Certifications
Shawn was born in Torrejon AFB Spain and was raised the youngest of six children in a military household. When Shawn was 13 years old he joined the Wrestling team at Robinson High School and fell in love with fighting sports. After wrestling in High School Shawn moved on the University of South Florida where he joined the Army ROTC program and continued to train ground fighting. In 2011 Shawn discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a way to continue training ground fighting after college. Shawn began training under seven time IBJJF World champion Robson Moura and Lane Andrews at South Tampa Jiu-Jitsu. Shawn has been training at South Tampa Jiu-Jitsu for nearly nine years and currently holds a Black belt in BJJ. While ground fighting has been Shawn’s primary focus in Martial Arts he has begun practicing several standing martial arts to include Muay Thai and boxing and is currently 5-0 as an Amateur Mixed Martial Artist. He currently holds the LeLeoCode Amateur MMA Title at 145 lbs.
Shawn never thought of himself as a “martial artist” just an undersized kid with an oversized chip on his shoulder. However as a martial artist Shawn has developed a great sense of self-worth and mental toughness that has greatly affected his life off the mat. Shawn has served in the Florida Army National Guard for 10 years and deployed to Afghanistan where he helped teach at the Bagram BJJ fight school. As a civilian Shawn is a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputy and member of the HCSO SWAT team.
Shawn’s future goals are simple:
1. Continue to improve as a martial artist, a professional, and a man everyday
2. Be a good representative of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
3. Challenge yourself every day and savor every rep
4. Win an Professional MMA title