I consider myself and incredibly blessed person. I grew up with an amazing family. My mom was a great and supportive mother that always had some good food ready to go for dinner when I'd get home from practice. My Dad was my biggest fan, best supporter and knew how to coach me. My sisters were good sports when I was young and my dad would make them let me practice wrestling moves on them on the living room floor. They hated it but complied. I started wrestling at a 5 years old and continued in the sport until I was 25. Through my career, I won 8 state titles in Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling. Placed in multiple national competitions. My sophomore year in high school I placed 3rd in the state championships, then junior and senior year took second. Won the senior level Rocky Mountain Regionals twice. I went on to have a decent college career, however at the end of my junior and senior years in college, I ended up having season ending injuries. After my senior season, I was convinced that my career was done. However my father convinced me to give the sport one more go. The governing body for international wrestling styles "FILA" was incorporating grappling into the wrestling styles and was going to be hosting a world championship in Antalya Turkey in 2007. I ended up pursuing the tournament. First qualifying for the world team trials by placing 3rd in the Virginia beach trials. From there, I went on to win the national championship and world team trial held in Las Vegas Nevada where I earned my spot on the world team. Competing in Turkey, I was blessed to win the gold medal for the USA. At this point this was the highlight of my career and I decided to pursue business in the next phase of my life. Despite my success as an athlete I had constant struggles with my health. Between the ages of 5 and 15 I had five sinus surgeries, my tonsils removed, allergy tests, biopsy's done on my lungs, all with no real conclusions. I was in and out of hospitals and doctors having multiple cases of pneumonia every year. I had a doctor tell my mother right in front of me when i was 6 or 7 year old that I'd never excel as an athlete, I'd never have any quality of life and that I probably wouldn't live much past 30 years old. My parents were frustrated and so was I. After I hung up my wrestling shoes, I continued to battle these health issues. In January of 2024 I found out that I've lived my entire life with undiagnosed Cystic Fibrosis. Once diagnosed I was given a medication to treat the genetic condition and I feel better than I have ever felt in my life. About a month and a half before the 2024 Olympics started, I was having a conversation with my father about wrestling. He was mentioning the Olympics and how he wished he could go, then mentioned the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles CA. He told me that I should consider getting tickets and taking my family. He said that by then my son would probably have a year of peewee wrestling under his belt. As he spoke my history flashed through my mind and all the things I've been blessed to accomplish with severely compromised lung function, now that limit is removed. I got goosebumps and knew right away that my son and wife aren't suppose to watch the Olympics with me, they're suppose to watch me compete. I decided in that moment to pursue this dream. If you're willing I'd appreciate your support to help fund the pathway to Gold.