My Journey

Professional Journey: From Mechanical Engineer to Transformational Coach

I’ve always been multi-passionate and purpose-oriented, and my career journey has reflected that in its diversity and depth.

I graduated from Stanford with a BS in Product Design and an MS in Mechanical Engineering, taught design thinking and team dynamics at the Stanford d.school, and worked as a design and innovation consultant at IDEO and Daylight, two world-class design firms.

But five years into my design career, right as I had an opportunity to step into leadership at my company, I had a crisis of purpose. Burned out, depressed, and sick of the corporate world, I knew something had to change for me to stay in alignment.

This is when I discovered the magic of coaching, and a year later, I decided to take a bold career leap to become a full-time professional coach. 

For the last 11 years, I’ve been on my path as a coach. Through all the ups and downs, I’ve stayed committed because this is my calling, without a doubt. I’m grateful to be doing work I love that changes lives in profound ways.

It’s been a thrill to teach workshops and speak to large audiences, lead multi-day leadership retreats for men, and collaborate with other transformational leaders. But the deepest work, and the work I’m prioritizing right now, is coaching individuals.

I’ve had the privilege of guiding some extraordinary people to realize their dreams, and each of these client relationships has left an indelible mark on my heart.

After all these years, I still leave every session saying “Wow!” and I marvel at the new dimensions of coaching that I continue to discover and the profound impact that has on the men I serve.

Personal Journey: From Type-A High-Achiever to the Depths of Meditation and Living Authentically.

I grew up in a high-achieving family in Berkeley, CA. Through a mix of creativity, smarts, and an unhealthy drive, I became the valedictorian of my private high school and graduated in the top 5% of my class at Stanford.

But the “achievement game” lost its juice by the time I reached grad school. I was depressed and needed to reinvent myself and how I found fulfillment.

That’s when I met a mentor – Julian Gorodsky – who introduced me to meditation. I drank it up like a dry sponge. Meditation was the doorway to a whole new paradigm of living – living from the inside-out rather than the outside-in, living for fulfillment rather than achievement.

Over the next 10 years, this authentic and spiritual approach to life has changed everything for me – my work and purpose, my relationships and sexuality, my health and fitness – truly, everything.

I reclaimed my feelings, my shadow, and my power.
I devoted myself to intimate partners and learned what it truly means to love and be loved.
I shed the golden handcuffs and pursued my purpose wholeheartedly.
I experimented with every workshop and personal growth modality under the sun.
I’ve gotten my ass kicked, gotten back up, and done it all over again.

And that inspired me to guide other men in their own journeys of growth and self-discovery. I’ve been through this and know how hard it is, and I’m here for you, brother, as far as you want to take it.

In the words of one of my mentors, “It’s like you’re running full-speed towards God.”

What I discovered – and continue to discover – is that fulfillment and achievement are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they support each other. But they do so in a kinder, gentler, and more intrinsically-motivated way.

I’m still intense, but the intensity is more balanced and I feel much more whole. I realize that I don’t have to be perfect or #1 all the time, but I get to be my own #1. (Cliche as it sounds, self-love truly is the medicine to what ails us as a society.)

I’ve defined and continue to redefine success according to my deepest values of freedom, flow, authenticity, and love.

I’m a man and a leader whom *I* admire. I know myself deeply, celebrate my uniqueness, and have cultivated a powerful and loving network of community and support.

I’m a strong and sensitive man who wears my heart on my sleeve, knowing that my authenticity gives others permission to be fully themselves. A friend once called me Vitamin P and said “You’re so inspiring to be around, you’re like a human vitamin!”

I look forward to connecting with you, sharing some “Vitamin P” with you, getting to know the unique human being that you are, perhaps helping you discover that more deeply for yourself!