My Story
In 2020 I fell 30 feet off a cliff. What followed was a three year recovery that changed everything. How I see the body, how I see discipline, and how I see what it means to steward the life you have been given.
Three years to rebuild.
I spent over three months in a wheelchair, non-weight bearing, living in my dad's home office in a hospital bed. I atrophied 43 pounds. I was skin and bones. My first outing was to get new shoes, sitting in the car, while my girlfriend hauled my wheelchair out of the trunk was emasculating, and wearing my new shoes made my legs sore just from the weight of them. The doctor told me my old 80 percent would be my new 100 percent. That was never going to be good enough for me. It took three years to fully rebuild. But in doing so it brought me closer to the Lord, closer to my family, and closer to the woman who is now my wife. Today I believe I am 140 percent stronger than I was before the fall.
From recovery to a rude awakening.
After rebuilding I went all in pursuing my education and my calling. I had believed since I was 16 that I was called to be a pastor. I finished my biblical counseling degree, got married to my wife, started commuting to Seminary in LA, adopted two huskies, and poured everything into building that life with that career. And then one day I filled out a form that asked my weight. I thought I was 172 pounds. I was pushing 200 pounds, and had not even noticed. I looked in the mirror and did not recognize who I saw. I had poured everything into building a life and had completely neglected the body that was supposed to carry it. I felt like I had failed myself. And I felt like I had failed my wife.
The pivot.
That mirror moment changed everything. I started pursuing my health while continuing seminary and working as a pastoral intern. And in doing that I started to see my perspective shift and found my true calling in fitness. A mentor showed me that the gym is full of people who are there for reasons far deeper than fitness. People rebuilding after loss, after illness, after life falling apart. In March 2025 I started Shaped By Joseph. Through my custom online program, my mission is to help high-performers in business get in the best shape of their life without sacrificing their schedule. Because when you steward well, you lead well. When you get structured in your training and nutrition it bleeds into your business, your marriage, your leadership, and your faith.
What I believe.
Stewardship
Fitness is not about vanity. It is about stewardship. The body is a gift and a responsibility. My job is to help you treat it that way, with discipline, intention, and a system built around your actual life.
Sustainability
Real results are the ones that last. I am not interested in quick fixes or extreme programs. I build habits that fit your life so the results do not disappear when life gets busy.