Welcome to The Signature Library

Over the last 20 years of my life I have devoted myself to all things in the World of Pop Culture. From my earliest memories as a young boy growing up in Toronto, I recall always loving the idea of having the best of whatever it was that I wanted to collect. My first memory of that came in the form of WWF Wrestling dolls which ended at age 10.

I then moved into collecting sports trading cards. After that hobby was conquered, I was 14 and wanted a new hobby that would present more of a challenge and one that nobody else I knew was doing. It started one summer night in 1988 at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, when my Father took me to a Toronto Blue Jays game against the Texas Rangers. I had a cast on my wrist from a baseball injury, and when I noticed there were people waiting by the Rangers dugout for signatures, I asked my Father if I could buy a pennant to get signed and join those kids. He obliged and there I stood next to a few others who hoped their heroes would come over and sign autographs.

What happened next probably changed the course of my life (for better or worse.) A player by the name of Julio Franco approached me and asked about the cast, I replied by telling him it was from a baseball game I played recently when a player slid into my wrist with his spikes. He then asked me to give him my pennant to sign… and then he disappeared into the dugout only to return 5 minutes later with the entire teams signatures on the pennant. This incredible gesture by Julio Franco made me feel really cool amongst the other kids and opened my eyes to a new hobby; collecting signatures.

What ensued in the next few days was me brainstorming how I could repeat this type of experience without having a sympathetic cast and without having to have my Father take me to the ballpark. The thought occurred to me, “Where do these Teams stay when they come to Toronto?” and “How can I find out?” I knew this was the route I needed to explore. I had an instinct that I may just be the only 14 year old to be waiting at a Teams hotel if I could find it. After asking a lot of questions about Hotels in Downtown Toronto, I began to make some odd phone calls. These calls were only odd for me, not for the people answering at the other end of the call. However odd and anxious these calls were for me, they were successful and informative. My research and execution had worked and I was now headed to my first ever experience at a Hotel waiting for a Celebrity. It was the Baltimore Orioles Team hotel and they were staying at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre. I brought my friends with me and our mission was to meet Super Star Shortstop, Cal Ripken Jr. Not only did we meet Cal, but he took us into his hotel room to show us his World Series Ring.

This experience only perpetuated my new hobby and as they say the rest is History…

From those young days chasing Athletes around to moving on to new challenges of meeting Hollywood’s Biggest Stars and Rock n Rolls greatest Icons. The stories and adventures have all been documented with details, pictures and video in unimaginable settings. From playing Ultimate frisbee in Central Park with John F Kennedy Jr.

…to singing the National Anthem with a choir behind Aretha Franklin at a 1993 World Series game at Skydome, to sitting between Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino on a film set, to working as Sly Stone’s personal assistant, to walking the Red Carpet at the Academy Awards, the adventures are countless and unforgettable.

These adventures are my drug, my vice, my way of living a life that I have chosen best suits my personality and my insatiable appetite for entertainment, self education and the unknown road ahead.

These surreal like adventures have been achieved on my own, but I have been very fortunate to have some tremendous help from plenty of great friends and colleagues along the way. In addition, Lady Luck has been kind to me when I needed her most. Nobody gets what they want all the time, but if you really want something who’s gonna stop you other than yourself?

Here are just a couple random excerpts from my personal diary archives. These will give you a brief example of what my blog will be about. Stories from my past, present and future. Each filled with insight into a World of more than just Celebrity and Pop Culture.