He graduated from the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg earning a degree in mass communications with a focus in journalism and media studies. His first job was at the Citrus County Chronicle, where he worked as an education reporter and on the copy desk doing page layouts. Soon after, he found himself at the Tampa Tribune before ultimately moving to Gainesville. He has freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times, Weekly Challenger and Orlando Weekly, among other publications and had several local stories picked up by the Associated Press.