Hey kids, I'm Eddie Caprio, 32, Florida born and bred but living in beautiful Garfield, New Jersey.
EDDIE Caprio
Age: 32 (born December 5, 1987) Birthplace: Boca Raton, Florida Current residence: Garfield, New Jersey Occupation: Demolition Foreman Marital Status: Single Species: Giant Otter Height: 6' 2" (188 cm) Weight: 222 lbs (101 kg)
As a third-generation Italian, I know what is like to be loud and boisterous, jolly and enjoying life on the now. While my generation is not of the crazy traditional ones that speak the language amazingly and travel every summer to Rome, I still hold the customs strong, the food, the family ties and a “Fottuto stronzo!” your way if you cross my path, hah!
I wasn't... the smartest guy in the room? At least not enough to get the top class education I really wanted... 2.7 GPA at best, which I guess could have gotten me admitted to a lesser college if I really wanted to. But I was hell bent in proving I could carve my own path, and therefore enlisting in the Navy was the one thing that I saw that I could do and be great at in the process. As quick as that, I was in San Diego, ready to tackle the most challenging experience in my life.
I’ll tell you it’s not by chance that only one in every ten guys makes it through training. You need to possess nerves of steel and huge down-unders to survive Hell Week, plus in my case, it sorta helped knowing I had no safety nets and no plan Bs. I saw countless dudes dropping out that I felt were way tougher than me, guess how the fuck I felt? I remember thinking I was going to die before I was done.
When I earned my SEAL trident, it was... gonna sound cliché, but fuck it, it was my “shit is real” moment - knowing I made it, and I was soon due to go out there and defend my country. I did two tours in Iraq within three years, saw more shit than most people do in their entire lives, and came out unscathed. I've met so many great people between my squad and from the country itself, helping them up as much as I could, I felt on top of the world.
Then, in 2012, I was deployed to Somalia as part of a mission designed to help the local government fight the local terrorist organization al-Makhlab (“The Claw”). All fine, all good, until on a raid, I got ambushed and clawed open in my stomach. To go through that shit at 25 really messes up with your mind. I could not afford to give that much grief to my family and waste it all because of some nameless Somali mercenary, so after my recovery, I sorta had to start putting things in perspective.
In the end, I chose to retire from that life and take it easier, exploiting my experience to try my paw at a number of different life paths. I’ve worked as a bodyguard to corporate executives, taught basic combat and even doubled as a seasonal spearfishing guide on the Keys. In the past few years I've gotten back to New Jersey and have become a good-ass demolition foreman. Definitely not as blood-pumping a job, but it pays my bills and still leaves me enough time to keep myself at peak physical condition and have some fun as well: I recently completed the winter Alcatraz crossing race, the coldest shit I’ve ever done in my entire life. I can tell you the... let's say shrinkage, well it's a thing, haha!
I believe I’m the American Mustelid Alpha because I’ve gone through hell and back, and there’s virtually nothing you can throw at me that I haven’t already tackled and overcome. I know how it feels to keep going forward when every bone in your body screams at you to quit. And as for my leadership skills, well…would you really want to know what happens to anyone who dares crossing a Navy SEAL? You don't want to know what happens to anyone who dares crossing a Navy SEAL...
Better be ready, guys, ‘cause this wrecking ball is swinging at ya and ready to hit!
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There are no members of the armed forces in this first season of American Mustelid Alpha, but we can boast our very own Navy SEAL veteran. At 32, Eddie doesn't need to prove anyone he's Alpha - he demonstrated it in his seven-year tenure as a SEAL, climbing the ranks up to Petty Officer, First Class and successfully navigating through three overseas tours in Iraq and Somalia. What he seeks in AMA is a new thrill and a way to show he still can best any challenger, be it in the gym, underwater or paw-to-paw. Will he manage to master the perfect strategy to win his way towards mustelid glory?
Thanks a bunch to the amazing Crocdragon89 who took on the duty of drawing the whole cast and played a major part in bringing our vision to life! <3
From now on, we'll be posting each upcoming episode in two parts for easier reading - first part coming out on Tuesdays, second part on Thursdays. Episode 2, "What Are The Chances?", will be out on January 5th and 7th!
American Mustelid Alpha is the brainchild of HeadQuarters (the joint project of Qovapryi and Harlow). Eddie Caprio and all mentioned characters belong to them both.
