I Am a Riser
Inspired by Dierks Bentley’s “Riser”
Some songs don’t just play—they grab your soul. Dierks Bentley’s “Riser” did that for me. It’s more than music; it’s a mirror. A reminder. A declaration.
“I’m a riser. I’m a get up off the ground, don’t run and hider…”
The first time I heard those words, I stopped. I’ve lived that lyric.
I’ve been a riser all my life—not because I’ve had an easy path, but because I never stopped getting back up.
From Labels to Legacy
I was labeled early. Diagnosed with a learning disability in grade school. I was the kid who “wasn’t supposed to keep up.” But I pushed. I fought. I learned how to learn in my own way.
By the time I left high school, I had enough AP credits to enter college as a sophomore. Labels? I left them behind.
Then came Georgia Tech, one of the toughest architecture programs in the country. They told me: “Only one in ten makes it.” Translation: “You probably won’t.”
I did.
Entrepreneurship in Crisis
In 2001, I took the leap and launched my first company. Just four months later, 9/11 happened. The economy slowed. The world froze. Everyone told me to wait, to pause, to play it safe.
But risers don’t sit back. We step in.
I pushed forward and built one of the fastest-growing homebuilders in Georgia—and sold the company five years later. That momentum didn’t come from luck. It came from grit.
Then came the 2007 housing crisis—a blow that took down giants. I was working with a large homebuilding company. We downsized. We cut. We struggled. But I held on. I helped rebuild it and led it through another successful sale in 2017.
A Fight for My Life
In 2014, in the middle of training for an Ironman, I was diagnosed with a tumor in my colon. It stopped me in my tracks. I had a large portion of my colon removed.
But four weeks later—yes, just four—I was back on the bike. I was back in the pool. I didn’t let that diagnosis end my journey. By the end of that year, I was back competing as an Ironman. Not because I was healed overnight, but because I refused to stay down.
Pain didn’t win. I rose.
When the World Stopped Again
Enter 2020. COVID hit like a wrecking ball. And just like that, everything changed again. New world. New expectations. New fears.
I didn’t wait. I reinvented. I built something new from the ground up. And in just two years, we crossed $2 million in revenue. Not because the world made it easy—but because risers don’t wait for perfect conditions. We build anyway.
Still Rising
Even now, challenges come. Setbacks knock. But every time I’m hit, I rise. And not because I have all the answers—but because I know who I am.
“When darkness comes and tragedy hits, some run and some rise.”
That lyric? It lives in me.
Being a riser isn’t about being fearless. It’s about getting back up when life knocks you down. It’s about staring down failure and saying, “Not today.”
Your Story Matters Too
You may not have started a company, or survived a housing crash, or built a startup in a pandemic—but I know this:
You’ve faced something. You’ve risen from something.
And that’s what connects us. That’s what makes us stronger. That’s what makes us human.
So here’s what I want to say to you:
If you’ve been knocked down—get up. If you’re doubting yourself—dig deeper. If you’re waiting for a sign—this is it.
You are a fighter. You are a riser. Rise with me.
What’s your riser story?