About us Operator Edge Rhys Dowden is the owner of Operator Edge, a company through which he provides to his clients extensive mental conditioning along with military, self-defense, and strength training. Growing up in Queensland, Rhys enlisted in the Army as soon as he was 18 and then served a little more than four years in the Royal Australian Armored Corps. Later in his career, he served on Steve Irwin’s personal security detail at the Australia Zoo for six months and then worked as a private security contractor in Iraq between 2004 and 2006 before re-enlisting in the Army and going through the Commando Selection and Training Course in 2008. He then did two tours of duty in Afghanistan with the 2nd Commando Regiment, one tour as an operator and one tour as a sniper, accruing all-told ten years of military service. Throughout his career, Rhys has trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) under Dan Higgins, Rodney Ellis at Southern Cross Jiu-Jitsu Association and Daniel Almeida, holding a brown belt, in addition to Ken Do Kai, kickboxing, and boxing. As a teacher, he focuses on bringing about deep mindset shifts. He adds to the content of his courses constantly, working to increase the intensity and effectiveness of his material.