Meet Adaptive Athlete: Jose Machado

 

Specialist (Ret.) Jose Machado was raised in south Texas. From a young age, Jose’s father, who was a big collegiate wrestler in El Salvador, shared his passion for the sport. Jose quickly fell in love with boxing and wrestling and competed throughout school. Upon graduating in 2002, he went straight into the Army and was immediately deployed to Iraq in 2003 as military police, where he assisted in invasions and raids. 

 

During his year and three month deployment to Iraq, Jose faced mortar attacks almost daily in the field. After returning to the states and retiring in 2005, the effects of his service began to show. He dealt with the impacts of a TBI as well as PTSD. Jose continued to work and raise his three kids where he also began coaching them in wrestling. 

 

Today, Jose is still excelling as a wrestling coach and gets joy from mentoring kids in a positive way - gaining confidence and mental toughness along with getting physically stronger. However, he is realizing that he needs to be doing the same for himself. His time at ATF is dedicated to reigniting the fire inside him. After taking time to focus on himself, Jose is looking forward to continuing to be a force multiplier in the lives of the kids that he coaches.