As 
I sit here on my patio almost a week after placing 8th in the L.A. Grand Prix, I can’t seem to get this smile off my face. What a roller coaster of a week. After the show I had several days of shoots; Iron Man, Reps and Noel Daganta for some cover attempts. On the last day of my stay in LA, I went to Six Flags for a full eight hours of riding coasters. It was a nice way to end the week. What’s funny is, I remember sitting on this exact patio enjoying the warmth of the Arizona sunset three weeks ago after winning the Governors’ Cup in Sacramento feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Although I came away with a very disappointing placement at the L.A. Grand Prix, I was able to arrive in the best shape of my life and achieve in my physique the image up until this point that has only been a vision in my mind. When you think you lose, you really win. It's all about your life goals and your perspective on where you are at in reaching those goals.
People are always competing for different reasons. That is why I love this industry! To me, some of the most amazing winners are body transformation clients; moms that balance several kids and work and still arrive in amazing shape, fifty year-old men that look to be in their thirties, women that appear to be fifteen years younger than their age or a teen who decides to take it to the next level. You can see the drive and the fire in their eyes. It’s this fire that perhaps most importantly motivates those around them.
Eleven years ago, I was in a near fatal car accident. 
I was 17 yrs. old and heading down to Phoenix on Hwy. 87 as a passenger in a 75 mph roll over. Back then I was young and I thought invincible, which is why I was not wearing a seat belt. I have no idea how I was not ejected from the truck, but I stayed inside and bounced around for a while. I vividly remember my knee caving into the dash as soon as we hit that first boulder, which caused my femur and hip to break. After that, I had a nice visit from the windshield and roof (a little head trauma and facial lacerations came from that). I remember several paramedics carrying me off that mountain into the helicopter that had landed on the highway. After that I don’t remember much, except it took me many days to finally get out of my hospital bed. I remember seeing myself in the mirror for the first time. It was two and a half years after picking up my first weight. I had gone from 93 to 135 lbs. Instead of really seeing my reflection with stitches, staples, and glue, I saw how far I had come. Over the last year and a half, I had carried a cooler with food around with me and ate between classes at Payson High School. 
My teachers hated it, but always let me do it, thankfully.
After the accident, I was in bed for a long time. Eventually to a wheelchair, then to crutches, then nothing, once again back to crutches and finally cleared to go all out on my legs and anything else I chose to do. The gym was all I knew and loved, so I dove in headfirst. I read and continued to build my knowledge of Bodybuilding; the history of it, professional athletes, current training styles, dieting techniques, and supplementation.
At first I trained in my chair. I still remember wheeling into work at Payson Athletic Club. By the look on my dad’s face, I could tell he was a little worried that it was too early for me to be back in the gym. It may have been too soon, but I couldn’t stop. I was like a kid in a candy store, lighting up inside. Feeling thankful to be alive, I was grateful for everything I did have instead of being pissed about the accident and everything I had lost. I could not have done it without several people in my life at this time; Bill Handy, Don Ray, Chris Stuart, Steve Mullahan, Donnie Brenner, Kevin Scully, Reuben, my boss Kevin Rush, and many others in that gym. 
My parents, sisters and brother-in-laws have always supported me in everything I do. My friends helped me to rack and un-rack my weights. I pulled from many types of training styles and a variety of techniques, but most importantly, I learned discipline.
After more than a year and a second surgery to take pins out of my femur, I was cleared 100% to do legs. I remember my surgeon saying, “Squats and leg press are a go!” At first, I tailored my training on purely form. My legs were weak. I remember squatting just over 100 lbs. and having trouble with it. It was frustrating to say the least. I worked on mastering 135 lbs. on my squats. I had developed bone spurs, which caused my I.T. band to snap back and forth across it. It ached, but was more of a mental injury than physical. With every snap I was reminded of why my legs were weak.
This was a very hard time in my life. However without this experience, I would not be where I am today. This was a major turning point in my life. In the end, it was the defining moment of my future life and those in it.
It took nine years of utilizing the “Priority Principle” for my legs before I would step foot on a Bodybuilding stage. Through the years, I had become truly fascinated with Frank Zane’s training methods and overall thoughts and views on what I consider to be the Art of Bodybuilding. I wanted perfect symmetry and conditioning head to toe before I made my Bodybuilding debut.
We 
all have obstacles and pitfalls and things that seem especially tragic at the time. We must continue to push forward as there is no other choice. When I look back at the last 13 years on my life, the one thing that has always been constant is my training and nutrition. No matter what was happening in my life, I always found a way to prioritize this. My training partner Justin Mason stopped me once in the middle of a workout and said, “Sacrifice now, equals success later.” I still abide by that quote because I understand the real meaning of it. Don’t ever let anyone, or anything stop you from going after your dreams. When you sit down and think deeply about it, the only thing stopping you IS YOU. Any goal that is truly great is NOT going to come easy. You have to fight for it everyday, constantly.
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