I grew up in southwest Virginia and spent part of my childhood in foster care. There were periods when I experienced homelessness.
After becoming an emancipated minor and obtaining my GED, I served as an Airborne Infantryman in the United States Army and deployed to Iraq. That’s where I got curious about the human body and fell in love with physical preparation. I wanted to understand how the body responded to physical training, and susequentely, how the body changed over time to help you perform better.
That question led me to a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology and Metabolism at Virginia Tech, to performance science roles at Penn State, and eventually to the Director of Applied Sport Science chair for the Houston Texans. It’s still the question I’m working on.
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