Food
Growing up in a family of foodies with a professional cook/baker for a mother, food has always been a core part of who I am. It’s more than just a source of bodily nourishment—it’s a journey, a sharing of cultures and viewpoints, an act of caring and love.
Over the years, I have found a love of creating dishes that draw from my many cultural food experiences—remixing them into something new. Following in my mother’s footsteps for a short while, I became a professional baker specializing in designer cupcakes of the vegan variety and was even featured in a few publications for my take on the humble cupcake.
While no longer a professional, much of my world still revolves around food—especially when it comes to my vices of carbs and coffee!
Music
Starting at the age of seven with an old, second-hand Bundy alto saxophone, my love of playing musical instruments began. And now 35+ years later, that love still remains. From the saxophone, I expanded my instrumental knowledge base to include the bass and guitar (with a smattering of piano and trombone). I have played in a number of groups over the years spanning a number of different genres including jazz, blues, rock, ska, Americana roots and R&B.
What the last couple of my musical projects sounded like…
Amigurumi
The first Christmas after my wife and I moved in together, I bought her a crocheted Baymax whose creator I came across while cruising around Etsy. That was the moment when my love of amigurumi (crocheted toys and figures) was sparked.
A bit later, I picked up a crochet hook of my own and began creating. With the help of a few YouTube videos, I created my very first amigurumi—a grumpy little jellyfish.
Fast-forwarding, I am now able to share (mostly geek culture-centric) amigurumi of my own design with family and friends.
Martial Arts
From a very early age, I have been fascinated with martial arts. Growing up, I watched many an action movie and imagined myself doing the spectacular feats that I saw the likes of Bruce Lee performing. Unfortunately for my younger self, my mother was less keen on the idea of me learning such things and relegated me to merely observing. Fast forward to my early 30s… I began training in Aikido—a modern Japanese martial art concentrated primarily on unarmed throws and joint locks, but also trains in weapons forms such as sword, short sword and short staff.
Several years into my training, I had attained my shodan rank (first degree black belt), but some chronic injuries forced me to stop my regular practice in the dojo. During the next few years, I still occasionally practiced the forms at home, but wasn’t able to train with others and missed it. That’s when I decided to search for something new.
What I found was Eskrima—a Filipino martial art that trains in stick, knife and sword fighting as well as unarmed combat. Even if the name is unfamiliar, if you’ve seen modern action movies with the likes of John Wick, Jason Bourne or Black Widow, you’ve seen Eskrima. A great complement to my previous training in Aikido, I loved discovering the particulars of this martial art.
Sadly, my move to Los Angeles also meant ending my time with my school, Orihinal Doce Pares USA. That said, Eskrima (like Aikido) will always be a part of me and I look forward to the next step along my martial arts path.
Cars
In my younger days, I was definitely the kid with pictures on the front of my school binders featuring the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari. Thanks to many hours spent racing and tuning cars in video games over the years, my automotive interest continued and grew past the mere esthetics that caught my eye and imagination as a youngster—opening me to a world of natural aspiration vs forced induction, suspension setups and grip. I also discovered a love for import tuners and a culture of personality-infused vehicles.
The Evolution
Current Mods
