So here it goes....
Life sure has done a complete 180 degree turn around from where I was 5 years ago. I grew up in a small town outside of Chicago and always dreamed of moving to California and chasing whiskey, women, and gold. Needless to say I finally made it out to California but instead of chasing those things I continued on a different journey. My better half, (Steph), always says, "Everything happens for a reason". The more I live the more I believe that. Instead of my selfish intentions I had when I was younger I have really tried in the last 5 years to better those around me by bettering myself.
All the negative and selfish actions I took when I was younger transformed into negative results. I got in tons of trouble and hurt a lot of people on my way down my own personal spiral of hell. I ended up 22 years old, sitting in a jail cell asking myself, "Is this really what I want to do with my time on earth?" The answer I came up with was a definite "No." From that moment forward I've tried very hard to change my life around. What I needed was a new beginning and that's when my dream of San Diego was reborn and reevaluated.
Like any great man in history they have had a great counterpart and mine is my girlfriend Stephanie. She has gotten me through the toughest time in my life and brought joy to the happiest times in my life. I'm so happy and proud that she has found the bodybuilding lifestyle and really ran with it as well as anyone can.
I've been training for 12 years and have always trained hard and heavy. I played football in high school and graduated at 155 pounds but benching close to 300 pounds. I was bench pressing and squating more than the offensive linemen as a defensive back. So I've always been strong for my weight and still train hard and heavy. I had the drive and ability to grow muscle but I didn't have the discipline until about 5 years ago when I changed my lifestyle and started researching nutrition and supplementation. I gained 20 pounds the summer of 2006 and have kept improving ever since.
Signing up for World Gym San Diego was one of the best moves Steph and I have ever made. I thought I knew what I was doing until I met the Freaks at Worlds! I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. The knowledge I have obtained from our friends at the gym is first of all very appreciated and very valuable. This blog won't always be about the gym but more about my life and the experiences life brings me. The gym is a huge part of my life but not the only thing I love.
I train because it keeps me out of trouble. Some people train to gain what their perception of perfection is, some people train because they are too short to do anything else, some people train because it's "Time to grow" (which seems like all the time). I train because I have a hard time staying out of trouble. I need to occupy my time with something positive or those negative thoughts start to creep in my brain. I can't help it, it's just the way I'm built so I struggle every day to keep my mind on the right path. Friends ask me if I ever think about competing in bodybuilding or powerlifting, I'm sure I will some day but for right now I feel like every day is a competition between my mind and body in the gym and that is satisfying enough at this point.
Now that I got that out of the way, I hope you look forward to new blogs about the gym, training, friends, traveling, motorsports, and anything else I can get my dirty hands on.
