Big-Hearted Marine To Be Honored As A PBR Cowboy In Los Angeles
By: Andrew Giangola
Dozens of cowboys will take to the dirt when PBR debuts at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles this weekend.
One of them won’t be in cowboy boots. He’ll be standing on state of-the-art prosthetics, taking center stage in the official launch of the sport’s “Be Cowboy” campaign, which celebrates those espousing universal values such as toughness, courage, can-do grit and perseverance while encouraging all of us to unleash our own inner cowboy.
On each stop of its elite series tour, PBR is honoring an individual exemplifying these values.
At STAPLES Center, the PBR community will salute Marine Corporal Carlos Torres, who suffered a life-altering injury in Afghanistan when serving his country and has become an inspiration to anyone facing seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Torres was an Infantryman with the 3-2 Marines, supporting the 1st Tank Battalion. One night in early July 2011, Torres called his mother, telling her he’d be home in three weeks.
The next day, the 21-year old Marine scout stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He lost both legs and sustained extensive damage to his left elbow.
When he finally woke up and did get home, Torres’ life would be forever altered.
But like any cowboy who gets knocked down, Torres got up. And boy did he ever rise up and soar.
Torres now enjoys surfing, SCUBA diving, fishing, cycling, mono-skiing, running, and playing wheelchair basketball and tennis.
In February, 2018, he began an outdoor adventure in South America with The Heroes Project, an organization giving wounded veterans a chance to complete life-changing expeditions.
Torres cycled 1,200 miles across the Andes and on January 22, 2019, summited Ojos del Salado on the Argentina-Chile border, the highest active volcano in the world at 22,615 feet. He became the first person missing both legs to accomplish the feat.
“I wasn’t going to stop living my life,” Torres said. “I was going to push forward and live the way I want, whatever makes me happy.”
The trip entailed biking for 12 hours each day along the scenic Andes and hilly Chilean coast, covering 1,000 miles in three weeks.
Then came the truly hard part: the slow-moving hike in a punishing altitude “that sucked the wind out of me,” Torres said. “I got severe headaches, lost my appetite and couldn’t sleep. The other issue was my prosthetics, because I felt like I was dragging extra weight on my feet the whole time, which was pretty miserable.”
He pushed on just as he did throughout his training, climbing every weekend in California at Mt. Baldy and Mt. San Jacinto peak in Palm Springs.
Following the life-changing experience of summiting the giant volcano, Torres finished his GED. He is working toward being first in his family to attain a college degree.
He’s found he loves working with plants and is thinking about farming and beekeeping.
While serving with 1st Tank Battalion, Scout Platoon, Torres deployed to Romania in May 2010 as part of a peace-keeping operation to train Romanians, Macedonians, Bulgarians and Ukrainians. While on deployment, whenever possible, he volunteered his spare time to help the community.
The military took notice. He has been awarded a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Afghan Campaign Medals, Global War on Terror Medal, National Defense Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medals, NATO ISAF Afghanistan Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Good Conduct Medal, as well as various Certificates of Commendations and Letters of Appreciation.
Torres lives his life with no regrets as he continues to help those in need and push his body to new heights.
He’ll be on terra firma in the klieg lights on Saturday night at STAPLES Center, recognized for the kind of values seemingly unique to a highly trained Marine hero but in fact found within ordinary people living the courage of their convictions in every corner of the world as they “Be Cowboy.”
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