I did takwondo from the time I was pretty young and also played I did taekwondo for martial arts and then also played football, baseball, and basketball against older kids because of my brother being older. I learned pretty quickly to not be intimidated and to not back down.

You don't really realize the effect those things have on you when you're growing up but then when you look back you can see how they molded you.

I lived in Iowa for pretty much the rest of my life, but I just moved to St. Louis and opened up a gym and MMA training center.

I had never thought about being a professional fighter but meeting Pat [ Militich ] and the guys just pushed me in that direction.

A lot of military kids make a lot of moves but I only made the one, so it wasn't really an issue for me.

I did takwondo from the time I was pretty young and also played I did taekwondo for martial arts and then also played football, baseball, and basketball against older kids because of my brother being older. I learned pretty quickly to not be intimidated and to not back down.

I got a little bit of the Marine mentality from my dad, I guess. You can't but help absorb the culture you're around.