I was a huge athlete all through high school but it really wasn't until I got to college that my fitness journey began. I lifted most nights of the week with my close group of guy friends, mostly for the social aspect. But thankfully I learned a few things along the way. I loved the way that they challenged and pushed me and kept me accountable. I used to hate cardio, and would complain when they insisted on it, but I had to much pride to not actually follow through. I also played sports on intramural teams. But by the end of my freshman year of college, a number of life changing events had started to take place. My mother was diagnosed with cancer.
In order to support her in her personal fight, my cousin and I signed up to walk the Race For The Cure for my mom. The morning of the race, my cousin told me he thought we should just run it, just for the heck of it. We sprinted to the start line to get there on time and by the time we arrived I had nothing left. We ended up walking the 5k race and that was when the realization hit; my mom is fighting cancer and I can't run 3.2 miles!? I considered myself to be in descent shape but as far as I was concerned, this was unacceptable. So I pledged right then and there that the next year I was going to run the entire race without stopping. I ran my colleges' homecoming race on a Saturday, and Race For The Cure on Sunday of the following year. I hadn't run since high school and here I was, completing my first two 5k's in two days. The runner in me, thanks to my mom had been reborn, and renewed.
Then there's that certain cousin I was speaking about. My cousin BP had pretty much been my idol since I was a small child and when he started working out and eating clean, he (thankfully) passed that knowledge right on to me. Between his continued thirst for knowledge on the fitness front and my mom's continued battle, I declared a second major my 2nd semester junior year of college. Against a lot of bad advice I added a degree in Health and Exercise Science to my life plan. I didn't really understand what my mother was going through and this was a way of leaning more about it. But this would also end up having a greater effect on my life than I could realize at that point. My mom is now a proud cancer survivor and I'm her biggest fan. She brought me into this world, and down the crazy long list of other things she has done for me she also brought me back to fitness and above many things, running.
Thanks to that crazy HES major and those nifty 5k's I've also been blessed with a best friend RDP, who allowed me to drag him kicking and screaming into the world or half and full marathons. Marathon training carried me through weight gain and loss, tons of cardio and looking in the mirror one day and deciding I wanted something a little different staring back. I had read M & F Hers in college but it really didn't click until after my first marathon. I dropped some weight after and realized my body wasn't exactly where I wanted it to be. I've been a lifter since that man group in college showed me the ropes but it wasn't until that point, a few marathons down and a few years out of school with the knowledge to back it up that I really started designing my own programs and hitting the iron.
As for the passion behind it all, it pretty much grew from there. I could wax poetic on about a hundred other contributing factors and people, but these form the primary foundation. From all of this, the ups and the downs, injury and recovery I've come to love fitness and depend on it for stability and positive rewards when it seems as though other pieces aren't quite falling into place. The gym has been a refuge for me as well as others (Tim) where we can encourage and support and continually strive to improve our lives. In health, there is only ever a beginning!

See above. : )