In my senior year of high school, I hurt my back deadlifting.

My school had a competitive powerlifting team. Our coaches were history and math teachers and totally unqualified to coach. One day during practice I lowered the bar incorrectly and blew out my L4 and L5 discs.

I couldn’t walk for 6 months.

I met with specialists, doctors, surgeons, and chiropractors that all said I would need surgery and would never play sports again.

I rehabbed my injury and went on to join the Army.

Here I learned how much I loved to train other soldiers. One training exercise before deployment a man in my team had taken a simulated IED blast. He was a huge dude and I had to pull him out of the blast zone and into safety. I wasn’t strong enough to pull him. This was all simulated but the instructors reminded me that he died and it was my fault.

These are the two main events that brought me to where I am—the importance of being healthy, being strong, and knowing what you’re doing.

I hurt myself working out because I had no coaching. I couldn’t save my friend because I wasn’t strong enough. Any one of these things could happen to any one of us. I love to teach and pass on knowledge — it’s what sets me on fire!

When I started my true fitness journey, I couldn’t walk.

If you’re ready to start your journey, I’m ready to meet you wherever you are.