Born in Watts after the 1965 riots, my premature birth was the direct result of an argument between my parents. My mother had a violent altercation with my father, falling to the ground, with me being born three months premature. Having a slim chance of surviving, I quickly became a fighter.
From this point on my life has been shaped by my experiences with family and friends from several neighbourhoods. As they say, “it takes a village.” In my early teens, I lived throughout Compton. I can remember as a toddler staying in Park Village and in Fruit-Town during pre-school. By elementary and junior high school I lived in the areas of Lime-Hood, Oaks Park, and Santana Block.
The start of me being brought up in the church coincided with me witnessing gang activity, the drug trade, and many lives lost from addiction. Being in church could never prepare me growing up in Watts during the late seventies and eighties.
Through sports and education, I would create a path away from gangs and a corrupt criminal courts system. Before moving back to Watts I would have several close encounters with law enforcement. But before my senior year in high school, I planted a seed that would inspire me to become an Olympian like my heroes Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos.
