Rico Roman was born in Portland, Oregon where he lived his youth. Following high school, Rico joined the military (specifically the U.S. Army) and left to go serve tours in Iraq and Kosovo. On his 4th and final tour in Iraq with about a month left in his last tour, Roman was going back to base from work when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. Over the course of the next year, Roman's left leg was slowly giving up on him to the point where Rico's left leg had to get amputated.
After learning to use his new leg, he began to play sports in wheelchair leagues. His friends pushed him however to play sled hockey which he wanted no part in. Given in, he learned to love the game of sled hockey and eventually played for the San Antonio Sled Rampage. In 2014, he made the Team USA Sled Hockey team and helped lead them to 2 gold medals (the other in 2018).
