When I was young, I had a list of mythical men who
embodied various characteristics I valued. Some were
historical figures and a couple were movie stars. In 1981,
after a couple of self-destructive years, I went through
some significant changes in terms of how I wanted to live
my life.

Chief among them was deciding that I actually wanted to
live my life. And it was shortly after that particular realization
when I was introduced to two movie stars; Chuck Norris
and Sylvester Stallone.

At the time I was largely unfamiliar with the martial arts and
was amazed by Norris because of what he could do physically.
I could also tell that although Chuck was not a big guy, he
was able to use his skills to make a very big statement.

 

What I had liked about Stallone was the characters I saw
him play. And the fact that he was, in those days, so
physically impressive. As a guy who had spent 18 years
being scrawny and weak, that really resonated with me.

Unlike the rest of the world, I was not introduced to Stallone
via "Rocky". I first saw him in the film "Nighthawks", in which
he played a NYPD detective who was sort of a reluctant badass.
And to my young way of thinking, there seemed to be something
noble about being a badass who wasn't incessantly seeking
out opportunities to prove it.

The following year I saw Stallone in "First Blood"; the story
of John Rambo, a Vietnam-era Special Forces soldier, (more
commonly known as Green Berets) who had run afoul of a
small-town police force and used his extensive repertoire of
unconventional warfare skills to fight back. What intrigued
me about the character of John Rambo was his skill-level.

Rambo could do so many amazing things. There was a sense
of complete combative mastery in the physically impressive
Rambo character. And since I had just arrived at Fort Bragg
as a newly-minted paratrooper, the same Fort Bragg which is
home to the Army Special Forces, I felt all the more connected
to this ideal of being strong, quiet and exceptionally skilled.

 

During the next couple of years I caught up with all the 'Rocky'
films (I, II & III) and made a few statements of my own in the
Army. Which led me, in 1984, to the Army ROTC program at
the University of Arizona. My life plan was to get commissioned
as an officer, return to the Army via Fort Bragg, resume 'jump
status' and live out my years doing all kinds of badass things.

But unexpected circumstances intervened, and by the end
of 1984 a climbing accident put me into a wheelchair and out of
the Army. The next few years were a numbing blur of pain and
frustration as I attempted to regain my physical self.

And during those years I would go see films like Rambo II and
Rocky IV. It seemed that as I continued to waste away physically,
falling further away from the life I once felt destined to lead,
Stallone just kept on getting bigger and stronger as he saved
the world, again and again.

Fast forward a few years later and I was blessed to reclaim
my physical self and resume a life of service. I still had my
mentors, but as I got older, the 'myths' became less important.
Perhaps it was because as I accomplished more and more, I
realized that the Hollywood versions of super-soldiers and
robo-cops weren't exactly accurate. It turns out that most
"action-guys" tend to be average-sized, non-supermen who
are far stronger on the inside than their visible physiques
would ever indicate.

Postscript: In March of 2011, I had what I can only
describe as a 'full-circle' experience. I was still living in
Las Vegas and working frequent bodyguard assignments.

Once upon a time, when I was still basically just a kid, I had
looked up at a movie screen and watched a mythical version
of someone I aspired to be like. So I set about becoming that
person. It took a long time for me to do that. So long, that I
never really realized the progress I was making at the time. I
just kept working away, trying to become that person who
had a particular collection of experiences, values and skills.