What would you like to tell us about yourself?
I am a credit manager for a local business that specializes in building materials in Wausau, Wisconsin. Wausau is a small city in the northwoods of Wisconsin, it’s a perfect place for me and my family, as I always say big enough to have a lot to do and small enough not to have the problems you see down south. I’m married with 2 boys, 15 and 7, and 2 cats. I just turned 40 today. (Special H/T to Bastich, you had no idea, it was great to be able to post this today)
Probably the most pivotal moment in my life was almost 20 years ago when I decided to join the Army. I was a pretty smart kid but had no drive, ambition, or any idea what to do with myself. I had fallen in with a pretty rough crowd after getting kicked out of college and woke up one day with a realization that a change needed to be made. I enlisted in the fall of 1999, by the time I got out of training in May of 2000, all my friends were in jail for a long time.
Signing up afforded me the opportunity to select my first duty station and after almost no consideration I selected Europe. I was stationed in Germany from June of 2000 until 2005. I met my wife there, a local German girl, and my first son was born in 2004, while I was deployed to Iraq with the 1st Infantry Division. During my tour, I was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, after which I decided that the Army was no place to raise a family with no end to the wars in sight. (I have very mixed feelings about those wars).
I returned to Wisconsin in 2007 and have been living here ever since. I have struggled at times in the interim with PTSD and health issues that have arisen as a result of my service, but there is no question that I would do it all over again - I love my wife and children, and I know that I am a much better man today than I ever would have been otherwise.
D3 was really a gift for my health when it was released in 2012. My wife gifted it to me on release day along with the computer upgrades needed to run it at the time. It has been my refuge and solace when I needed it ever since. I dabble in other games from time to time, but when I am having a bad day, nothing beats logging in and ripping through some rifts to clear my head.
Got any cool hobbies or interests?
I am a particularly avid fisherman and hunter, besides hanging with the kids and gaming. I wasn’t into either fishing or hunting as a child, my dad did not do either, and neither were my grandparents. I grew up rural but not outdoorsy. Fishing, I discovered about 10 years ago when our neighbors dragged us out to a local lake just off the Wisconsin River for a picnic. I caught a 39" Northern Pike that sits on my wall to this day while shore fishing and am now the proud owner of a 2018 Nitro that my brother-in-law and I use to go hunting for even bigger fish pretty much on a weekly basis each summer.
Hunting was something I picked up only 5 years ago. My mother remarried a hunter and has some land east of town. They got my oldest son interested, and in Wisconsin at 10 you need a mentor to go with you during a special weekend hunt for kids in October. As a veteran, I didn’t need to go through hunter’s safety, so I sat with him and he got a 7 pointer that first year, and I was hooked. I got my first 8 pointer just a couple of weeks ago.
I also enjoy baseball, football, auto racing, and hanging with the family. We’ve got some local tracks that I pitted my buddies car back in high school, and have loved ever since. One of our goals is to, in retirement, make it to every track on the NASCAR circuit. Don’t knock it until you’ve been to one in person!
What is your history as a gamer, and with the Diablo franchise?
Gaming for me started at age 7 on NES. We were out in the country, and not being in an outdoors family at the time, I was hooked immediately. My favorites remain the original Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior I-IV, and Crystalis. We got a PC when I was about 9, I loved Earl Weaver Baseball, the SSI AD&D “Gold Box” games, Menzoberranzan, the King’s Quest series, and I still have the original PC version of John Madden Football in the box down in the basement with my NES games.
In 1996 I was introduced by a friend to Diablo. I instantly fell in love and preferred the warrior. While in Germany I played the hell out of D2 on the European servers during our down time and US East after coming back stateside, and have had D3 since release. (Error 37… ugh) I’ve always gravitated towards melee classes, mostly as I have a pretty slight frame and get enough bookish crap with work.
What are some of your favorite games?
Besides D3, I enjoy Skyrim, Crusader Kings II, Civilization VI, Stellaris, and I still play Madden, Final Fantasy, and MLB:The Show on PS4. My oldest son recently asked for a copy of D3 on XBox, which I was more than happy to provide 
Are you playing any other classes right now?
I typically only play Barb and DH but with the recent patch there isn’t any need for a speed DH. I dabbled in Wizard for a couple of seasons when Barbs were in the dumps and I got bored (also for higher gems and Caldessan levels), but I always come back to Barb.
Are you in a clan? If yes, tell us about it!
I’m still in Fray. It’s not what it once was since Tao stopped playing, but I love it there. A lot of the older Barbs still log in from time to time and it’s nice to see them on. It’s a great place for mostly casual players that don’t bot, don’t demand META performance, and don’t have any play time requirements. We’ll group for keys and bounties on occasion but for the most part everyone kind of does their own thing and is very supportive of personal bests and congratulates LB spots. Really a great group of people overall.
Most embarrassing moments while playing
Mostly any time I make a noob mistake. The other day I popped a 121 on my seasonal character after collecting some keys and realized I still had my speed farming gear on. Disastrous hilarity ensued. Also, anytime I speed WW into an elite fireball death in a public T16 game.
Most AWESOME moment while playing
2 moments really stand out: Finally killing Diablo on Inferno, with a CM Wizard way back in the day before it got nerfed into the ground. It was such an amazing build back in 2012-13. Later, having a top 60 LB clear at the end of an era, before insane amounts of paragon rendered it nearly impossible to get that high for a filthy casual like me.
What drew you to the Barbarian class?
D2 didn’t really have much in the way of melee so I gravitated towards Paladin and Barbarian, and in vanilla D3 it was Monk and Barbarian. The playstyle, in both games, really put Barb over the top, especially in D3.
What’s your favorite skill (or skill rune) and why?
I still have shoulder issues from my days in the military, so Whirlwind has always been a saving grace on it. I put it on the “1” key when I’m having a rough day so that I don’t have to hold down the mouse button with my bad arm, just use it for slight movements.
What build are you currently running
Ambo-Rend Whirlwind like nearly everyone else, it’s the flavor of the month with the recent buffs. As it’s my favorite and easy on the shoulder, it’s a no brainer.
Pick a barbarian quote, and why is it your favorite?
“You wilt against my blows” - I don’t honestly know, it makes me smile every time.
Which Barbarian should we interview next?
I want to hear from Rage. You’ve been Free’s silent partner for too long barbro! (Unless you changed your tag at some point, I did not see you on the list)
