I met Jon at an expo for turf maintenance, not where I thought two people with a passion for seeing other people smile would meet. I’ve never believed in myself, or frankly loved myself, all my life I’ve been put down and looked past. I know people have tough lives and some people have it way harder than me but I am allowed to hate my life. Even though I hated life so much and attempted suicide several times, I still wanted to have a happy life. When I move to Colorado it was scary one of the scariest things I’ve done. Finding a new job, a new life and most importantly a new hobby. This hobby is not your traditional hobby, it’s one that stems from anger and aggression, the goal is pain and suffering, but through it you heal, you grow you use all that pent up aggression towards a goal, or even a person. Kickboxing has changed my life in more ways than I can count, it’s allowed me to heal past trauma and move one to helping others grow. When I see a kid, or an adult or even a teen starting out at my kickboxing gym I shed a tear because I know they are here for something. That they are fighting things inside that we can’t see, when I step up to introduce myself and help get them starting by teaching them basics, I alway here I can’t do what you do, I can’t hit as hard as you or I can’t get my leg up that high like you. I tell them it’s not weather or not you can do what I do it weather or not you can do all that YOU can do. Teaching kickboxing drives me everyday to show the world what these kids can do and show them what they can do to fight back and not have to be afraid of the anger inside. At the end of every session we always bow out with two words that has driven me forward for years. We shout celebrate life, because that’s all you can really do sometimes we life is hard and it’s pinching you in the face, all you can do is keep your hands up, take that hit or that kick, and CELEBRATE LIFE.