I have been in the fitness industry since 1996 and honestly can't imagine doing anything else. I started working out regularly in college because I was the smallest guy on the cheerleading squad at Auburn and needed to put on about 30 pounds to hang with the other guys and have the strength to press my partner above my head! Here I am in my senior year celebrating the victory over Alabama in 1997. Putting on that 30 pounds of muscle changed my life and made me aware of just how powerful exercise and physique development could be on the entire human psyche. I started pursing natural bodybuilding contests as a way to express my passion for fitness and placed very well in several local contests. Others starting asking me how to get into shape and before I knew what had happened I was in the personal training industry!
I opened my first personal training studio, Fitness Together, in 2001. I eventually grew that into six studios that I owned and operated right here in Birmingham. I ended up selling all of those studios to purchase the franchise rights to develop the one on one training franchise in AL, FL and NC. I just recently sold the rights to AL and FL after building my three states to over 55 locations.
In late 2007, I had been unable to shake the feeling that I just had to get back directly in the fitness industry and help people transform their lives. I just love everything about fitness and feel like the more people I can help find it and implement it in their lives the better.
Opening Iron Tribe in February of 2010 was been one of the most fun projects that I have ever been a part of! From selling out the Homewood gym in record time to working with so many great franchisees, this has been an incredible journey! My beautiful wife Mendy is also an avid athlete at Iron Tribe and keeps my household running like a Swiss Watch! I could not do what I get to do every day if it were not for her love and support. Mendy and I have four wonderful children. Caroline who is 9 and will probably run for congress, Brooke who is 7 and would live upside down if she could, David who is almost 5 and thinks he may just be Buzz Lightyear, and little Benjamin who is 17 months and we just adopted from Ethiopia!
