My RAW Journey

After finally making the decision to hang up my spikes after a 6-year professional baseball career and playing the game for over 25 years, I finally became aware of the “wear and tear” that my body began to show. I had played catcher for over 10 years, and spent a lot of time as a utility player. I underwent both knee and elbow surgery and did several stints in physical therapy during and after my athletic career. Aches and pains plagued me daily and started to alter my quality of life.

I took my injuries and my fascination with the human body, into the classroom during my time studying Exercise Science and working as a Physical Therapy Aid rehabbing professional athletes with the focus on understanding injuries and exploring preventative measures.

My entire athletic life I had focused on strength training and traditional training methods and explored those further during my education. I wanted to understand how to make myself, and others, be the most efficient with their body’s to sustain an active lifestyle. I immersed myself in every training method that I could get my hands on. You name it, I tried it - weight lifting, strength training, cross-training, high intensity interval training, PNF stretching and even restorative yoga. But despite my efforts and dedication to traditional methods, I still suffered from constant aches and pain that often left me inactive for days at a time.

During a deadlift, I felt something “slip” in my lower back and felt like my entire midsection lock up. While laying on a table in a doctors office awaiting a cortisone shot, I knew I had to make a change if I wanted to continue the active lifestyle that I craved. Longevity became my main priority for not only myself, but for my kids.

Even though I still struggled with the mindset that weights were required to be athletically successful, I put pride aside and joined my wife for a power yoga program. With nothing to lose, I dove in head first and within weeks I realized that I not only maintained my strength, but now had the ability and range of movement to actually use it. In that time period, I had more consecutive days without constant pain than I’ve had in almost 10 years.

I became engulfed in my research of all things durability in direct conjunction with obtaining peak athletic performance. The RAW abilities we posses as humans is where real strength lies. Building RAW strength became my bridge to connecting durability and strength in not only my body but in those of my clients. This discovery fueled the RAW MVMT method that you will see throughout our training and throughout our own lives. I guarantee that it will push your body and your mind to its limits and beyond.