Software developer by day and competitive strongman by night. As a software developer, I’ve been able to move around a lot in the states and train at many different gyms including Total Performance Sports in Everett, MA, Seattle Strength and Power in Seattle, WA and now East Coast West Coast Strength and Conditioning in Costa Mesa, CA. I got my first taste of actual powerlifting and strongman competition at Seattle Strength and Power in 2009 when I moved to Seattle. Here I trained under powerlifting guru Todd Christensen and gained my first strongman training partners, Dave Van Skike and Pete Markoff. Eventually I moved back to Boston for a brief stint where I trained under the direction of CJ Murphy. In 2011, I moved out to California and met up with my recent strongman home of ECWC. I’ve been training with this crew for four years now and it is by far the strongest and most dedicated group of training partners I have ever had.
Stories:
My first competition ever was Mike Kromer’s Rib Breaker Challenge in 2009 in Washington. It was probably the most brutal competition I have done to date mainly because I was completely unprepared only having trained with implements for a month leading up to it. In addition to that, the competition had 9 or so competitors so the entire show was ran *VERY* quickly. I think all 5 events were done in less than 120 minutes. I ended up taking 4th out of 6. Nothing special but it got me a taste of the sport and I was hooked. It was also the first time I witnessed Zack McCarley and his overhead pressing technique. I believe he hit a 225 lb axle for 19 in 60 seconds but I just remember thinking “I have work to do, I only hit 6”. Since then I haven’t stopped training and just recently in California’s Strongest Man 2015, I hit a 255 lb axle for 19.
In 2014, leading up to NAS Strongman Nationals, I traveled for 6 weeks right up to the day of weigh ins. I traveled from California -> Massachusetts -> Iceland -> Washington -> Reno. The experience was great but needless to say, it had a big impact on my training. Even with the opportunity to meet Magnus ver Magnusson and Stefan solvi Petursson and train at Jakabol for a month, the travel and unpredictability of everything took its toll on me. Even so, I managed to place 10th at Nationals. The following weekend after Nationals, I competed in the IHGF Strength Games and Stones of Strength US Championship and placed well enough to earn a spot in the world championships in Europe this coming June in both Norway and Hungary.
Sponsors:
East Coast West Coast Strength and Conditioning (Home of pros Cameron Gardner, Scott Brengel, Beau Gertz, Erik Peterson, Sean Demarinis and Casey Garrison as well as amateurs Tom Yanuzzi and Liefia Ingalls)
Hand Armor Liquid Chalk
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Links:
Competition History:
2009 Alki Bench/Deadlift Meet, Deadlifted 573 lb at 215.4 lb bodyweight
2009 Fife Holiday Powerlifting Meet, Squatted 518 (Single Ply), Benched 418 (Single Ply), Deadlifted 601 (Raw) at 235 lb bodyweight
2009 Rib Breaker Challenge Kennewick WA 4th Place, LW
2010 Paxton Strongman Slam 1st Place, LW
2010 NAS Strongman Nationals 32nd Place, LW
2010 Paxton Strongman 6th Place, LW
2011 Granite State Strongman Championships 2nd Place, LW
2011 Fitness Revolution Strongman Contest 1st Place, LW
2011 St. Jude's Charity Strongman Competition 3rd Place, HW
2011 Rhode Island Strongman Championship 2nd Place, LW
2012 California's Strongest Man 7th Place, LW
2012 Dallas Europa Platinum Plus 10th Place, LW
2013 California's Strongest Man 1st Place, LW
2013 NAS Strongman Nationals 7th Place, LW
2014 California's Strongest Man 3rd Place, LW
2014 Golden State Strongest Man 1st Place, LW
2014 Rocky Mountain Strongest Man Platinum Plus 2nd Place, LW
2014 Odd Haugen Strength Challenge 11th Place, LW
2014 NAS Strongman Nationals 10th Place, LW
2014 IHGF North American Stones of Strength 4th Place, Open Weight Class
2014 IHGF North American Strength Games Championships 2nd Place, Open Weight Class
2015 California's Strongest Man 1st Place, LW