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Integrity first, Service before self, excellence in all we do: these are the core values instilled in me by the United States Air Force. As an active member of the military, I not only sustain these values on duty but off duty as well, to include my fitness. I grew up playing baseball but it wasn’t until 2001, at the age of 14, which I started weight training after school. Initially, I didn’t care about athletic performance. I just wanted to be big and get girls. I took a few weeks off from training when baseball season was over and I just didn’t feel right. It only took one day back in the gym for me to know I was doing it for me. 

Fast forward to 2010: I met a friend in the Air Force, Chris Peterson, who asked me if I ever thought about competing bodybuilding. I said “Chris, you expect me to do in 16 weeks what I’ve been trying to do for 8 years?” Chris replied “it’s all diet from here, I got you.” I immediately paid all of my entry fees to the show and mentally committed myself to this new challenge. I ended up placing 4th out of 7th in my bodybuilding debut. Honestly, it felt like 1st place being that I leaped a hurdle I never thought possible and did it while wearing purple posing trunks. I wear purple every single time I hit the stage now. I then did some online research to include bodybuilding.com, where I saw this jacked, aesthetically pleasing dude named Sean Harley. While reading his articles of diet and training, Sean specifically said not to mix your carbs and fats while in season. That’s one thing that has stuck with me over the years because that was my mistake while prepping during my first show. I competed NGA bodybuilding once a year after that, not only placing better but also becoming a better version of myself. It wasn’t until the Arnold classic in 2016 when I finally got a chance to meet Sean. Later that year he was competed at a show in West Palm Beach, where I drove in support to watch him and met his wife Mindy.

I was roughly 12 weeks out of my show at the time and was offered sponsorship elsewhere. Although I was thrilled, I turned it down because I did not believe in their people or products. At the end of the day, I need to preserve my dignity and be able to look at myself in the mirror. At the same time, the seed was planted and I wanted to be sponsored. I took it upon myself to hit up Sean Harley (someone who I felt like had been by my side throughout my bodybuilding journey and someone I truly believed in) not asking for a handout, but simply an opportunity and he gave me that. Diesel Dom, Rock Sold Nutrition; we got together like a wink and a smile ;)