Nate Boyer

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER  * LIFE CHANGER * PHILANTHROPIST

How does one describe Nate Boyer? Grit. Overcoming the odds. Determined. A long shot. Never going to quit. 

Nate Boyer is a former Green Beret who focuses on life-changing moments and making the most of each. As a young man, Boyer worked hard to make his dreams come true. First training as a firefighter with the Miramar Fire Fighting Program, he then moved to working as a deckhand on the Cherokee Geisha sport fishing boat in Point Loma. Dreams of acting took Boyer to Los Angeles to pursue film, but he only got as far as working as an usher at a movie theater and booking a Greyhound commercial. He studied acting at Ivana Chubbuck Studios in Hollywood.

Pursuing his dream of helping others, Boyer became a big brother and mentor for children diagnosed with Autism for almost four years. From there, after reading an article n Time Magazine, he took off as a volunteer for refugee camps in the Darfur region of the war-torn Sudan/Chad border, 8,000 miles from his California home. Something inside told him he had to go and help. At 23, he paid his own way to Africa, and talked his way onto a United Nations flight to Darfur. After two months of service, Boyer felt the call to do more and serve his country. As a result, in 2005 he joined a program in the Army to directly train for Special Forces. Of the 140 soldiers beginning the class, only 11 finished. Boyer was one of the 11. He wanted to fight for people who could not fight for themselves.

After serving for five years [ODA 0324 10th Special Forces Group to Iraq (2008-2009); JCET mission in Israel with Israeli SOF (2009); JCET mission in Bulgaria with Bulgarian SOF (2011); Afghanistan with Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (2013); Afghanistan and was attached to ODA 3116 3rd Special Forces Group (2014)] Boyer took on a new role as a reservist and college student.

At the age of 29, freshman Nate Boyer attended an open football tryout at the University of Texas. Having never played organized football, he made the team as a walk-on. He saw an opportunity as a long snapper, and he determinedly pursued it. That summer, while deployed with the National Guard, Boyer taught himself how to snap by watching YouTube videos. When he returned to the states, he earned himself a full-time place on the team as long snapper, as well as a full athletic scholarship.

Spending his summers overseas with the military, he would literally jump on a plane at the end of his tour and make his way back to Texas to attend football training camp. Before each home game, Boyer carried the American flag out of the tunnel, in honor of his fallen comrades and his comrades overseas fighting for America’s freedoms. 

A five-year player for the Texas Longhorns, Boyer served as the number one long snapper on PAT/FG’s his last three seasons and also handled punt-snapping duties during 2013-14. Boyer enjoyed playing 39 career games. In 2012, he 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; he was a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 choice (2012-14); and was first-team Capitol 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.

Before earning his degree, he declared for the NFL draft. University of Texas Coach Mack Brown tried to help him out with the professional teams, but the responses back were that Boyer was too slow, too short, not big enough to protect. After Boyer heard all the comments, he told Coach Brown he was still going to make the team.

After the seventh draft round was over, Nate was undrafted. However, minutes after the round was complete, the Seattle Seahawks called Nate to be their long snapper. At 34 years old, Nate was the oldest undrafted rookie free agent the team had ever signed.

Currently, Boyer is training for the National Football League at the Unbreakable Performance Center in Los Angeles.

Boyer’s belief that “Anything is Possible” keeps him focused on his purpose and dreams, as well as taking time to help others find and create a path to accomplish their own.