Where did it all start for you? How did you end up in Charlotte? “I went to East Carolina University, did five years there, took my victory lap and after that, I bought a one-way ticket to Vietnam, I went abroad. At that time, I was very passionate about video, and I knew that was what I wanted to do. I could have stayed local and done videos for these coffee shops or other local places for free or very little money to build my portfolio. I then thought, what if I did something big and go international, built my portfolio that way and took jobs on upward and fiver along the way, so I was basically a remote video editor. I was building my chops on the video editing side that way. I was also documenting and vlogging my time over there, so I started to build an understanding of storytelling. I traveled through southeast Asia for three months and back through Europe for eight months, and I was trying to figure out what was next and where to set up shop. I was in North Carolina, so I first looked at Charlotte, and I thought it could be a great place to start a business and build connections in a growing city.”
Where did this passion for running and the hybrid aspect of fitness come to light? “I’ve been running more often for probably the last three years. I was like everyone else where you’d go out and run one or two miles to switch it up from your everyday gym routine, and it sucked; you hated it because we really don’t know how to run properly, we don’t know the process and the mentality you should have when you run just to enjoy it. We just go as hard as we can for two miles until we are gased, and it just sucks. COVID happened, and this is a common story with runners now; people were trying to find new ways of getting their exercise in. I mean, do you remember the Light Rail during that time? Everyone was out, and it was great, and slowly, I was starting to run three, four, five miles. It was great because you see yourself get better and you can feel it after every run and that always intrigued me. I signed up for my first half marathon, which I think was the Asheville half - not the best first half because it’s hilly as shit (laughs). I had a buddy of mine who was talking about doing something crazy, and he was like, what if we did a self-supported hundred miler? We realized how difficult that was, so we just figured we sign up for one because they'll be aid stations and everything along the way. Before this, I had only done a half marathon and went all in on this, which was in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, so I started to train for that. I hired a coach to help me figure out how to run and take the learning curve off of years and years of pain, trial, injuries and errors and all of that. I trained for about ten months, and that was the start of everything.”
Are you a goal driven person or do you take this stuff day by day? "I liked to have the goal post for sure. I mean, even for my first one, I didn't speak this publicly because I didn't want to sound arrogant coming into my first hundred, but I wanted to compete, and I wanted to win. If I'm running a hundred-mile race, I don't just want to finish; I want to win. That was my mentality. I understand that I won't compete in marathons. I just ran in Boston and came in 2,500th or something like that. That's fine, that's fun, but I love to compete and try to win them. For my first one, I came in second, won my second, so I'm definitely goal driven and competitive as shit. The hard part for me is remembering why I’m doing this in the first place; it’s just fun. I love running and I love the process. I don’t want to let this consume me where I’m not enjoying the training anymore or to the point where I don’t want to go out and run my miles anymore. At the end of the day, running is much more than a competition, it’s my therapy, its my time and solitude, its my time to think and my time to work on my relationships, my business and all these other things so I want it to always be my solitude.”
What is a proud moment that sticks out to you that has shaped you into the person you are today? “That year abroad, I was an introverted person; going to travel solo for a year was the scariest thing I could think of because I put myself in uncomfortable situations day after day. Doing that showed me that I can take risks and I’ll figure it out along the way. It might not always pay off, but they’ll come back around in the best of ways, and you’ll figure it out along the way. That’s opened me up to taking chances with my business and in life along the way.”
Any important lessons you’ve learned along the way that you take with you each day? “Just do right and be good to people. Whatever you put out in the world is going to come back to you; that’s what I truly believe. I want to put good vibes and good energy — that’s what I like to do with my social channel. I put out these positive running and fitness-related themes into the world to hopefully inspire and motivate others. Even in daily life, I’m introverted, but I try my best to go first, be kind, and give these little acts of kindness to those around you.”
What’s next? “In August, I’m running the Leadville 100. I am sponsored by Asé which is a muscle gel company, their founder Heather, who was dating their Chief Marketing Officer, and he passed away. Mitchel was about 40 years old and healthy as you and I; he was running ultras ran many miles, but he caught the flu, got pneumonia had a lung infection and ended up passing away far too soon, he was such a great person. He had a bid to Leadville, and you can transfer bids. Heather reached out to Leadville, and they reached out and asked if I can do a bib transfer for Mitchel, so I’ll be running Leadville in Mitch’s honor. I’ve blocked out four months to train and do everything I can do well for Mitch.”