I began exploring the human body and its performance potential when playing quarterback in high school. Between my athletic and scholastic accomplishments I landed various scholarship offers, which eventually culminated in my graduation as an honor student-athlete from Idaho State University. In a quest to maximize my athletic performance during my football career, I began to intensively study strength and conditioning concepts and nutritional philosophies. Not long after college, I accepted an offer to play quarterback and coach in the Italian Professional Football League for the Ancona Dolphins.

Once I returned to the United States, I decided to apply the years of training experience and knowledge by helping others to achieve their desired physique. This began my career as a personal trainer. It didn’t take long for me to realize that fitness was only one of many aspects of a healthy, proactive lifestyle. This led me to compliment my training methodologies with in-depth application of nutritional science and soft-tissue manual therapy. It wasn’t about shifting my focus to nutrition or massage techniques – it was about creating an all-encompassing approach for each individual that would yield results not only on a scale, but within the context of living a life full of heath, vitality, and fun.

My interest in business started when completing coursework aimed towards an Accounting degree. Being able to get an insider perspective on how companies and businesses operate on a macro- and micro-scale encouraged me to start formulating my own ideas on how businesses should operate. After college, I became a Certified Public Accountant after working for a large regional public accounting firm. Applying previously learned concepts to real-world problems proved to be an exciting challenge, so I began to consider starting a business of my own. I opened a tax preparation & consulting office on California’s own Venice Beach boardwalk in order to ensure a proper work/life balance was built right into my busy work day. I continued to spend portions of the calendar year building and developing my accounting business while committing the rest of the year focusing on health and wellness projects.

The real breakthrough came when I left for Europe to play football professionally. Only then did I realize how taxing the accounting profession, or any other desk job, really was on the human body. Humans did not evolve to sit all day. Instead of returning to accounting work, I went with my gut, setting the stage for the formation of my company, LEAF Lifestyle. Although initially focused on helping fellow accountants and business professionals combat typical aches and pains created by long work hours and a seated lifestyle, it was clear that mys expertise was needed outside of the financial community. LEAF expanded its offering to serve a wider range of high-end clientele, including actors, executives, entertainers, educators, athletes, as well as youth and the elderly. Our Wellness Studio in Santa Monica, California has helped hundreds of people find optimal health and wellness.

My passion for teaching and helping is the ultimate driving force behind all of my endeavors. Behind that passion is my understanding that knowledge, accompanied with experience, is the only key to attaining success; and sustaining that success is dependent upon putting that knowledge to good use and sharing it whenever possible. I wouldn’t have any of my success as a fitness and lifestyle expert or as an entrepreneur if it wasn’t for my constant pursuit of knowledge and educational experiences. Often, knowledge is understood to be a relative measure comparable to the number of books someone has read, or the letters that appear after his last name, such as PhD or MD. My take on this topic is a little different:

1) Knowledge spreads far beyond the confines of a book or an academic institution
2) Knowledge is being able to ask the difficult questions to which answers may not even exist yet
3) Knowledge is understanding the benefits of “failure” and being “wrong”
4) Knowledge is questioning your core beliefs and being open and receptive to the opinions of others
5) Knowledge is what happens when you just say “Yes” to opportunity

Following this mantra, I have been actively learning for many years through books, seminars, and certifications, as well as balancing that knowledge with lessons learned through adventurous life experiences.