Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Paxton.
Hi Nate, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Nate Paxton, and I’m from Scottdale, Georgia. I had very humble beginnings. Throughout my life, my parents have been a tremendous influence on me. Even though we struggled, and we never had a lot when it came to finances, but we always had GOD and each other. My brothers and I were always clean no matter our circumstances, and we were straight-A students all through school. I played football, basketball, and track while in high school and excelled at all, even through my personal situations. Nobody ever knew what my family was going through; I just came to school with a smile and attacked the day. After high school, I signed to play football at Alabama A&M University, but something went wrong with the paperwork, so I didn’t attend there. For two years, I just worked out doing tons of push-ups and body weight squats in the small moldy hotel room my family stayed in, where I slept on the floor to make sure my parents had a bed as well as my brothers. So, for about two months straight, I caught the train with my dad and tried to meet or catch the then-head coach of GSU, Bill Curry. Once I finally caught him, one day, he fell in love with my story and who I was. He told become to the walk-on tryout once I got enrolled in school. Once I did get enrolled in the spring of 2012, I came to the tryout, where I was definitely the smallest defensive lineman out of like 25 guys. It was probably a good 200 guys who attended the tryout. Out of the 200, only 14 of us made it, and I was the only defensive lineman who made it. I made the team, but I wasn’t done yet. Throughout being a walk-on football player at Georgia State University now who earned a full scholarship my junior year. I used to wake up and walk 30-45 minutes to catch the bus, then get on the train to make it to our 6 A.M. practices. It was many days where I didn’t eat anything but a pack of noodles and drunk some water. This never stopped me from being the first person every day at practice and one of the last to leave. I did everything with a smile despite my circumstances. After earning my scholarship, I cried that day all through drills because I knew without that, I couldn’t finish school. I was and still am so thankful for that. I became a team captain, earned good playing time, helped bring the team the first bowl game in school history, and was the runner-up for the Wilma Rudolph Award (NCAA Award), which goes to a student-athlete who excels despite hardships. I played DE and OLB all my college years and was very effective at that spot. I was one of the only walk-ons in GSU history to get invited to come work out for the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. I also had multiple CFL workouts and play-in-day opportunities. I won a gold medal playing in China in February of 2017, and I’ve just finished up playing professional arena football for the Georgia Doom, where I was a team captain and QB sack leader as well as pressure leader. I just became a featured athlete on the new sports application called Rookee as well. I’m currently in the process of publishing my children’s book, but I also just became a sportswriter for a new teen magazine called Defiant One’s Magazine. I played in the IFL w/ the Bismarck Bucks and was an impact player and leader on the team that helped them earn their first playoff berth in organization history. I recently retired from football to pour into the youth and pursue my purpose
Overall, I’ve been the ultimate underdog my entire life who has risen above and beyond anyone’s expectations. I’ve been homeless majority of my entire life; I went from being a walk-on to being a team captain and one of the faces of my university, then becoming a professional athlete. On top of that, I was the first person to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in business administration; out of my family, I also obtain my master’s degree in teaching health and physical education. I also was coaching at my Alma mater with the football team at Georgia State, which I did for almost 5 years. Now, I’m in the process of starting my nonprofit and continuing to impact the community through helping the youth get into college as well as mentoring and coaching elementary school kids. My life has been far from easy, but whose life has been easy? All I know is GOD gives his toughest battles to His toughest soldiers. Stay tuned for what’s next.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Life and my journey have been far from easy. I’ve been through a lot on this journey, ranging from poverty, homelessness, being raised in a tough neighborhood, and burying hundreds of people, including my father and older sister.
The one thing I understand is life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond. So, the fact that GOD has kept me through it all, I’m a Victor, not a victim.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I help young student-athlete achieve their goals by helping them get recruited to play their sports at the college level.
I physically bring hundreds of coaches to their cell phones on a weekly basis until they sign and graduate while coaching and assisting them entire way….
I’m known for getting results and getting kids into schools. Over the years, I’ve helped 100s if not thousands of kids get into school. I have tons of experience being that I’ve played at multiple professional levels, and I have coached Division 1 ball. So, I have a wide network of coaching buddies I connect my prospects with.
I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without GOD and Him using me as a vessel to do his work.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If your child or a student-athlete at your high school is looking for legit exposure to college coaches, you can definitely reach out to me. Also, I run into so many families that lack resources or finances to get the help they need. Therefore, I’m looking for sponsors who want to help these kids continue their athletic career at the college level.
This will help the community drastically by sending a huge amount of kids to college who might not have had a shot due to lack of resources.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ajc.com/sports/college/paxton-the-epitome-georgia-state-man/O2TWL0vf2yVus0aiUMorlJ/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/npaxton98?igsh=MXduMHVyMmVvdXc0bw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nate.paxton?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathaniel-paxton-313b73a2?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/godsgift_nate?s=21&t=exv-DL9gI8fzqm_l5S5RMw
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/fj5Cl4Pw0CY?si=sThIcqDwEW4rY2eG
- Other: https://youtu.be/63hdDicHpWw?si=-AvrBUrDOYOBOlf3
Image Credits
Georgia State University Athletics
