My health and fitness journey began as a little boy in Fort Wayne, IN. Playing outside all day and night, running around the neighborhood, riding bikes across town, playing in creeks, climbing trees, and going to a Magnet Elementary School was the start of my enjoyable fitness journey. In 1990, my life changed. When I was eight years old, my mother made me play little league football that summer. I remember that day clearer than any another day in my life.

My mother notified me, letting me know that I would be going to football practice… that day! I was devastated. I refused, I cried, I begged her not to make me go. She took college courses in the evening, but she let her sister know that I needed to go to practice. After my first day of practice, I came home excited, exuberant, overjoyed, happy and ready for the next day. I was so pumped! What changed in two hours? What made me love football practice? How did I go from hate to love, in the span of two hours? As I reflect on that life changing moment… It was GOOD COACHING.

The coaching staff knew my fears, my shyness, my resistance to participate. They coached me according to my level. That coupled with the natural endorphins that were unlocked from working out and having fun with my peers. I was hooked. I went on to become voted the “hardest hitter”, and “most improved” player that year.

What if they coached me on day one, like they coached me on day 30 or day 60? I would have hated football. I would have missed out on so many great experiences. Once they gained my trust, and they knew I was coachable, it was a totally different coaching experience as I developed and learned the game. They were sterner, they focused on discipline, they became father figures, with a lot of tough love. I’m forever grateful for my little league coaching staff. 

In 2017 I left the Social Service field to enter the mechanical engineering field. A year after that, I got sucked into the civil engineering field–- power distribution. This is where my health took a dive for the worst. My whole teenage and adult life, I lived a life of health and fitness. I worked out 5 days a week. I ate healthy. I ran. I kicked boxed. I lifted weights. I swam. I did it all.

The perfect storm hit me! 1. I wasn’t accustomed to working a sedentary job for 40 hours per week. Along with an hour commute to work one way. 2. Having my first child. Couvade syndrome was in full effect! We ate some good food together. I even had major sympathy pains when the doctor checked her cervix for dilatation. Ouch! 3.The most embarrassing one… I just lost the drive to be fit and healthy. I was fired from a really great nonprofit fitness position a few years back. That event sucked my passion for fitness away from me for a few years. As a fitness professional, I lost my way. It took me a while to find my passion again. I just maintained the physic I had built over the years. I worked out once or twice a week, and I ate anything I wanted. I ditched my plain. I had no boundaries. I did not have any goals set for my future health. 4. COVID! 5. Working from home.

I packed on 50 pounds in 5 years. I developed hypertension; I was about a doughnut away from being pre-diabetic. I was 5’8’’, 293 pounds. I was the unhealthiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. My health hit rock bottom. The good news was… I knew what to do! I had to remember that.

Over the next few months, I began to chisel my way back down to 245 pounds.  I developed healthy habits, I wasn’t so hard on myself; I created a realistic eating and fitness plan that catered to the lifestyle I wanted to live. I worked the plan and stuck with it. I finally got in shape! I did not have to be perfect because my plan did not call for perfection. I have regained my love and passion for fitness again. I just absolutely love it. I swim, I run, I ride my bike, I lift weights, I stretch. I eat barbecue, burgers, chicken wings, and my beloved sweets (sparingly). It’s a balancing act. I stick to my plan. I now have a new mission. I will use my 24 years of fitness experience, and my extreme health scare, to coach pre and post weight loss recipients, professional athletes and employees of corporations. Like me, you can start and complete a major health journey.  And I’ll do it with gentleness, care, and excellent coaching. It is guaranteed that we will put more cut in your strut, and more pride in your stride.

Forward Health Management was created to help people start and finish a major health journey. Like my little league football coach was with me, my fitness associates and I will be with you. We have a plan guaranteed to produce results. We will guide you in the right direction and provide you with the best practices and information to help make your major health journey a successful one. If you take the first step, we will take the rest with you. Click the gift box to start your health journey!