I'm from the Marianas.
Small islands in the Pacific.
Born on Guam, raised in Saipan, Home to me is the Marianas
And somehow martial arts eventually took me all the way to the UFC.
Even saying that sometimes feels crazy.
But one of the biggest lessons I took from that journey wasn't about fighting.
It was realizing that where you come from doesn't have to determine how far you can go.
When you grow up somewhere small, the rest of the world can sometimes feel very far away.
Big opportunities happen somewhere else.
Big stages happen somewhere else.
But then you start taking little steps.
Train today.
Compete.
Lose.
Improve.
Travel.
Try again.
Suddenly something that seemed impossible becomes a little more possible.
That's a message I want kids in Guam, Saipan and throughout the Marianas to understand.
You don't have to become a UFC fighter.
Maybe your dream is college.
Business.
Rugby.
Wrestling.
Medicine.
Art.
Whatever it is.
But being from a small island doesn't mean you need small dreams.
At the same time, dreams aren't enough.
I learned that too.
You still have to work.
You have to be willing to fail.
You have to show up when you're insecure.
You have to keep learning.
Those are lessons martial arts can teach extremely well.
That's part of the reason opening CRANK Martial Arts means so much to me.
I had people who poured knowledge into me.
Now I have an opportunity to pass some of those experiences down.
Maybe the next kid who walks through our doors doesn't know what they're capable of yet.
That's okay.
Neither did I when I started.
Sometimes somebody simply needs an environment that gives them permission to discover it.