cheek was the united states air force boxing champion and started training in kickboxing and muay thai in 2000 at the age of twenty-three. in august 2004, he competed in a four-man tournament held over two days in orlando, florida to determine the ikf amateur north american super heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) muay thai champion. after defeating bernard settle, jr. by technical knockout in round two of their semi-final bout, he outpointed brian wells to a unanimous decision in the final to take the crown. he followed this up with the ikf's amateur california muay thai title when he stopped ben davis with low kicks in round one in fairfield, california on march 26, 2005.