Al Braun

Al Braun's character is shaped by a wealth of experiences which are as varied as his unique heritage, the most important of which, he would say, was the addition of his two amazing children. He distinctly recalls his daughter asking him at a young age how one could live forever. In thinking about this question, apart from the obvious 'don't die,' answer, Al responded that the best way to 'live forever' is to leave a lasting, positive influence on the lives of those with whom you interact, and he does just that in his everyday life.

Al currently works as a  nurse practitioner specializing in interventional pain management (actually one of only a handful of such nurses), working specifically as a community care provider for the VA. As a veteran of the Gulf War himself, Al is happy serving those who have had similar life experiences, knowing he can give them the care and empathy they need. Before becoming a nurse practitioner, Al worked in the ER, as a paramedic, and as a flight nurse (and still holds the record for number of flights without loss of life at over 2,500!!). 

Al's careers have all formed out of a desire to "be the helper"- inspired by a childhood spent watching Mr. Rogers, though nursing was not initially the career he had in mind. Al joined a metro Atlanta fire department following his deployment, and, after serving with the navy in biological and chemical weapons defense, he sought to join the station's hazmat team, a prerequisite of which was training as a paramedic. Although, even then, his career did not jump right from firefighting to nursing. Al did enjoy a brief stint as a bass guitarist for a band which was briefly signed by a record label with a Album tour and all; however, with the rise of music pirating and the shutdown and studio cutbacks, this band became one of many "napster casualties" of the time.

While Al has had an interesting career pathway, his hobbies have been equally varied, and axe throwing is certainly not his first foray into competitive ventures. Al grew up with a family who were very involved in competitive drag racing and Al followed along this path until watching a motorcycle drag race in Florida, at which time he promptly sold his racecar and bought a drag bike. Over the next few years, he would race for multiple teams as well as an independent, eventually earning the #2 plate. 

Yet drag racing was not the only competition at which Al excelled. He has competed professionally in both archery and street luge racing, the latter of which saw him advance from amateur to pro after just three events (a title usually reserved for those with at least a year's experience). He also took second in a national archery competition amidst a snowstorm, an impressive feat for a native Hawaiian. His most recent competitive energy, as we know, has been focused towards axe throwing, and he is definitely among the most traveled of the competitors, having traveled over 86,000 miles in the last year alone.

Like many, Al has found the best thing about the sport of axe throwing to be the incredible and inclusive community it has fostered. Growing up on an island, Al found that everyone had to get along, and the divide between people was never felt as strongly as on the mainland, and it was quite the culture shock to see the racial divides and tensions when he completed his schooling in Atlanta and Mobile, Alabama. Most Hawaiian islanders consider themselves kama'aina or local, no matter what nationalities exist in their heritage, and Al himself claims Indigenous New Zealand, Hawaiian, and Italian among his unique heritage. 

While the community and sense of belonging may have been the reason he stuck with the sport and still competes today, Al's first introduction was throwing hatchets on a buddy's farm. He enjoyed the fact that he could throw and practice at home no matter the weather. His biggest obstacle to overcome so far has been the mental game; while he has enjoyed success in many other competitive arenas, those sports involved more split second decisions. 10 seconds is a lot of time for thoughts to creep in for someone used to 4/10ths of a second in drag racing. He said that having Mike Philabaum out to help with mental strategies has helped tremendously, despite throwing his worst season ever at Cascadia after a recent eye surgery (which did make his vision better after being nearly blind in his right eye the past few years). I'm sure he will redeem himself in Medford many times over in the coming year when he moves there permanently this summer.