About Brad

I come from Alabama. Somebody has to. In my early years, I lived in the south of the state, near Mobile. When I was thirteen or so, my father got a job in north Alabama, near Huntsville. Both places are rural. Scottsboro, the town where I went to high school, is about 15,000 people. I live 12 miles out of town. I can see my neighbor’s house but it’s far enough I can’t hear them unless they’re running a lawnmower or a chainsaw. That’s right, in Alabama we say running, not using.

After high school, I joined the Marine Corps and was trained as a computer tech. I didn’t have a computer growing up so I was not good at my job in the early days. It was a fluke I was even working on computers. I’d requested to be an electrician.

After leaving the military I was offered a job with a government contractor. I spent a few years working on the military’s messaging systems, the same job I’d done on active duty. Even though it paid well I didn’t particularly like the work. Computer systems support is a thankless job and I wanted to be a professional fighter.

I found Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu around 2002 and started dreaming of UFC gold. I left server support and started doing desktop support. I thought it would be less demanding and allow me more time to train. In 2005 I had my first MMA fight. Reflecting afterward I didn’t think professional fighting was how I wanted to spend my life. The training was grueling. I thought there was no way I’d ever get tired, but after the first round, I was so tired I could barely stand. I was so tired I couldn’t even hear my cornermen talking. I realized as hard as training had been, it wasn’t enough. Being a professional fighter would mean being tired for the next 10 years or more.

I decided I wanted something different. I moved to California, spent the summer taking classes at Butte College, and spent a lot of time thinking about business. I didn’t grow up with examples of entrepreneurship. Everyone in my family had jobs so I had to look to the internet and books for examples and ideas. I had a few ideas, as most people do, but no understanding of how to execute them.

A friend called me at the end of the summer and said he knew about a job. This one was in San Diego and the money was more than I’d ever made. I was at that job for about a year and a half before being laid off. I decided this time it was for good. I was going to change careers.

I moved back to Alabama thinking things would be cheaper and I could go to university and pay my rent using the GI Bill—but I couldn’t. Alabama is cheaper than California, but not enough. I started looking for other options. Turns out you can use your GI Bill outside the US. I decided on Thailand. There were half a dozen schools approved for the GI Bill and I sent them all an email requesting information. Only one emailed back. That’s how I ended up in Chiang Mai.

After my GI Bill money ran out, I got a job with a local software company. I started building websites for the company’s clients and came to the office early every day to learn more about web development. Two years later I was let go. I tried to do freelance work but it was difficult to find clients. I’d also lost my visa and was taking the train to Malaysia every three months for a new one. After a year of that, I decided to return to the US.

So that brings us to 2017 and back to Alabama. After 20 years away I moved back to the family farm. Back to helping Dad with the cows, raking hay, and working in the garden.