Tell us a little about you...
Professional Bboy (breakdancer) turned Competitive CrossFitter. Filled with hope, optimism, the belief in human potential, and a side of existential dread. Contrarian, outlier, avid laugher. Athlete artist hybrid. Full-time coach supreme.
🏋🏽♂️Coach/Athlete, @strangecrossfit
✏️Writer, @icouldnthavesaiditbetter
🤖 Paranoid Android, Knuckleheads Cali
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Where did your fitness/athletic journey begin?
I started breakin’ in 97’. I was competitive for 15+ years and was fortunate enough to travel the world. I’ve been teaching, coaching, instructing since before I could’ve possibly known what I was doing (16 years old). I learned along the way. My journey into CrossFit started literally in the Mean Streets of LA. I survived Ronnie Teasdale, which equipped me to essentially survive anything. I’ve taught at multiple prestigious gyms in the greater Los Angeles area, some phony ones too.
What’s your favorite part about your sport?
Self-discovery. Human potential. Coming into your own strength, both physically and mentally. Coaching, coaching more than anything allows me to gift people with their own flame, to pour gasoline on their potential, to reignite the great wildfire each of us has inside.
On Coaching: This is what I do for a living. I lean in. I tilt my head. I try to see the world from an angle in which you cannot. I try to relay to you what I’ve seen from the outside looking in. I try to provide safe passage to who you are becoming. I arm you with the tools to betterment. The metal of life, the weight of the world. We lift it, together. We journey up the mountain, together. We are here, today, together. You don’t have to go alone, just let me lean in, and let’s see what we see.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
Less serious than I’m often thought to be, although I take my craft and passions very seriously, the lightness of it all helps with its density. Often times I believe I get typecast, a 'real book by its cover' mentality. Sure, I look a certain way, but I would hope that we live in a world that knows better by now. I’m more approachable than I’m given credit. I care about equality, and inclusivity deeply. All are welcome.
What do you do outside of training/coaching?
I enjoy writing and laughing as hard as humanly possible. I’m passionate about film, and art, and literature. In my time outside of coaching, I try to expand my little piece of the world with new sounds, and experiences.
Much like anything we learn in the gym, most growth comes from discomfort. This means trying new things regularly, communicating, and seeking out the things that really make life worth living. That’s certainly what I do outside of training.
What’s your favorite kind of dessert?
If y’all got a damn Susie Cakes in your town, you need to not sleep on that celebration cake. It’s like some frosted f-in’ cloud and covered it in all your hopes and dreams.
What’s been your most memorable time as an athlete?
The first time I was ever taken seriously as an athlete/artist was when I was awarded an all-expense-paid trip overseas for Breakin’. I must’ve been 19, and it was the first time my parents ever batted an eye at what I decided to do with my non-traditional path in life. I got to perform in front of hundreds of people in Paris. It was the start of some sort of assurance that anything was possible.
What have been some trying times in your athletic career and what have they taught you?
Dislocating my elbow, laterally, in 2011. Thought I would never be whole again, but I didn’t give up, worked around it, and found a way. That was when I was still breakin’, as I started doing CF, it presented new problems and would dislocate with OH movements.
Still, I wouldn’t be deterred, worked around it, strengthen it, and continue to do so to this day. As a result of my determination in the matter, I’ve been able to lift just as heavy as I imagined that I one day would.
Tell us a little about your accolades
I moved to LA with 40 bucks and a skateboard and survived. I quit drinking cold turkey and changed professions overnight. I did some time at school when I was younger too.
What’s your favorite thing to cook for dinner?
The Standard, chicken, and rice. I live in a world where I seldom get tired of eating the same thing over and over. I realize that this does not resonate with everyone.
What does your diet/nutrition look like?
Macro counting. A constant editing process to understand what works best for me, but the gist, BW protein, high carb, low fat, and a day a week where I’m like, whatever.
Tell us a little about your training regimen - how do you prioritize your performance with the rest of your life?
5 days a week, the regular Thurs/Sun rest/recovery days. Double 3-4x per week. Strength 3x per week, various domains, and energy system training. Polarized, and progressive overload. High intensity, heavy lifts, and developing neurological efficiencies.
What’s the biggest piece of advice that you’ve been given, that’s made an impact on you as an individual, that you wish to share with others for their journey?
I was told to “turn my brain off” my first year of CrossFit and thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard. Over time I would continue going to a place that was otherwise dark, and when you’re there all you can seem to think of is how bad it hurts, and your brain typically tells your body to stop, not usually the other way around.
As I spent more time in “the suck” you realize that more and more you can quiet the screaming and push harder, longer, and as a result provide a stimulus for your body to adapt, and have more comfort in such an awful place. So yeah, turn your brain off. 😂
Why do you choose Swolverine?
I think the sponsorships, partnerships, ambassadors, etc, are so incredibly corny and saturated with people who are obviously paid enough to bump a product. I’m not into that, I’ve never been into that, which is why I’ve never worked with a company.
The checklist is as follows:
- Science: does the thing actually work or have any sort of backing based in reality.
- Does the company present itself in a way that I admire, is respectable, and aesthetically pleasing?
- Does the company itself allow individuals to be individuals, support autonomy, and creative endeavors?
- Do they let you show up how you’d like to show up in the world?
Swolverine checks all those boxes for me.
What are your favorite Swolverine products?
At the CrossFit Cascade Classic, I basically survived off of CLEAN CARBS for 3 days straight, and the pre-workout (RX Stack) damn near saved my life. After this? I was in.
