Feats of Strength:
As a coach, I bring the passion that I was missing as a musician, I bring the purpose that I searched for in the military, and I bring the importance of hard work that my family taught me. It’s always been more than a gym. The importance of an active lifestyle was taught to me at an early age. My dad had a lot of health issues when I was younger, and to combat his sickness we all went on family hikes and bike rides each weekend to get physically and mentally stronger. One of our biggest accomplishments as a family was summiting Half Dome in Yosemite when I was only in middle school. As we grew older, the family adventures became less frequent and were replaced with classical trumpet. The same hard work, determination, and grit from those early hiking trips transferred into practicing long hours each day to reach the top. I received a full scholarship to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for trumpet performance. I quickly learned that talent and hard work were not the only things needed to become a successful musician—I was missing passion and purpose. With my “always look forward” mindset, I enlisted in the Air Force to find that purpose. I loved Basic Training—the early morning runs, the routine, the camaraderie, the leadership. I found where I needed to be. I spent the next eight years in an Aeromedical Staging Squadron with the best people I know. I became incredibly mentally strong but realized I was missing physical toughness. After an eye-opening incident where I almost dropped a patient, I joined CrossFit the next week and fell in love with the purpose and camaraderie that reminded me of Basic Training. As a coach, I bring the passion I was missing as a musician, the purpose I found in the military, and the work ethic my family taught me. It has always been more than a gym.
