What is your athletic background?  Played Football and wrestled at Kent University (NCAA Division 1 school), 2001-2005; Played Professional Football (NFL, CFL, AFL, AF2, and AFIA), 2005-2009; Compete in Strongman as an Amateur and Professional, 2009-Present.

 

How did you get started in the sport?  After I was done with my football career, my friend Jeremy Hartman introduced me to a couple of competitors and I tried out some events. It was fun but I didn’t commit, but after training in the gym for a couple years, I decided to train specifically for strongman for a couple months and I decided to do my first Strongman Show held in Xenia, Ohio in 2009. The promoter was Orie Barnett and he ran a great show, I was hooked after that.

 

What accomplishment in the sport are you most proud of?  Earning my ASC Pro-Card at the Arnold Classic in 2012.

 

What's the biggest goof/screw up/rookie mistake you've made in a contest?  At America’s Strongest Man at the Olympia, after watching numerous competitors complete a Suicide Medley (Load three 250+ lb implements in a sled and drag it 75 feet) in which they all soaked the bottom of their shoes for more traction. I was so pumped up I missed that and tried to drag a 1000+ lb sled with no traction, needless to say I didn’t go very far and I got last place in the event, losing some major points in the process. What makes it worse was everyone was screaming for me to soak my feet but I for some reason couldn’t hear anyone. It’s a moment that will haunt my mind forever. 

 

What is your favorite event?  Log Press 

 

What is your least favorite event?  Husafell stone

 

What is your best nugget of advice for a person new to the sport?  The biggest piece of advice I would tell someone is that you stay within yourself, don’t let these astronomical numbers that are being lifted around you deter you. Focus on getting stronger, set your own goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them. This sport is a marathon not a sprint, nobody comes in this sport and dominates right away, everyone has to pay their dues.