In the fitness industry a lot of fitness professionals like to act like they never eat cake, enjoy a beer, or skip a workout. I enjoy doing all of those things! And sometimes I will skip a workout to have a beer with cake.
I am far from perfect, just like everybody else. It is a struggle to eat right and there are even times when I don't feel like exercising.
In the spirit of that theme I present to you 27 Things You Don't Know About Me. Some good, some bad, all played a part in making me who I am today.
1. I split a 40 ounce beer with a nun in Nicaragua.
2. I got a C in the first nutrition class I took. Very odd considering I had eaten a Pop Tart with jelly on it right before I took the final. Proof that anyone can come long way if they just stick to something.
3. I've split 3 pairs of pants in my life. Two in the seat of the pants and one in the thigh (see below).
4. I have the calves of a 3rd grader and my thighs are the size of a third graders waist. Frog legs is what I call them. My thighs are one of the many reasons you will never see me in skinny jeans.
5. I lived in a trailer park for 3 years when I was in college.
6. I lived in Dublin, Ireland and worked in a pub while I was there. To this day I am good at doing an exercise called cleans because I got really good at learning how to stack full kegs 3 high. Not an easy task.
7. I still feel like I am going to throw up before I do any kind of public speaking, TV appearance, etc... I even get a little nervous when I teach my boot camp classes. It has taken a huge amount of effort to become the center of attention, but I will do whatever it takes to be successful.
8. My right arm (I'm right handed) from above my elbow to the tip of my thumb was in a cast for 6 months. This was when I was overweight and was a turning point in my life when I decided to start losing weight and getting healthy. Dropped a lot of extra baggage and decided I would spend the rest of my life helping others do the same.
9. My absolute lowest moment ever was waking up in a jail cell. Not recommended, but a major turning point in my life.
10. I ate 26 pieces of pizza in a pizza eating contest. Also not recommended.
11. At one time I thought I wanted to fight mixed martial arts. There is a big difference between people who fight in bars and people who know what they are doing. That is not the sport to be bad at, 6 month of training was enough for me. Only slightly influenced by the black eye I got right before my wedding.
12. In high school, I fouled out of a basketball game in just over 2 minutes. Pretty sure it is a record. Sadly it was probably the longest I played all year.
Soak it in ladies. Hair parted in the middle=hotness
13. One of my college roommates is in the CIA, while the other is a veterinarian on the island of Grenada and an expert in dog neurosurgery. There was no evidence I witnessed that these two positions would ever be reached.
14. I have a blue belt in Combat Jujitsu as well as a blue belt in Combat Judo.
15. One of my proudest accomplishments was training Wounded Warriors to get back their health as well as their lives. Amazing resiliency and more evidence of the power of a positive attitude.
16. I originally went to college to be a physical therapist. Turns out there is a lot of chemistry and math in there that did not agree with my brain. Majored in Health Promotion/Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Business instead.
17. One of the most embarrassing things that happened to me in college was when my 2 roommates and I were all gathered around the TV eating Ramen noodles and watching Blossom when a maintenance guy walked in and busted us. That along should have kept my roommate out of the CIA.
18. I have busted my chin pretty seriously, twice in my life. Both self inflicted. One was when I tried to do The Worm at a club in Ireland and hit my chin on the ground. The second was when I was trying to adjust a hand truck when I broke it loose and hit myself in the chin. Had health insurance this time, got stitches.
Slide accident for the little man, hand truck for me
19. I still have scars on my feet from getting really sunburned when I was in high school. Sunscreen kids, it is important.
20. I spelled the word business "buisness" until I was 18 years old. Darn you public schools! For the young people out there, make fun all you want. Paper and pencil do not come with spellcheck.
21. I tried to join the Army Reserves a few years ago. Aced the tests they gave me, had a slot reserved in Birmingham, they kept losing my paperwork. Took it as a sign I needed to go a different direction.
22. My vision is terrible. Literally every time I go to a new eye doctor, they have to bring in most of the staff to gaze at my blindness. Look at the freak! I'm near sighted, far sighted, and I have a stigmatism. The lenses for my glasses were made from the same stuff the Hubble telescope was made of. (that part might not be true)
23. My fourth toe on my left foot is longer than the third toe on my left foot. It's like they were put in the wrong toe slot. I refer to them as my mutant toes.
24. My right wrist does not hardly bend. When I do pushups it is basically like I am doing pushups on my finger tips on that side. That is what happens when your wrist is broken and you do not get it fixed. You will end up having surgery, they will take a bone out of your hip to fix it, it will still not work right, and you will end up in a cast for 6 months (see above).
25. I found out my wrist was broken when repeatedly mashing dough to make pizza crusts hurt way worse than it should have. Two years of football with a broken wrist? No worries. Two weeks at Mr. Gatti's pizza? Couldn't handle it.
26. I smoked a pack of menthols one night. Had never smoked before that and have never smoked since.
27. The only thing that freaks me out is something getting in my ears. I had a lot of medical issues with my ears growing up so I guess it stems from that. Those stories of bugs getting in people's ears and laying eggs? Can't handle them.
I think that is enough for now. Hope it gives you a little insight into who I am and why I do what I do.