When I was 11 my sister enlisted in the Army after 9/11. It was a scary time for everyone, but I remember her writing home from basic training about how they were doing pushups, situps and running all the time. That summer I also discovered Rocky III and with those two in my mind, I started exercising by running as far as I could every day. It was very humbling because I could only run to my neighbors mailbox the first day. The day after I ran to the other side of his driveway, about 10 more feet.

I kept on with that until I finally ran the entire .8 mile loop we lived on, and I was hooked

I knew then, that this life was for me, and ran every day after school, doing pushups, sit ups, pullups off a door frame.

I enlisted in 2008, on my mother’s birthday and a month before I turned 18.

In the Army I thrived on the fitness, it’s what I looked forward to every day, albeit that took up most of our days.

Once I came home I dove deeper into the fitness world.

I scored highest on my fitness testing within my company and was given the honor to hold the company guidon, representing the 94th Military Police Company next to the commander and/or First Sergeant.

I knew fitness was the key to a successful life

I made it my mission to help as many as I could, and when we went to Iraq in 2010, I was introduced to lifting heavy

After that, it was a downhill roll, picking up speed and making fitness, strength, and health my passion

Let’s skip to 2011, after my first tour in Iraq, because this is when I realized I wanted to make my passion for working out and training into my life’s work.

On a whim, I embarked upon a road trip from my hometown in New Hampshire to Wisconsin to visit my older and only sister, Jen, and her husband, Scott. Scotty had just begun a full-time position for the Army. During my time with them, I decided to put down some roots in Wisconsin and try my hand at personal training. 

Although I was massively nervous, I completed and passed the test required to officially become a personal trainer. In the months leading up to the test, I loved waking up before the sun to train with Scotty at the YMCA. Sometimes we would practice fitness at the Unit via less conventional although very effective methods such as: pushing trucks, carrying rocks, flipping and throwing tires, and knocking out pull ups.

With my certification complete, I began the search for consistent employment in the personal training realm. I was offered and accepted an intern coaching position with Paradise Springs Spa and Fitness for group training. Here, I expanded my knowledge of all things health and fitness by learning new ways to train and by further developing my mental encyclopedia of movements. I gained valuable experience training those with limitations and those who exceeded the standards.

I fully immersed myself in the Paradise ways. I became more fit, I moved better, and I learned everything I possibly could. This translated to my clients as well. I always practice what I preach.

There was only one thing missing, in my professional opinion, and that was: maximal strength.

I had great cardiovascular conditioning, sure, but I had a difficult time managing heavier weights and loads. As a soldier, I needed to be both conditioned and strong. To avoid describing gruesome visuals, simply imagine what might be required to rescue a fellow soldier from harm.

As a solution to my disorganized relationship with maximal strength, and to become a better soldier, I began strongman training. Strongman competitions possess brute strength, power, and physical endurance. They acquire it by training with odd objects like cars, logs, kegs, logs, sleds, you name it… I started to accumulate and train with similar equipment.

The first tire I purchased I couldn’t even flip. I made my own heavy sandbags and kegs. I found axles to use as barbells. I swung heavy kettlebells and pulled sleds loaded up with weights. Within a year of adopting these training methods, I not only kept my conditioning, but I added ten pounds of muscle and grew stronger.

By the end of the summer, in 2013, I could flip that same tire endlessly, my deadlift and back squat both increased by almost 100 pounds, and I realized I had only become more fit by prioritizing strength first.

In 2014, I received news I’d be deploying to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. While there, I struggled to maintain the level of physical fitness I had worked so hard to achieve. The gyms were not equipped to support circuit training, there were zero strongman elements, and my training partners often quit. Twelve hour shifts in the Caribbean heat were absolutely draining. Shall I go on?

I felt stuck.

In an attempt to re-invigorate my relationship with working out, I went back to my roots: Westside Barbell and Louie Simmons. I obtained my certification as a Westside Barbell personal trainer, and Louie’s methods continue to heavily influence almost everything I do as an individual and for my clients in the gym.

After that first tour in Guantanamo Bay, I returned to Wisconsin with my newly acquired Westside Barbell certification in hand. I took a position coaching powerlifting at a CrossFit gym in West Bend. I needed more, so I began coaching the CrossFit classes as well. Here, I obtained my CrossFit Level 1 certification, but it became so much more than another coaching job. I fell in love with the community and the sense of a “gym family”. This aspect kept me coaching there for five years.

During my time coaching CrossFit, I also dedicated time to personal feats. I competed in strongman and made it to the national level. During this training, I realized where CrossFit training is lacking, so I supplemented the missing elements to help make the members better. I even invented Strongman Sunday which was a class designed to help expose and teach the CrossFit members to move odd objects and maximal loads more efficiently and safely.

Sadly, like most, I suffered loss of employment at the CrossFit gym due to one of our least favorite C words in March of 2020. In the same month, I learned I had to return to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for my third tour. It was worse the second time. I became more jaded. Upon completion of the deployment, I returned home out of sorts and out of touch with where I wanted to take my life next.

Though I missed coaching and personal training, I decided to take a semester to focus on my bachelors degree in Kinesiology. My girlfriend noticed I was still lost and suggested I find another coaching job, but I didn’t want to return to CrossFit or the YMCA. I no longer wanted be coerced to train people ways I do not support.

By November of 2021, I noticed a particular building up for lease. Once upon a time, I had promised myself that if it ever became available - I’d turn it into a gym.

I hesitated. The building quickly leased to someone else, but it was the catalyst to what happened next.

I found a different space, filled it with brand new equipment, created means for 24 hour access, and began actively working to rebuild the gym family left scattered by pandemic and a loss of community. The bones of Sharpened Athletics were being built.

During these early days of Sharpened Athletics, people noticed what I was trying to create for the community, and they volunteered their time to help make Sharpened Athletics fully operational. I am eternally grateful to those who got me started, and your efforts truly filled my heart. You helped me find my place in the world.

On March 19, 2022, the doors officially opened with ten members training the first week of business. We thrived for eight full months until we received distressing news that the landlord had elected to not renew the lease. We lost the space, some members, and a little heart.

Thankfully, the Sharpened family stepped in and we secured a new space, gained some new members, and we continue to discover and define what it means to be a Sharpened Athlete.

Sharpened Athletics is currently partnered with Neutral Ground Combat Sports. Their facility serves as our physical location in West Bend, WI. We enjoy their energy, dedication to their craft, and sharing a space with like-minded individuals.