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Dre Armeda

and I love tacos

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Dre

No More Four Eyes. PRK to the Rescue!

Dre Armeda · Jul 18, 2017 ·

Dre Armeda 4 Eyes PRK

At 4 years old I was prescribed my first set of glasses. Here I am 36 years later, and I may finally be out of them. I turned to PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) in hopes of finding freedom!

In 200,1 I underwent LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) surgery to correct a pretty severe case of astigmatism and near sightlessness. At the time, it wasn’t enough to free me of the frames and lenses I had learned to live with. The problem was I averaged about 20/1300 vision and the doctor was very clear that it was unlikely that he could correct my vision to 20/20. He told me he could get me close, but I would still need glasses. He was correct. I normalized at around 20/60 after about 18 months and have stayed stable for the past 15+ years.

Enough was enough though. I am active on the Jiu Jitsu mats, I love to hit the trails in my Jeep, and I spend a fair amount of time on my motorcycle. These are all activities that kinda suck if you wear glasses, or if you don’t have clear vision without corrective lenses. For those wondering why contacts weren’t an option, well, it’s because of astigmatism. Astigmatism and contacts don’t play nicely. I tried time and time again and just couldn’t get the vision crisp like I hoped.

I went in to see my eye doc a couple months ago and he recommended that I go get a consultation for LASIK. Even though I’d had the procedure once, technology had advanced he noted, and I may be eligible to do it again. It wasn’t the case, however. Because of the way the procedure was done back in the day, there was too much risk in creating an incision in the top layers of my cornea again. They instead recommended PRK which has similar results, just approached a little differently, so I wouldn’t have to worry about creating the flap necessary with LASIK.

To keep an already long post shorter, I’ll skip the back and forth with making the decision. I decided to do it, and last week I underwent PRK laser surgery on both eyes. The purpose of this post is to provide a general understanding of the procedure and to offer a recap of my experiences through the first week of recovery. If you’ve ever thought of getting corrective eye surgery and PRK is an option, I hope this post helps you better understand what the recovery might look like. [Read more…] about No More Four Eyes. PRK to the Rescue!

There Really Is No Place Like Home

Dre Armeda · Sep 16, 2016 ·

I’m very excited to be home.

What? What do you mean home?

Well, a few years back you may recall I set out to help people with some website security issues they were dealing with. Over the years I ended up speaking about security at events, helped clean and protect 1000’s of websites, and ultimately, I helped influence the way a lot of people considered and implemented website security principles.

In the middle of all that awesomeness, and alongside my great friend Daniel Cid and brother-in-law Tony Perez, we started a small company you may have heard of….Sucuri, Inc.

Sucuri Headquarters - Dre Armeda Welcome Home

Give me some background here, good buddy!

In 2014, Sucuri had grown and I was looking to venture into the agency space. I wanted to experience and engage in new challenges. So I did. I moved on and took a great summer to spend time with my family. I took time to decompress for more than just a weekend and let me tell you, it was worth it.

As the story goes, I was presented a great opportunity to work with the amazing team at WebDevStudios which is where I spent the last couple of years. I was immersed in large scale WordPress projects alongside great thought leadership in Brad Williams, Brian Messenlehner, and Lisa Sabin-Wilson. It gave me direct insight and interaction with the intricacies of both business needs and impacts, large organization decision making and challenges, and all the aspects of the sales, operations and development life cycles you see in the agency space. A lot of my time at WebDev reminded me of what I experienced when I worked in large enterprise corporations, but at a much faster, agile pace. It was a great experience and I am thankful to WDS for the great things we worked on together.

If you check out my last blog post, after nearly two years, I stepped away from WDS this June. So naturally, I took some more time with the family. A group of about 30 family members took a cruise to the Caribbean, we went camping (glamping), and did a few pool days when Menifee was feeling like the surface of the sun! Tony and I also started training camp for one of the biggest Jiu Jitsu tournaments of the year which we competed in last month. Needless to say, it was a bitchin’ summer!

Through all of these adventures we had great times, barrels of laughs, and a ton of thought provoking discussions. Some of the more professional and business discussions even drummed up the notion of me going back home to Sucuri. This got me thinking about what I was doing, and where I was going professionally.

So what gives? What’s the deal?

I thought a lot about my passions and where I wanted to direct my energy. I never lost passion for security or Sucuri for that matter. I still consider it my baby and I surely have missed being away. The company has grown and it’s in a very exciting place. I am very excited to announce that in August we agreed that it would be really awesome if I was able to rejoin the team. So I did. September 1st was my official first day and I couldn’t be more stoked.

