Greg was born a little north of Boston, in an area of Massachusetts known as Belvidere. The middle-born-son of five boys and three younger sisters was challenging to say the least. Growing up on the bank of the Merrimack River was educational in many different ways. You learn about fishing. You learn the dangers of semi-frozen moving waters. You learn our waterways are not for waste management, they are for sustaining human life as drinking water and sustaining aquatic life: from tiny bacteria, to plants and fish, and on up to the birds and bees.

Greg did well academically and became intrigued with the martial arts during adolescence. Although focused primarily on Taekwon Do, Yoga and meditation were also a big part of his training curriculum. After a few years of college, the appeal of academics waned and the pursuit of entrepreneurship took over. Greg withdrew from the university and founded - Belvidere Martial Arts Academy.

In 1981, sabeomnim (Greg), opened his first "dojang" (training facility) on Central Street in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts. Additional schools followed in neighboring towns - Westford and Tyngsboro. He also established after-school programs for a couple public schools in the area and designed and implemented a training program for officers at MCI Shirley, a state prison in Massachusetts. He had earned his 5th Degree Black Belt by that time and was responsible for promoting dozens of men, women, and children to their ranks of Black Belt degrees.
 

With success came celebration and then "Black Monday" of 1987. The country’s recession and a few too many drinks led to an alcohol use disorder and eventual demise of Belvidere Martial Arts Academy. The Central Street dojang closed in 1991.

Financial stress led to searching for another means of income. Finding resolve in the construction field, Greg started working under a master carpenter learning the trade of finished carpentry. Before long, proficiency was enough to begin sub-contracting and the taste for entrepreneurship returned. The affinity for alcohol became self-defeating, slowly crushing indomitable spirit and any measure of self-control. By 1997 Greg found himself alone and in the suicidal clutches of an alcohol use disorder and entered residential treatment. Eyes slowly opened to other addictions and a screaming bipolar disorder, which led to their underlying causes, and effective treatment.

Under the guidance of his spiritual director, Greg returned to academics as part of his recovery process, intending only to complete his unfinished bachelor's degree in Psychology and Spanish. In 2001 he earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts and decided to continue with graduate studies.