My Fun & Random Facts
What’s your go-to hype song before a race or workout?
Started from the bottom by Drake. It is probably the only Drake song I actually know, but my first triathlon team captain and friend Charles used to send me this song before every competition so the sentimental value is why I listen to this song before every race.
What food do you absolutely refuse to share?
Never say never, the answer is always, it depends!
What’s your order at a diner at 2 AM?
Buffalo wings!
What everyday sound do you love?
The sound of rain hitting my window AC unit while getting work done.
What’s your coffee order?
Black black black
Guilty pleasure TV show or podcast?
I don’t have guilt over things I enjoy!
One food you could eat every single day?
Sushi!
If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what alternate career would you pick?
I’d flip things at garage or estate sales.
What would your Achilles guide say is your funniest on-course moment?
All of my really really bad one liners and jokes. It is a prerequisite to endure them for anyone who runs with me.
What piece of tech changed your life the most?
I’d say the iPhone. the fact that it has built in free software to make the entire internet and app library accessible to me as a blind user is insane. Having grown up before the iPhone, the accessibility and limitless possibility this phone gives me is undescribable.
What’s the funniest “blind guy moment” you’ve had that you can laugh about now?
So many things! Apologizing to garbage piles on the street aftering hitting it with my cane and thinking it is another human…
Which app do you rely on way too much?
Reliance is weakness.
What’s the weirdest or most surprising thing someone has said to you about blindness?
“You aren’t actually blind, you are just faking it!”
What’s your favorite race you’ve ever done — and why?
I loved doing Ultraman. Besides it being the single hardest event to date, the fact that I got to bond so closely with my crew for those three days, was something I did not anticipate or forsee being something I would experience.
What race humbled you the most?
Any of the many marathons I did with less than ideal training.
What race surprised you the most?
NYC triathlon. I didn’t anticipate how much I would enjoy racing a triathlon in my home city, even if it meant swimming in the very questionably clean Hudson River.
What’s your weirdest or favorite mid-race snack?
For long endurance events like Ironmans, either hot bone broth or goldfish crackers.
If you could only train one discipline for a month, what would it be?
Pumping iron. My first form of exercise was lifting. This is before I found out that blind people could run.
What’s something you collect or geek out about?
I’m a huge gear guy, backpacks, tech, tac gear, BIKES!
What’s a book series or movie franchise you’re obsessed with?
The count of Montecristo and Shogun are my two favorite stand alone books, besides that I’m a big fan of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
A hobby you have that people would never guess?
I own a sewing machine and love crafting random things such as carriers for my cane that I can wear while I run.
What’s something you can talk about for hours that isn’t sports?
Business, homesteading, and travel.
A simple pleasure you never skip?
Coffee!! I don’t really feel the effects of caffeine which is unfortunate, but I drink coffee because I love the flavor.