Growing up, my mom was a Registered Dietitian who taught my sister and me not just the value of a healthy meal and the power of good, colorful food, but that eating well could taste amazing. My dad was always in great shape, the strongest guy I knew. He worked at it, with what I now recognize as a smart balance of strength training and time outdoors: bike riding, skiing, chopping wood. He never sat still, and he always encouraged us to stay active. Those lessons shaped me, and they are still with me today. A few other moments did just as much to bring me here.
The first was a twenty-plus year career in marketing and media sales. I learned how brands connect with people in lasting ways, and how to build and grow businesses, from very early stage start-ups into globally recognized brands. More than any single tactic, I learned the power of relationships and the strength of community. Platforms and trends change constantly, but the people driving them remain, and the art of building and nurturing genuine relationships is one of the most valuable skills anyone in this field, or almost any field, can have.
The next moment was harder. In 2020 I caught Covid, and a bad case turned into long Covid. For months, what was happening in my own body had no clear, objective answer. I went from one explanation to the next without finding one that fit, and the uncertainty was frightening. Eventually I came to believe it was GERD. When I finally had a name for it, the path I was offered was proton pump inhibitors and H2 blockers, likely for the rest of my life. I decided to keep looking for the clarity I had not yet been given, and to find another way.
That search asked everything of me, and it unlocked a level of discipline I did not know I had. I cut alcohol, caffeine, dairy, and most acidic foods (which, frustratingly, are many of the best ones). I rebuilt my gut microbiome one day at a time: prebiotics each morning (fresh celery juice is a great one, and a genuine pain to clean up), then probiotics, then simple, low-acid meals. I held to it for a year. I want to be clear that this was my own path and not medical advice, but I am proud to say it worked for me. Five years later I have not needed a single one of those medications, and by keeping up my gut health I can count on one hand the number of times I have been sick at all. To this day I still do not drink alcohol or caffeine, or eat dairy.
In those early days of fighting back, I made myself a promise to uplevel my own physical wellness to the highest level. I needed a goal extreme enough to counterbalance what I was going through, so I committed to my first IRONMAN. Not just any IRONMAN: Lake Placid, which, if you know, you know.
I had to fight my way back largely in the dark, without objective data about my own body to guide me. Prehab Performance Lab exists so the next person does not have to.
I share all of this because it explains the man I am today: the proudest father of two, who are so much of my inspiration, and the husband of an amazing wife. It is also the foundation of Prehab Performance Lab.
I started PPL: because of my passion for wellness; because of how much I value clarity; because of my experience successfully building other businesses; because of how much I value community, and helping others unlock their full potential; and because, thirty years ago, my dad taught me to do what you love, given how much of your life you will spend doing it.
PPL is all of those things, built into a performance lab that until now has been accessible only to elite and professional athletes. Welcome to PPL!
USA Triathlon All World Athlete
Ironman Competitor
USA Boxing Certified Trainer