Meet Ryan Weaver. A high energy, all-American, rockin' country music artist who proudly served as an active duty soldier, Chief Warrant Officer 3, Blackhawk Helicopter Aviator, in the United States Army. To understand Ryan Weaver and his passion for music, you need to hear his unique story: Ryan Weaver's life is an example of how an individual's dedication, discipline, focus and perseverance
can help them to achieve greatness in the face of adversity.
Ryan was adopted at 10 months of age, along with his older brother Aaron, by the Weaver family. Ryan grew up living all over the state of Florida, one of eight siblings, and the youngest of three Weaver boys. Older brothers Steve and Aaron joined the military and attended flight school. When his time came, Ryan followed in their shoes. Three Weaver boys. Three Army Warrant Officers. Three helicopter pilots.
Ryan's brother Aaron died in 2004 when his Black Hawk was shot down by enemy fire in Iraq. At that time Ryan was also deployed in Iraq as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. Ryan certainly understood mortality and the risks of combat, after all, Aaron had survived the bloody 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia that became the basis for the movie, Black Hawk Down. When Aaron died, however, something changed for Ryan Weaver. He returned from combat and took a position training the next generation of Army aviators and officers at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and has not piloted a Black Hawk since that fateful day.
In July 2004, six months after the death of his brother, Ryan attended a Jeffrey Steele concert at a local Alabama club. During Steele's show he performed a song titled "Nineteen," about a boy who joins the military and dies in combat at the age of nineteen. The song touched Ryan and he shared his personal story with Steele when he met him in the autograph line after the show. In 2007, Ryan began traveling to Nashville on a regular basis to write and record his music. It was on one of those trips to Music City that Ryan re-connected with Steele. "I scheduled a meeting with Jeffrey Steele," explains Weaver. "He recalled meeting me at that concert in Alabama [in 2004] and remembered my story." As fate would have it, Steele not only remembered Ryan Weaver, but agreed to produce him. The first song they recorded together was Nineteen."
Just out of the Army and living in Nashville, Ryan spends his time writing and recording music, as well as performing at fairs, festivals and clubs in the Southeastern United States. He is continuing to work with Jeffrey Steele as a mentor in the music business and is actively involved in charity work with the American Cancer Society and many other charitable organizations, and has performed on numerous television shows and at various events in support of those causes.
