Photo By Cpl. Naomi May | MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Virginia -- Marine Pfc. Austin D. Gill, a native of...... read more read more
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Discontent with his weight during his adolescence, Pfc. Austin Gill craved a change. He lost 70 pounds within one year, but his thirst for improvement was unquenchable until he became a United States Marine.
Gill’s routine of strength conditioning and dieting started when he was just 14 years old in the quaint town of Tyronza, Arkansas. At that time, his middle school sent a letter to his father, Brian Gill, concerned with how Gill was overweight.
Brian realized what needed to be done, he said. He began to coach Gill through different weightlifting programs.
Gill always admired his father, an Army National Guard veteran who found time every day to work out at his personal backyard gym he had built. Soon enough, Gill began exercising on his own.
"He took it upon himself to work out," Brian said with a thick country drawl. "He would get up early to run, and he changed his eating habits. Sometimes he would work out twice a day — sometimes for six hours. I always thought it was too much, but I guess for him, it wasn't."
Gill eventually took over the backyard gym and invested about $2,000 in new equipment.
"I kind of got addicted to working out," Gill said. "I grew up in a really small town. There's nothing really to do, so you just find your hobbies."
He constantly set new milestones to reach his goals. Toward the end of his time at East Poinsett County High School, he rotated through a 12-week-workout cycle with a goal to back-squat 405 pounds. He added 10 pounds every week; at the end of the cycle, he progressed by 120 pounds, which ultimately accomplished his goal.
"I just like to sweat and challenge myself to push for greatness," Gill expressed with tenacity. So when he said he wanted to join the Marine Corps to stay in shape, his father was not surprised.
Brian said he knew his son would do well at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. "He was always hard-headed and looking to prove himself," he explained.
After graduating from recruit training, Marine Combat Training and Personnel Administration School, he was stationed at the Marine Corps Recruiting Command aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, where he continues to dedicate himself to fitness, this time alongside a Corps of like-minded individuals.
"When you first look at Pfc. Gill — when you see him in cammies — you don't think he's that big," emphasized Staff Sgt. Kayala Steele, his staff non-commissioned officer. "He is, what I like to call, a country-fit Marine. That kid eats a lot of cornbread, but he's really dedicated to physical fitness."
Gill exercises three mornings a week with his Marine counterparts and 2-4 hours almost every night on his own.
Cpl. Jonathan Soriano, one of Gill’s non-commissioned officers, said Gill created habits of discipline in the gym and with his diet. These practices, he said, carry over into the kind of Marine he is and what he can accomplish.
Soriano noticed how others rely on partners for extra motivation to go to the gym, but Gill goes on his own.
He works out because he is dedicated, he said. "That's who he is. He has that drive inside of him."
Just as he is dedicated to physical fitness, Gill grinds to finish his work as an administrative specialist as well, Steele said.
While his father and fellow Marines say he is a man of few words, Steele said he expresses himself through action.
"He's my quiet executioner," Steele said. "His work speaks for itself. He doesn't have to talk a lot, because the quality of work that he gives me is loud enough. I don't need to hear his voice."
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.19.2017 14:57 |
| Story ID: | 259404 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, “Country-fit Marine” speaks through actions, by Cpl Naomi May, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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