‘I didn’t know if I would be able to do it on my own, but I knew I had to. I had this little child dependent upon me.’

Elmont

“My whole purpose and passion is helping young and adult men of color. I raised my son as a single mother. I’ve gone through over 10 years in the family court system. I fought through a lot of narcissism, pain and stress. I went through so much as a single mom, but I was holding on to my support system and holding on to God, which pulled me through.

“I kept pushing forward, but it was a hard journey. I got full legal and physical custody immediately, but my son’s father had a lot of money and made it difficult for me. He used the court system to manipulate and bully me as a way to control me. This is a man who I used to love, who I had expectations of building a family with, and all of a sudden, he wanted to take our son away from me. It was gut-wrenching. As much of a battle as it was, he provided me with a great young man, and I am forever grateful for that.

“I didn’t know if I would be able to do it on my own, but I knew I had to. I had this little child dependent upon me. The challenging part was money. I just didn’t have it. I was scuffling to make ends meet, and even though my son had child support, it just wasn’t enough. For a time, the only thing I could afford was the dollar menu on McDonald’s. I did what I had to in order to feed my son.

“I remember getting on my knees one day to my mother, and I said, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I’m tired.’ I was crying like a baby. She said to me, ‘You already won.’ She was right. I had my son, and he wasn’t going to be taken away from me. I was being dragged through the court system, but I had custody. My mother, father, grandmother, sister and my son, those are my rocks. They stood by me through the incredibly difficult times. Even though I am a huge advocate for single strong parents, it would have been so much easier if I did have a partner. I am thankful for my support system.

“It took me about seven years to reestablish my sense of self. I work with single parents, and I always tell them to take their time. Don’t rush life. Get to know who you are and reestablish that again, and then you will find your purpose. My son is 22 now. He’s a college student and works full time, and I am so proud of him.”

When we strengthen our boys and men, we stabilize our girls and women.

“I’ve always been a very active community leader, and years ago, I started a nonprofit in southeast Queens called Millennium Minds. Doing community service has always been very powerful in my soul. As I was raising my son, I went back to school and received my master’s degree in mental health counseling. Most of my clients are single mothers who are raising sons. I help them navigate the challenges associated with raising a young man, especially a young man of color in today’s world.

“After the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, I felt it in my soul that I wanted to do more. I created a quarterly publication, “Thoughts Magazine,” that is double-sided – one side for men and the other for women. The purpose of this magazine is to help restore the family nucleus and reduce the single-parent household rate, as well as the divorce rate, in our communities. Reading both sides of the publication can help someone build a better relationship around empathy and compassion.

“I want young men to be strong mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially. When we strengthen our boys and men, we stabilize our girls and women. I created Young Men Strong in 2013. It’s centered around providing education and wellness to adult and young men of color. The organization provides many classes, including financial literacy, defensive driving and first aid. We have so many resources available to help build their personal and professional development. We are currently partnering up with mental health facilities to provide mental health support services. We have men aged from 16 to 80 years old. It’s a mentoring program for the young man who is currently growing up in a single-parent household, as well as the adult man who grew up in one and never received the resources he needed to grow.

“I have written three self-help books that encourage single mothers and fathers to find that sense of self even when it feels like everything is crumbling down. We have to create space to allow our sons to mature and grow, as well as give ourselves, the single parents, time to find our purpose and sense of self. No one person is an island.”

‘I wondered if I could do something so new [with “Rent”], but deep down I knew I could do it. I didn’t have anything to lose.’

Huntington

“I got the audition for ‘Rent’ in 1995; I grew up in Woodbury and Syosset playing in bands, and it was a call from Idina Menzel that sent me an incredible detour, taking me off that original path and putting me into this life of doing theater. Now I’ve been doing it for 28 years. Idina had already been cast in ‘Rent.’ She said, ‘I’m doing this Off-Broadway musical; it’s going to run for about four weeks. They’re having trouble casting the role of Roger. The character sounds like you.’

“My band and I had just called it quits. I had never auditioned. Never in a million years did I think beyond the actual audition because I didn’t do it to get the part; it was just something to do. I thought, ‘This is interesting, how am I going to hold on to my job as a personal trainer for the next four weeks while we’re rehearsing?’ I was excited, but it wasn’t the culmination of a dream. I was supposed to be a rock musician! I wondered if I could do something so new, but deep down I knew I could do it. I didn’t have anything to lose. A lot of that was because it wasn’t my dream.

