MY STORY
And I love being in the best possible shape I can be, given what works for my daily life and my career. I want to share that love with you. Every day, I want to have the best workout and the most beneficial mindset I can have. Some days I miss the mark, and I don’t accomplish those goals. But if I don’t, I get up the next day, God willing, and do my best to be the best version of myself I can be — in every way.
Working out, being healthy, and spending time in the gym have played a huge role in my life for nearly 25 years. Working out has provided me with therapy when I didn’t have a therapist. Barbells and dumbbells have been levers with which to channel my anger, rage, sadness, or confusion when I felt combustible, vulnerable, and/or lost. I have met many of my closest, most loyal friends and confidants at one gym or another. I have forged what amounts to lifelong brotherhood over the shared vision making oneself a more solid, more disciplined, more formidable man, who knows how to endure temporary discomfort on the way to lasting change.
When I was growing up, I was bullied for being chubby, having “thunder thighs,” a “bubble butt,” and a stomach pooch. I was the subject of locker room ridicule and the butt of many jokes. No matter how many miles I ran, no matter how hard I worked in the school weight room, I couldn’t get rid of my “baby fat.” I know first-hand the sometimes excruciating frustration of feeling like nothing will ever change. I also now know just how much change is truly possible and how profoundly consistent exercise and lifting heavy weights can transform not only the body, but also the mind.
— or at the very least, kept me sane in an insane world and given me positive goals to focus on when it seemed little else in my life was going according to plan. I have sought refuge from the torment of my mind and intrusive thoughts, spending early mornings or late weekend nights at the gym, grinding out extra sets because I wanted to be better, get stronger, and prove to myself that I could accomplish a stated goal. I wanted to prove that I was stronger (physically and mentally) than I sometimes allowed myself to believe. My physical wellness and commitment to excellence with my body have undoubtedly improved my mental health and emotional well-being.
None of this has been made possible by doing half-ass workouts and sitting on the couch eating bon-bons; by talking negatively to myself and telling myself I’ll never accomplish my fitness goals; or by any other manner of excuse. Rather, it’s been accomplished by very hard work in the gym most days of the week, a clear, unwavering mindset, eating a healthy, clean diet that supports my goals, and by studying, researching, and seeking out help, guidance, and mentorship.
I was trained by, and learned from, one of the best to ever do it — Eric “The Trainer” Fleischman. Eric was my trainer in Hollywood for 7 years before his unexpected passing. Eric mentored me both in fitness and in life. He taught me a lot about the body, as well as mental fortitude and strength of character and purpose. He exemplified what it meant to be of service. It’s my wish that through supporting you and leading you toward your fitness goals, I’ll be able to pass on some of the wisdom he shared with me, as well as the passion and unbridled love for fitness and helping others who sincerely desire it. It’s my intention to serve you and serve your goals. I would never encourage you to believe everything I say. Rather, I encourage you to experience it, check it out for yourself, and then decide if what’s shared is helping you look better, feel better, and feel like more of who you really are.
After all, whatever we accomplish in this life, it begins exclusively with the desire to accomplish an end goal and carries forward on the waves of living, breathing things known as thoughts — the thoughts that weave the tapestry of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Thoughts are things. Thoughts create reality. Right now, your thoughts are creating yours. Choose wisely.