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Stats
Height: 6'3 (w/ shoes) Weight: 190lbs Vertical Leap: 41 Running Vertical Leap: 48 High Jump PR: 7'/ 2.15m Triple Jump PR: 54'1/ 16.50m Education Loyola High School '07 UCLA '11 B.A. Psychology Fresno Pacific University '16 M.A Kinesiology California State University Fresno '18 Single Subject Teaching Credential Notable Awards/Honors WR Vertical Dunk Dunk on Highest Rim: 11'1 Outdoor WR Dunk on Highest Rim: 11'8 3 x Celebrity Crush Classic Dunk Champion 2 x Dunk League Runner Up 2018 BR x LA Slam Dunk Champion 2017 DunkFest 2.0 Slam Dunk Champion 2017 DunkFest 2.0 Hi Riz Slam Dunk Champion 2012 Olympic Trials Participant 2 x 2nd Team All American Triple Jump 2007 California State Triple Jump Champion |
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I was born and raised in the City of Angels; Los Angeles, CA. And at a very early age, I have always has an obsession with jumping and defying gravity. Growing up my first love was basketball. Playing as a youth was pure and one of the best times in my life. I was so excited waking up on Saturday mornings to throw on my purple & gold Junior Lakers jersey and head over to the Crenshaw YMCA. I wasn’t the most athletic kid on my team, but I was fundamentally sound and a hard worker. I remember as I got older, my mother taking my brother and I to extra workouts to enhance our skills. I never really questioned my mom decisions; it was just what needed to be done to get better. My mother is a big inspiration in my life, she instilled in me that I could do anything that I set my mind to. Early on in my life I was taught to dream big, work hard and all your dreams would come true.
Upon entering high school there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to be the next basketball superstar on campus. Regardless of my diminutive stature (5’4, 99 lbs) I had dreams of wearing a royal blue and white jersey, throwing down slam dunks and hitting game winning three pointers. When it was time to try out for the team, I was confident that a spot was going to be reserved for me. After the tryout the list had been placed on the gym door, I was confused when I couldn’t find my name. I read that list about 1,000 times and once I realized what happened I began bawling. One of the most devastating things about being cut from a team was the fact that the coaches felt I wasn’t good enough. Following the tryout, I began to question myself and wondered if I was good enough for anything in general. Not making my high school’s basketball team was a devastating blow to my self-confidence. I was comforted by my friends and family with the thought that if I worked harder next year I would make the team. With their support, I decided to join the track team, hoping to stay in shape in the basketball off-season.
On the first day of track practice, we were told that there were no cuts, which made me feel at ease because I believed I couldn’t take being cut once more. However, we did have to “try out” for events and the line for sprint tryouts was ridiculous. I didn’t feel that I was particularly fast, so I decided I wouldn’t go to that line. I found a group of rag tag guys standing by the high jump pit and remember watching that event at my sister’s track meet and decided to walk over there. That one decision would be life changing; I ended up falling in love with the high jump. One of the most exciting things about high jump was the fact that it was you against the bar and nothing else. There was no coach saying that this person was better, it was either you made the bar or you didn’t. My season ended with an unimpressive mark of 5’4”, but had lofty dreams of breaking the school record, which stood at 6’10”.
At the start of my sophomore year, I knew I was ready for both basketball and track. I had put in hours and hours of training; not only during that summer, but also after school in the fall. That summer I printed out my school’s track & field records. Every morning I would wake up, look at the records and go to work. I started those mornings with plyometric drills and a dribbling workout. Following the morning workout I would eat lunch, take a nap and then do a second shooting workout in the evening. In the fall once my homework was done, my mother would drive me to a park and I would spend a couple of hours, sharpening my game. The week of tryouts, I gave 110% effort and really thought I was impressing coaches. On the last day of the try out, I held my head high, knowing there was nothing more that I could do to earn a spot on the team. Despite my efforts, I still wasn’t able to earn a spot on the team. For the second time in my life, I was told I wasn’t good enough. Instead of being sad, I became angry. I decided I would never put my self-worth in the hands of another person. I knew I was good enough to do anything I set my mind to. I decided to focus on track and become the best high jumper and triple jumper the school had ever seen.
