ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Inspired to serve his country after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Will Castillo joined the U.S. Army.
This path to where he is today is as meandering as an iced chicane, which is apropos, because he now gets to travel the globe as one of the top para bobsledders in the world.
Yes, you read that correctly – despite living in Orlando, Castillo competes in a sport that most Floridians can only imagine.
While serving his country, Castillo spent two deployment to Iraq – one in 2005 and the second in 2007.
On that second deployment, Castillo and two soldiers were in a Humvee as part of a five-truck convoy in Fallujah, Iraq. They were in the last vehicle when they ran over a string of Christmas lights that triggered an improvised explosive device.
“It split the truck in half,” Castillo said.
Castillo suffered severe injuries in the blast, including a traumatic brain injury and losing his left leg. He spent two years recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His fellow soldiers inside the Humvee – SPC Eddie Tamez and PFC Davd Kirkpatrick – never made it home.
“My mistake was not healing internally at Walter Reed,” Castillo said.
While recovering at Walter Reed, Castillo said he met the director of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, telling him “I need a job.”
Castillo was able to secure a job with the department in Orlando, where his mother was living, but he said that’s where his transition issues started to happen..
“Depression. The isolation,” Castillo said. “I ended up quitting that job and just staying home and the substance abuse came in.”
It all became too much and Castillo said he swallowed a bunch of pills. After that failed suicide attempt, he said he thought he had it all under control, but the substance abuse and harmful thoughts crept in again.
“I remember pulling out a gun and I pointed it to my head and all I could think about was my mother. All the things she’s been through,” Castillo said.
Castillo put down the gun and called the Veterans Crisis Line to ask for help.
While hospitalized after reaching out for help, Castillo met someone who would change his life.
”This time was different,” Castillo said. “This time there was a lady named Mama Tavera and Mama Tavera would visit and pray with the soldiers and I gave my life to God.”
Today, Castillo is the one of the best para bobsledders in the world.
“Once I gave my life to God, I started to show up to things,” Castillo said. “I kept showing up and kept showing up and eventually, I ended up going to the top of the track. Now I compete throughout the world representing the U.S.A.”
And compete he does. For the 2022-23 season, he was ranked as the number one para bobsledder in the world by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.
He is currently in the middle of this year’s season with Team USA Para Bobsled Team. His season runs October through March.
When Castillo get “ice time,” his home track is in Lake Placid, New York. But to stay fit, he works out at a gym in Orlando everyday.
“Training is really done, mental runs and once you get to the country that you’re racing in, you get three days and that’s it,” Castillo said.
Castillo said he has to be mentally, physically and spiritually fit to be at his best.
“Whether I’m sliding or not, I go to the gym to stay physically fit. I stay close to God to be spiritually well. And I still do therapy to be mentally healthy,” Castillo said. “If one of those three things is out of whack, I won’t slide well, I won’t be the best father I can be, the best Christian I can be.”
“It’s a sense of freedom,” Castillo said. “There’s no disability on that ice.”
Castillo also helped design a logo that features the two fallen soldiers he served with. Their memory keeps him going.
It shows them pushing his bobsled, together as a team once again.
“The sport gave me an avenue to tell my story and if I tell my story, it’s gotta include my soldiers and it’s gotta include God,” Castillo said.
While para bobsledding isn’t a Paralympic sport yet, that doesn’t stop Castillo from pushing himself to be the best in the world.
A launching mechanism starts all of the competitors at the same speed so they all have the same opportunity to compete.
When asked to describe what it feels like to pilot a bobsled, Castillo responded, “picture a roller coaster you can drive.”
Castillo will be competing in the World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from Feb. 25 through March 1 and at the World Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, from March 4-10.
While he does have some corporate sponsors, all athletes are self-funded. If you’d like to donate to Castillo’s Team USA championship journey, click here.
If you are a veteran in crisis or concerned about one, you can call the Veterans Crisis Line 24/7 by dialing 988 or texting 838255.