Green Beret to the NFL with Army Veteran Nate Boyer

148: Green Beret to the NFL with Army Veteran Nate Boyer

Nate Boyer is what many would deem a renaissance man.  The former active-duty Green Beret is also a world traveler, a philanthropist and community leader, and a professional athlete as a former member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Nate the Green Beret

After joining the US Army in 2005, Boyer earned the coveted Green Beret in December, 2006.  He was stationed in Okinawa throughout most of 2007 with 1 st Special Forces Group.  In April of 2008, Nate was deployed with ODA 0324 10th Special Forces Group to Iraq and served his tour of duty until January of 2009.  He then served tours in Afghanistan from April-August, 2013 (Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan) and from April-August, 2014 (ODA 3116 3 rd Special Forces Group).  In addition to his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Boyer completed a number of JCET (Joint Command Exchange Training) Missions to Israel (2009), Bulgaria (2011), and Greece (2012).

The Talented Football Player

A five-year player for the Texas Longhorns, Boyer served as the No. 1 long snapper on PAT/FG’s his last three seasons and also handled punt-snapping duties during 2013-14.

He played in 39 career games.  In 2012 Boyer received the Disney Spirit Award at the ESPN College Football Awards, which is given to the most inspirational figure in college football. In 2013 the National Football Foundation awarded him with the coveted Legacy Award.

He was named to the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes players whose charitable involvement and community service contributions stand out among all other student-athletes; was a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 choice (2012-14); and was first-team Capital One Academic All-American in 2013.

Boyer was named 2012-13 Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year and in 2012 became the first-ever recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).  In January of 2015, he played in the Medal of Honor Bowl in Charleston, SC.

Life After Football

Boyer has embarked on a wealth of colorful adventures and life-changing experiences: he has backpacked solo throughout much of Europe and Central America, worked for a year on a fishing boat in San Diego, gone fly fishing in Kamchatka in Russia, worked as a big brother and mentor for children diagnosed with Autism, and volunteered at Refugee Camps in the Darfur region of Sudan/Chad border. Recently he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with a wounded veteran to raise money for clean water wells in Tanzania. It’s amazing what Green Beret to the NFL with Army Veteran Nate Boyer has accomplished and how he inspires and helps those in need.

Nate’s Passion to Help

Boyer’s belief that “Anything is Possible” has served him well throughout his life and has made him especially fit to speak about finding one’s passions and living with purpose for other people. Nate’s can-do attitude is contagious and his inspirational story resounds with any audience; students, veterans, businesspersons, athletes and people from all walks of life can take something away from his unique story.

If you are short on time, here are the highlights of Green Beret to the NFL with Army Veteran Nate Boyer:

Special Forces Nate (1:48)

The UT walk on (6:38)

The challenges of a non-profit (16:22)

The Unbreakable Gym (24:30)

Nate’s advice for those ready to become entrepreneurs? (29:58)

Connect with Nate:

Vets and Players

Nate’s Website

Live Facebook Interview with Joe and Nate

The Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 140 episodes giving listeners the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane featuring the people, programs and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship:  Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard veterans, DOD, entrepreneurship, business, success, military spouse, transition, education, programs and resources.  Veteran On the Move has garnered over 500,000 listens verified through Stitcher Radio, Sound Cloud, Itunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.