My initial independent studio was opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 2017. This was a fully independent boutique fitness studio located in a brick-and-mortar strip-mall.

My clientele were women in the medical and professional fields. Physicians, nurses, businesswomen, entrepreneurs, investors, and models.

WHAT I OFFERED.

Holy City Fitness offered one-on-one personal training and bootcamps to start.

After operating a year I noticed all of my successful clients were women, so I expanded my offerings with Barre classes, which my lovely wife, Sarah, led.

I served clients out of this location from 2017-2020, and moved into online coaching during COVID with a service called Glute Camp.

EXPERIENCE

PERSONAL HISTORY.

My qualifications lean empirical over academic.

I began lifting weights at the age of 12. I would read fitness magazines, following the once-esoteric bodybuilding techniques contained within, and employ what was then common-sense dietary science:

A high protein intake, fruits and veggies, and limited complex carbs.

I played high-school football, starting nose-guard at 158lbs and benching 210.

After high school I spent some time doing amateur parkour and collected a back injury. I worked as a cook and remodeling laborer. I developed overuse injuries from the repetitive movements involved in these jobs. Paired with nicks and dings from full-contact sports and a few weightlifting mishaps, I began feeling run-down and got into Yoga as a restorative practice.

I became proficient at Yoga and led some clinics. Yoga became an essential part of my routine. Though not the most efficient path to pain-relief, it earned its place as a gentle, meditative strength practice that I would frequently fall back on.

Despite feeling beat-up, I stayed active.

TRIAL BY FIRE

ILLNESS.

I had some trouble with severe acid reflux and anxiety in my twenties. Inspired by a 1970’s book by an MD named Jack Goldstein, I decided to test water fasting at this time to observe its effect on my indigestion and mood, completing a full fast for 14 days without food, minerals or salt.

It was this experience that taught me fasting was a powerful healer of the body and mind, though not without hazard if done improperly.

Several years later a severe bout of inflammation involving my skin, joints and digestive tract surfaced. I had severe eczema, insomnia, acid reflux, bowel distress, adrenal fatigue, heart palpitations, and thyroid imbalance, accompanied by severe neck, shoulder and back pain.

I had throat swelling and severe trouble swallowing, and all the shared symptoms of Crohn’s and IBS.

At this time, I stopped weight training for fear I would intensify my physical pain.

After imaging, I learned I had a dysfunctional stomach valve and was diagnosed with esophagitis; inflammation of the esophagus. Neck and spinal MRI’s showed no acute skeletal issues, yet the pain remained intense.

At this time I began to understand what autoimmune illness was, that it’s common in western populations, and that lifestyle is always causal to situations like mine.

I explored chinese medicine, intermittent fasting, new and ancient tissue therapies, and alternative diets.

I tried many things. Too many.

After several years of intense suffering and desperate exploration, I found solutions.

FINAL SOLUTIONS

HEALING.

• My process ended with an ancestral diet, focused on minimally processed meat products including steak, organ meats, eggs, roasted whole birds, and raw milk.

• I prepared glycine-rich stock from animal bones, consuming it to heal the gut-lining.

• I consumed homemade ferments such as kombucha and kefir, to balance the bicrobiome.

• I took carefully sourced magnesium and potassium supplements, to make up for the removal of dietary produce and starch.

• I eliminated all packaged foods including wheat, soy, and corn products.

• I established an appropriate balance of stress, recovery, and rest.

• I permanently elevated the head of my bed to abate nocturnal reflux.

• I opted for a standing desk and significantly reduced time spent sitting.

• I replaced yoga with Kelly Starrett’s Mobility Coach program, a challenging but time-efficient pain management and mobility protocol used by professional athletes and Olympians.

• I carefully returned to resistance training.

FINAL SOLUTIONS

THE RESULTS.

• Over time, my inflammation vanished.

• My throat healed and my reflux subsided.

• I had no lingering physical aches or pains.

• My mood stabilized and hormones returned to normal.

• I became stronger, more flexible, and more knowledgeable and confident than before I was ill.

• The unwanted adversity of this time forged me as a husband, artist, businessman, and father; Yielding a patience and wisdom I feel would have otherwise been impossible prior to middle age.

PRESENT DAY

HERE AND NOW.

I still maintain this lifestyle, though after years of consistency I am able to relax at times without consequence.

It took me many years, experiments, and an extreme persistence through setbacks to develop the knowledge I offer today.

Most people over the age of twenty-five have one or more lifestyle-induced health conditions.

“Western disease.” But most ignore it, take a drug, and don’t talk about it. I was lucky to have my symptoms all at once- It forced me to seek the root cause.

Though the focus of my work is physical fitness, my service automatically optimizes adjacent parts of your life- Without pigeon-holed fanaticism or unnecessary food politics many coaches and practitioners participate in today.

MY WORK

FOREVER LEARNING.

My knowledge is ever-expanding through experience, testing, and study. I keep up with practitioners old and new, both those scientifically vetted and those on the anecdotal, bleeding-edge.

Some of these include Kelly Starrett, Benjamin Bikman, Donny Thompson, Wim-Hof, Jill Miller, Mark Bell, Alan Thrall, Adriene Mishler, Ben Greenfield, Sean Baker, and Life Regenerator.

I understand biomechanics, keep my eye on orthopedic standards, and read peer-reviewed research.

I am certified by the American Counsel on Exercise as a Personal Trainer.

Fitness is a non-negotiable practice that ensures I have the vitality to perform with excellence in all disciplines of life. I practice only what I preach and I will never ask a client to do anything I have not mastered myself.

Now you know my story. Let’s cover what I do.

EXPERTISE

I AM AN EXPERT AT

helping clients:

• Develop maximal shape and visual impact.

• Attain Leanness / Muscle Definition.

• Hypertrophy Training / Bodybuilding / Muscle Enlargement.

• Glute Training

• Pain relief.

• Mobility and flexibility.

• Healthy Body-Recomposition. (Increasing muscle, lowering bodyfat.)

• Nutrition Tracking.

MY WORK

EXPERTISE.

I am proficient in:

• Intermittent Fasting.

• Herbalism / Supplementation.

• Animal-Based / Ancestral / Paleo / Low FODMAP Diets.

• Meal Prep.

• Fermentation.

• Bonestock Prep.

• Juicing.

MY WORK

EXPERTISE.

I help clients solve pain and dysfunction by retraining their nervous system via PNF, deep-tissue mobility methods including joint-flossing, gua sha, self-massage, fascial release and diaphragmatic breathing.

These techniques mitigate and restore many common injuries including overuse injuries to hotspots like the shoulders, back and hips, as well as post-partum neuromuscular issues like pelvic floor dysfunction, post-c-section abdominal dysfunction, and more.