Personal Life & Hobbies

I was born and raised in a small town called Little Chute, WI, which is between Green Bay and Appleton. Two things I have loved for as long as I can remember are music and exercise. 

I started playing piano when I was 7 years old, then began writing and producing my own music when I was 16. In my teenage years, I would mostly make pop and hip hop parody songs and upload them onto YouTube. They were not very good, but I had a lot of fun making them and it taught me a lot about songwriting and music production. 

I began playing acoustic guitar when I was 20 years old, thanks to a college roomate who was always playing in our room. In 2022, I released my first real album on streaming services. The album is called Bops & Ballads and is heavily pop-focused. Like all of my songwriting, it is reminiscent of phase of life I was in when I was writing the music. It touches on the ups and downs of finding a partner, the strange pandemic years, my struggles with anxiety in my 20s, and the nostalgia of simpler times as I was transitioning from a "kid" to a responsible adult. In 2026, I released my second album, Family Man, which, as the name suggests, marks an important transition from the uncertainty of my 20s into life as a husband and father. It takes on a much more mature tone than in the first album. The lyrics are deeply personal and the arrangement of the music is less traditionally pop than previous work. It keeps the catchy melodies I enjoy writing, while leaning more into the singer/songwriter sound.  I continue to write music and play guitar & piano nearly every day. Music is my most important form of artistic expression and will always be a big part of who I am. 

I played sports throughout my childhood. Football and basketball were always my favorites. Like many boys, I really thought I had a shot at playing in the NFL or NBA one day. And it would have happened, too...if only not for my lack of athleticism and general dislike for high speed contact. It also didn't help that I was a late bloomer and was significantly smaller than most of my peers until college. I ended up settling in as a distance runner (cross country and track) in high school, where I could "scratch the itch" for my need to always be moving, while completely avoiding collisions with people larger than me. 

After a major surgery for osteochondritis dissecans of my left knee in 2012, I found physical therapy and knew that's what I wanted to do. That experience also brought me away from strictly running, and widened my view to the importance of strength training. I majored in Exercise Science for my undergraduate degree and got my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree after that. I quite literally spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours to make health and exercise my life. If that's not dedication to an interest, I don't know what is!

I have run two half marathons and one marathon. However, due to progressing osteoarthritis in my left knee, I am no longer able to run long distances. As a result, I found functional fitness races in 2024 and have been competing in those since then. I absolutely love them!

I met my wife, Emily, in physical therapy school at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. We have two kids, who we love more than anything, and who you will hear about if you listen to Family Man. Our home is in the Milwaukee area, where we live a simple life. We wouldn't want it any other way!