“Show business changed me because it’s not something people realistically dream about. The reality is very different from the fantasy. I enjoy the stability of having one job, which is predominantly why, in my theater career, I’ve pursued taking over roles, as opposed to creating new ones. I’m not interested in the development process and opening a new show. I’ve gone through that, and it’s so stressful to me. I just want a job, like when I was in Broadway’s ‘Memphis’ or ‘Chicago.’

“I’ve always been a person that has done well but still had to go from job to job. I learned a lot about myself because of the success of ‘Rent.’ I was immediately the golden boy. I thought I had thick skin and things would roll off my back. I immediately had the biggest success you could possibly have, which was the worst thing that could happen to me. It set me up for emotional failure. I realized I’m very sensitive and vulnerable, and I take things very personally, even though logically I know it’s not personal. Teaching young actors helps me with these feelings, which is why I’m enjoying directing ‘Rent’ on Long Island.”

This is the first full-scale production of anything I’ve ever directed, and it’s only natural that it’s “Rent” … It’s so fortuitous that I’m essentially where I grew up.

“Directing is a big part of the future of my career, so I came back to Long Island, and the pieces fell into place in a wonderful way. I’m directing ‘Rent,’ which runs July 28-30 at Five Towns College, through a performing arts academy [in Huntington] called From Stage to Screen. This is the first full-scale production of anything I’ve ever directed, and it’s only natural that it’s ‘Rent’ because that’s the show that I’m most intimately familiar with. To have the opportunity to mount the show with young actors who love the show and look up to me allows me to impart as much wisdom as I can to them, and it has been the greatest gift I can imagine. It’s so fortuitous that I’m essentially where I grew up.

“It couldn’t be a better chapter for an incredible story that also continues August 30 at 54 Below, my home away from home for performing. Growing up, I always wanted to perform there. I go back every so often to do my solo acoustic show, and they welcome me with open arms and a warm, embracing audience. I think that I bring my wisdom, experience and humor to my show, and there’s no scarier scenario for me in show business. I’m exposed and vulnerable, but it’s also the most rewarding show when it goes well. When you’re a solo performer, there’s no one else to blame it on when it doesn’t go well. If I’m performing or directing, I want it to be the best it can be, and I want to measure success in how people are entertained.

“I’ve learned that life gives you struggle and suffering, and you have to figure out how to exist within that framework and find the ways to get the reprieve from that. I have to accept that life is going to be hard. I impart that to my sons. The world is consistently going to beat you down on multiple levels, and the struggle is not to think that life is about happiness and figuring out how to deal with the hard stuff when it comes. It’s the reverse. I’ve found a way to find serenity in giving over to that reality. I hope that this is only halfway through my journey, and love that I’m back on Long Island for it. I moved back to New York and haven’t set up a permanent residence yet, but I’m really loving Huntington, so I may end up being a denizen of the area!”

‘I was so afraid to feel my heartbeat. Little by little, he inspired me to feel it again.’

Huntington Station

“I had shortness of breath, fatigue, and couldn’t walk and talk at the same time. For nine weeks, I continued to get worse. I went to sleep on a Friday night, and I was woken up at 1:45 thanks to my puppy Ananda who sensed I was having a heart attack. I said, ‘Ananda, I think I’m having a heart attack.’ Then I considered the fact that I was 45, healthy, only ate organic, had already lost 100 pounds, and was on cholesterol medication because my father had a heart attack almost 20 years ago, and I inherited his high cholesterol. I thought, what else could this be? I was frozen in bed for about an hour. My chest felt as if someone was trying to beat me up. Finally, I was able to walk to take Aleve. I went to sleep, which is the worst thing you could do when you’re having a heart attack. I spent the next week dealing with the same symptoms. Thursday morning came, and I got on the treadmill to do a 5k, and I couldn’t do it.

Widow-maker heart attacks have an 11% survival rate outside of the hospital. I survived two, but not everyone is that lucky.

“I went to the doctor and did an EKG, and they sent me right away to the ER. When I got there, they told me I had 100% blockage. They put a stent in, and I was told I had a widow-maker heart attack the Saturday before and a second heart attack that morning on the treadmill. A week later, I went for a walk and got halfway around the block before I started to feel wrist, elbow, chest, and back pain and sweating. The next morning, I had my third heart attack in 12 days. They found that one of the smaller arteries was blocked.

“For 18 months after, I had to navigate the PTSD of almost dying on a treadmill before I was lucky enough to encounter an online fitness coach who motivated me. One day, I was so engrossed in his humor that I started jogging. Now here I am, sprinting. I was so afraid to feel my heartbeat. Little by little, he inspired me to feel it again.

