Meet Your Mentors
Bio:
Justin is a National Team rower who has competed for the USA at three World Championships across the classic, coastal and beach sprint disciplines. Career highlights include three A-Final finishes at World Championship events, a gold at the 2023 Copa America, and multiple medals at Head of the Charles.
Justin learned to row in college at Vanderbilt University, where he competed all four years and studied astrophysics. He comes from a very diverse athletic background, having played upwards of 10 different sports before picking-up rowing.
Outside of sports, Justin has conducted research in the fields of astrophysics, neurogenetics, and AI with a long-term goal of working in science. He loves spending time outdoors, reading, trying new things, and hanging out with his two dogs. Looking ahead, Justin is most excited about hitting the waves in the upcoming coastal rowing season!
Specialties:
Justin loves to help people overcome obstacles. He believes that with the correct mindset and a strategic approach you can achieve even the most “impossible” goals. Most importantly, Justin wants to help others utilize a “growth mindset” and see the value in taking on challenges.
Superpower:
Persistence
I might not get it right the first time, or the 100th time… but eventually I will get it right.
Impactful Moment:
Your dreams are closer than you think.
In the spring of 2019, I applied for the summer rowing program at a well-known high-performance (HP) training center. Even applying was a big step – I learned to row only two and a half years prior. Moreover, I only knew of one other athlete from my college team that had ever rowed for a HP program. Fortunately, it was this very athlete, along with some supportive coaches, that encouraged me to give it a shot. Just racing for this club would amount to a huge success. But secretly I harbored the “insane” dream of someday donning a Team USA uni.
Fast forward a few months, and I had locked in a spot at the HP center. I remember feeling totally out of place on my first day. I was a thousand miles from home in a boathouse packed full of all-star athletes that had been rowing for over half their lives… and minutes away from starting a mandatory 2k erg test. Fortunately, the 2k went pretty well, and the following weeks went even better.
One of the older athletes at the center immediately took me under his wing. Although one of the most accomplished and respected rowers there, he also started his career as a plucky club rower with big goals. Under his guidance I learned to scull, mastered sweep rowing on both sides, and won just about every race that summer.
Throughout that same summer, Team USA rowers preparing for the PanAm Games were also training at the boathouse. People stayed out of their way and addressed them in reverent tones. During the final weeks of the summer, the bowman of the PanAm coxed four developed a stress fracture in his rib. He would be able to compete at the Games, but only if he rested during the two weeks before the race.
Somehow, I was tapped to fill in his spot for the team’s last week of practice in the US. That week was an absolute blast. The other rowers were even pleased with how the boat was moving! In the span of just a few months, I went from feeling unsure of if I belonged to rowing behind three Team USA rowers. And this was all thanks to the guidance of some awesome mentors and a willingness to put myself out there.
All of sudden, that “insane” dream looked a lot closer than I first thought!
