Bio
Shain hails from the great state of Louisiana, and arrived in Bellingham, and ultimately Jogo by a somewhat circuitous route. As a young child he grew up in the country following his grandfather through his one acre garden and his blackberry vines and the woods behind their house looking for snakes and arrowheads. He later played soccer & softball, developed an obsession with ninjas and trying to make himself invisible while shooting blow darts and blowing things up with firecrackers. This past time ended where so many of these past times do, with Shain joining the US Army and serving in the 2nd Ranger Battalion. There he was able to work in a variety of rich and challenging environments, attend many different schools, jump out of many different planes and learn the value of hard work, tenacity, team work, training, and mentoring.

After the Army Shain worked for the US Forest Service for a spell as a firefighter, attended Community College and Western Washington University where he studied Creative Writing, and became a self taught professional photographer. He is a certified diver, a cyclist, and hiker and hopes in the future to train in Ju-Jitsu, and boxing, as well as learn to surf. He comes to Jogo and Crossfit from the unique perspective of someone who has had periods of both intense and demanding athleticism and training, and periods of relative inactivity. Ultimately he began pursuing Crossfit in the interest of rehabbing an injury, and found in it such a diverse, exciting, and what he feels is an, essential body of knowledge and perspective that it has very much changed his life, and he is very grateful that he has the opportunity to mentor and help others learn and experience this remarkable fitness discipline.

Q&A (Provided by the Bellingham Business Journal)

AGE: 37

HOMETOWN: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO BELLINGHAM: Western Washington University

FAVORITE MEMORY: Canoeing on an impossibly small pond and up and even impossibly smaller creek with my uncle. I was small enough that it all felt really big and kind of like the jungle. I was a little fixated on jungles as a kid. Later memories? Drop zone comin' up. Stand in the door! A wonderful night rucking through the American Southwest with a good amount of moonlight, and realizing that tarantulas were all around us and moving in the same direction. Slowly everyone up ahead began moving together into a single file which made no sense because it was flat and open desert all around as far as the eye could see. But then I understood what was going on. A massive chasm opened up across the desert floor, and in the moonlight I could see our unit moving quietly down and across the broad flat bottom of it and climbing in file up the other side. It was breathtaking.

IN YOUR CD PLAYER: Devotchka, A Silver Mt. Zion, Mogwai, Fiest, Dragon Force, Joy Division, 16 Horsepower, Tragically Hip, Social Distortion, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Patti Smith, Blondie, The Rolling Stones, Blonde Redhead, The Police, old REM, U2, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Gillian Welch, Cat Power, White Stripes, Willie Nelson, Robert Johnson, R.L. Burnside, Temple of the Dog, Michael Nyman, Arvo Part, Berlioz, Beethoven

FAMILY: Mother (Deborah), Father & Stepmother (Larry & Nina), 2 Brothers & a Sister (Lance, Daniel, and Parrish). Uncle & Aunt (Randy & Diana) with cousins (James & Cameron), and another Uncle & his wife (Frank & Sharon) & cousin (Brooke). A few other uncles and aunts. Parents & families who have adopted me (I make a good stray) the Kavanaghs, friend Maggie, her daughter Morgan & her mother & brothers, next door neighbors (Marie & Nanette). And a few other close friends in Seattle that are like family (Yara, Josh)

FAVORITE FOOD: I wish I was cool enough to say sushi because I do love it, but I gotta keep it real and say thin crust pizza is my great weakness.

FAVORITE BOOK: Q-by Luther Blisset, The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris, Sorrow Floats - Tim Sandlin, The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson, Islands in the Stream - Earnest Hemingway, Crime & Punishment - Dostoevsky, All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love - Raymond Carver, Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

FAVORITE HOBBY: currently I am between hobbies. I used to do a lot of photography & music, but I think I want to get into adventure racing and Ju-Jitsu or MMA stuff in the future.

FAVORITE PLACE IN WHATCOM COUNTY: Does Inati Bay count?

LAST LOCAL PURCHASE: Oh that's no fun. Fruit and vegetables from the Co-Op

DREAM VACATION: I gotta go with around the world, and some of it would have to be by sailboat. Probably fly to Ireland, backpack across and hop a boat for Scotland, backpack the Highlands, then on to Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium again, down through Europe to the Mediterranean, Greece, Italy, southern France into Spain, across to Morrocco then to Egypt, then probably skip over to Nepal & maybe Mongolia, then Thailand again and definitely Vietnam this time on to Australia and New Zealand and then sail from New Zealand to the Galapagos, and Peru, sail up the coast to Panama, through the canal, dive the Carribean, definitely visit Havana, come back through the canal, and sail up into Baja, then on up the coast. And last but not least, I have always wanted to know what it felt like to sail into Bellingham Bay after something like that. Sigh . . . ah to dream.

LOCAL BUSINESS YOU'D LOVE TO OWN: Gee, gosh . . . I'll have to think on that.

WORST JOB: Pizza Joint

WORD THAT BEST DESCRIBES YOU: superbad

FAVORITE LOCAL RESTAURANT: Tough one. I am really a brunch kind of guy so right now I would say it is Skylark's Hidden Cafe.

GUILTY PLEASURE: I was raised Catholic, all pleasure is guilty pleasure. But that Banana Nut French Toast with Walnut Syrup at Skylark's might be the death of me.

WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE ABOUT YOUR LIFE: People say I look like Ewan MacGregor, and I guess that wouldn't be too bad a choice. He is pretty versatile. Truly it probably be John Cusack, but I wish I could say Robert Duvall. Gotta love that guy.