Why did you initially start fighting?
I, like most that fight, became familiar with MMA through watching the UFC and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Royce Gracie. Viewing Royce's success I became very intrigued with the dominance and subtlety of  BJJ. I wondered how it was possible that Royce could say his brother, Rickson, schools him like a child, when Royce himself runs through the rest of the pack. About 8 years later I stumbled upon a Jiu-Jitsu school on my way to the gym and I stopped in …  I was home! It looked like a bunch of guy's in gi's wrestling, except every now and then you would hear a slight tapping sound or a suppressed yelp. I was done! I signed up that day and started "training" that night at a local bar. Now I try to keep my training in the gym.

How does fighting make you feel mentally/physically?
At the most simple, molecular level, fighting allows me to be me in my purest form. No pretenses, no apologies, no excuses. The movie FIGHT CLUB explains it best when Ed Norton's character says, “"Everything else in your life gets the volume turned down after you've fought." I love it! I've got wings … On Saturday nights at roughly 9:30pm, I can fly for 15 minutes. There is nothing you could take that would duplicate the high after winning a fight. (The only high bigger in the world for me, was the birth of my son). Physically you get all beat up, but it's a good hurt. One that let's you know your alive. If something wasn't hurting then you'd feel like you hadn't done anything or even more like something was missing. You get addicted to the pain, not the pain killer! You get addicted to living.

How do you benefit from fighting?
It gives me another reason to be … It gives me peace in my soul. Actually, I think Jiu-Jitsu does this more so than just free style fighting. BJJ is a way of life. It lives, it breathes, it adjusts and adapts. You begin to see situations in a Matrix kind of way. Everything becomes a red vs. blue pill type of commitment or belief. Either you buy in or you don't, you believe in the art and it's brilliance and dominance or you don't. But if you take the right pill and allow yourself your “Neo” experience, your life will change. The day you take the pill you will just see things differently on the mat and that change transcends to your daily activities. You won't fight the same old tired fight in life. You're now the water that doesn't attempt to break the stone or wear it down but would rather forge a path around the stone. Same destination … but path less traveled and less worn. Buckle up and except your Matrix experience. Enjoy your Neoism and take the "green" pill. The "red" one is bitter. Take the pill I dare ya. Go ahead. All the cool kids are doing it.

What would you do if you couldn't fight?
I would definitely teach BJJ and MMA. I love to help others find their path and their way in fighting. I want others to have the same passion and experiences I have had and in Jiu-Jitsu there is no reason that average Joe or Joey couldn't share in that success. It's a system based on technique, not size, speed, or strength. At the same time if you have these other attributes available to you then you are a bear to deal with. Only lack of hard work or lack of imagination could hinder your progress in this art.

Does fighting allow you to give something back?
I think this goes right back to me passing on the "Neosim"type experience and teaching. I just want to be true to the art. Be true to how the Gracie family and my instructor intended the art to be used, taught, and carried into the future. WITH respect and realistic techniques. There is nothing wrong with good old-fashioned hard work and old school arm bars and triangle chokes. These moves are the beans and rice of the Brazilian system and I want to pass them on in the fashion they were passed to me.

Do you have future goals that can be attained through fighting?
I would love to be huge in the fight game and open an academy one day. Above and beyond that, I would like to begin a Midwestern Grappling Tournament as well as legitimize Blunt Force Trauma Fightwear, my MMA/BJJ fightwear clothing company. I also have a Master's in Sport Management, so I wouldn't mind representing a few fighters down the line. All things in due time. And in the words of my best friend and instuctor Rodrigo Vaghi, "for today's ok." For now fighting and competing in sport jiu-jitsu are fine and simple enough by me.