Welcome to GenX Unfiltered

Born in ‘74 on Long Island, New York, I’ve lived a life that’s anything but straight out of a storybook. Name’s Jim. I’m the guy who’s taken the long road, learned from the school of hard knocks, and ended up just outside St. Louis, Missouri. My Father a County motorcycle police officer and my mother who was an office manager at a law firm taught me the value of putting in a solid day’s work and bouncing back when life throws a curveball. Those lessons? They stuck.

Wrestling was my first real passion. Took me places I never dreamed of, all the way to Vladivostok, Russia, in ’94. Back then, just a couple of years after the Soviet Union split up, I was one of the first Americans to hit the mats there since the Cold War thawed. That trip? It was the grand finale of my wrestling days, a chapter I closed with pride.

My brother, he’s made his mark in wrestling some of those distinctions can never be broken as he was the first wrestler in our county to win three times the New York State champ and the distinction of also being the first person to lose the first round and wrestle back to third place in the NCAA Division I nationals, now the Director of Beat the Streets Bay Area. It’s a solid organization, making a difference for the kids. He’s done well for himself, and that’s something worth tipping my hat to.

Life’s taken me down some interesting roads since those wrestling days. I’ve swung hammers as a union carpenter, and now on a 4 man crew doing emergency bridges repair in live traffic driving a crash truck to running a jackhammer as a union laborer, and even done my time helping out at a funeral home, working close with the medical examiners office, I once ran a biker bar and owned a commercial cleaning company and even owned a bail bonds company. Every job, no matter how tough or grim, has taught me something about life, resilience, and the value of keeping your head down and pushing through.

Now, I’m a father to five. That’s right, one boy and four girls. They’ve taught me more about life than any job ever could. But here’s the deal—I’m not here to wax poetic about fatherhood. Just know it’s a big part of who I am.

Living with ADHD has its challenges, but it’s also given me a unique way of looking at the world—like having a turbo button I can’t turn off. It’s why I’m always diving headfirst into projects, from cooking up a storm (none of that microwave meal nonsense) to tearing down the highway on a Harley.

So, here I am, running GenX Unfiltered. It’s me, Jim, laying it all out there—my thoughts, my stories, my screw-ups, and my wins. This blog? It’s as real as it gets, no sugar-coating or fancy words. Just a blue-collar guy sharing his journey, hoping to strike a chord with anyone who’s had their fair share of ups and downs. Stick around; it’s going to be one heck of a ride.