“I applied to be a Go Red for Women Real Women Class of 2023 ambassador because women need to know that the symptoms of heart attacks for women are different from what you see on TV. If I knew that night one, I would not have had to go through two more heart attacks. Widow-maker heart attacks have an 11% survival rate outside of the hospital. I survived two, but not everyone is that lucky.”

‘Sometimes when things are looking like they’re not going the best, you just need to take a step back, rework and go out full pressure.’

Uniondale

“I started makeup to express myself and try to push myself into a creative space. When I was in college, I started working in a makeup store at the mall and really loved it. I loved selling the products, product knowledge and most importantly, doing makeup on customers when they came in. Once I graduated, I started my makeup brand.

“Marketing yourself is so hard being a business owner. I said that I was going to quit, and then one of my old friends was like, ‘There’s money to be made out here. You love it. Just keep going.’ Literally the day that I changed my Instagram name to Nudeebeats, I got a call from someone that I’ve never spoken to before. That was my first client. All I can say is that sometimes when things are looking like they’re not going the best, you just need to take a step back, rework and go out full pressure.

“Nudeebeats is about a year old now, and it’s been working really well for me. Nudeebeats means just accepting and loving your natural state. I really stress that makeup can be transformative, but I don’t specialize in transforming a face. I specialize in enhancing your natural features. I want people to really feel comfortable in their own beauty, so when I do makeup, it’s all about keeping it natural, bare and nude.

“I had so much fun trying out new looks that were outside of my repertoire as far as the skin during Fashion Week. An old college friend that was the project manager for Denzel Dion’s fashion show needed another makeup artist assisting that day. So they put me on the project. It was probably everything that I expected it to be — super high pace, very on edge and anxious the whole time trying to rush through everybody.

“It was really hard, but it was super rewarding. I met some amazing people. I also learned a lot from them. It was so much fun working under him, and his models were from all walks of life. It was just a really loving environment. It might have been tough the whole time, but how I really remember it was a blast.

“In the future, I definitely plan on starting a cosmetic line. I actually want it to be a skin-care line. I would like to start off in that direction and then branch off into lip products within the next three to five years.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘I feel that my journey could inspire some young kids to follow their dreams.’

Patchogue

“My dad moved to out West when I was 5. My sister and I were raised by a single mother, living in two-bedroom apartments. We lived paycheck to paycheck. Mom died in 2009, the Friday before Mother’s Day. I was 33, and that was the pivotal moment in my life because it left a very large space. That is the thing that kind of transformed me from someone who was stuck in the past to someone who was really living more in the moment.

“I used that as a reason to live my life not like a tribute, but to honor her sacrifices, because she really never dated, never got remarried. She didn’t have any time or energy. She basically just did everything she could for us, so my life is kind of like a continuation of her life.

“I started traveling to Europe to see the Impressionist painters she had admired and never got to see. I made it my mission to see those things in person and to live life with less fear and more love. I was basically a lazy teenager, although I did show promise with my musical abilities.

“Since graduating college in 1999, I’ve been a middle school music teacher and the orchestra director. I’ve worked with thousands of students. Becoming a middle school music teacher was one of the decisions in life where I got lucky. Without teaching, without the kids, I’d be missing a big piece of my soul.

“Growing up, I was a lonely kid. I didn’t really have a lot of friends. I always fell back on playing guitar, playing piano, singing, listening to music. During the lockdown, I was doing livestreams on Facebook to raise money for Long Island Cares. I raised about $4,000 over eight weeks. I was featured on the News 12 concert series. I find cover songs that I like and kind of put my own spin on them. It really does touch people.

“Some people come up after a song and say they really needed to hear it. I’ve carved out a niche for myself as a performer. After 25 years of performing, I’m one of the top singer-guitarists on Long Island. I’m booked to play all over Long Island. I feel that my journey could inspire some young kids to follow their dreams. I always consider myself a work in progress, but I also consider myself a success story.”

‘At some point along the way, I somehow got the nickname “The Baby Whisperer.”’

Centereach

“The two influences that led me to becoming a police officer were that my dad works for the Yankees and worked for George Steinbrenner, who was a huge proponent of the police, and my stepdad is a retired member of the NYPD. When my mom and dad split up, I was about 4-5 years old, and the next influential person in my life was my stepdad, who is an incredible role model. I couldn’t have picked a better person for my mom than him.

