Terry grew up in San Bernardino, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman. He was assigned as a combat medic to the U.S. Marine Corps and completed a deployment to Kuwait and Iraq from 2002 to 2003. After five years of active duty, Terry was honorably discharged.

He attended the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and received a scholarship from the Pat Tillman Foundation, established in honor of Army Ranger and NFL star Pat Tillman, who was killed in combat while fulfilling his duty to his country. Terry earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2011 and completed a master's degree in biblical studies in 2020.

For more than ten years, Terry worked in sales and marketing. During this time, he founded VEL INSTITUTE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that helps veterans advance in life through leadership and entrepreneurship training.

In 2019, Terry wrote and published the book "The Evolution of a Leader" about the principles, habits, and mindset of the greatest leaders of all time.