CrossFit Level 2
USAW Level 1
CrossFit Gymnastics
I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and I am the middle child of three boys. My brothers and I were always playing sports. Our parents both played roles in our younger athletic endeavors. Both were little league baseball coaches and our dad was a little league football coach for a season or two. In addition to baseball and football, we all played little league basketball with pretty much the same group of friends we played other sports with. This created a hurricane of nonstop competition between us all. We continued playing various sports through high school and after graduation, our athletic careers ended. I was able to achieve some notable recognition as a football player. I was a multi-year defensive player of the year and in my senior year, I was part of the all-conference list. I could’ve gone on to play at some small division three colleges, but ultimately decided I wanted to drink beer with my buddies and not commit to any more sports.
In my own mind, I wasn’t good enough to play sports at any level in college, and I didn’t think I was intelligent enough to go to any school worth mentioning. I completed one full year of college before I realized I had no clue what I should be doing with myself. I was overweight, not going to class, and spending way too many nights out with friends. Growing up, I always had an underlying fascination with the military. I would always pretend to be in firefights in the woods behind my house, and watch every war movie I could get my hands on. So one night, with zero direction and no real goals in mind, I decided to drop out of college and join the Army. I left for Basic Training two weeks later at Ft. Benning, GA, and spent the next five months training to become an infantryman and paratrooper. I graduated and left for my first duty station in April 2009. Not even four months later, I was in Kuwait waiting to cross the border into Iraq for a 12-month combat deployment. This was the only moment I felt some regret for joining the military. However, I made it through that deployment, re-enlisted, and spent another five years serving in the Army as an Infantryman. It was absolutely my process from boyhood into manhood. Many times I was pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of and came out stronger both physically and mentally. It was a six-year-long confidence boost that I needed to finally realize I was capable of much more than I thought I was.
I was officially introduced to and completely fell in love with CrossFit in 2013. I joined my first box and loved the high-intensity aspect of the training. It was the perfect fitness protocol for what I was doing in the military. I instantly knew I wanted to be a bigger part of this new training method and asked the trainer what the process was to become a coach. After getting all the information I needed, I attended my CrossFit Level 1 Seminar and successfully completed the weekend-long course in August 2013. I didn’t realize at the time how big of a role coaching would play in my life as I transitioned out of the Army. Once I got back to civilian life, I huge hole had been left and needed to be filled very quickly. I started to lose my sense of purpose and felt no motivation for anything again. Thankfully, I always had my CrossFit buddies and my classes to coach. I decided to direct all my focus on becoming the best coach I could and learning as much as possible about CrossFit. I made it my new mission to assist anyone who felt lost or misguided. Specifically, those needing help with transitioning from military life to civilian life. Now, my passion for coaching and love for helping others have evolved into instilling the confidence that I once needed in others. So they know, without any doubt, that they are far more capable than they may give themselves credit for.
