On 7/11 (the luckiest day of the year) I catapulted out of my mothers womb while being wheeled into the delivery room; caught like a flying football by a surprised nurse before my father had time to arrive. My uber innocent childhood was spent jumping from rooftops with a towel safety pinned around my neck like a Superman cape. I was free running before there was such a thing called parkour. By the time I was eight I'd tested every ledge and tree branch and had been to the hospital for stitches 10 times. To give some form to the recklessness, my wise mother put me into tumbling classes where, despite the humiliation of being the only boy, I immediately excelled. My first coach put truck inner tubes on the grass and taught us to flip onto a horsehair mat. Horsehair is not soft, but I was in heaven! To encourage my obvious talent my mother purchased a used Nissen trampoline at a garage sale. Someone else's junk became my saving grace. I jumped non-stop as if I were some kind of Mexican bean. At a very young age I knew I would seek out opportunities for aerial expression as a lifepath.
My passion took me away from my small-minded town and into the wild world of sports and entertainment. By seventeen I competed at the World Games placing fourth in my age group (just short of a medal). I flipped in giant stadiums on a professional cheer squad (with then unknown Paula Abdul).
In a twist of irony I even flipped in the feature film that defined not only my sheltered life, but my generations era - Footloose. I flipped in hundreds of professional theatrical productions across the globe, from Tokyo to Berlin, from the Metropolitan Opera to Broadway. I tumbled on television commercials and in international print campaigns. When I wasn't working I took my skills to the ski slopes and to inline skates. I jumped out of airplanes, bungeed off of towers and billeted down buildings. When the demand for my skills got larger than one person could handle, I got all my friends with similar backgrounds to join me. I appropriately named us AntiGravity and took us to the largest stages in the world including the Olympic Games (which, ironically were in my alma mater stadium at the University of Utah).
Like a stitched up boxer, I refused to quit despite the complaints of my body. By the time I was twenty four and moved to New York, I'd had eight surgeries. Undaunted and determined I continued on my quest for the "airgasm", that euphoric moment when your soul is jolted out of your body and you remember who you really are. However, the pursuit was wearing out my joints. I'd defied all the odds by now already, proving all my "gloom & doom" doctors wrong, but I needed to adapt to a new reality. My aches and pains were increasingly getting in the way of my everyday mobility and robbing me of my joy. I had to find a solution.
I immersed myself in learning more about the body, not just viscerally, but also intellectually. I gave the body / mind connection much time and attention and went inside to affect the outside. I had fallen in love with yoga in the process, however, even in the gentle Hatha practice, the injuries on my joints and the tears in my muscles were increasing. Giving in to inertia was not an option. I was at a loss. In a moment of extreme exasperation and inspiration, while on the shore of the Indian Ocean, pondering the gravity of my situation, I made a deal with the universe. Let me remain physically active in my passion and I will, in turn dedicate my life to sharing the knowledge I gain. This turned out to be the inception for AntiGravity Aerial Yoga and all AntiGravity Fitness Techniques. My journey continues. My body is my teacher.
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