I grew up in Ashland, Oregon, I love this little town and am grateful to be born into such a beautiful place. 

Growing up I was always very skinny on the arms and legs while being chubby in the stomach area, weighing around 135 lbs at 6ft tall. I never felt happy with my body, gaining muscle or losing body fat always felt impossible and I thought there was something wrong with me. I gave up on trying for many years. 

At 22 years old I suffered a terrible spine injury, I fractured my spinal cord and bulged two discs in my lumbar spine. The cause of this injury has been labeled a “wear and tear” injury by medical professionals. The incident itself took place as I twisted my body reaching upward to pick up a package weighing no more than 5 lbs. There were no injuries prior to this incident. 

I was rushed to the E.R. and after an MRI was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, two herniated discs and functional scoliosis.

For 9 months I was unable to stand up straight or walk without a limp. For 8 years I experienced sciatic nerve pain traveling down to my foot. I attended Physical Therapy for 6 months but did not find much relief. From age 22-28 I saw dozens of chiropractors, massage therapists, craniosacral healings, acupuncturists and an injection into my spinal cord with little relief to symptoms and no relief to the root cause. 

At age 28 I realized nobody is going to put more energy or effort into helping me, than me. I became obsessed with fitness and exercise. I dived deep into odd and non-traditional methods for treating people with challenging injuries in relation to inactive muscles, scoliosis and postural distortions. When I first attended the gym I would go late when nobody was around because I was embarrassed to have to wear a back brace while exercising. Over time I was able to do short intervals without the brace and eventually found ways to build enough strength to remove the brace entirely and build confidence with my movement. 

Through this whole journey the only thing that has truly helped me was the ability to mentally connect to every muscle in my body, to identify, isolate and strengthen my weak points, to address my postural issues through smart strength training. 

Today I am 90% pain free, I have gone from being unable to walk without terrible pain to being a weightlifter, a runner, a swimmer and soon hopes to compete in triathlons.

This painful experience that has cast a shadow on my life was not only challenging physically but even more challenging mentally and emotionally. But now, what I once referred to as a curse I have molded into a gift.

The Wisdom and Strength this experience provided me with is now the fuel that drives my obsession and love for helping other people through their own unique experiences. I believe it is the source of my growth and gave me a heightened sense of empathy with the people I work with. My greatest wish is to be the guide and support for others that I so desperately needed for myself many years ago.

This is not just my job, this is my obsession, this is my greatest passion.