Hi, I’m Charlie.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to help people. I can remember seeing “Help Wanted” signs in store windows as a kid. I used to feel so bad because I thought it meant they needed money to keep their doors open. I wished I had the money to give them.
Growing up, my parents instilled in us (I have three siblings) the importance of doing what’s right and being kind to people. We smiled, looked people in the eye, said “Please” and “Thank you” and never forgot where we came from. We were taught to say “Hello” to people who looked like they could use it. Academics and athletics were front and center in our household.
When I was ten or so and early into my life of wrestling, I can remember my dad saying to me, “Don’t go around telling people how good you are, let them tell you.” We were also taught humility.
I took wrestling as far as I could, and when my collegiate career ended, I landed where I thought I wanted to be for the next 30 years. But shortly after landing my dream job teaching and coaching, I had an itch to do something totally out of my norm, to step outside of my comfort zone and embark on a path I knew absolutely nothing about – professional mixed martial arts fighting. I decided to move my office from the Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School to the professional fighting cage.
What followed was 27 professional fights and eight years of fighting. Big wins, big losses, lots of travels, lots of friends and stories and LOTS of lessons. Lessons on perseverance, adversity, fear, self-doubt, goal-setting, personal growth, vulnerability, business and more.
So as a way to teach these lessons after my career concluded, I turned to speaking, writing and podcasting. I highlight and teach from my past experiences while also documenting and teaching my current ones.
I believe disciplined learning will make us better people who live better lives, so in 2016, I began to systematically document and teach what I’m learning via The Spaniard Show. In 2022, I started recording episodes specifically for students on Spaniard School. Even if no one else listens, my two kids will have an extensive log of their old man talking into a mic about books he loved, people he admired, and lessons he learned and tried to share.
-Charlie…or The Spaniard…whichever you want.
