Ans: Stephen began taekwondo at age five under Master Jeff Pinaroc in Arlington, Texas. From his first lesson, he has given every practice 100% of his effort and love. Since he was a little boy he has wanted to do nothing more than compete for the USA at the Olympic Games. For many years, he dominated my brackets in Texas, while every year failing just short of medals at the US Junior National Championships. Each time he failed to win, his resolve to conquer grew that much stronger. When he turned fourteen, all of his hard work payed off when he won his first Junior Nationals and made his first team in 2002. The Junior US team traveled to Crete, Greece for the 4th World Junior Taekwondo Championships.
Currently, Stephen has made a total of 11 different US National teams, ranging from junior, collegiate, Pan Am Games and senior national teams. He has been team captain four times and brought home numerous international awards and world medals. Stephen's first International Senior competition was the German open which opened his eyes to how the rest of the world trains and fights. A tough first experience, he quickly learned how rough and physically demanding the heavyweight division can be. These experiences matured him quickly leading him to several knockouts over well established fighters such as the Venezuelan South American Games champion at Pan Am Championships, Sweden at the German Open and Lebanon at the World University Games.