Ever since I can remember, I was a big meat and potatoes kind of guy! I love eating steak and any kind of BBQ would put a smile on my face. As I was growing up my mom taught me how to cook and take care of myself to get me ready to be an adult. My parents then took me to an authentic smokehouse with real BBQ and I was in love with smoked meat! When I was in my early 20's, I got my first smoker and I did not have a clue what I was doing! It was terrible, and I ruined a ton of meat and wasted a lot of money. I gave up. I gave up on trying to cook my own meat and only went and paid others to cook for me. It just wasn't my time yet.

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I got married at the age of 34 to a wonderful, great woman who I love dearly, and one day, we were watching TV and saw this show about competition BBW. We both looked at each other and I told her - I need to do that! It was in my blood. It was the one thing I needed to do, so I got a new smoker and started playing with it. The first couple of time, I had a hard time just getting the meat cooked all the way through. After researching and figuring some things on my own, it all started coming together.

 

After a few years of cooking for my friends and family, it was time to start competing! In 2014, we made the decision to go to our first competition at Rockahock campground in New Kent Virginia in 2015 and take part in the amateur competition. I really did not think we would do well because it was my first competition ever. With over 40 teams competing, the awards came down to 2nd place and my name was called! We got 2nd place overall, and reserve grand champion in our very first competition! There is no better feeling and we've been hooked ever since! In 2016, we decided to go pro in the KCBS competitions and yes, it's been more difficult, but we would not have it any other way.

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We love competing in competition BBQ not only because it's fun to cook BBQ, but because of all the great people we meet! It's truly like a family - a BBQ family! I love to see the look in people's faces when they taste my BBQ for the first time. That one look that makes me feel so good because I can see that they love it and have to have more! That's what I really love about BBQ - making people happy! That's what we do now, and that's what we want to do in the future! Competing and making good BBQ - our secret to happiness.