As a Co-Founder, it’s always neat to see the progression of something you help create. Daniel and Tony have done a brilliant job of scaling Sucuri over the last couple of years, and I hope to help them in those efforts moving forward. I will be working on various special projects across the company’s marketing, sales, and business development efforts. You’ll see me ramping up for events along with engaging a series of initiatives over the coming months. I would love to chat to you a bit more about what I’m doing and how we can help you and your organization. Hit me up. (Yup. I just went there.)

What about Armeda LLC?

Armeda LLC will always be! It’s a consultancy that I bred from my own name. I offer marketing and creative services. It’s a consultancy and I have clients large and small that I will continue to support with no change. I am always speaking with folks that need help. Whether it be funnel optimization, branding strategy and other services. Shoot, even vinyl stickers. So if that’s a need, you know where to find me 🙂

In the end?

In the end, my goal in life is to positively influence and impact people. Whether it be through branding, selling your idea, or securing your livelihood online. I want to help people! Today I can help people most through Sucuri and the wonderful work we’re doing.

So when you wonder how Dre’s doing. Just know that he’s doing fine. He’s working hard from home!

Another Stage of Awesome Begins Now

Dre Armeda · Jun 28, 2016 ·

Armeda

After close to two years working with some of my favorite people in the world, I have moved on professionally. Last week was my last at WebDevStudios.

I would like to wish Brad, Brian, and Lisa along with the entire team the best of luck as they continue to kick ass and take names. WDS is one of the coolest companies I’ve ever had the opportunity to be a part of. The entire team is brilliant and sincerely made for a great place to come and work at every morning. It was an honor to be a part of helping shape this company over the last couple of years and that is an opportunity I am truly thankful for. Along with BBL and the rest of the team, I will definitely miss the great projects, the awesome clients, but most of all, I’ll definitely miss the bad jokes on Friday Scrums. 😛

What in the world is next?

There will be a lot of Jiu Jitsu and Jeeping of course. I have a nice summer planned with the family including a Caribbean cruise which I’m jazzed about. I’ll also be competing at the Dream BJJ Orange County Championship in Huntington Beach in about two weeks, and again in Vegas this August at the IBJJF World Master Championship.

On the professional front, I have been slowly building a marketing and creative consultancy, Armeda LLC. The site itself isn’t much to look at yet, but I am very excited about the cool projects we are working on. We have been helping clients with their overall brand efforts, promotional work, SEO strategy, content/editorial services, and more, all with the premise of helping them build sustainable marketing programs. These are efforts I’ve been working on over the last year and it’s something I am very excited about in moving forward.

Along with my commitment to slowly building Armeda, I have a few other things in the works that I will hopefully be able to announce very soon, so stay tuned. Until then, see you on the mats!

A Rollercoaster of Mind and Body

Dre Armeda · Apr 29, 2016 ·

Thank you for all the texts and messages wishing me luck with the neurosurgeon visit yesterday. A lot of you have asked status and I haven’t shared with many as I am trying to wrap my head around it all.

What the hell is going on?

After a ton of tests and doctors visits, yesterday I received a prognosis from a neurosurgeon that came recommended by my Godparents, Dr. Abshire of Temecula Valley Neurosurgery. This is my second neurosurgeon opinion after countless MRI’s, nerve studies, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture and cupping treatments, sports medicine and orthopedic surgeon visits, physical therapy and so on.

Dre MRI Neck Cervical

During my visit yesterday, Dr. Abshire recommended a level 2 Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) on discs C4/5 – C6/7. ACDF is a surgery to remove a herniated or degenerative disc in the neck area of the spine. The incision is made in the front of the spine through the throat area. After the disc is removed, a bone graft is inserted to fuse together the bones above and below the disc space. Level 2 means I would be getting two done at once which is not awesome. Here’s a good simulation of what happens during an ACDF:

Looks pretty nasty, doesn’t it?

Symptoms and lack there of.

Now, for context. Anyone who has seen me or trained with me over the last 6-7 months knows that my left arm has completely atrophied (Hard to tell in the picture with these tiny guns of mine).

Left Arm Atrophy

What has most likely happened is C5 has bulged enough that it is sitting on the main nerve root that controls signals to parts of my arm. I have lost deltoid and bicep strength and range of motion to a point where I couldn’t lift my arm to hold a toothbrush or pour a cup of coffee. I had to learn how to protect that vulnerable arm on the mat. I have spent a tremendous amount of energy and countless hours on the mat retooling my Jiu Jitsu game in an effort to work around the dead arm. It was painstaking and saddening to feel like I was starting over again, but I did it. I never quit and I feel like a monster right now.

One Arm Bandit
Took 2nd at the Jiu Jitsu World League 2016 Las Vegas Super Championship with one dangling arm 🙂

It has been a huge challenge. The arm has certainly started improving over the last 3 months which has helped, but not considerably. I still get the sensation of pins and needles down the shoulder and to the bicep with certain neck/head movements. This is a symptom that shows that the nerve is still alive but still being impinged. My arm and shoulder still become extremely fatigued during training or when I work movements that use the Bicep and Deltoid. It’s super annoying!

