My path to my brothers all started in December of 2001 at a house party a friend of mine was throwing at a lake house. Having grown up with a mom who was a radio and TV personality for the army I have always loved to entertain and amuse people, so it was only natural that when a friend of mine introduced me to poi I became hooked. Having only a very basic knowledge of poi my friend showed me the couple of moves and tricks he knew and I was immediately mesmerized and picked up glowsticks for the first time. Well at that point I had a lot to learn so it wasn’t any surprise that I did more smacking myself than spinning the glowsticks. After that night I was officially hooked and did everything I could to find time to practice and learn more.
It was about 3 months later when I first met Vertigo and Vortex at yet another party my friend was throwing. Until that point I was one of the best spinners in my group, not for long. These two guys light up with fire out of nowhere and begin to dance within the flames, not just move like I did, but dance. I knew then I had a lot to learn and immediately began asking them a million questions. Surprisingly they answered most all of them and even invited me to come and practice with them. I knew then that I wanted to be a part of the brothers and learn all I could about the art of poi. I started practicing two to three times a day and after about a year and a half of hard work and determination, almost obsession, I lit up with fire for the first time and my life changed forever.
About nine months later I began performing with another group of friends who also did fire performing. I was constantly seeking balance in my life as well as my fire-dancing and through performing I found this balance. Finally having felt like the two halves of my being were at last one I took on my new name of Janus, the two headed roman god of beginning and end. Together with my group of friends I did a few shows with the Brothers at Nightmare on Grayson and a few local festivals before I decided that I wanted to pursue my own path and see where it took me.
For the next few months I worked on my technique and also found a peace I had never known because my spinning helped me to clear my mind and strengthen my body. Then I was invited back to Grayson by the Brothers to perform for yet another year. Little did I know that this was really my final tryout and the Brothers wanted to see if I would give all of myself to performing. Thankfully for me I was at that point a very good spinner, but more thankfully I also have a good way with a microphone and a crowd. A few months after Grayson and almost 3 years to the day after I first picked up glowsticks the brothers opened up their arms and embraced me as not only an equal but as family.