Raced motorcycles (Moto-X & Speedway) professionally from his teens for over a decade. He worked in the auto industry as well, until he decided to attend college at the age of 26, where he fell in love with film.
After finishing his education in film he lived and produced in Japan for four years, until 1998. Visiting the set of Akira Kurosawa was a life changing experience watching the Master work. There he met Masayuki Yui and became friends with a number of Kurosawa's troop actors.