Nate was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee but spent most of his upbringing in Northern California. He attended both Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, CA and graduated from Valley Christian High School in Dublin, CA. After volunteering as a relief worker in Sudan, where he helped build camps for refugees of the War in Darfur, Nate joined the U.S. Army. Nate joined as an 18X, which gave him the opportunity to attempt Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) immediately following basic combat training and airborne school. He went on to join the Special Forces (Green Berets), deployed multiple times to both Iraq and Afghanistan and was honorably discharged after six years of service.