Marin to Begin Contributing to Messenger
By Sarah Naron
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – Readers of The Messenger can expect to see a new name appearing in bylines of future editions as Enrique Marin, a Marine Corp. veteran residing in Carlsbad, Calif., begins contributing articles.
A native of McAllen, Marin majored in criminal justice at Stephen F. Austin State University and went on to work for the National Insurance Crime Bureau in Dallas, a job which involved recovering stolen vehicles that were taken across the border into Mexico.
“After that, I just kind of said, ‘You know what? I want more,’” Marin explained. “I always wanted to be a Marine, and then, I joined.”
Throughout the course of his 18-year stint as a Marine, Marin traveled extensively, spending time in locations such as Afghanistan, Africa and Iraq.
“I was a counterterrorism and small arms instructor,” he said. “I was a professional bodyguard, so I would protect dignitaries that would go into hostile territories.”
For 12 years, Marin served as a martial arts instructor and provided training on “how to fight and use weapons.”
“And then, I just started getting into other stuff, like kidnap and ransom,” he continued. “You know, there’s a lot of people who are getting kidnapped in hostile countries. So, I did some work with that, and now, I just consult with it on a part-time basis. There’s a counterterrorism training school out in Las Vegas, and I teach them the psychology of getting captured in a hostile country.”
During his time as a Marine, Marin also underwent tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) training.
“You have to know this stuff in case you get shot and stuff like that,” he explained. “We constantly trained; pretty much every year, we had to get re-certified.”
As a result of skills developed through training, Marin was able to begin developing emergency preparedness kits.
“I got into emergency preparedness and outdoor camping and stuff like that, which is a lot of the focus that I do now,” he said. “I started a company where we teach and train emergency preparedness and put kits together; that kind of stuff.”
“I’ve got so much content I’ve written over the years that I just figured I’d share and deliver more content – provide some value to people; educate them,” explained Marin when asked what led him to begin contributing to The Messenger.
Marin estimated that he has penned over 2,000 articles. He also has a book titled “Your Best Hustle” available for purchase on Amazon.
“It’s basically teaching veterans how to become entrepreneurs,” Marin said.
Marin is currently working on releasing another book called “How to Become a Modern Day Patriot.”
“It’s more of a guidebook, but we’re going to turn it into a book eventually,” he explained. “It basically teaches people a lot of different topics – everything from how to survive active shooter scenarios to what turns someone into an active shooter all the way to emergency preparedness. Just basic survival stuff, but also a lot of cyber security stuff and things that people don’t think about – (like) how your phone could safe your life.”
Marin explained that the sales copy of the book is currently being tested on social media platforms such as Facebook.
“It’s doing okay so far,” he reported. “But we want to create a couple of versions.”
In addition to being involved in multiple ventures related to marketing, training and writing, Marin is also the father of a 15-year-old son.
“That’s, like, the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said of fatherhood.
According to Marin, his main goal is to “give back” by sharing what he’s learned.
“I’ve seen a lot of the undesirable places in this world, and I just want to help bring some education and training and awareness to people in America,” he explained. “I don’t think people realize how good we have it here. It could be a lot worse.”
Marin plans on submitting an article to The Messenger which provides insight on how to prepare for a nuclear attack, which he will also be instructing a training course on, in the near future. He cited the recent occurrence in Hawaii and the “constant back-and-forth with Trump and North Korea” as inspiration.
“Anything can happen, and it just brings awareness,” he pointed out. “You would think people would know what to do, but they really don’t.”
Sarah Naron may be reached via email at [email protected].
