CURRENT MISSION

Turn on my funk motor.

ABOUT ME

A brief history perhaps? I grew up in the foothills of the blue ridge mountains in Greenville, South Carolina. I am the middle of three brothers who share two amazing parents. From Greenville I went a short way down the road to study at Clemson. Most of my time was spent playing shows with a funk band formed with friends. There are too many great experiences playing music with those guys to begin to count. Probably the highlight of my college years was being able to go study international business and eastern philosophy in China for two months. After Clemson I had a short stint in the professional sales world, that life was not the best fit for me. I got a job on a trail-building crew in Colorado and headed west to live in the woods and build trails in the Rockies. I then got a work visa for New Zealand and went to travel and work there for most of 2009. I stopped in Western Australia on the way back for a month and a half to visit with family and work on a vineyard. From Australia I returned to building trails in Colorado for one more season before coming back east where a friend of mine and I went in together to start a window cleaning business in Asheville, NC. I've been here in Asheville for two years now and love it more every day. It is here that I love being surrounded by mountains, music, arts, and amazing people.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is a balance. Personal discipline, hard work and values are paramount; but so are having fun, adventures and playing. I constantly remind myself that every great experience I've ever had and this life I live is all due to the people that surround me and share it with me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm happy to host people and give them a better experience in this area. In my travels many locals have afforded me a much better insight and experience in a particular area and I would love to pay it forward. I'm also interested in surfing whenever I am lucky enough to be traveling.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have lived with a true Couch-surfing ambassador for two years now and decided it was time to start hosting myself. We have had countless couch-surfers here at our house here in Asheville and I have enjoyed every hosting experience. Every single person that comes through is unique and interesting and has a story to tell that's all their own. I think couch-surfing is one of those great practices that restores your faith in humanity. It makes you realize "Hey, there are amazing people out there all over the map!"

Interests

Playing the drums, rock climbing, trail running, live music (especially funk), people, trades & skills, mountains, robots, driftwood. . . and of course traveling.

• fish
• arts
• beauty
• wine
• red wine
• running
• traveling
• cars
• music
• live music
• drums
• fishing
• backpacking
• camping
• surfing
• trail running
• rock climbing
• business
• history
• working visa
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Great Escape, Roman Holiday, Death Proof, The Godfather, Junebug
Music: Lettuce, James Brown, Soulive, The Budos Band, Steely Dan, Grateful Dead, Sol Driven Train, Tame Impala
Books: I'm currently reading East of Eden and just finished Michael Jordan's autobiography.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of the best days of my life has to be the day I learned how to fish for snapper from an old Japanese man named Tamake. It occurred in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, Opito Bay, New Zealand. We fished all day and didn't talk much at all, he was a very quiet man that didn't speak much English. He showed me his methods and a few tricks, and we caught lots of beautiful red snapper. Thankfully, three or four of them were big enough to keep. We built a fire at sunset and wrapped the fish in foil and cooked them right then and there. As a nice surprise, Tamake pulled out a small plastic bottle he filled with red wine that morning. We sat there on the beach and shared the delicious fish and wine and watched the sun go down on Opito Bay. The utter simplicity and beauty of this day was indescribable and immensely fulfilling.

Teach, Learn, Share

I don't consider myself a master of any of these things, but would be willing to share my skills and knowledge of these areas: playing the drums, beginner level rock-climbing, running a small service-based business, trail-building, basic stonework, trail-running, window cleaning, ladders, climbing knots, camping and backpacking. I'm very interested in learning how to hunt (deer especially) for purposes of eating the meat. Also I'd like to learn a lot more about fishing and fixing cars. These are skills I feel can be very helpful in life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, New Zealand, United States

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