Joining me now is a guy who I mean, some of you cyclists in our listening audience may remember. He was an incredibly successful sixteen year old cyclist in New Mexico, I believe cyclist of the Year, even when he suffered a devastating accident. But Nathan Marcosi was not one to keep that let that keep him down, and his story of recovery is simply astounding.
So welcome to the show, Nathan.
You know what, We've had a few weeks of rough news, right, so I'm ready.
I'm ready for good stuff.
I'm ready to hear about how you suffered a tremendous accident but still managed to turn it into something good.
First of all, welcome to the show.
And Mandy, thank you so much for having me. It's an honor to be with you right now. And yeah, I would love to bring a little bit of light to the world. Right There's there's always you know, you hear you hear all of the negatives all the time.
That's how our world keeps revolving.
But it's really fun to be able to bring some light to the world and give people some positivity and some courage and some joy. And so I'm excited to dive into this with you, Mandy.
So let's talk about you were a highly competitive athlete. Were you always wired that way? Did you fall in love with cycling? Tell me a little bit about that story.
Yeah, great question.
So I've been an athlete since day one of my life. Right, I was always very, very active. And it's funny. I have two boys, and they're both very active as young little kids. And my mom told me, Nathan, I've only seen kids this active when you were a child, right, And so it is, it's really fun I've been incredibly active. I've always loved to be outdoors doing any sport that I could growing up, right, And I did them all.
You know.
I did basketball, I did I did tennis, which wasn't my favorite. I did swimming, I did cross country, I did triathlons, baseball, and and my mom was a pet and so she never let me do football, but of course I was. I was doing all of the long distance sports in particular, and she was.
She was a big motivation behind that. You know.
She was always run in the mornings with her best friends and she was training for a marathon. And that that inspired me, you know, to have my mom getting up early every morning to run with her friends when.
It was still dark. Right.
That's an inspiration to a young child, right, that has a very ambitious athletic desire.
Right.
And so since the beginning, yes, I've been very athletic and wanting to pursue a life, a life with athletics, a life that is outdoors and always active.
Right.
And that's that's where we began my career as a cyclist. So I'm sure we can dive into that.
It sounds like your mom was trying to wear you out right by putting it in every sport.
It was possible. But what was it about cycling?
Were you just naturally gifted in that sport or did you develop a passion for it?
Well, this is a combos and now we're bringing in my dad. So my dad was he was a big mountain biker, right. He loved to ride on mountain biking trails and he had quite a few mountain bikes sitting on our garage. And so he taught me how to ride my bike. And I was born and raised riding a bike, but never truly pursuing competition, right, just riding for fun. And then while I was in middle school. I went to a charter school down in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And at that charter school, there weren't at the time that I was there, there weren't any established sports that were you know, team sports, right, So it was traditional basketball, football, whatever the.
Case may be.
So what I did, what I did pursue was the triathlon team. So I really pursued running, and I loved the cross country team. I loved getting up early every morning and running on the boski and seeing the beautiful skies of New Mexico each morning. And I loved the cross country team, and I loved my cross country coach. He of course was also the coach of the triathlon
team as a whole. So one day I was running at cross country practice and he asked me, Nathan, do you want to try doing competitive cycling?
You want to give it a swing?
And so I thought me and maybe we should, right, maybe I should try it out. So this was big because I also was playing baseball when I was a kid, and I played a lot of baseball, and so this was around seventh grade and I had to decide between baseball and cycling, and that was a big decision for me. But I decided to pursue cycling, and it was a good thing that I did because my first race ever was the New Mexico State time trial. Right, so not even a race that you can leverage your teammates.
It is just you.
Against the clock and the fastest legs win, right, And I won state champion for my age group on my first.
So I thought, you know what, I might stick with this. Right, that's mighty for me.
I might have found my niche here that that's so obviously you it suited you.
Yeah, absolutely, and I fell in love with it very quickly. The freedom on a bike, as I'm sure a large majority of your audience can attest to, right, The freedom that you feel on a bike. You just you can ride forever, and you're out in the open, right, You're out in the free air, and and it is a beauty being on the bike. Riding in that saddle is just a beauty that you can't compare.
Well.
I want to jump ahead because not only did you win your first race, you won many races. You became you were the cyclist of the year. You're sixteen years old, You're out on a road, you know, road ride one day. Tell me about the accident that changed your life.
Yeah, well this is it is really, I mean, it's a it's a devastating story, but it also has so much life, you know, towards what now that we are in today. Right, And so it did all begin that way, right. I was the state champion in New Mexico. I was the road race leader for my category in New Mexico.
I still hold the title to be the youngest to ever win the Tour of the Hila, which is based out of Silver City, New Mexico, for the category I was racing in as a sixteen year old, I got some soft commitments from UHC development team, and I was setting my eyes on the Olympics, on the Tour de France, going to race for Canondale, being sponsored by Canondale, and going to race internationally. That's where my vision was set.
