From the football field to aviation: Javier Dyer’s unique journey fueled by passion

“I started with Unifi in 2020 coming out of COVID, working on a fueling contract,” Javier Dyer recalls. It was the beginning of an unplanned, yet not unexpected, journey in the aviation industry for Javier because this was a path first walked by his father who worked on the ramp for Delta Air Lines in the 1990s.

The youngest of four boys, Javier’s interest in the airport world was partly encouraged by his mom, who touted the benefits of travel. “My mom would ask one of us to work at the airport for the flight privileges,” he says. This led Javier to a role where he navigated the complexities of working on the ramp. “Being down on the ramp is a whole different world,” he says. “I was very hands-on with fueling companies and I was learning a whole bunch of new things.”

After the ramp and a stint in commissary, today, Javier is a Duty Manager for wheelchair services at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. It’s a role with a strong focus on customer service. “I have more of a team-oriented role and depending on the shift and concourse, I manage anywhere from 10 to 20 people. I enjoy the work and every day is different,” he says.

But Javier’s first love will always be football. It’s been a significant part of his life since he was a child. “Football goes all the way back to 6 and 7 years old. That’s when I started playing. I played throughout school, and it led to a football scholarship at Reinhardt University from 2013 to 2017," says Javier. After that I signed a professional contract with the Alliance of American Football in 2018, played in Salt Lake City, and then in 2019 I played with an indoor league in Kansas."

Of course, in 2020, the pandemic brought it all to a screeching halt, and while Javier found a new passion in aviation, football was never far from his mind. “I was with Unifi, working in commissary, and I saw on social media that a friend of mine was playing football for an international team,” says Javier. “I reached out and he told me there was one more tryout in New York City, so I used my flight benefits to fly there and try out.” This led to a contract with Los Caudillos de Chihuahua in Mexico. “Unifi allowed me to take a leave of absence to pursue this opportunity. I played for two months in Mexico - for the remainder of the season. I came back July of 2022 and went right back to working at commissary,” Javier explains.

After returning to Unifi, Javier resumed his career but returned to Mexico for a full season in 2023. “I played for the full six months and left Unifi during that time and when I came back it was to the wheelchair operations as a supervisor in September of 2023.” Reflecting on his journey, Javier says, “I was very grateful for Unifi allowing me to play and come back because football teaches you how to face challenges, to keep pushing and never stop fighting.”

Looking ahead, Javier is eager to keep growing in his career, aspiring a move into upper management or operations. “I want to continue to move ahead and seeing what the future has in store,” he says with a hopeful vision for the future.

Javier’s journey from the ramp to the football field and back illustrates his dedication and passion to pursuing his goals. It is something he advises everyone in his life to do as well. “Stay focused and be direct in what you want. Be ambitious in life and go for it,” he asserts. “Nobody can tell you that what you want is impossible.”

Football has been Javier’s source of motivation and inspiration, especially when he remembers his son cheering him on. “The first season I played – my son and mom were able to use flight benefits to come see me and that was really special,” he says.

Now, as he recovers from an injury, Javier contemplates the role football will play in his future. "My focus this year is just on recovery and not playing football, but I will see how I feel next year,” says Javier. “I would like to play one more time, have that final go around before hanging it up.”