As a kid, I never really dreamed of being a professional fighter. My true aspiration was to be a doctor. But, like many of us, life didn’t always follow the path you envisioned. I wasn’t exactly the best student, and to be honest, I struggled with dyslexia. Back then, dyslexia wasn’t well understood, and there weren’t special programs in place to support students like me. Instead, I ended up in “dummy class” — aka, reading class. Imagine being in middle school, already dealing with low self-esteem, and then getting labeled a "dummy." It wasn't fun. Despite these challenges, I managed to get through school, but I didn’t develop the skills I needed for college. When I tried my hand at higher education, I quickly found out I wasn’t prepared and, well, failed miserably.

From ages 17 to 20, things were a mess. But through all the chaos, the one thing that kept me grounded was my martial arts practice. I excelled as an amateur combat athlete as an elite level wrestler and winning state, national, and world championships in Karate. Martial arts became my focus, and I eventually transitioned to a professional career as a boxer and kickboxer (and later as an MMA Fighter). To my surprise, I was pretty good at it (like really good at it).

For 17 years, I competed professionally, winning six world championships in five different combat sports. But by the time I was 37, I was burned out. I retired from the fight business with no clear direction, unsure of what to do next. I had not finished college at time (but went back to finishing up college at 37) and my martial arts school was making pretty good money, but it wasn’t generating the kind of income I had grown accustomed to as a fighter.

Enter Mark Cuban. Yes, that Mark Cuban. He reached out to me, engaging my consulting company and eventually hiring me to be the president and run a division of his television company, HDnet. Despite having no real experience in the corporate world or TV, I helped make HDnet’s Fights programming a top-rated hit for five years. Eventually, HDnet merged with another company to form Axs.tv. With the company shifting directions, I decided it was time to move on.

So, now what? I still had that dream of becoming a doctor, and with my severance package from HDnet, I was finally able to pursue it. Realizing that becoming an MD at my age might be a challenge, I opted to go the scientific route and enrolled in a PhD program. I formed an integrative medical group called Mezger Systems, focusing on optimizing people’s health. Later, we merged with another company to form Dynamis Medical Group (www.Dynamisonline.com).

But how did Royal Alchemy come about? Well, while working as a naturopath, I met a guy and became friends with Michael Sloggett, who brought me on board to help develop unique nutraceuticals and supplements for his company. Years later, we partnered to create Royal Alchemy, continuing our journey in the health and wellness space.

And that’s the quick version of how I went from fighting for a living to healing people for a living. It’s been a pretty wild and unique full-circle journey, and I’m excited to continue helping others on their path to better health and wellness.