“You don’t know what you can do until you do it, right?” Our man, Rob Usnick is still pushing the limits. From Ranger School to Bridal Fashion, and everything in between. No, seriously, this renaissance man is throwing things up and hitting them out of the park daily.
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4:35 – I put all my cards and chips in the middle
9:55 – small towns are bad when they are your small town
14:50 – it’s hard to get into a firefight
22:18 – when you’re with people who are badasses, you don’t realize you are one too
33:13 – the paparazzi’s here, it was a training distractor
41:32 – then I did King of the Motos, which is up there in the five dumbest things I’ve ever done
45:13 – there’s not many days to make your whole nut for the year
52.25 – “what are you doing in here, boy?” I’m here to get some fabric, I’m like, “daddy can sew!”
1:00:06 – one thing I hate is when people say, “oh, you can’t do that”
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:47.090] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of conversations with Big Rich, we have Rob Usnick. Rob, the ultimate renaissance man. And how I mean, this is let me give you an example, army Ranger, race KOH, fishing charter captain, podcaster, and Bridal fashion designer. That makes a man a Renaissance man because you’re touching all the bases. So, Rob, thank you very much for coming on board and talking with us and letting everybody know more about Rob.
[00:02:23.310] – Rob Usnick
Yeah, my pleasure Rich, It’s good to talk to you. It’s been a while. We used to hang out a lot back in the old Dirt Riot days and the KOH days, and then I kind of moved way out here where not a whole lot of offroading whatsoever, so I kind of lost touch as far as seeing everybody all the time. But, yeah, it’s a pleasure to be on here and thanks for having me.
[00:02:41.080] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I’m glad we were able to get the timing to work out and everything. We’ve got so much to talk about. Like you said, the old days, racing and stuff. But before we get into those racing days and all that, let’s find out what makes Rob Rob. So where were you born and raised?
[00:03:00.510] – Rob Usnick
I was actually born in Kansas city, Kansas? At the time, my parents were right across the river in Missouri, and I was born in Kansas City, Kansas and went all the way through high school living in Missouri, mostly rural, and when I graduated in 1991 from high school, a month later, I went right to Wyoming Tech and with their automotive program, out in Laramie. Well, once I got out, the session is in full swing and all that stuff, so I couldn’t get a job anywhere. And the first Gulf War was ending and everything was bad. So I ended up working for a moving company called Carlisle Van Lines. And I was down at Warrensburg, Missouri. That’s where my girlfriend at the time went to college. And we were moving these people on and off Whiteman Air Force Base. So I’m standing there and I’m looking at these kids are my age, and they’re living it up. So with nothing else to do. That’s when I joined the Air Force in, like, 92. Did four years of that as a weapons loader. I was actually a pararescue trainee, but I couldn’t make the cut end up getting dropped.
[00:04:12.050] – Rob Usnick
So I was a nuclear weapon and conventional weapons loader on B One bombers. And then when the base realignment and closure came through, they realigned everything. And I went to fighter jets out in Las Vegas on Nellis Air Force Base the last two years there. And I got out and I actually got out, believe it or not, to join the army to fly Apaches.
[00:04:35.160] – Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:04:35.740] – Rob Usnick
And that was all going good until I went to a Special Forces recruiting briefing and ended up throwing everything, putting all my cards and all my chips in the middle. And I actually went to selection, got selected, and then went back to Fort Bragg for the Q course. It’s been three and a half years to be a green beret, then I stayed the rest of my time at Fort Bragg until I retired at 26 years. READ MORE
