What are your best qualities?

My best qualities are my compassion, humor and boyish good looks.

Do you have any undesirable qualities?

My worst qualities have more to do with how I feel about myself. There are days where I just don’t feel good enough even if I’m on a good path.

What are your most afraid of right now?

I am most afraid of not finding a career that I can both love and have financial independence with. That and not finding Mrs “Right” in my life. Basically my biggest fear is leaving this world without finding my best life.

What do you love the most about your body?

I like the function that it has. I can do a lot of amazing things in this body of mine. And calves. I really dig my calves.

What are you working on loving more?

I’m working more on loving all of me, especially on the days when nothing goes my way. Especially around the torso area.

Tell us the story about your stretch marks and scars…

Growing up, I never knew why I had stretch marks. I used to feel them every now and then caressing the bumping surfaces that they created. As I grew older, I found out why people got stretch marks. And because I knew that they can come from strength training, I gained a greater appreciation for the marks that I have.

What was your response when you first noticed your stretch marks?

My response was that of curiousity. Like “huh! That’s interesting”

How did those around you make you feel about your stretch marks/scars?

Really didn’t get much response from others since they are covered up most of the time. But sometimes, when children look at it and comment, it kind of crushes me even tho I know they are just curious about it.

Describe your journey with body acceptance...

Up until about 5 years ago, I always tried to change my body as a means to change who I was. I hated myself and used diet and exercise to no longer hate my body and because I felt like I could only find love if I was skinny. Since going on this journey to self love, I’ve been able to shift that mindset I to one of doing things to foster the self love I have for myself. I still have days where I struggle, but overall, I am now in a place where I can look at my body thru the eyes of compassion instead of distaste.

Do you practice self love as often as you want to?

I try to. But there are those days where I get thrown off. And it’s hard to practice self love. Thankfully, those days are slowly becoming less.

What is one of your qualities you wish shined brighter than exterior appearance?

My caring nature mixed with my humor and ability to connect with people.

What about self-love are you continuing to work on?

Not Comparing my body to others and feeling inferior. This is still something I’m working on. Especially since it’s been ingrained in my life since I was a kid.

What lesson do you hope to instill to your children about self-love & body acceptance?

I hope to teach kids that no matter what body you have, you can still love it, nurture it, and be the best version of yourself that you can be.

What makes the happiest in the world?

Karaoke!

How do men need to improve interacting with one another?

Men can improve by having more vulnerability in our conversations.

What is something you wish you could have told yourself at your most fragile state?

It’s ok to be sad. But make sure you have someone to talk to about what’s going on in your heart.

What is the best compliment you've ever received?

For me, getting smacked on the booty by a random girl felt good. I never really am seen as the physically attractive type so when that haven’t, it made me feel good about myself.