Nate Boyer's story
He's been a fighter his whole life. From Afghanistan, to the Texas Longhorns, to the Seattle Seahawks, and now he's fighting for hope, clean water and for those who are less fortunate.
ABOUT NATE
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.
After joining the US Army in 2005, Boyer earned the coveted Green Beret in December 2006. During his time in the military between 2006 and 2012 Boyer was deployed on multiple tours of duty including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as JCET (Joint Command Exchange Training) Missions to Israel, Bulgaria, and Greece.
After his exit from active duty, Boyer joined the Texan Longhorns as a long snapper, playing in 39 career games. Boyer has received numerous awards including; the Disney Spirit Award at the ESPN College Football Awards, which is given to the most inspirational figure in college football, the National Football Foundations coveted Legacy Award, 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). Additionally, Boyer 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. Boyer joined the Seattle Seahawks for the 2015 pre-season.
Boyer’s passion for service to others and love of life-changing experiences prompted him to join Waterboys as the first Waterboys Champion — a celebrity who is a non-active NFL player who is committed to providing clean water to communities in need by taking the challenge to raise the funds to build a well in East Africa.
“I’m going to take wounded vets up the mountain, but before that, we’re not gonna go unless we raise enough money to put a clean water well in the ground that will serve thousands of people in Tanzania,”
-Nate Boyer
Each new Conquering Kili class accepts the challenge to embark for the summit, a walk that represents the miles that many African women journey on a daily basis to fetch water for their families. While training for the climb, each team member works to raise funds and transform communities through the gift of clean water.