With his constant tough-guy persona on his numerous As Seen On TV commercials, and career as a ripped fitness coach, many have wondered whether Bolton has actually served in the military.
Despite donning a combat uniform in most of his infomercials, and the military-grade products that are sold in these infomercials, there is no confirmed information that states that Nick Bolton has ever been in the military.
Read more about Bolton’s career as a TV host, spokesmodel, actor, and fitness fanatic.
Military-Inspired Products
While he has plenty of job titles to his name, Nick Bolton is best known for his appearances on various infomercials that center around the Ben & Howell Tactile range for As Seen On TV products. He was born in Iowa and went to Iowa State University.
The Tactile products from As Seen On TV are a popular range of military-grade or military-inspired goods that are made to increase the safety or enjoyment for the user.
Some of his most well known commercials are for the Tactical Glasses, Tactical Flashlight, Tactical Lighter, Tactile Gloves, Tactile Shaver, and the Tactile Visor – just to name a few. Most of the time, each product’s name is shortened to simply “Tac”, so for example, their lantern is shortened to “TacLantern”.
The military is involved in most of these commercials, whether it’s mentioned to have inspired the product through the experiences of the army, or made with military-grade materials.
The TacLantern commercial heavily features references to the military, which you can see in the video down below. At the very beginning, Nick states, “Back in the day, our military had to rely on lanterns like these. But today, lighting technology has come a long way.”
In the ad, he’s also seen wearing army camouflage pants, to emphasize the fact that the lantern is a military-grade product. Some other references to the army include his statements that the products are “military-tough”.
Even the TacShaver, which is a simple shaving device for men, is marketed with the military in mind. He is seen in the ad placing a large bag on the back of what looks like an army truck, and again, he is wearing camouflage clothing.
He states that it’s “designed with the needs of our military in mind”, with the claim that it can give a razor-smooth shave on the go, and can even be used underwater like the “Navy guys” do.
Even though these ads focus on military aspects, and it is implied that Nick has some sort of affiliation with the army, there is no concrete evidence that he has ever served.
YouTuber Danny Gonzalez made a video on the topic of these Tactical commercials back in 2019. As he was reviewing the ads, he started questioning whether Bolton was an army veteran.
After some brief research, even Danny couldn’t find any evidence that he is ex-military – he is an actor.
Fitness and Acting Ventures
The Iowa native is also a keen fitness enthusiast, and has acted on several other occasions. In December 2019, he revealed on his Instagram that he got a role in a sci-fi TV series called Black Zone by posting a photo of himself with some of the cast.
In another post, he’s shown wearing what looks like some sort of army gear as part of the TV show. It’s easy to see how people may mistake him for being in the army when he is often seen wearing these types of clothes.
Fitness training is another big part of Bolton’s life. On his fitness website, the bio section states that he “provides his positive motivation while inspiring you to live life to its fullest.”
He provides fitness services like corporate training, individual training, executive training, and even online training.