Once track season of my sophomore year came, and I was determined to put all my energy into become as successful as possible. One day at practice the year before, my friends over at the long jump pit were complaining about the complexity of this event, the triple jump. I saw them attempt it a couple of times and it honestly didn’t look that hard. I was dared to try it and after practice I attempted to triple jump barefoot with no training. Once I made the pit, I looked over and saw the coach watching me. He came up to me and said, “you know you are going to be a triple jumper next year right?”. So going into my sophomore year I now had two events, the high jump and the triple jump. I also joined a club track team over the summer and began competing across the country, immersing myself fully into the sport. That summer I not only developed my jumping skills, but also my self-confidence. Due to the small success I had with the sport with such little experience, made me wonder what would happen if I fully invested in my events.
My junior year, I decided to not try out for the basketball team and continued competing with the track and field team. I had a growth spurt and was now over 6 feet tall. That year I broke my school’s triple jump record early in the season. Once I broke the record, I was satisfied about my achievement and had felt nothing else needed to be done. I learned that year that I should never rest on my laurels, as my senior teammate broke my school record and I ended up not qualifying to compete at the California State high school track and field meet that year. After that day, I told my mother that the next year I would come back and win the California State Meet in the triple jump, never having qualified for the State track meet or having any big track meet experience.
Senior year was my dream year. Going into the school year I had only been contacted by one school about potentially competing on the collegiate level. I failed to ever qualify for the state meet but I had dreams of being a student-athlete at the school of my choice and winning the State meet. That year I ended up regaining the school triple jump record and tying the school high jump record. I finished the season with personal bests marks of 6’10” in the high jump and 49’11” in the triple jump. At the end of my senior season I was the California State high school triple jump champion and second-runner up in the high jump. All of my hard work paid off and I earned a partial scholarship to my dream school, UCLA where I became a two time All-American and graduated with a degree in psychology.
Upon entering high school there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to be the next basketball superstar on campus. Regardless of my diminutive stature (5’4, 99 lbs) I had dreams of wearing a royal blue and white jersey, throwing down slam dunks and hitting game winning three pointers. When it was time to try out for the team, I was confident that a spot was going to be reserved for me. After the tryout the list had been placed on the gym door, I was confused when I couldn’t find my name. I read that list about 1,000 times and once I realized what happened I began bawling. One of the most devastating things about being cut from a team was the fact that the coaches felt I wasn’t good enough. Following the tryout, I began to question myself and wondered if I was good enough for anything in general. Not making my high school’s basketball team was a devastating blow to my self-confidence. I was comforted by my friends and family with the thought that if I worked harder next year I would make the team. With their support, I decided to join the track team, hoping to stay in shape in the basketball off-season.
On the first day of track practice, we were told that there were no cuts, which made me feel at ease because I believed I couldn’t take being cut once more. However, we did have to “try out” for events and the line for sprint tryouts was ridiculous. I didn’t feel that I was particularly fast, so I decided I wouldn’t go to that line. I found a group of rag tag guys standing by the high jump pit and remember watching that event at my sister’s track meet and decided to walk over there. That one decision would be life changing; I ended up falling in love with the high jump. One of the most exciting things about high jump was the fact that it was you against the bar and nothing else. There was no coach saying that this person was better, it was either you made the bar or you didn’t. My season ended with an unimpressive mark of 5’4”, but had lofty dreams of breaking the school record, which stood at 6’10”.
