Hi, I’m Justin.

Currently I reside in Williamsburg, Virginia with my wife, Hannah, our beautiful daughter, Charlotte, and of course our four-legged fur baby, Winston. I grew up in north New Jersey in the small town of Sparta. It was a wonderful place to live, mountains almost in our back yard to go snowboarding in the winter, ice hockey on the lake down the street and the local Dairy Queen to gather after springtime baseball games. As you guessed, I was, and still am, a huge sports fan. Living in NJ I was spoiled with some great sports teams. Living only 30 minutes away from New York City, we frequented live games of the NY Yankees, the NJ Devils and the NY Rangers. I have to say, there is nothing like it. We moved to Williamsburg in October of 2001. Life took a turn for many of us that year. We personally did not lose a family member in the tragedy, but some of our friends did. My mom wanted us to have a fresh start. It was her example of resilience to many things that year my brother and I acquired the steadfast strength that has propelled us in many aspects of our life. I know this is where I learned to set my priorities and lead others. Fast forward to my high school and college years and of course they included sports! I played at a competitive level and celebrated Four State Championships (1 for Baseball and 3 Individuals for Golf) Choices flourished-but I had to pick one…and golf it was. I was recruited to Methodist University where I played and graduated with a BS in Business and PGA Golf Management. MU was a wonderful experience and a network of professionals second to none! After college, I pursued my dream of reaching the PGA Tour. Playing professionally becomes your life and it’s not the glamorous life one sees on TV. I was on the road 35-45 weeks a year. Playing for one of a few slots, qualifying again for a bigger event; coordinating flights to accomplish this within days of each other with no rest in between. You’re playing in the rain, sleet, and then blistering sun in random cities and you know what…it was amazing! I am grateful for the experience, to have made money, and achieved my goal. The range of emotions from fun to frustration is humbling. You can imagine this lifestyle, together with the sport itself, causes great wear and tear on your body. After years of playing on two impingements, a torn labrum, torn hip flexor, which led to a cracked pelvis and 2 fractures, it brought me to the point of not being able to walk. I was fortunate to have a wonderful team of doctors at UVA that put me back together.

(Thanks Dr. G) Having had the opportunity to live my dream, I knew these injuries were a wake-up call. I also knew the lifestyle would not be one that would allow us the kind of family life we wanted to have. I knew the lessons of self-discipline and hard work, together with the experiences and the people I had met over the years, would be assets I could bring to any venture in my future. I still keep my PGA active as the assistant coach of the women’s team at the College of William and Mary! There is nothing better than giving back and seeing my impact on young adults’ lives, both on and off the golf course. Transitioning from Sports Professional to Financial Professional was the perfect fit. I understood the nuances of working for myself, as a pro golfer in essence that is what you are doing; and as such I understood the need to have a detailed plan for one’s future financial security. I knew I could speak to other athletes, business owners, and individuals with firsthand knowledge of the benefits. I also knew how important it is to surround oneself with those who may know more than I do to accomplish a goal. I was hired and worked for/trained with one of the largest and well know firms in the country and quickly found great success. I felt, however, the ‘large’ corporate entity didn’t allow me to exercise my value of giving personal attention, due diligence to the client and the patience to get to know you and what is most important in your world. It was more about the sale…Through all my travels, I had built relationships with some of the best individuals in life and in the business. People that truly understand what it means to be a “professional”. Armed now with a successful portfolio and knowledge of the industry I approached these people and, well, here we are today!

First Financial Group and Colonial Wealth Strategies.