My wellness journey didn’t start in a clinic — it started with a spoonful of sugar on rice. I grew up around family gardens, but processed food and sugar were constant companions. Everything changed the day my former spouse said, "You will no longer put sugar on your rice.”

That single moment cracked something open. I devoured Acid vs. Alkaline, gave up meat over 15 years ago, and slowly restructured my life around feeling better, clearer, stronger.

After two failed marathons due to severe cramping, I went 100% raw vegan and trained to run 50-mile ultramarathons — sometimes logging 30 miles on Saturday and 24 more on Sunday. I wasn’t chasing a finish line. I was chasing alignment.

In that process, I founded The Proper Physique, began group coaching, launched Jus Juus — Chicago’s #1-rated juice bar — and helped hundreds reset their bodies and rhythms.

But it started even earlier. In 1994, I fell asleep behind the wheel with my infant son in the car. Ten years later, I nearly did the same with my daughter — only to discover that the chewing gum I’d used contained phenylalanine, which can sedate sensitive systems like mine. That accident changed me. It revealed how much of our wellness is shaped by hidden inputs — food, stress, chemical additives — and how easily our lives can unravel when we don’t know what’s happening inside us.

I’ve studied the connection between food deserts, folic acid, and emotional volatility in underserved communities. I’ve lived the physiological, emotional, and spiritual effects of a misaligned body. That’s why I teach what I do — because wellness isn’t a brand. It’s your foundation for becoming fully you.