About Me: Advocacy

In my last blog post, I introduced myself and my role in the fitness industry to those of you that may not be familiar with me. There is another big part of my life that I am passionate about and have worked to make a difference and that is in advocacy for victims of domestic violence & child abuse.

From my days locally with Family Refuge Center & Child & Youth Advocacy Center to my work statewide with the WV Child Advocacy Network & WV Coalition Against DV to now with Childhood Domestic Violence Association, it’s been a privilege and great honor for me to be able to take a negative that affected me in many ways and turn it into a positive that has affected others. Although it hasn’t been acknowledged in any way, I am the first man in WV to serve a DV program as a speaking victim survivor, staff member, and Board Member. So far I am still the only man to have been in all three roles. In a field where there has been a call for men to take action, this is something I am proud of. My story was a part of a NY Times Best Seller called “Invincible: The Ten Lies You Learn Growing Up with Domestic Violence & the Truths to Set You Free” by my friend Brian F. Martin and has been shared in the Huffington Post, Deseret News, and on NBCNews.com. Like my work in the fitness industry, it’s believed by many experts in the field that my story and work has reached and helped over a million people in some way.

The links below include articles and video about how my childhood was affected by domestic violence and how I went on to become a public speaker on the issues and directly worked with local, state, and national agencies to make a positive difference for others affected.

I hope that my first three posts give you a better idea about me, my past, and what I do. My blogs from here on out will cover different topics that involve both bodybuilding/fitness and the issues surrounding Childhood Domestic Violence, (CDV), domestic violence (DV), and child abuse (CA).