A sunny spring morning. 2016. The birds are chirping, JT’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” is playing next door, and I’m stuck in bed. Again.

I’d been having back spasms off and on since 2007 following a low-back injury. The kind of episodes that would put me out of commission for days at a time from the pain and lack of mobility. I spent the better part of a decade just “hoping it would go away,” and avoiding heavy lifting and any activity that might cause a flare up. But I couldn’t ignore this anymore. In just a few short months my wife and I would welcome our first kiddo, Cody. I wanted to really be there for my wife and son, not stuck in bed missing out. I knew I needed to make a change. Maybe I could stop the feeling (eh?). But how?

I decided to re-write my story. I didn’t want to play the part of the “Guy with a Bad Back” anymore. I wanted to be the “Strong Guy Who Is Present and Able to Take Care of and Have Fun with His Wife and Kids.” So I got to work.

As an actor, I knew how to rehearse and prepare for a role, and I guess I intuitively approached my own character the same way. I immersed myself in research. I learned about functional fitness and started moving my whole body in the ways it was meant to move, instead of isolating body parts using machines at the gym. I ditched my old routine and started training my back and body to be stronger, more resilient and mobile. I didn’t shy away from lifting weights, I learned how to lift, and eased myself into it. I read John E. Sarnos’ book, Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection, and started thinking differently about my back, my pain, and what I “was” or “wasn’t” capable of. I rehearsed the part day in, day out. And slowly but surely I got stronger and more capable, and less fearful and apprehensive.

Fast forward to 2023. I’ve been pain-free and training clients since the fall of 2016, and love helping people get stronger, feel better, and train for whatever role they want to play in their lives.