The past was not a detour. It was the door.

Two years ago I left corporate work to build Onward Upward Sports & Events. Some of it was hard. All of it was necessary.

The town that knew me first helped get this started, and I am grateful for it. I have since moved on, to a new home and a bigger chapter.

This month the work shows it: billboards in two states, a national release and a 2026 MUSE Silver behind the name. Next up, pickleball on November 14, a surf contest on November 28 and a bar crawl on December 5, with a bigger slate coming in 2027.

The rooms changed too. Not small mixers. Big conferences, bigger stages, and rooms where thousands of referral partners sit in one place. I did not ask my way in. I showed up, did the work and held the standard.

Dating is part of the life now, and I am selective. The right fit over the fast one. The work is public. The people in my life are not.

Upscale matters. Not for the look of it. For how you treat people, how you run a room and what you put your name on. The company exists so the life can.

None of it happens alone. I am grateful for the people doing the work alongside me.

The places get bigger. The rooms get bigger. The standard stays high.

Show up. Do the work. Keep going.