When I was young and my friends would come over to our house to play; Dad would ask if we would like to take a hike. The response was typically "Sure!!!!" That's when Dad handed out the trash bags and we hiked "3+" miles along busy roads picking up aluminum cans to recycle and sell for cash. In 1985, my brothers and I started the first recycling route in Quincy IL (my hometown) where we picked up all of the recyclable items from all of our neighbors on the street we lived on (and of course sold it all for cash.) Five years later, the city of Quincy finally caught on and started its own City Wide Recycling Program.

By the time I graduated from the University of Missouri in '96, my younger brother Luke and I had purchased a handful of multifamily properties (for super-cheap because we didn't have much money) which would be the Snowflakes that would transform into Snowballs in the years to come. Now, 20 years later, I focus my energy on redeveloping neighborhoods (currently the East Crossroads), spending time with my amazing wife Emily and our 3 curious daughters, and training for "Ironman" races. It's hard to beat driving into SF for a 6am class at Shift-SF. Actually, getting up early on Saturday and cycling 75-100 miles overlooking the Pacific Coast and finishing before lunch kicks that in the butt.

I believe and live by a philosophy that anything is possible with the right mindset and actions to follow.