Resilience and Purpose: A Veteran’s Journey with Nick Carson

On this episode, we meet with veteran and Purple Heart recipient Nick Carson, who shares his journey from serving as a Marine sniper to finding purpose through his clothing brand, American Built. Julie hosts this heartfelt conversation in Alex's absence, reflecting on the importance of Veterans Day as a time of remembrance and reverence.

Nick details his path to the Marines, his injuries during deployment in Iraq, and the challenges of rebuilding his life after being discharged. Through self-destruction and hardship, Nick discovered a renewed sense of purpose by founding American Built, a company dedicated to producing 100% American-made clothing while fostering community and patriotism. His story emphasizes resilience, the power of mindset, and the importance of supporting one another.

Listeners are reminded of the brand’s mission: uniting people beyond political divides while celebrating what it means to be proudly American. Nick’s powerful advice? "We’re never truly stuck—it’s our mindset that unlocks the way forward."

Transcript

We all get beat down, whether it's depressed or life piles up on us or, you know, lose our jobs or whatever may be, and we're never stuck. Whenever I thought I'm like, oh, I'm totally stuck, I can't get out of this. Whether it was my divorce, custody or it or being wounded, I was never stuck. I just thought I was stuck.

I really felt like, you know, whenever we're stuck where we're only about 60% stuck, the rest of it is just psychological and mental of us thinking that.

Today on the We Share podcast. I'm joined by veteran and Purple Heart recipient Nick Carson. Welcome to the We Share podcast. I'm Julie. I'm Alex. We share ourselves and we provide a platform for others to share. We believe everyone has a purpose and a story to tell. Hi. We're back on the We Share podcast and usually it's me and Alex.

It's Julian Alex. But Alex is out of town this weekend and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a conversation with veteran Nick Carson. With Veterans Day happening this week. We wanted to make sure that we showed some remembrance, and some reverence. I initially thought celebration, and I think that's probably true, but I think remembrance and reverence are better words.

So, Nick, thank you for joining me today. No, thank you so much for having me. This is great. The timing's great. And everything. All right, let's chat a little bit about your service in the Marines. Before we get to a local business that you own here in East Idaho. But why don't you tell us about your service in the Marines that happened back in the two, like, early 2000?

Yeah. So it kind of starts back in before then, a little bit in ninth grade, I knew, I wanted to become a marine sniper. I just kind of made that decision. I stuck with it, and then I wasn't going to let anything stop me. So with that being said, when I went through school, high school and things like that, I didn't take it very serious.

And I just kind of did the bare minimum, bare minimum. And, up until I finally graduated. Once I graduated, then I left for the marine boot camp, and that was about 2002 era. So the Iraq war hadn't really kicked off yet, but things were starting to get heated up. And so, I was in the infantry for about two years, from 2002 till about 2004, where, one of my deployments was to Iraq, and I ended up being wounded, in Iraq.

August 11th, 2004, we were ambushed on a while on a patrol and a rock bell grenade blew up and took a chunk out of my shoulder. But during this time, I was I was just in the infantry. So not just in the infantry, but I was in the infantry, because that's kind of a part part of the process that I had to go through to, to get to my sniper goal.

And so I was wounded and I, I ended up causing a bunch of brain damage in my chest, shoulder and arm. So I, I, I ended up sticking around because I could still kind of like do radio watch and just do whatever I could to help my marine buddies. But I ended up our living conditions weren't that well, weren't that good.

So I had infection kick in. I had, you know, all kinds of issues kind of start kicking in from the injuries. So they sent me home and I went back to Camp Pendleton, California. Kind of started to recover there. And I knew coming in the next month or so after this point that I was going to, get the opportunity to take a sniper and doc and get accepted in the sniper terrain and start the process to become a sniper.

So even though I had just been wounded and I got the circulation issues going on, I was not going to let it stop me. So I held up as best I could and took the sniper and doc and ended up passing and went on to sniper school. And then I went on to more advanced courses, like being a sniper in the Marine Corps.

I actually like this is how this is what I meant, what I was meant to do in life to be a sniper, the Marine Corps. That's how I felt about it. So, when I was going through more advanced sniper courses, just my injuries started to hamper my skill set. The blood was pumping in my arm faster than it was pumping out.

So it would just swell up really big. And I couldn't really perform at the level needed as a sniper in the Marine Corps. So I ended up being discharged, from the Marines. And then that's when all the real challenges and and problems started happening. That's exactly what I was going to ask you. I can't imagine the mental, you know, mind circus that was going on there.

What was that like to leave and not be able to do what you you just called your life cycle? I was broken, I was, you know, to just go from the sniper in the Marine Corps to, Joe Schmo kind of thing. You know, I just worked on jobs. I was I had zero purpose anymore. And I lived a very destructive lifestyle.

