Conegliano – Former US Air Force Captain and Security Guard and now a Personal Trainer at Conegliano. The story of Drake Taylor, class of 85, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, is full of adventure. From the start, as a private soldier, through counterterrorism missions in Niger and intense guerrilla training in the Japanese jungle. He graduated in criminology and military sciences, and was a security guard for the most important names in the global geopolitical scene: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Pope Nancy Pelosi. After arriving as a soldier in Aviano, in 2016, in 2018 Drake meets Love, he starts living with Alessandra Giubilato, a very talented local singer-songwriter. Here he began his career as a personal trainer, proposing exercises of all kinds, even those intended for the military.
Why did you choose to stay in Italy and not return to America?
“I wasn’t planning on staying, it was a last-minute decision. I had to reinvent myself. But Italy is a beautiful country and Conegliano above all, if something changes to keep up with the times, it could be the most beautiful city in the world. It’s love. Alessandra, my partner, has begun a journey “As a singer-songwriter here in Italy, I hope she continues to pursue her dream. Certainly some things are more difficult, especially for young people. I meet young people who cannot see the future here and want to go abroad.”
What do you like most about your work here?
“Since I was a child, I took sports very seriously. Then as I got older I got closer to the world of the gym. Here in Italy, the mentality in the sporting dimension is very different. I would like to propose a different view on training, more focused on developing strength. I also like To see people succeed and achieve themselves.Also because I have seen many bad things, and experience in the Air Force has taught me that life is too short to be depressed.
Were your years in the Air Force difficult?
“With all due respect. But they taught me to control my emotions. Today no matter what happens, I always manage to be calm. For years, I’ve been responsible for the fitness of my unit, which can number up to 280 soldiers. Part of the process is changing your body and following your habits.” “As a personal trainer, I can’t work miracles, but I think I can pass on what my experience has given me.”
As a soldier, he has traveled the world and met many internationally important people
“I was in Japan, in Washington, in Texas, in Niger for 8 months when there was an attack in 2016. I was in the security forces for many people, like Barack Obama, Joe Biden when he was vice president, Nancy Pelosi and also for the Pope. When I returned to Italy in 2018, I went to live with Alessandra and started my adventure here.
What do you like most about Conegliano?
Conegliano reminds me a lot of Mason, the suburb of Cincinnati where I grew up. I love to walk in the hills and have made friends with many people who always greet me when they see me. (“He knows more than I do of the people born and raised here,” Alessandra jokes, “the old men of the houses on the hills always stop by to talk to him.”)
Between one prosecco and another, you can make friends
“For Real Madrid. I have to say I like it very much and I even thought of signing up for a sommelier’s course, even if I don’t drink much. I think my father will come to see me this summer. Here I felt welcome and it seems to me that people are more real than those I knew in America, which Everyone here thinks it’s one of the sweetened movies, but it’s quite different» (“It has a good all-Italian taste – the fiancée enters again – and makes an elaborate carbonara”).
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In Il Gazzettino
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