Hello there,I’m in Shenzhen trying to train. Yesterday I got through it. Today, each part of my body felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. My legs, my arms, everything. The fistula pain has been significant. And the exhaustion isn’t the kind where you’re tired but you push through anyway. It’s the kind where your body just stops. Mornings I feel okay. Then by early afternoon, I’m completely flattened. Yesterday I was in bed by 4 PM. Today it was 1:30 PM. Still here now. What gets me isn’t...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there,I’m writing this from the Haikou Airport waiting for my flight back to Shenzhen. It’s 7 PM and I’ve been moving since 5:30 this morning for what turned into a same-day round trip to Hainan Island. Two flights, a 40-minute train, meetings at a sports academy where we’re building a full-time boarding pickleball program. 24 students. Hiring coaches. Setting curriculum and training standards. Real expansion stuff that I’m genuinely excited about. And I’m completely wiped. I knew today...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hello friend,I’ve been creating awareness videos this week for Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week. One each day. Just trying to give more visibility into something that’s not an incredibly visible disease. Sharing the hard stuff, the stuff I don’t necessarily want to share. Talking about the emotional weight and the invisible aspect of having Crohn’s and all the things that are hard to articulate about this condition. It brings up some insecurity. This stuff feels personal and internal. But...
10 days ago • 2 min read
Hi there, I’ve been in Shenzhen the past couple days getting good reps on court with Yu-Chieh and Fareez, both Ramsports players. We’ve been working through patterns, talking about what they’re trying to improve, and it feels good to be useful in that way again. That part’s been good. My knee feels pretty solid. I’m moving well enough and enjoying the training. But today reminded me, in the worst way, why I have a colostomy. I have what’s called a diverting loop colostomy, which means it’s...
12 days ago • 3 min read
Hi friend, Flying to Shenzhen tonight. Won’t be back in Manila for a while. Shenzhen until the 13th, then straight to Mumbai for pro league. I’ll be away until at least the 24th, so hydration and getting physically ready starts today for a real stretch of work. I’ve been taking it really easy here in Manila. Full rest mode. Haven’t pushed my body much at all. Part of that was intentional recovery, part of it was just the reality that there’s not consistent practice available here. Hard to...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there,Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back in the States. It’s pretty quiet here in the Philippines. It’s just another day here in Manila. But I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m grateful for. And honestly, I’m grateful for my stoma. I’m grateful for my setons and fistulas, even though they can be brutal. Because it would be way more brutal without them. I’m grateful for the hard stuff. There’s something I think about a lot: your muscles can only get as strong as they get broken down....
17 days ago • 1 min read
Hello friend, I played yesterday. Actually played, not just dinking around. First real session in a while. Last time I was on court my hamstring seized up. This time it didn’t. I’ve been rolling out every day, stretching, all the stuff that’s boring but apparently necessary. It’s working. The knee feels better too. I can tell I’m making progress. I need to be making progress because I leave for China next week to train in Shenzhen and support Ram at the PCL Finals. I then go to India...
19 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there, A friend lost his wife last week. Another friend's daughter is in the hospital fighting. And I'm sitting here planning my 2026 tournament schedule. It just doesn’t add up sometimes. You do everything right and it's still not enough. My friend and his wife were controlling what they could control, staying optimistic, fighting for a clinical trial. And then it just... wasn't enough. It hit me hard, not in a way where my own stuff feels small or invalid, but in a way that pulls you out...
21 days ago • 1 min read
Hello there,The pickleball event last week wiped me out more than I expected. Interesting data point about where my energy level/capability actually is right now. I’m having to learn through trial and error what I'm capable of and how to pace myself. So I haven't played much this week. Just letting my body recover. But there's been good progress on the ostomy belt. Turns out "silent" hook and loop (basically Velcro) isn't silent at all. It's actually louder than my existing belts. Good to...
24 days ago • 2 min read