I did a lot of drinking and bar fighting and, I just didn't really have much of a purpose. And so with that becomes legal troubles, you know? Okay. Yeah. But I probably made friends with a few of the law enforcement officials. I actually do have quite a few friends. Yeah. Yes. For sure. Before we move on to how you did gain a purpose, tell us about the Purple Heart.

And when did that award be given to you during this time frame? Yeah. So, I was wounded. August 11th, 2004. And so we were ambushed and, brought about rocket propelled grenade, blew up just a little ways past me and ended up tearing a chunk out of my shoulder, which later on caused brain damage to my chest, shoulder and arm.

You know, like, I was really, really pissed when I got wounded because I'd been there about six and a half months and they hadn't got me. Then all of a sudden they got me, you know? So I was like, just kind of lost my mind at the moment. You know, I almost was kind of possessed in a way, because I was so angry of being wounded.

And I would have to guess we're wounded in life, much less at a much less less level than what you're talking about. But lots of times we get to have, you know, I wouldn't say retribution, but we get to settle the situation. We get to maybe have a conversation with the person who wounded us. Or maybe there's legal action that gets to be taken.

You had no recourse whatsoever. Yeah. My only way that I thought I could, you know, get some recourse is to stay there and continue to help the my marine buddies, you know, and and if that's something simple to let people go sleep and I'll do radio once, you know, it just becomes so simple like that. But that's about all I could do.

And we, you know, we didn't have the cleanest living conditions and fresh showers every day or even every other day. It was kind of just hit and miss. Infection. Infection got me. Yeah. There was nothing more we could do. So did they award you the Purple Heart before you left and came back to California? No. They didn't.

It was. Everything was just go, go, go. So I got sent back, started healing up. Then the unit came back because Marines, we do a seven month deployment. So I'd already been there six and a half those months. Those seven months. So now we're getting ready for the battalion to come back. So I started helping and doing what I could, prepare to get people when when they arrive back to Camp Pendleton.

So it was go, go. And then people took off on leave, and then people came back from leave, and there was really only a short amount of time there before I started the sniper and doc. So I ended up just getting called into the office of our sergeant major. I think it was, or battalion commander, and they just gave it to me and then kicked me out.

Okay, I can imagine that whirlwind actually helped with the mind circus that was going on. That probably accelerated the difficulties that you were having. Go, go, go get on the you didn't. There was no time to process it. There was no time to really think about it. You know, looking back now, I, I realize how terrible that really was, but I'm still here now, so I don't know.

And we're better for it. And so thank you very much. So you're muted. Yeah. So you're in California with the Marines. Yep. How do you get back to East Idaho in all of this. So I ended up after completing sniper school and the advanced sniper courses because I went through the process and did all that. My injuries ended up slowing me down, and I couldn't really perform at the level of being a sniper anymore.

So I was discharged from the Marine Corps. And what better thing to do is to go back and try to surround yourself with family and friends and things like that. So I moved back to Pocatello, Idaho, where I was born and raised. All right. Tell everybody about that. You were born and raised in Pocatello. Which high school did you go to?

I went to Highland High School. I was kind of born in the Taiji area, which is between Chubbuck and four Hall. Yeah. And, did a lot of farming growing up. Sold firewood, split firewood, sold hay, buck hay, moved pipe, did all that kind of stuff. So I was really a hard worker. Best kind of marine right there.

Yeah. You don't want a lazy one? Nope. You do not. So you head on back to to East Idaho. You come back to family and friends. What's that healing process like? How do you get from making good friends with law enforcement in the wrong way to to landing on your feet? So, a friend of mine came to me with the words American built, and this was right around the 2012 range, and I got out in 2006.

So that was quite a few years there of self-destruction, the drinking and fighting and all that stuff. But he came to me with those words, American built and I didn't just hear them, I felt them like there were still gives me goosebumps when I remember how I felt hearing them for the first time. But they they meant something more to me than just words.

And, both of us were veterans. So at the time where, like, you know, two veterans, you know, we hate buying clothing and apparel that's made overseas. So let's do some research and see if we can come up with the clothing brand. And we we found out we could come up with the clothing brand and keep everything 100% American made the the shirts, the equipment, the inks we were using and all of us doing the work.

We're all American built. So we ran with it. And that really gave me a purpose to kind of, something greater than myself. These words are just something greater than myself. And so I, I've just always been attracted to them and and running with using these words to spread a positive message, to bring people together and to show people, hey, you can buy 100% American made stuff or clothing and apparel, you know, and look good doing it.

And I did the cost an arm and a leg and I, I really enjoyed being able to do that for people. One of my most respected things about this clothing brand is that you're not using child labor the way that it would be used if it had been made overseas. And when you go and you fight in the Marines, that's one of the things you're fighting for.

