Born and raised in Arizona, I grew up not playing your normal American sports. I was raised by a Filipino father and a Caucasian mother and grew up with two older sisters. My father was the first generation in his family to be born in America; his father had to leave his two kids and wife in the Philippines for 10 years while he was in Hawaii working to get our family to America so we can better lives. My father was a martial artist, bodybuilder, and powerlifter so those are the only sports I grew up with. He wanted me to be a martial artist like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Bruce Lee combined with strength and power from powerlifting instilling discipline to carry on the family name and the ability to protect my two older sisters. 

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He enrolled me in gymnastics at age six which I did for three years, then Kenpo for one year, Tae Kwon Do for three years, and KravMaga for four years. I also competed in powerlifting competitions and in Men’s Physique for four years.

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At age 12 my life completely changed. Like many young boys, I was cocky and arrogant and thought since I’ve been training in martial arts for years, I could win any fight. I was 12 when I learned that lesson. After losing the fight, I broke down in my room while anxiously waiting for my fathers arrival. Fearing he would be disappointed that I lost the fight and mad for getting in a fight because I was trained to avoid conflict. I still remember this moment vividly; he came into my room with a smile on his face and said:

“I’ve been waiting for this moment, you needed to have that cockiness knocked out of you. This was your fight that you needed to lose as a lesson to not let your ego blind you. We have two options here, you can either stay down or we can enroll you in mixed martial arts and workout with me.”

From that moment I promised myself I would never let my ego blind me and I will never lose a fight again.