At 1.97m tall, the Junior Tall Black has no problem reaching the top shelves at the Auckland supermarket where he works.
But you get the feeling, talking to the 18-year-old former Otago Boys High School pupil, that he is not that thrilled by it. The job is "all right", as he puts it, but probably just one of the sacrifices he has had to make to help fund his basketball dream.
Nathan has been living and breathing the sport this year and has moved to Auckland to attend the Breakers basketball academy with former schoolmate Sam King.
The pair form half of the Otago contingent in the New Zealand side which will contest the world under-19 championship in Auckland from July 2 to July 12.
Tom Rowe is also a former Otago Boys High School pupil and Riki Buckrell went to Waitaki Boys High School.
The Junior Tall Blacks are in the final phase of preparation for the tournament and have been based in Wellington for the last week and a-half being put through their paces by coach Kenny McFadden.
While Nathan's height has its advantages in life, in basketball he is what is called a "tweener" - too small to play in the forward line and too tall to play as a guard.
But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in athleticism. He is a dynamic athlete with explosive power, speed and good agility. Perhaps, though, his attitude is his strongest suit.
Nathan injured his shoulder in May last year and faced a long rehabilitation. The self-starter never lost sight of his goal and kept up his training, working his tender left shoulder and gradually building it back up.
"I think the hardest thing was the mental aspect, trying to keep positive after surgery and rehabbing," Nathan said.
"It was frustrating, that's the best word. It was so long and just missing out on tournaments and not being with the team was tough."
Nathan's middle name, Taane o te Maunga, translates to "man of the mountains", referencing his birthplace, Queenstown, not his prowess above the hoop.
The Junior Tall Blacks coach hopes the commitment of players like Nathan will help get his underrated, under-sized and under-resourced team past some of the heavyweights of world basketball.
"We struggled just to get here but that has brought the players closer together," McFadden said.
The Junior Tall Blacks face a daunting challenge just to get out of pool play. First up, they play the South American champion, Argentina, before lining up against the formidable Croatians.
Both teams comfortably beat the Junior Tall Blacks at a tournament in Germany last year.
"Last time we played Croatia I think they had four or five seven-footers [2.17m] on the team. They all had square jaws and looked 30 years old," McFadden said.
Still, McFadden thinks his side will match up well with the Croatians. It might lose the battle in the paint, but it would be more mobile and would have to be smarter, he said.
"Argentina will be the biggest challenge because they bring a lot of speed to the game."
The Junior Tall Blacks' best prospect of getting a win will probably be in the last round-robin match against Kazakhstan.
But then again it may not.
McFadden freely admits he is not sure what to expect from their opponent.
"Kazakhstan is our last game, so the beauty of that is we get to scout them and see what we are going against.
"We don't know too much about Kazakhstan. We are still trying to get a bit of information. I'm pretty confident we can get at least one win and move on to the next round."
McFadden said to stage the tournament in New Zealand was a huge coup.
"I don't think people understand how big it is. We are going to have future stars of the NBA - the LeBron Jameses and Kobe Bryants in two or three years' time. People will get the first glimpse of the future stars."