“I’m the oldest of the kids in the family; I have four little brothers and a little sister, so I was always the one in charge if my parents weren’t around. I always felt that big-brother responsibility, and when people say, ‘Oh, you have half brothers,’ or something like that, I say, ‘No, I have brothers and a sister,’ because we’re all a close-knit family. I definitely helped out with diapers and things like that, although I would try to save those things for my parents!

“I had played baseball in college and got a degree in sports management. Job opportunities popped up around the country, but I wasn’t ready to leave New York, so I started to work in business finance, thinking I could make my way back to sports from the financial side. But before I could transition back into sports, a friend of mine who was a Suffolk police officer told me the police test was coming up, and I should take it. I did and got a high grade. So I talked to my family, and they all said if it’s what I wanted, they were on board. So that’s how I became an officer.

“When you train to become a Suffolk police officer, you need to be a certified EMT, and childbirth is one of the things we covered, as well as things like infant and child CPR, or what to do when a newborn isn’t breathing — but we train on what looks like a Cabbage Patch doll, and we watch a video. Then one night in August 2017, I was working overnight in the Mount Sinai area. I had stopped for a snack and heard a call going over about a mother going into labor in her kitchen.”

He says the baby is out but hasn’t taken a breath.

“They asked for a car to respond, and I was about a quarter-mile away. Within a minute or two, I was in front of the house, and no other help had responded yet. I see a man at the front door. He says the baby is coming out. I run in, and he grabs me by the shoulder. He says the baby is out but hasn’t taken a breath. The baby was born with his umbilical cord around his neck, and the dispatcher was able to talk the father through removing it, but he still wasn’t breathing. The mom is laying on the floor holding the newborn, and he was turning blue. That’s when the training kicked in: I said we needed to clear his airway, but I wasn’t equipped with the same tools a paramedic would have. We needed suction, so I asked for a turkey baster, but he couldn’t find one. I then asked for a plastic syringe, and thank God he had one. I was able to extract the liquid blocking the baby’s airway, and after that he started breathing and crying. He’ll be 6 this year.

“When something like this happens, you’re only thinking about what you’re facing. I was scared out of my mind, but what I did was almost instinctual, and during it all I was thinking out loud, taking the steps necessary while the clock is ticking. In 2018, the parents were planning the christening, and they asked me to be the baby’s godfather. I’m still very close with my godson and his parents.

“A few months later, there was a call about a woman in labor in Selden, and she and her husband thought they could get to the hospital themselves even though an ambulance was on the way. I had just left the precinct and had stopped for coffee when I heard that the ambulance got there but no one was home. At the same time the parents called for help, they pulled over thinking they weren’t going to make it to the hospital. I got their location, and I just happened to be two minutes away, so I said I’d go over. I get there and see the dad standing outside the car, flagging me down. I pull up and he’s like, ‘The baby’s coming! The baby’s coming!’ I open the back door, and the mom was there. We could already see the head. Within 2-3 minutes, the baby was fully delivered. We wrapped him up and kept him warm until the ambulance got there.”

That’s when the jokes started: “Are you driving around Long Island looking for pregnant women?” and “This guy, he knows when all the babies are due.”

“That’s when the jokes started: ‘Are you driving around Long Island looking for pregnant women?’ and ‘This guy, he knows when all the babies are due,’ things like that. The following year in the summer, there was a call about a woman in her Port Jefferson Station home. Once again, I was grabbing a snack, but the woman’s home was about two blocks from where I was, so I threw out what was left and got there, although this time there were two other officers and the Terryville FD on the scene. I looked at one of the paramedics, and he recognized me and said, ‘You’re helping with this one, too.’ We realized she wasn’t going to make it to the hospital, and we delivered the baby in her bedroom.

“Of course, the jokes started picking up even more, but now I was starting to get national attention. Some news outlets around the country picked it up, which was pretty cool. I also thought it was cool for people to hear about the sort of things police do every day, but maybe don’t get recognition for — not me, I’ve gotten plenty of recognition — but police all over the country. I’m happy my story can help bring that to light.

“It was 2020 that I helped deliver a fourth baby. It was during the peak of COVID. It was in a woman’s house, in her bathroom, in Port Jeff Station again. She was home with her mother, and when I showed up to the call, the same paramedic from last time was there, and he was like, ‘Not again, you again, no way!’ We walked in, and she said she felt like she needed to start pushing, so we laid her down and guided her through it. In a few minutes, the baby was born, and we got everyone into an ambulance. This time though, we needed to wear more PPE, masks, gloves, things like that, and we had to work around the social distancing, so it was tough. It was a scary time going on calls during those days, but sometimes contact with people was unavoidable. The jokes within the department kept coming, but I didn’t get the same kind of news coverage, as there was so much else going on in the world. There was a lot more to report about at that time.”