At the start of my sophomore year, I knew I was ready for both basketball and track. I had put in hours and hours of training; not only during that summer, but also after school in the fall. That summer I printed out my school’s track & field records. Every morning I would wake up, look at the records and go to work. I started those mornings with plyometric drills and a dribbling workout. Following the morning workout I would eat lunch, take a nap and then do a second shooting workout in the evening. In the fall once my homework was done, my mother would drive me to a park and I would spend a couple of hours, sharpening my game. The week of tryouts, I gave 110% effort and really thought I was impressing coaches. On the last day of the try out, I held my head high, knowing there was nothing more that I could do to earn a spot on the team. Despite my efforts, I still wasn’t able to earn a spot on the team. For the second time in my life, I was told I wasn’t good enough. Instead of being sad, I became angry. I decided I would never put my self-worth in the hands of another person. I knew I was good enough to do anything I set my mind to. I decided to focus on track and become the best high jumper and triple jumper the school had ever seen.
Once track season of my sophomore year came, and I was determined to put all my energy into become as successful as possible. One day at practice the year before, my friends over at the long jump pit were complaining about the complexity of this event, the triple jump. I saw them attempt it a couple of times and it honestly didn’t look that hard. I was dared to try it and after practice I attempted to triple jump barefoot with no training. Once I made the pit, I looked over and saw the coach watching me. He came up to me and said, “you know you are going to be a triple jumper next year right?”. So going into my sophomore year I now had two events, the high jump and the triple jump. I also joined a club track team over the summer and began competing across the country, immersing myself fully into the sport. That summer I not only developed my jumping skills, but also my self-confidence. Due to the small success I had with the sport with such little experience, made me wonder what would happen if I fully invested in my events.
My junior year, I decided to not try out for the basketball team and continued competing with the track and field team. I had a growth spurt and was now over 6 feet tall. That year I broke my school’s triple jump record early in the season. Once I broke the record, I was satisfied about my achievement and had felt nothing else needed to be done. I learned that year that I should never rest on my laurels, as my senior teammate broke my school record and I ended up not qualifying to compete at the California State high school track and field meet that year. After that day, I told my mother that the next year I would come back and win the California State Meet in the triple jump, never having qualified for the State track meet or having any big track meet experience.
Senior year was my dream year. Going into the school year I had only been contacted by one school about potentially competing on the collegiate level. I failed to ever qualify for the state meet but I had dreams of being a student-athlete at the school of my choice and winning the State meet. That year I ended up regaining the school triple jump record and tying the school high jump record. I finished the season with personal bests marks of 6’10” in the high jump and 49’11” in the triple jump. At the end of my senior season I was the California State high school triple jump champion and second-runner up in the high jump. All of my hard work paid off and I earned a partial scholarship to my dream school, UCLA where I became a two time All-American and graduated with a degree in psychology.
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After UCLA, I was determined to continue triple jumping and had dreams of becoming an Olympian and world record holder. That year I worked harder than I had ever worked in my life. I made all the necessary sacrifices and saw tremendous improvement in my performance. I qualified for the Olympic Trials with a mark of 54’ in the triple jump. Looking back, the toughest thing about that year was funding myself to train and compete. After practice I would work nights and by the skin of my teeth I was able to afford my ticket and lodging to go to Eugene, Oregon the home of the Olympic Trials. The trials were an amazing experience that I will never forget; the crowd was electric and there were so many top-caliber athletes in one place. Unfortunately, I did not qualify for the finals in the triple jump and left Eugene disappointed and broke having exhausted all of my funds to get there.
After the devastation at the Olympic Trials, I decided to give up sports and took on a full time job. Work was work, it was really nice being financially stable. In my spare time I would casually workout, but not with the expectations of training for something specific. After a couple of months I found myself pushing harder and harder in the weight room. On March 8, 2013, I went outside to my apartment’s basketball courts to shoot some hoops. I was feeling good so I started dunking, then I tried to do something that I had never done. This was something I thought at that point I would never do, a through the legs dunk. After about 3 attempts, I was confident that I was on the brink of landing it so I had one of my neighbors film the next attempt. I threw the ball in the air and ran up and jumped to get it. When the ball was in my hand and I looked at the rim, I knew I was going to make that dunk. A great sense of accomplishment came over me at the time and it just reaffirmed my belief that if I set my mind to do something, I could achieve it. After that I knew I was headed back into a world of sports and took a part time job that would allow me to train full time.
