About Flea
Fleaspeaks is a motivational and inspirational speaking brand built on real adversity, discipline, mental toughness, and faith. I’m an amputee rancher, athlete, coach, and speaker who shares a raw story of overcoming anxiety, depression, addiction, and physical loss and turning struggle into purpose.
My Story
I grew up as a regular kid who struggled quietly. As a child, I dealt with intense anxiety, insecurity, and bullying. I was the red-haired kid with big glasses and a gap in my teeth, the one who felt different and out of place. School mornings were filled with knots in my stomach and fear I didn’t know how to explain.
Sports became my escape. Athletics gave me structure, confidence, and purpose. For the first time, I felt capable and seen. But as I grew older, that confidence turned into arrogance. I became the very thing that once hurt me - a bully. It’s a part of my story I don’t hide from, because growth starts with honesty.
Everything changed with a hunting accident that resulted in the amputation of my Left foot above the ankle making me a below the knee amputee.Overnight, my identity was stripped away. The athlete I relied on, the toughness I thought I had... it all vanished. I entered a dark season filled with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Alcohol became my way of coping, and for a while, I let mental illness win.
Rock bottom forced me to confront myself. I had a choice: stay broken or rebuild with intention.
Through faith in God, discipline, and relentless consistency, I chose to rebuild.
Today, I am an amputee rancher with a physically demanding daily job. I coach multiple sports for my kids, train relentlessly, and live by the principles of mental toughness, accountability, and discipline. I don’t speak from theory I speak from lived experience.
I am also the founder of Fleaspeaks, a speaking platform built on the message that your obstacles do not disqualify you they forge you. My story connects with students, athletes, teams, and organizations because it’s real. I don’t sugarcoat pain, and I don’t glorify struggle but I show what’s possible when you refuse to quit.
Family Impact
Family plays a central role in shaping who I am and how I lead. My wife, Nicole, and I are raising two kids, Chesley and Hayes, who love sports, the outdoors, and staying active.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to coach my kids in multiple sports and to watch them grow through competition, discipline, and teamwork. Just as importantly, I get to see them work on the ranch, learning firsthand how hard work, responsibility, and consistency mold character. I believe these daily lessons are a gift from God—shaping faith, humility, and perseverance in ways that last far beyond the field.
Overcoming
Adversity has never been something I talked about from the sidelines I’ve lived it on the track.
I earned the honor of competing for Team USA in Paralympic Track & Field, reaching the highest levels of my sport. Along the way, I captured international medals, won multiple national championships, and consistently lined up against the best athletes in the world.
That journey was tested most at the 2020 Paralympic Trials. On Tuesday of Trials week, I ruptured ligaments and tendons, an injury that should have ended my competition immediately. Instead, I returned to the track on crutches, lined up for the 100m and 200m finals, and still competed. Despite the injury, I finished 4th and 5th in the nation, narrowly missing a spot on Team USA for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
That moment could have been the end of the road but it wasn’t. Today, at 40 years old, I continue to train at an elite level with my sights set on the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Not to chase a moment, but to live out what resilience, faith, and relentless commitment truly look like.
My story isn’t about what I lost. It’s about that i refuse to quit.