Once the news broke that I was part of a fifth delivery, the attention whirlwind started.

“The fifth baby was born right before Thanksgiving of 2022. At this point, I was in a new precinct and had been promoted to sergeant. It was a quiet Saturday morning, and sergeants don’t respond to every call; it’s a different role. But I heard this call come over, and it sounded like the other calls involving a newborn I had been on: The mother was home alone in Shirley and felt like she was going into labor, so I started driving in that direction, even though there were already cops on the way. However, the officer already on the scene called and said she was starting to push, so I started driving faster.

“When I arrived, there were two officers in the house and one outside waiting for an ambulance. They were all pretty new, so I went inside with them. Within a few minutes, the baby was out, and this time it was pretty great as all I really needed to do was supervise! This time I let the new guys do the catching of the baby. As soon as the ambulance left, I was talking with the other officers, as it was their first childbirth, when I get a call from headquarters to call them back. I call, and they were like, ‘Did you just deliver another baby?’

“Once the news broke that I was part of a fifth delivery, the attention whirlwind started. At some point along the way, I somehow got the nickname ‘The Baby Whisperer.’ I forget where it started, but it took off. You can just Google that name, and I come up, which is crazy. I honestly don’t feel an expert at delivering babies. I’m always glad to see the ambulance show up. The more trained hands you have on deck, that’s always better for any situation; they can give me guidance and tell me what to do. I’m not a dad, and people ask if I think my experience will ever come in handy if I become one. I say maybe, but if and when I have children, I hope it doesn’t come down to my skills! I’d rather it be a more traditional setting, like a hospital, with nurses and doctors. But in a crunch, I guess I would know what to do.”

‘Doing this work has been incredibly healing. It’s a way to turn pain into purpose.’

Commack

“My son, Luke, passed away last October just two days shy of his third birthday. He was little, but he had such a beautiful appreciation for life. He was always laughing and smiling. He loved being outside and following his big sister around. He was such a happy, sweet, loving little boy.

“Luke had a heart condition called subaortic membrane stenosis, where scar tissue was growing around his aortic membrane. He was scheduled for a routine surgery to remove the scar tissue but unfortunately ran into complications. He passed so unexpectedly, and so unfairly. We wanted Luke to have the most peaceful resting place, but we were not prepared for the costs of the arrangements. On top of the overwhelming grief, we were burdened with these decisions and finances. We were incredibly grateful for the support we received from our family and friends, and we were able to place Luke in the most beautiful location, where he gets sunshine all day. We soon realized that child loss is real and happens often, and many families do not have this amount of support to give their child what they deserve.

I decided to focus my energy on helping other grieving families and to give back the same support we received.

“I decided to focus my energy on helping other grieving families and to give back the same support we received. A month after Luke passed, we started our nonprofit, Luke’s Purpose. Our mission is to provide financial support to families who have lost a child, including funeral costs, medical bills and mental health bills. Doing this work has been incredibly healing. It’s a way of turning pain into purpose. We’ve helped 10 families so far.

“Our goal is to pay for funerals in their entirety, so parents can focus on their grief and healing. I also started a blog called Good Grief Moms. I wanted to share my own grief journey and my experiences, and hopefully connect with other parents who unfortunately had to go through this unimaginable tragedy. We want to keep Luke’s memory alive. He only knew happiness and joy in his short life, and we want to share his light, and his love.”

‘Instead of going to medical school, I studied chiropractic, a natural healing art.’

Syosset

“When I was an undergraduate biology major, I met a chiropractor, a doctor who believes that the body can cure itself if you release its own healing ability. What he said made sense and seemed rational. So instead of going to medical school, I studied chiropractic, a natural healing art that has been helping people since 1885. It’s drugless, doesn’t use surgery and is based on taking care of the structure of the human frame, freeing up the nervous system so it can function at a high level, and maintaining health without having to take a pharmaceutical drug every time you have a pain or an ache.

In my garage … I built the first prototype of the Extentrac.

“I graduated from New York Chiropractic College in 1980. While there, I referred my mother to a chiropractor who alleviated the chronic back pain she had suffered for years. I opened my practice in Syosset 40 years ago. I was working with a nurse who had a severe herniated disc that wasn’t helped by medications, traditional chiropractic manipulation, conventional medical traction or physical therapy. She was bent at a 30-degree angle. In a last effort to help the patient, I dynamically lifted her in a backward bending position with vertical gravity. I observed an immediate reduction in pain. The patient was standing straight, and a new therapeutic technique was born. After achieving good results treating patients manually for two years, I realized I could develop a machine to treat a wider range of conditions and patients.

