Forming Shirtless Mike's BBQ has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. Adam, Chris and I have spent hours practicing and preparing and, come the end of this month, will have our first competition under our belts.
We hope this is just one of many.
We all had reservations-- time constraints, family obligations and logistical barriers, among others-- that had initially made us hesitant to seriously embrace such a time-consuming hobby.
It took a near-tragedy to push us to this point, a subject I wasn't initially inclined to introduce in this blog.
However, the more I reflect on what almost was, the more I realize how important it is for me to include this element of our story.
As I've mentioned in prior posts, Chris and I were roommates in Law School. As 3Ls, we shared a house that had a half-acre back yard with two other third-year students.
We realized that since we all intended to move back up to the DC area, this was likely our last opportunity to really enjoy having that much space to ourselves. I bought my first smoker and we spent the year feeding our friends and taking full advantage of the space and pace of life that Williamsburg offered.
Following law school graduation last May, Chris served as a post-graduate fellow with the Commonwealth Attorney's Office in Alexandria, VA. After his fellowship ended, he was hired to serve as an Assistant CA in Richmond.
A week prior to his first day of work, Chris was nearly killed in a car accident in Georgia while traveling from Miami to Tennessee to visit his in-laws. Driving a rental car, Chris and his wife were hit by a tractor-trailer. The driver's side door was the point of impact. His wife, riding in the passenger seat, suffered four broken ribs.
Chris wasn't so lucky.
His injuries were extensive-- broken ribs, two punctured and collapsed lungs, severe internal bleeding and bleeding on his brain, to name a few. He spent the end of December and part of January in a Coma in a Macon, Georgia ICU and, but for the work of an outstanding surgeon who happened to be back in Macon visiting family for Christmas, would likely never have pulled through.
Chris, a Division 1 swimmer in his college days, fought hard, woke up from his coma and began an intense rehabilitation routine that enabled his return to the courtroom a mere 10 weeks later, albeit with a special exception from the judge to allow him to remain seated while delivering arguments.
He won his first felony trial shortly thereafter.
While we were roommates, we often talked about competitive barbecue. We joked about entering the DC Barbecue Battle this summer, but initially dismissed the idea as we each pursued demanding careers.
Our friend and future teammate Adam, the owner of a property management company and a government official in Southern MD, had entered culinary school around the time of Chris's accident and, one day in February shortly after Chris's return from the hospital, accompanied me to visit Chris and his wife at their Alexandria, VA apartment.
Suddenly, our reservations didn't seem so pressing. We decided that Chris's remarkable recuperation, by then he was walking on his own and expected to make a full recovery, was enough of an incentive to take the plunge this summer.
A few weeks later, we sent in our check and Shirtless Mike's BBQ was born.
