I’ve spent most of my life trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I started performing when I was four years old, when my mom put me onstage to sing at a church function. I fell in love with music and performance, and at 13, seeing Man of La Mancha convinced me that I wanted to make a life in the arts. I studied musical theater at Kent State University on a full scholarship and eventually pursued professional theater.

But the career I had dreamed about didn’t turn out to be the career I wanted. I found myself performing the same shows over and over, executing other people’s creative choices, and feeling increasingly disconnected from the reason I had wanted to be an artist in the first place.

So I walked away.

I spent nearly a decade working in corporate environments, eventually finding a career in banking. I was professionally fulfilled, but something was missing. I had also become increasingly disconnected from my body and struggled to find a form of movement I genuinely enjoyed.

Then, a coworker invited me to a dance fitness class.

I walked into a dark studio with flashing lights and music blasting. I danced, I sweated, and—most importantly—I felt joy. For the first time in years, I looked in the mirror and felt proud of what my body could do.

I went back every day for the next month.

Eventually, I began teaching dance fitness. What started as something I did because I loved it became a creative outlet, a community, and a way to impact people's lives. I began volunteering at the studio where I taught, managing its social media and creating videos for other instructors.

When that studio closed, I took a chance on myself. I started renting studio space independently and began promoting my own classes on social media. In January 2023, a video of me dancing to my choreography for “Swing” by Savage went viral. Within weeks, I gained hundreds of thousands of followers. Today, more than five million people follow my work across social media.

But the numbers aren't what I'm most proud of.

I'm proud of the people who tell me they finally found a form of movement they love. I'm proud of the people who walk into class feeling uncomfortable in their bodies and leave feeling confident. And I'm proud that the art I once thought I had to perform on a stage can now reach people anywhere in the world.

Today, I'm a dance fitness instructor, choreographer, entertainer, content creator, and entrepreneur. I teach classes, create choreography and videos, collaborate with brands, create apparel, and tour to bring my classes and message to communities beyond Arizona. I also co-own Dance Fitness Tempe with my wife, AK Patil.

Everything I do is built around one simple philosophy:

FIND WHAT MOVES YOU.

For me, that happens to be dance. But I don't believe everyone needs to dance. I believe everyone deserves to find something that makes them feel alive, connected, and excited to come back tomorrow.

I spent years trying to figure out what my artistic path was supposed to look like.

It turns out, I just needed to find what moves me.