David Goggins (born February 17, 1975) is an American retired United States Navy SEAL. He is also an ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, author of two memoirs, and was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame for his achievements in sport.^[5] Goggins was also awarded the VFW Americanism award in 2018 ^[6] for his service in the United States Armed Forces.^[7] Goggins also published a New York Times Best Seller book titled Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.

Early life and education

Goggins was born on February 17, 1975, to Trunnis and Jackie Goggins. In 1981, he lived in Williamsville, New York, on a street called Paradise Road with his parents and brother, Trunnis Jr.^[8] While Goggins’s neighborhood held “model citizens consisting of white people,” he describes his home experience as “hell on Earth.”^[9] Goggins’s father owned the roller skating rink Skateland, located in East Buffalo, New York. At age six, Goggins often worked the night shift at Skateland alongside his family, organizing roller skates.^[8] Goggins’s mother left his father due to abuse and eventually moved herself and her children to live with Goggins’s grandparents in Brazil, Indiana.

Goggins enrolled in second grade at a small Catholic school and made First Communion.^[10] His brother, Trunnis Jr., returned to Buffalo to live with their father.^[11] When Goggins enrolled in the third grade, he was diagnosed with a learning disability due to the lack of schooling.^[9] He also found it difficult to learn as he was suffering from toxic stress because of the child abuse that he suffered during his early years in Buffalo, New York. Because of the stress, he developed a stutter. Goggins explains how he was constantly in a fight-or-flight response with social anxiety because of his stuttering.^[9] In school, Goggins was subjected to racism and the Ku Klux Klan held a local presence at the time in Brazil, Indiana.^[9] Goggins recalls he once found “Niger [sic] we’re gonna kill you” on his Spanish notebook. At 16, a student spray painted “nigger” on the door of Goggins’s car.^[11]

Before his freshman year, Goggins attended a pararescue jump orientation course. Goggins’s grandfather had served in the Air Force before him and prompted him to attend.^[11]