My heroes are and were my parents. I can't see having anyone else as my heroes.

When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something. I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again. I never wanted to have that taste in my mouth, that hole in my stomach. So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity.

My fellow Wilmington, North Carolina native Meadowlark Lemon is a true national treasure. I watched him play for the Harlem Globetrotters when I was growing up and his skill with the basketball and dedication to the game were an inspiration not only to me, but to kids all around the world.

The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.

Playing sick. That is so hard to do. It has to be a total mental challenge, as well as the physical challenge.

I think most micro-brewers/craft-brewers are similar in that they enjoy making something themselves and at the end of the day they can enjoy the fruit of their labor. Most people really enjoy the process of making beer and like the industry as a whole. We often are passionate about what we do and enjoy talking to people about the art and science of making beer.

Winners don't just learn the fundamentals, they master them. You have to monitor your fundamentals constantly because the only thing that changes will be your attention to them.