Dunking seemed to be a perfect fit for me because I get to combine my love for jumping with my love for basketball. In my short career I have been able to compete in various dunk contest including the, Nike 3 on 3 Contest and the Drew League. I have been featured with Team Flight Brothers, Dunkademics, HoopMixtape and Ball is Life. I am currently working on a dunk I have named “The Impossible Dunk” (a 360 spin with the ball traveling through my legs twice. The name is fitting because most people think the dunk is impossible, however I am not most people. Like life has often taught me, if you set your mind to it you can do anything you believe you can do.
After the devastation at the Olympic Trials, I decided to give up sports and took on a full time job. Work was work, it was really nice being financially stable. In my spare time I would casually workout, but not with the expectations of training for something specific. After a couple of months I found myself pushing harder and harder in the weight room. On March 8, 2013, I went outside to my apartment’s basketball courts to shoot some hoops. I was feeling good so I started dunking, then I tried to do something that I had never done. This was something I thought at that point I would never do, a through the legs dunk. After about 3 attempts, I was confident that I was on the brink of landing it so I had one of my neighbors film the next attempt. I threw the ball in the air and ran up and jumped to get it. When the ball was in my hand and I looked at the rim, I knew I was going to make that dunk. A great sense of accomplishment came over me at the time and it just reaffirmed my belief that if I set my mind to do something, I could achieve it. After that I knew I was headed back into a world of sports and took a part time job that would allow me to train full time.
Dunking seemed to be a perfect fit for me because I get to combine my love for jumping with my love for basketball. In my short career I have been able to compete in various dunk contest including the, Nike 3 on 3 Contest and the Drew League. I have been featured with Team Flight Brothers, Dunkademics, HoopMixtape and Ball is Life. I am currently working on a dunk I have named “The Impossible Dunk” (a 360 spin with the ball traveling through my legs twice. The name is fitting because most people think the dunk is impossible, however I am not most people. Like life has often taught me, if you set your mind to it you can do anything you believe you can do.
Unfortunately, on August 17, 2014, I was playing in the VBL Celebrity Basketball game, warming up for the dunk contest that was to take place after. On a fast break I jumped in the air to do a dunk that I thought was fairly simple, but when I came down I had heard a pop and felt my leg move in a way it had never moved before. I had immediately thought it was broken, but when I looked down everything had seemed fine. The next day I went into the doctor to get a check up and he suggested waiting for the MRI results to make a conclusive decision. The MRI indicated that I dislocated my knee, tore my ACL and meniscus and sprained my PCL and LCL.
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It was a tough journey, but I made a full 100% recovery (my knee still acts up from time to time but that's expected). Since making a recovery, I have been busy with my dunk career; I played with the world's famous Harlem Globetrotters, I have traveled across the country and the world and have acquired notoriety from many big secures. From an academic standpoint, I earned my Master's degree in Kinesiology: Physical Education Emphasis from Fresno Pacific University. I am currently employed as a physical education teacher at Bullard High School. Additionally, I am coaching track & field, specializing with the long, triple and high jump. My schedule is hectic, however I am lucky to be able to teach as well as dunk during weekends and holidays.
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My story is not over; I am still in the process of accomplishing my dreams and cannot wait for the next chapter in my life. I believe I will accomplish some amazing feats, because I believe in myself. One of my favorite Bible verses comes from Mark 11:23 which is “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea’ and does not doubt in his head, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.” I truly believe in this verse and continue to work hard and push myself so one day I can do the impossible. But until then, I want to inspire and uplift others to join me and follow my journey and follow in their dreams as well.
