I was given the nickname "Black Angus" by a man named Rob Alteer. He works out in the same gym as I do (World of Fitness in Niles, Ohio). He used to always walk by me while I was training and make cow sounds like, "Mooooooooo". He said I was lean like Black Angus Beef. And so from there the name stuck.

I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio but I currently reside in Warren, Ohio. I have a wife of 5 years as well as a 4 yr old daughter and 2 yr old son.

I started working out when I was about 10 yrs old for football. I was very small and wanted to put some size on for the sport. I really got interested when I enrolled in CAPE High School (Cincinnati Academy of Physical Education). This school was quite unique compared to other schools. A lot of your courses were centered on sports. At CAPE I took a strength training course for a year and began to see a transformation in my body. From there on I was hooked. I bought every FLEX magazine I could get my hands on.

In high school I was a 4-year letterman in football and track & field, going to the state championships twice. After high school I went to The University of Toledo & became a walk on for football. I made the team but then later decided to take off a semester to visit my father in Texas. All of my life I thought football was what I wanted. But at that time in my life I wasn't disciplined and not ready for hard work, not to mention being overwhelmed with college responsibilities I was trying to get accustomed to.

So, I went to Texas to visit & decided to go to college there instead at Texas A&M at Kingsville. There I studied Kinesiology (the study of the body). I had athletic class requirements and decided to take Badminton as a course. While playing in class, I slipped as I was trying to save a shot and as I went to stand up my ankle was turned the opposite direction. The surgery required 7 screws in my ankle. It was evident I would never be able to play football again. What a way to get hurt, Badminton.

After months and months of searching for something that gave me joy as football did I decided to go back to the basics of sports and start in the gym where it all begins. So I took a job with Bally's Total Fitness and got back into weightlifting and putting on size. People in the gym kept telling me that I had great symmetry and awesome genetics. They said I should compete in an upcoming local bodybuilding show. And so I did. I came in 2nd place by doing a bogus diet and watching TV taped bodybuilding videos to pose from.
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