“In my garage, using pipes from a Long Island fence company and a bending device lent by a patient who was a union electrician who’d avoided surgery from this procedure, I built the first prototype of the Extentrac. The original led to more prototypes and more advanced models with more features. The product has been further developed by Spine Care Technologies Inc., with new designs focusing on sports injury prevention and enhanced athletic performance. Spine Care Technologies is marketing the fifth-generation therapeutic device, Extentrac Elite, to the health care and sports industries.

‘Life is too short to sit idly by. We need to be the change we want to see in the world!’

Rocky Point

“My parents instilled a love for animals in me at a young age. We always had pets growing up, and they taught me to respect all living things. When I was 12, I volunteered at Bideawee, a local animal shelter, and I fell in love with helping animals. I worked at North Shore Animal League while attending college.

“Through my years in rescue, I noticed that so many people had to get rid of their pets because they couldn’t afford them even though their homes were good. So I helped start Paws Unite People in 2013 and serve as its president. It’s a place where animals get the rehabilitation they need to be adopted, and the people who love animals can get help, too.

“We’ve been busy. Since our founding in 2013, we’ve provided temporary housing to over 200 pets belonging to victims of domestic violence or families who lost their homes during a temporary setback.

We’re currently helping Afghan animal rescuers who are refugees while they are waiting for their U.S. asylum cases to be processed in Pakistan.

“We covered rent, vet bills and food costs for 32 families during COVID-19. We’ve provided financial assistance to over 400 families on Long Island for emergency vet expenses, allowing them to keep their pets. All funding — from grants and donations — goes 100 percent to our programs. We have no paid staff.

“One of my favorite stories: We pulled Jobe, a Yorkie, from the Town of Islip shelter. He was emaciated, had a skin infection from allergies, and was blind from untreated dry eye. We worked months to get him healthy.

“Once his skin healed and he was at a healthy weight, I consulted eye specialists to see if they could restore his sight. Jobe was 5 years old, and the thought of him being blind for the rest of his life due to neglect made me miserable. We were told Jobe’s vision could be restored, so they did the surgery and gave him back his sight. He’s now living as a service dog for a woman with multiple sclerosis.

“We support rescues abroad, too. We’re currently helping Afghan animal rescuers who are refugees while they are waiting for their U.S. asylum cases to be processed in Pakistan. We are building an animal clinic in Kenya for the Maasai tribe. I’m proud of my involvement with Paws Unite People. Life is too short to sit idly by. We need to be the change we want to see in the world!”

‘I realized that I loved to help people through their fitness journeys, and this initially secondary career soon became my passion.’

East Meadow

“I was overweight as a child, and I got teased a lot. I was also a huge fan of professional wrestling, and I wanted to be a wrestler. When I told my classmates about my dream, they laughed at me and said I could never be a wrestler because I was fat. That day, I decided that I was going to prove them wrong.

“I got really interested in fitness. I started lifting weights in middle school and making better choices about the kinds of food I ate; portion control is very important when dieting. There are no quick fixes. Living a healthy lifestyle is all about self-control and making good choices. When I was in my 20s, I started researching the science behind improving my physique.

You only have one life, so go for your goals.

“By 2015, I was working for major professional independent wrestling companies under the pseudonym The Long Island Landmine. To support myself, I trained people at gyms, and I earned my personal trainer license in 2014. In 2016, everything changed when I tore my Achilles tendon. That injury forced me to think about the future. Even the best wrestlers typically start to slow down around age 40. I knew that I would need another career to support myself, and that’s when I turned my focus to personal training. I realized that I loved to help people through their fitness journeys, and this initially secondary career soon became my passion.

“When the pandemic hit, I started seeing clients one-on-one and also offering outdoors group sessions. I turned my garage into a fully functioning gym that can accommodate up to 12 people. It was never in my plans to start my own business, but I ended up establishing Joe’s Result Zone LLC. Wrestling has come full circle for me. This year, I had appearances for All Elite Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and World Wrestling Entertainment. I also started a secondary business called Championship Entertainment Theatre, which arranges weekly live wrestling events at a theater in Mattituck. I plan to continue following my dreams because so many people told me that I couldn’t. You only have one life, so go for your goals.”