The thing that really puzzles me the most about all of this is that I don’t have consistent pain, and have not since the last impactful episode occurred last summer. The first signs of neck issues started in March of 2014 where I kinked my neck warming up for Jiu Jitsu NoGi. I couldn’t move it hurt so bad. That kept recurring randomly every few months until June of last year when I started losing strength and motion.

Physical Therapy

Since then, I get sore but it’s not continual pain. It’s discomfort, soreness, and a ton of pins and needles. It is knots along my shoulder-blade and a crackling sensation when moving my neck left or right. However, no consistent pain, and that really concerns me. This lack of pain leaves me in a place not knowing what the right solution is, and the neurosurgeon’s don’t seem 100% confident in their prognosis due to there being no consistent pain.

So what’s next?

I am not quite sure. I know I have a lot of unanswered questions that I need to consult with Dr. Abshire about. In our initial discussions it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of options. Another viable direction with no long-term impact studies, especially when correlated with combat sports, is complete disc replacement. There have been short-term studies with good results but not enough data to make a determination that this direction is a long-term solution.

It is likely that if the ACDF surgery is the only answer, it won’t be something I am willing to do until after summer. Again, I am not in pain, I am just living with one functional arm and discomfort. I will keep researching and hunting for viable alternatives, and most certainly I will keep training for the time being. This may be the end of my Jiu Jitsu road, at least the paved road I have become accustomed to walking upon. I will enjoy every last roll until the bitter end.

~One Arm Bandit

Another Step Along the Way as a Blue Belt

Dre Armeda · Dec 23, 2015 ·

I had a rough year with injuries and it has made me stronger than ever mentally. When anyone else would have quit, I pushed on. I’ve even given myself the moniker of One Arm Bandit.

One Arm Bandit

Earlier this year I had a hernia surgery which kept me off the mat for about a month. Then, as I was prepping for the Chicago Open my neck issues showed up again, this time with lasting implications. As most of you know I have lost signification arm movement and strength in my left arm due to a pinched nerve at my cervical spine. I also have a full SLAP tear in my left shoulder. It’s been a tough year. With all the physical issues, I have to say though, it’s been harder mentally. I have had to relearn to do many common things like brush my teeth and even eat. For those that don’t know, I’m left handed. Although even I’m amused when I spill a drink because of my busted arm, It has been very challenging. Even more so on the mat.

On the mat I have had to retool my game. I have a huge vulnerability and my concentration has been on protecting that weakness. Inherently it seems that people attack the left side a lot, and I am known for loving my half guard, especially deep half guard. My left side underhook gets dominated with a simple pummel, I can’t stop it, so I just needed to find a way. In NoGi it has been extremely challenging as there is no lapel or blouse to grab. So the answer? Don’t get stuck there. Only if life were so easy, right? This is where extra mat time with Professor Orlando and the entire team came into the picture. I have worked hard to find alternatives and transitions out of problematic situations. It’s always going to be a work in progress, but I have built a strong foundation to work my game from.

Today I feel confident in my ability to kick your ass even if it’s with one arm. I have worked my ass off. Yeah, I complain and chat about my injuries, a lot in fact. But what I want you and everyone else to take away is if I can do it with one arm, you have no damn excuse. If I can train 4-5 days a week with one arm, you should also be on the mat. When I am giving higher belts a run for their money because I want it more, I hope it motivates you! I no longer want to live in a world where I make excuses, and I expect the same out of my teammates and training partners. I thank God every day for being on the best team in the world. I am a Bulldog.

I am not one to dwell too much on stripes or promotions really. It’s a great marker of where your progress is. It’s based on your school and your Professor and at least with belts, they will be used to classify you in competition. Real talk? I’m not in Jiu Jitsu for a belt. That said, this has been the longest gap in my time training without earning that marker and it has certainly weighed on me. What can I do better? What am I not doing to get better? How can I improve my game? I search for answers and really it’s right in front of me. The answer’s always there. Train more, learn more. Stay on the mat and you will continue improving.

I earned my 3rd stripe this week along with some well deserving teammates who got their belts and stripes. I am proud of my team and our continual improvement. Lets all continue getting better and stop making excuses. The answer is right in front of us and it all starts with stepping onto the mat.

Blue Belt Three

Merry Christmas to you all. See you on the mat.

With love,
One Arm Bandit
#OSS

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Dre Armeda, MBA, CISSP

Dre Armedaa

Head of Global Security Products at @GoDaddy, Dad to 5 girls, Navy Veteran, Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Brown Belt, Angels & Chargers loyal, Jeep head & taco lover.

Vice President of Product – Resume

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