Biography
| toolbar powered by Conduit |
Born and raised in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York in the hamlet of Point Rock; Andy grew up hard. He was immersed into the sport of wrestling and martial arts at the age of 5. He continued his training and practice having earned two 2nd Degreee Black belts in Tae Kwan Do and Kempo Karate and an honorary brown belt in Kano Jujitsu. By the age of 16 Andy Was a New York State Karate Champion and world ammateur kickboxing contender. By 17 years old, Andy had won the American Independent Karate Association Nationals in the men's Blackbelt Division in every event.
Having known the value of a hard work ethic and a sense of adventure Andy joined the US Army at the age of 17. Originally enlisting for the needs of the Army as a Power Generation Unit Mechanic; he spent his first two year enlistment in El Paso Texas. With the sport of No Holds Barred Fighting growing he secretly entered his first professional competition in Icon Sport's Super Brawl 9 on September 18th, 1998. Immediataely following the Pay Per View event he was remanded by his superiors and told to never compete again whaile serving in the military.
Andy Spent his remaining 9 years in the military in the Infantry elite Long Range Surveillance Unit and the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg North Carolina. In 2007 Andy separated from the Army and became a civilian after 11 years of service. During his tenure in the Army he became a combat veteran for multiple tours in the Global War on Terror. He was nominated to receive the "Silver Star " and received the Bronze Star with a "V" device for valor in combat.
After his separation from the Army he published his first book "Combat Application Techniques: Principles of Destruction". After 10 years without competing Andy decided to get back into the cage. This time the sport was being called MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). The rules had changed and it was legal in a lot more states. He re entered the sport of MMA as a Middle Weight 185lbs. His return fight was against James Douglas in Silver Crown Fights 8-8-8. The event was a battle and ended in a three round draw. Since that fight Andy has devoted himself to getting back into the sport; this time for all the marbles!