David was raised by a single mom in Vermont, alongside his younger sister. As a kid, he was not encouraged to do any team sports. Instead he turned to music, playing violin, drums, trumpet, and eventually guitar. After high school graduation, David went to San Francisco, attending culinary school and quickly realizing that was not the path he wanted to go down. He stayed in the restaurant business and ran Hard Rock Cafes instead.
He ended up missing home, heading back to Vermont, starting a family with two kids, and running a Bed and Breakfast. He had various jobs in the restaurant business, including working with Gordon Ramsey on the TV show “Hotel Hell”. Now, David manages a successful restaurant and brewery along with a campground.
Throughout his life, David has always used running as a place to find peace. He began marathon running in 2013 and has completed four to date. In 2015, David was experiencing cartilage lumps on his left leg. He continued running, but got to the point where it was impacting him. As it turns out, David had a rare form of cartilage bone cancer spread through his leg. He chose to amputate, but before doing so, had a “Farewell to Leg Tour” with his family, doing all his favorite activities in the weeks leading up to his amputation. On January 20, 2020, David’s left leg was amputated above the knee.
David is still very new to prosthetics and wants to spend his time at ATF learning how to maximize the use of his. He is excited by the possibility of learning to run again and eventually wants to run a marathon again. He’s also at ATF to be the healthiest version of himself, physically and mentally - allowing himself to address things as them come up through the nine weeks. Additionally, as someone so used to doing a solo sport, David is stoked to have team camaraderie with his fellow athletes.
