to start building? Try our free Solar Calculator or design a complete setup with our System Builder.