I grew up in a town where the only options were to make something of yourself or join the crowd. So I decided to make something of myself. I put pride in myself with football and weightlifting and becoming a volunteer Fire Fighter in my community. My Football career started in middle school where I was no stand-out player. Once I began focusing on powerlifting as a potential Olympic hopeful in high school my career took a turn. I changed positions to Defensive Tackle. I shifted my focus when I found football to be more fun.