And then in January of twenty sixteen, I was training with my coach and my teammate and we were training for this next year's Tour of the Hila, and I had upgraded a category, so I was racing now against semi professionals a higher category.
Right, And.
While we were training, while we were on this ride, we were riding from Albuquerque.
Down to thelin I believe, and it.
Was on this long stretch of road where cyclists were permitted to ride. There was a cycling lane right, and there was a distracted driver who was driving at sixty miles an hour who for some reason miscalculated where we were on the road and he hit me. Hit sixty miles an hour, flying one hundred feet and sprawled out on the ground. So my body hit the windshield of
the car, and there's pictures of that. You can see where my shoulder hit and my really my hip hit, and you can see the imprint of my body on the windshield that shot me forward, like I said, about one hundred feet. Immediately, I was in a coma, So I don't remember this whatsoever.
This is me just conveying to you what I've been told.
My coach, you know, scrambled to my side and I was unresponsive. So he's started tapping me, you know, trying to shake me a little bit.
Nathan Nathan.
No response, and so the officer who came to the side of the scene reported it as a fatality.
So I did.
I died on the scene, and they put me in an ambulance and they rushed me to the ICU in un M hospital. And I mean, God, bless my parents, right, I say this time and time again.
They got the call that I was on the way to the hospital.
Dead and it was actually my coach who called my mom. And if my mom always says, if she would get a call from my.
Coach, she knew that something is, something.
Bad happened, right, you shouldn't be getting a call from a coach during a long ride.
So they rushed to the hospital and I was.
I was in a coma for two weeks, and by God's grace, of course, I opened my eyes after two weeks paralyzed on my left side. So I was in the ICU for a month, and then then they put me on a medical flight up to Craig Hospital.
And yeah, we can dive into my recovery. I'm sure as well.
Well, I want to talk for just a moment and on your website, and I have all of Nathan's information. He's got a new book coming out we're going to talk about in a few minutes.
But you and your story, you say you.
Have the accident in your timeline, a catastrophic car crash that claimed my life on the side of a desolate road. In that moment, everything I knew sees to exist, followed by eternal peace, light and joy and experience of the joy and piece that awaits us all a radiant light, a homecoming. I am fascinated by near death experiences. My audience knows this. I think they give us a window into what we cannot understand on this earth.
Tell me about that.
Yeah, this is this is fascinating, Mandy. And why I'm excited you asked me about this question is because you have an experience with death or near death experience stories.
Right, You've heard several yourself.
I told him that I talked to Vinnie Tolman and how much I love these interviews that I've done.
But go ahead, yeah, yeah, And this is so interesting because so many people, unfortunately, right around the world have experienced near death experiences. Right. There's there's an abundance, unfortunately, of stories with people who have experienced this, this same near death experience. And what is miraculous to me, Mandy, is that all of the stories mirror each other, right, they all they all mimic each other in regard to that light, right, in regard to that piece that perfect
piece and my personal near death experience. It's it's really hard to put this into words, right. It's something that people have always asked me about, and it's hard to articulate because words are you know, words don't cover the incredible.
Experience that we don't have the vocabulary to experience.
We don't have the vocabulary that is big enough to That's what I've been told multiple times, like we are, vocabulary doesn't get close enough to what the actual existence is.
Absolutely and this is that is exactly true, right, And I think if I were to articulate it and put words to the experience, the way I would describe it would be it was this large field, right glass grass field. And it was very yeah, I mean obviously very very bright and joyful and peaceful, eternally peaceful. It's just the most piece you could ever imagine. You can't imagine that type of peace on this earth, right, And it was perfect.
And while I was there, there were there were seven I call them angels, right, So seven holy presences with me that I had a fear of, you know, conversing with because I didn't want them to take me.
Quote unquote right.
But I knew that this was the place where I was meant to be right. It was it was perfect, it was peaceful, it was eternal perfection, right.
And so while I was there, it was.
An experience that I actually told my grandmother about when I was back home recovering. I told her Man, I would never want to do anything wrong ever again in my life because I know I know the perfection that awaits us, all right. And so when you experienced that type of perfection that you know, that private revelation, right, then you realize what we all are promised and what
we all have in store. And so I think that's something that I would love for this audience to hear and every audience to hear, right, is that it's easy to get lost in the trials of each day, right.
And this is what you were talking about when we first started this episode, right, Mandy, that there's a lot of bad news all the time, and that's always pushed in our face, that's always shoved down our throats, quote unquote, But really the key to life is realizing that every time we open our eyes right, tomorrow is never promised. So each day that you open your eyes, it is a blessing, right, and it's all about how we utilize this time, which is so precious to us. Right, Our
time is so precious to us. Utilize your time to create the life that you dream of, right, and to create the life that you long for. Maybe it's maybe it's riding your bike all day long, like I was right. Maybe it's building a business. Maybe it's starting a family. Maybe it's going into a place on your own to read a book and be at peace. Maybe it is it is finding your own piece.
