This is a very fun look back on my life, and the things that have molded me into who I am today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
Age 12 or 13…
I grew up in a great household where my mom was very interested in nutrition and keep us kids healthy. But at some point my mom got overwhelmed with all of the sports that we (my brother, sister, and myself) were playing, and we ate fast food a lot. My mom is very health conscious, but she will tell you that during that time she kind of let that go. I mean, we would eat at McDonalds multiple times a week. It was bad.
I remember getting a number 3, super sized with extra BBQ sauce for my fries, and a giant Coke.
At the time I didn’t have a grasp on how diet had a relationship with health or body fat storage. But if I look at pictures during that time I was totally a fat kid.
Fortunately I played a lot of sports (baseball, basketball, soccer) all the time.
Age 16
My mom let (the 3 of) us have the choice of going to public school if we wanted to, and all 3 of us decided to go at different times. I decided to go to school in 10th grade, which was the first year of high school in my area of north Seattle (Woodinville).
At that time I made that decision because most of my friends were going to high school, and I wanted to socialize more that I was home schooling. And let’s be real… I wanted to meet girls :-).
From a learning perspective, high school was a complete joke. It was a major step backwards from my home schooling experience where I had specialty tutors in each area of school.
But, the high school sports, parties, and social activities were great!
By the time I was 16 I had hit a growth spirt and the weight that I’d gained as a youngster was melting away, but I was kind of scrawny. I was that athletic kid who didn’t have much muscle, but could throw a baseball, and shoot a basketball pretty well.
Age 16-18
At some point during high school I started looking up to people that had big muscles. I looked at them like they had a sense of power. They were superheroes in real life.
I started weight lifting and my body started changing!
Age 19
I got a baseball scholarship at Lower Columbia College, and hated the whole experience, but found bodybuilding.
I put on 20 pounds of muscle in my freshman year, and went from a skinny baseball pitcher to someone who was recognized as having big muscles. Not to mention, I became the “go to” person for weight lifting advice.
Age 20-21
I took bodybuilding too far, and in my pursuit of getting as BIG as possible I got fat… Putting on a lot of muscle takes time, but no one ever want to wait for anything in our society. So, I ate everything in sight, and the next thing I knew I was just the “big guy”, and not the guy with huge muscles anymore.
During this time I was voraciously consuming as much information on health, fitness, and nutrition as I could. I was reading Flex, Muscle & Fitness, and Muscular Development magazines cover to cover, and trying to find any books that talked about muscle gain.
Age 21-24
I transfered to San Diego State University where I studied to get my degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in fitness, nutrition, and health.
During this time I started my personal training career at 24 Hour Fitness.
I also kept pursuing bodybuilding, and many times I yoyo’ed myself from ripped to fat, and ripped to fat. At one point I was almost 230 pounds. This might not sounds like a lot, but I started my college baseball career at 170 pounds.
Age 25-26
I moved back to Seattle to be closer to family, and all that the Pacific North West offers.
Age 26
I followed my girlfriend to New York City where I became a personal trainer at the prestigious Sports Club/LA. During this time I continued learning about how to optimize health, fitness, and nutrition by getting certified by several different personal training associations as well as getting my Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certificate.
Living in NYC was a total trip, and one of the best and worst times of my life.
Age 27
Bodybuilding wasn’t happening for me. I was tired of the ups and downs of getting ripped, and unhealthy, and then fat and unhealthy.
I started looking for something else that would fulfill my need for athletic competition and growth…
I’d always been good at running, so I started doing short races around NYC. These races took me all over the the NYC Burroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn). After doing a few of the race, and having a great time, I found out that if I completed 10 of them I could get an automatic bid into the New York City Marathon.
I figured, what the heck… let’s try a marathon.
Age 28
NYC Marathon
Something that I did differently than most people during marathon training was keeping up with my heavy weight lifting. Leading up to the marathon I was still deadlifting 405#, squatting over 315#, and benching over #275, all for 8-12 reps.
The marathon was by no means easy, but I learned something about myself on that day…
…if you’ve ever been to NYC during the marathon then you know that it’s a HUGE mess of people. Getting a cab is near impossible, and if you want to take the subway it’s going to take you forever. So, after running the marathon I was still feeling pretty good. The traffic was a mess, so I decided to run home from the marathon finish.
I figured what’s another couple of miles after running 26.2…
This started a whole new chapter in my life. Ultra distance sports!
Age 29
Did my first ultra marathon 50k, and 50 mile races.
Started investing in real estate. This was hard, but rewarding. I learned how to overcome adversity by cold calling real estate investors, and house sellers. For the first few months I had no idea what I was talking about, but after trudging through the calls and tough conversations, I started to get more comfortable. This was an incredible learning experience.
This is also when I started speaking from stage. Yowza was that uncomfortable, but now it’s no big deal.
Age 30
I found CrossFit, and my body started changing immediately. I was leaner, and holding more muscle than ever before.
Moved back to Seattle, and during the road trip across the country I ran the Pikes Peak marathon course unsupported (when the marathon wasn’t happening) with my brother.
Immediately after that road trip I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon (ChelanMan).
Started Seattle Real Estate Investing with Erik (best friend). This was an amazing adventure! At the time our goal were inline, but we really knew nothing about how a business should run. Sometimes we made money, and sometimes we didn’t.
Age 31
I decided it would be a good idea to get into Ironman triathlons, so…
…this year I did another 50 mile ultra marathon, followed three months later by my first Ironman, followed three months after that by my second Ironman. My body was messed up after that!
Age 32
I started taking competitive CrossFit seriously, and trying 2+ hours a day.
Appeared in Runners World Magazine.
Erik (business partner and best friend) moved to San Diego to take a job that would bring him and his family a more consistent income. I turned to coaching more CrossFit, making money through affiliate real estate websites, and doing odd jobs to make money.
Age 33
After 2 hard years of training I made it to the CrossFit Regionals on a team of 3 guys and 3 girls, and we finished 8th. Only 5 places away from moving on to the CrossFit Games.
I met my current business partner (Julie) at real estate meet up event that I was invited to speak at. We decided to co-run the real estate meet up, and formed the company we run now about one and a half years later.
Age 34
I was diagnosed with severe adrenal fatigue, and had to take 2 months of every kind of working out. All I could do was go on walks.
At this point I started reevaluating my whole thought process around training, nutrition, relaxation/meditation, and stress. Unfortunately at this time my CrossFit coaches told me there was no such thing as over training, just under recovering. It’s not that they were bad coaches, they just didn’t understand training volume, and how to measure each persons different load tolerances.
During this year I meditated a lot, took more ice baths than most people do in their lives, and really started researching recovery.
Julie and I launched Seattle Investors Club (the formal version of our meet up) to great success!
Age 36
I found InsideTracker blood testing, and found out that although I thought I was eating health (and by most standards I was) I wasn’t eating what MY body needed. I also found that there’s a test that tells you if you’re an easy responder to exercise or not. Which I found out I was an easy responder to exercise, and that I don’t need to workout as much as most people to get the same results.
Before blood testing
3 months after blood testing (on the right)
As life continues I will keep learning more about myself, and I will keep reporting what I learn, so you can improve with me. 🙂
