Where it all started!
Growing up there was nothing I would have rather been doing than running around outside and exploring. Whether or not it was for my best interest, in my early years of self autonomy, I dropped out of preschool and instead chose to go to the stream and have picnics with my grandmother or great grandmother nearly every day. We would drive down to the stream that ran through our neighborhood, eat lunch and then I would spend the remainder of the time devising a plan on how to catch whatever fish or crawfish were in the water that day. We would take a small aquarium or sometimes just a big bowl that I would fill with everything I caught. After observing the day's catch and realizing the unfortunate reality that the picnic was coming to an end, I would return them alive and well, back to swim another day.
School became mandatory and my weekends spent fishing were soon overtaken by endless hours of soccer. The dream was to play Division 1 soccer, but there were many speedbumps along the way. A severe concussion during high school caused me to miss the last two years of play and much of the recruiting period. Unexpectedly, and a testament to God’s plan, I had the opportunity to play on a Division 3 team my freshman year and then transferred to College of Charleston where I would be given the opportunity to play on their D1 team. However, the accumulation of my fifth concussion and six various surgeries prevented me from playing a single game in college. In addition to soccer, I studied biology and spanish with plans of attending medical school, but due to the surgeries and last concussion, I was forced to take a medical leave for a year and reevaluate my plans of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
While on leave, it was during a drive back from a fishing trip in Florida where I decided to type a business plan for an outdoor clothing company that included a charter fishing operation. Little did I know what new venture would lay ahead of me. After three years of running the clothing company, Shore Thing Outfitters LLC, I transitioned into a full time photographer and fisherman in preparation of creating my charter business. However unforeseen the career path that I have been on over the past seven years have been, the outdoors and the desire to give back have been at the core of every endeavor. Shore Thing Outfitters has given me the chance to share what brings me the most joy in life with everyone else.
I want nothing more than to play whatever role I am able to in allowing future generations the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors as much as I have. For me, there is no place I find more peace than on the water. I never would have thought that I would drop out of college to create a clothing company or start a charter fishing company, but like pre-school and by pure serendipity, I have yet again found myself having picnics by the water and going fishing.