Right.
There's so many different opportunities for so many people. But the only difference between holding yourself back and letting yourself move forward freely is just really taking gratitude for every second that we live, because each day is a miracle for us all.
Did this experience help you get through the significant challenges that you faced when you woke up because you went to you.
Were riding your bike, you got hit by a car.
You want to you got hit by a car as a healthy athlete sixteen years old. You woke up devastated physically. Do you think having that experience helped you get through the hard parts that you had to face?
Well, this is an interesting question, Mandy, because I do believe that it did help me, but it is a It's something that I've spoken with with several of my mentors, my business mentors, and my partners just about my mentality.
Right.
It's kind of a David Goggin's mentality, if you want to call it that, right. It's obviously when I was an athlete, as a cyclist, my eyes were set on the Olympics and the Tour de France, like I said, and I was sixteen years old, and I would do anything it took to get me there, and I was achieving each goal that I set myself to in order to get there. And that is a mentality that has a lot of fortitude and grit and perseverance. And so I know that that same mentality is what brought me
through the recovery. It is very difficult to lay in bed, right when you're laying in a bed and I have to attempt to lean over and press a button to have a nurse come roll me out just to wake up in the morning and put me in a wheelchair to be in that bed. While I also knew that I was a nationally ranked cyclist. Is is that's that's a struggle, right, That is pain and difficulty to the to the greatest extent that I could imagine for myself, and so that was.
A really difficult.
I guess, I guess sense of self worth that I encountered, right, But that sort of mentality is what kept me pushing forward, and I was always motivated to get back to my fullest capacity what and that that can be mirrored in in my life story here in my life story with businesses in my life story many times over, right, as it can be mirrored in many other people's lives.
I want to I.
Want to get to your business stuff because I think it's super interesting that you have had in and obviously physically, how are you doing because we're almost out of time, and I want to make sure to talk about this transition because I think you're approach to what you do in business is very interesting, right, It's very interesting. So how are you physically now these how many years later?
Yeah?
Absolutely, well, these how many years later is a great, great question. So physically I am very blessed. I ran a marathon about two years ago.
God, Nathan, you make it does all look bad? Come on, man, least I'm for.
The rest of us.
No, I'm just kidding.
So, and I wake up every morning at four point fifty two to outdoors every morning with the F three group here in Colorado Springs. We work out starting at five thirty in the morning until six fifteen, and it's always outdoors. So physically, I am very blessed. I'm doing well in regard to the time frame of recovery. This year, this January twenty third, marks the ten year anniversary, if you want to call it that, of the day that
I was hit by the car. And this year, on January twenty three, I am publishing my book Old Wealth, New Wealth, True Wealth, which was co authored by Sharon Lecter, who's the one who wrote Rich Dad, Poor Debt. And what we're doing is is this book is really redefining wealth for a new generation. And I'm sure we can dive into this more, but it's an incredible full circle. Ten years since I was hit, I'm able to begin my next phase of development.
Right, Nathan, I love I love this and I'd love to have you back on in January just to talk about the book and just to talk about why a guy who has a near death experience decides to go into the financial area. Because a lot of people would say cynically, well, of course, now he's.
Going to use that for sympathy.
But after just reading on your website, your philosophy, to your point, I think is going to resonate, especially with a lot of younger listeners. Like my kids are millennials, and though they have done an amazing job financially for themselves, they're Dave Ramsey acolytes. They have no debt, They've really done amazing things. The reason they want to build wealth is to use it for something else, you know what I mean. Their goal is not to have a giant
mansion or a Ferrari. Their goals are much much different, and it seems like that is what this new book is about.
Yeah, absolutely, so true. Wealth right isn't just what you earn or what you own. It's who you become, right, the freedom you have with your time, and the impact that your life creates. Right, And it's the perfect alignment I think. You know, most people don't fail financially, they fail because becoming They fail be becoming someone that.
They didn't recognize in the process.
Right.
So it's so true that we need to be able to keep ourselves grounded and keep our purpose right. Money's important, of course, which is why I think it's funny you mentioned financial But it's a terrible master and it's a powerful servant, right, So if your success costs you your health, family, your peace, it's too expensive.
Amen to that. Nathan. We're out of time. Yeah, we're out of time.
But I did put a link to Nathan's website if you want to know more about him, If you want to go ahead and pre order the book. But Nathan, we're going to have you on in January before the book comes out, maybe a couple of days give you that last little boost to get you over the edge. What a fascinating story, and what a fascinating way that you approach life because of all of these different travails that you've gone through. I can't wait to read the book.
And I appreciate you making time for us today.
Yeah, Mandy, thank you.
It is such an honor to be speaking with you and to be collaborating with you to be able to bring more positivity to the world.
Right.
Absolutely, Nathan Barcosi, thank you for making time for us today.