My family moved from Toronto to Edmonton when I was 10. At the age of 14, I picked up my first cue and started playing on bar boxes at a local arcade called Aladdin's. I was infatuated with the game and jumped at the opportunity to work at the Master's Club when it opened in 1990. I also worked at the Dufferin Game Room Store selling pool tables part-time. Since I was young and talented, a strong Snooker player from Century Billiards, Dennis Ong, became my mentor and helped me improve my fundamentals. I learnt quickly and within nine months I had a high run of 73. At 19, I was one of the top youngest players in Canada. I had a high run of seven consecutive 8-Ball racks and six 9-Ball racks. I acquired the nickname "Popeye" by having the ability to position the cue ball anywhere on the table by applying excessive "spinage" to the cue ball. I played in pro tournaments across Canada and went to Vegas and Reno for the VNEA and BCA 8-Ball and 9-Ball amateur championships. I placed in the money in many of these events and added trophies to my collection. In Reno, at the BCA 2nd Annual US Bar Table Championships, I had one of my strongest finishes placing in the top 64 out of a 200+ field. At this event, I bought my Schon SL13 off a cue hustler with Bill Ganne's help. This was an interesting turn of events since this cue was won and lost in green room games during the tournament. I sold the shaft and replaced it with a stiff Richard Black shaft which was given to me by good friend. At 20, I took on the role as the Lucky Eleven supervisor, gave pool lessons, and purchased a cue lathe which lead to a cue repair business; Mark's Pro Shop Cue Repairs. At this point in my pool career, I was focusing more on the business end of billiards and wasn't playing as much as I wanted. At 22, Lucky Eleven was shutdown to make room for a casino. Tom Wright, the owner of Lucky Eleven, opened up a Sports Bar called Nicholby's. I took on the role as night bar manager and moved to a new apartment for an easy commute. I still played in some major tournaments and went to Vegas to play in the VNEA championships, but my peak game was behind me. I stopped playing pool professionally at the age of 24. I took ten years off from pool. I traveled around the world, worked as a massage therapist, moved to the US, graduated from University, work in the software/hardware industry, got married, and have a Green Card. In 2008, I wanted to get back into the game. I got Lasik surgery, built a pool room in my basement, started playing in league, and entered a few tournaments. In 2009, I started playing with a custom cue built by David Jacoby with a Predator 314-2 shaft. Mid-2009, David Jacoby completed two other cues; a low-end custom for my work/road trips and a break/jump cue. Going forward, I plan to play in one major event 500 miles away from Atlanta and three local events within 100 miles each year. I’ve been able to achieve a B+ rating with only 4-6 hours a week on the table. In 2011, I moved away from a Predator 314-2 shaft and now play with a Mezz Hybrid Pro II shaft since it provides more feedback and a much stiffer hit. However, due to my busy work schedule, I haven’t played much in 2011, but hope to be back to an A rating in the future. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see an A+ rating like I did in my youth, but time will tell!