You're fighting for the people who can't protect themselves and children cannot protect themselves. And you come back to America and you start a clothing company that doesn't abuse children. I for me, that's just mad respect. Yeah. And it's not abusing, you know, I mean, yeah, we're not abusing children, but not you know, we're trying to just create opportunities for people around us, whether it's whoever, you know, somebody that just needs a little bit of help during this Christmas time.

We'll help them. Somebody that you know needs some work. Let's get them to work and let's let's do what we can do. And, you know, let's bring a positive message is this is the foundation of the business, you know, to bring people together. You know what, regardless of political views or race or any of that stuff, you know, we're we're American built.

We're not we're all in this together. So why make life any harder on each other? Right. That's kind of what I'm trying to okay. So, you know, serving in the Marines, that's one level of heart. But operating a business is hard all on its own. What kind of ups and downs has there been operate in American build? I had a little bit of experience selling growing up with, splitting firewood and selling loads of firewood and a and whatever else.

Some rental properties. So I kind of had a little bit of sales. But, you know, when I got out of the Marine Corps, I shut down completely. And like, I didn't want to talk to people. I didn't want to go out in public. I didn't want to do any of that. So with American Bell, it's taken me completely out of my comfort zone.

Like I, you know, this news interview, I never would have done that back in the day. I never would have, you know, tried to talk to people or approach people or, you know, spread that positive message, but something with the words American built just clicked in me. And finding out what we can actually do with it has been really, really uplifting for me in these years.

Since you started American Built in 2012, has there been moments where your service and the demons that come with serving in the military, has that crop backed up at any time? Oh, absolutely. I struggle with PTSD. But the thing is, I've come so far from that 2004 2006 timeframe to now that, you know, it doesn't go away.

You just learn to work. You learn to work with it, if that makes sense. Like you're there, you're not going to. I don't know if there's a way to be healed, but there's a way to at least progress, have progress in healing. And doing things like, I probably wouldn't have told my the story of when I got wounded, you know, years and years ago.

But that's how far I've come. And it's good. And it is part of a healing process. Yeah. With it being the week of veterans, day remembrance and and memoriam. How do you celebrate Veterans Day? I try to just help. I if I see veterans struggling like, for example, my marine buddies that we're closest to, I answer that phone call at two in the morning.

You know, if they've been had a little bit to drink and they're struggling and trying to process, I try to answer those calls. I try to check in on them. And and also veterans here locally. And I've got lots of friends here locally. Just check in and see how they're doing. All right. Tell us how how does somebody get a hold of a product from American Built.

How do you distribute that nowadays? The best way and the most, efficient way for us to get to the best prices at American built usa.com. We're and we're selling t shirts, tank tops, hooded sweatshirts, hats, decals, all kinds of stuff. And, and spreading that positive message where we're more than just a t shirt company. You know, we're we're American built.

We love our country, our military veterans, first responders, and, you know, our broader patriotic community. And we're just we're all in this together. And that's that's the the mission that we have in mind is to keep working together and helping each other. One of my favorite things that I saw that you had said is that American built is not Republican or Democrat.

It's it's more like a patriotic vision. It's not a political party. Yes, exactly. And, those are things that divide us. And I try to just brush it aside because, like, I can spend so much more time and energy doing positive, uplifting things. And when you go down the political road, it it sucks a lot of energy and, effort from, you know, when we could be doing something else to help somebody rather than debate.

Is there anything we haven't touched on about your story, Nick, that you would like us to share with the listeners? I just want people to be proud of what they wear and be proud of where we're from. We still do live in the the greatest country in the world, you know? And, again, you know, life is hard enough on all of us.

Why make it harder on each other? So let's be there for each other and keep, keep uplifting. Everyone around us. All right? When we and, we share podcast episode, we frequently ask our guests to share something. You know, maybe it's your nugget about life. Or if you had a chance to just touch somebody with, hey, I would recommend you do this, what would you share?

We all get beat down. We all get, whether it's the oppressed or life piles up on us or, you know, lose our jobs or whatever may be, you know, we're never stuck. Whenever I thought I'm like, oh, I'm totally stuck, I can't get out of this. Whether it was my divorce and custody or anything like that, like, or being wounded, I was never stuck.

I just thought I was stuck. And so I really feel like, you know, whenever we're stuck where we're only about 60% stuck together, the rest of it is just psychological and mental of us thinking that. So if we can fix our mindset and remember that there's people around that will help and listen that, you know, it kind of opens at light at the end of the tunnel.

Again. That's great. All right. It's American built usa.com. Did I get that right. Correct. Nailed it American built usa.com big fan Nick Carson thank you so much for joining me. And if Alex was here she would say the same thing. She's truly a patriot. And I couldn't think of a better way for us to remember Veterans Day this week.

No. Thank you so much for the opportunity, I appreciate it. Let me know if I can ever help. So we're right here in our great. Thank you Nick. Okay. All right. Take care.

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