Birthday Weekend Pictures -THE BIKES.

I hate heat-snakes.

Al fleeing to scorpion territory. 

The brothers united. Al and Bubs. 

THE BOOZE.

This guy turns into...

This guy....

THE REST

Me and Super fan slash girlfriend Bert. 

Our hangout.

- - - - - - - - - - - 

Although I have never really placed much of an emphasis on my age in correlation to my personal and professional growth, my 25th birthday marked a significant turning point in my life.

When I first started training in MMA my goal was simply to have a professional bout. Regardless of if I won or lost, I just wanted to fight. No one really understood why I wanted to do it so badly, I just knew that it was something I needed to experience for myself.

I got a phone call from a friend and former teammate of mine one afternoon while I was trying to navigate a 5 ton truck through the narrow streets of Belleville Ontario and simultaneously stuff my face full of chocolate covered almonds in June of 2007..... He asked me if I wanted to fight for King of the Cage in mid July.

I said yes.

Excited, thrilled, and terrified at the same time, I didn't really think twice about the consequences of my actions.

Due to the fact that I had no official rank nor belt in brazilian jiu jitsu at the time, I was told that if I wanted to compete in a professional MMA match that I would not be able to represent nor train with the team I had grown with for over a year and a half.  

Although I knew that there was not enough time for me to have a proper training camp and that I was being brought in as a last minute and 'green' sacrificial lamb to lose to the local and more experienced fighter, the challenge excited me.

I left the gym. I fought. I won.

Similar stories coincide with my 2nd and 3rd professional fights. I made a name for myself by stepping up to face bigger, stronger, and more experienced opponents. I never cared if I won or lost... I knew that my heart and genuine love for fighting could overcome any size differential or gap in experience between my opponents and I.

Eventually I found my place in the top ten of KOTC Canada's rankings and competed for the # 1 contender spot for Freedom Fights in my last outing.

And now? I haven't fought in almost a year and am no longer ranked in the top ten. I was scheduled to fight four times in the last ten months. Three of these bouts fell through due to reasons beyond my control and one fight I dropped out of due to injury.

Needless to say, I am incredibly frustrated with the sport and my current role in it.

I have decided to pursue other goals of mine while the MMA thing sorts itself out. In 63 days I will compete in my first Adventure Race, something that I have always wanted to do.

I have nearly recovered from my hip injury and am looking forward to mixing up my training program and competing in a sport that is entirely unrelated to the one that I have been training for twice a day five or six days a week for the past ten months.... with nothing to show for it.

This is not a retirement speech... I will continue to train in mixed martial arts. I will compete in mixed martial arts again. Soon.

However, in the meantime there are other goals that need to be accomplished, other mountains that need to be scaled. I refuse to wait for one passion to pick up while watching other opportunities pass me by.

This is a new lease on the old me.