Nate Marquardt Interview

Do you have any family or friends used to be in the military or any that are currently serving?

 Pretty much my whole family, my dad was a Marine, both grandpas were in the Army, and brother is in the Air Force. My brother is stationed in Japan right now.

What sort of impact has them serving had on your life?

 Mainly it’s my brother, because my dad served during Vietnam. I didn’t know much only from stories my dad told or from questions I had for him.  As far as my brother, we’ve always been close even when he was in high school. He had to go to a school out of state that had an ROTC program. Since I was about 7 years old, I haven’t lived in the same state as my brother – he moved away to go to school and then the academy and then boot camp and then wherever he’s been stationed.  Hopefully within the next few years when he retires or re-enlists he can come back to Colorado.

  Did you notice any changes in your brother when he joined the service?

I remember some changes in him for sure when he went to the academy especially the first year was pretty tough. They had a lot of drop outs the first year, only the strong stay.

I saw on your website you had visited Fort. Carson, what was that like?

 That was cool man! I got to see a lot of cool stuff. I got to see tanks and one of the guys gave tours and basically told what each weapon and tank could do. It was really cool and a lot of fun. We met some people with PTSD that were being helped to find jobs. It was a really cool experience to spend time with heroes and brave men and women.  It’s kind of a weird feeling for those guys to look up to me, because they are the real heroes and they are the ones putting themselves in danger for other people. They are the real honorable guys, the real heroes.

  Is there anything else you do personally for our military or that you would like to do if given the chance?

 For sure, I would love to do more tours at bases or even for the guys stationed abroad. Really anything I could do.

Has speaking with today’s troops changed the way you view things, life?

 Yeah, for sure, like as far as war and things like that, guys like me can only make an opinion from what we see on TV. Getting to talk to the soldiers about their experiences changes the way I view my life. Sometimes in this sport you can get nervous or scared, but talking to them makes you realize it’s more dangerous, it’s their life on the line not just a career on the line. Talking to someone that’s been in real danger is an eye-opener, what I do is not as important as what they’re doing, makes your fears seem not as important.

What would you like to say to our brave men and women currently serving our country?

 I really appreciate what they do and I really respect what they do. I look up to them. I hold them in high regard over any fighters or athletes.

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