I was born and raised in Bangor and I grew up doing all of the fun outdoor Maine things like hiking, biking, camping, canoeing, skiing, kayaking, climbing trees, gardening, and playing in the woods. I love nature and now try to go on some sort of adventure every week.
After high school, I attended the University of Maine and graduated with a degree in accounting before coming to work for a CPA firm in Downtown Bangor that is partly owned by my family. Since 2020, I have gone back to UMaine part-time to earn an MBA with a concentration in non-profit organizations.
While my day job is officially accounting, I spend as much time as I can pursuing my passions through volunteer work and personal projects. I have served on a dozen boards and committees, including some that I helped to found, that work on a variety of programs from environmental conservation to building sustainable communities to installing public gardens and art projects. Currently, I volunteer 20-40 hours a month for these causes.
One big personal project of mine has been the restoration of my home for the past 15 years. It’s a small 1870’s cottage in the Tree Streets. Besides replacing or restoring nearly everything from the foundation to the chimney top, I have added a covered porch, permaculture-inspired landscaping, and most recently a traditional Finnish sauna in the yard. I love my home and have been trying to make it my own little urban homesteader oasis.
Like many people in our modern life, I try to do too much. While I’m working on having a sustainable number of commitments and hobbies, I view physical fitness as an essential part of maintaining the active lifestyle I truly enjoy. That’s why I choose to train with Skye. Through barre classes and personal training, she’s helping me to develop my physical endurance, flexibility, and stability so that I can do all the things I want to do.
1) Why did you choose personal training as opposed to the millions of free programs online?
I’d say my biggest reason is having someone to be accountable to on a weekly basis. I love working out, whether it’s biking, skiing, yoga, or barre, but I struggle with routines if I’m left on my own.
I also love the personalized workouts and adaptations that Skye develops for me, working around my strengths and weaknesses so that I can push myself to improve while not overdoing it to the point of injury. Also, as a tall and lanky person, my old house with its short ceilings and even less open floor space is not a great place for me to exercise. Skye’s studio is spacious, airy, full of natural light, and being downtown, it’s just a 5-minute bike ride away.
2) What has been your greatest achievement since you've been working out?
My biggest achievement was finishing building my sauna from scratch. I broke ground at the end of June and took my first sauna on New Year’s Eve. It’s 12’x12’ with a changing room and 4 foot covered porch. A few weeks ago when it was -13F outside, I had it up to 200F in the sauna.
3) What advice would you give someone who is ready to start working out?
Definitely work on building a strong mind-body connection. It’s exciting to push yourself and to start seeing improvements in your body, but if you don’t pay attention to what your body is telling you, it’s easy to injure yourself by pushing your body beyond its limits. This is something I continue to struggle with.
4) What is a fun fact about you we may not know?
I bike places all winter long, including in subzero weather, despite having amazingly bad circulation in my hands and feet. Most people ask if my bike has fat tires in the winter, but I use medium-width studded snow tires. The bike also has a carbon belt drive with an internal gear hub, so there’s no metal chain or cogs to keep cleaned, lubricated, and free of rust.
Thank you for sharing your inspiring story, Greg!