Tyler Tannatt was in college after graduating from Johnston High School in 2005 when he was hit with crippling anxiety and depression.

“I played sports my whole life — baseball, basketball, soccer, football; you name it. All the way through high school. Then I went off to college and just got really homesick,” he said.

He began to suffer panic attacks so powerful that he could barely leave his room.

Relief came when a few friends introduced him to a new game.

“Some friends were playing disc golf and they said, ‘Come out. We’ll give you a couple of discs and just fling them around.’ I was so terrible. I was so terrible when I started playing, like most people.”

But being outdoors with friends lifted the burdens from his mind.

“I just started playing pretty much every day to keep me occupied — to keep my mind occupied,” Tannatt said. “I’ve been playing ever since.”

That devotion and passion, led Tannatt into his career as owner of Wander Disc Golf event planning and sport supplier, and the volunteer tournament director for this week’s Disc Golf Pro Tour stop at Pickard Park in Indianola, Friday through Sunday.