On Feb. 18, Casey Tiesman got married, and on Feb. 20, he opened his new Northbrook business, Tactic Sports Performance,1885 Holste Road. He’s bent on helping young athletes, and others looking to just get fitter or faster, realize their goals. He’s an ex-Marine, and a graduate of Illinois-Chicago with a master’s degree in kinesiology. He and his wife, Katherine, live in Glenview.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Morrison, Illinois, a little town of about 5,500 on the Mississippi River. More cows than people.
Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be my dad (Jeff). That perfect model father figure – the work ethic, and that he had sacrificed a lot of time make sure we were taken care of.
Q: What was your first job?
A: My first job was detasseling. Walk through the corn fields detasseling the corn, from male to female. Hot, sweaty days for a junior high kid.
Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: I’d travel back in time. Spend more time with my dad.
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?
A: Blackbird, downtown (619 W. Randolph St.), a very small, intimate place, good chef. My wife and I go down there once a year to celebrate. Not very cheap.
Q: What’s your favorite charity?
A: The Jimmy V Foundation. One of the best cancer organizations. If I had a second one, it would be the Semper Fi Fund, helping wounded veterans of the Marine Corps.
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: We have a golden retriever named Penny. She loves to go to the farm with us, run around. She’s a born retriever. If you have a ball in your hand, that dog is not paying attention to anything but you.
Q: If you could be on any reality show, which one would it be?
A: I don’t watch much…Oh, there’s a new one pretty much they make you look like you committed a crime and you have to stay hidden from the U.S. Marshals, the FBI. It’s called “Hunted.”
Q: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen?
A: I don’t know if it’s the strangest – an Iraqi soldier who shot himself. He was playing with his own trigger all the time. He had the gun pointed at his leg. They rushed him out of there real quick. I think he was OK.
Q: Do you have any words of wisdom?
A: One of my mottoes I give to my athletes: Try to be 1 percent better every day, in any facet of life, be it athletic, emotional, spiritual…If you do that, you’re going to have a productive day, and be a contributing member of society.
Twitter @IrvLeavitt
