About me

I was born in America in the early 80s. I spent about half of my youth living in Boston, and the other half exploring the mountain woods of New Hampshire. As far back as I can remember I've had a passion for art, building things, and riding bikes. For a short period of time in the late 90s I was an amateur cross-country mountain bike and BMX dirt track racer. Never won, but also never came in last, but it was fun and that's what mattered to me.

In 2006 I got my first degree in Graphic Design. That didn't really get me very far and instead I became a freelance artist working day jobs in construction, retail, tech support, and a few other stray unrelated fields. I was always on the verge of going broke, but I enjoyed the chaos and learning new skills all the time. I also had a really great DnD group during this time. Eventually the economy got bad and work got scarce, so I decided I should enlist before I was too old to do so.

In 2011, I joined the Air Force. I was a jet propulsion tech, which was honestly pretty cool and I thought I would stay in for the full 20 years. I spent my first few years stationed in the American midwest trying to figure out why we had a base there. My second base was in England. This was my first time living outside of the US and it eased me in as the culture is reasonably similar and everyone spoke English. But this gave me easy access to exploring Europe which I absolutely loved. I spent a few years as my squadrons motorcycle safety manager and an assistant instructor and it was fantastic.

WARNING! This next part is a bit graphic, so skip it if you are squeamish.
In 2016, on a rainy November evening, while riding my motorcycle home from work, I got t-boned by a minivan that ran a stop sign. My leg was crushed under my bike. It fractured my tibia, fibula, and femur, shattered my knee like glass, bent my leg nearly 90 degrees sideways where it shouldn't bend, and rotated my lower leg almost 180 degrees on the axis like a rolling pin.

That accident eventually led to my medical retirement from the military in 2019. In the 5 years following the accident I was in and out of the hospital constantly with 6 reconstructive surgeries and eventually a full knee replacement. For nearly 6 years I couldn't even walk without mobility aids.

In 2021 I finished my degree in Game Design in the midst of the Covid lockdown. This led to my addiction to 3D modeling and 3D printing. The majority of my freelance work to date is still 3D modeling and printing. In 2022 the borders opened again and I was able to move to Japan, initially studying Japanese but now studying bicycle design and frame building. I also work part time as an English tutor in Tokyo.

I've been living in Tokyo for a couple years now and hope to be here for many years to come, building, making art, and teaching. I love sharing my story and helping other who want to set out on an adventure whehter it be here in Japan or someplace else in the world.

credits

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