Hobbies
Playing the piano, painting, drawing, football, music, cartoons and comics. (nbcmiami.com, 21 Aug 2015; Instagram profile, 12 Oct 2014)
Occupation
Athlete
Spoken languages
English, Portuguese, Spanish
Club
Universal Gymnastics [Miami, FL, USA]
Coach
Yin Alvarez [club, step-father]; Vitaly Marinitch [national], RUS; Mike Naddour [national] (nbcmiami.com, 21 Aug 2015; usagym.org, 10 Jan 2016)
Sporting relatives
His mother and step-father both competed for Cuba in gymnastics. (ap.org, 08 May 2012)
International senior debut
2009 for United States (Athlete, 18 Jan 2012)
Injuries
He suffered a shoulder injury in 2013, keeping him out of the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. (nbcmiami.com, 21 Aug 2015)
Start sporting career
He began the sport in 1995 in his mother and step-father's gym in Miami, FL, United States. (ap.org, 08 May 2012; Athlete, 18 Jan 2012)
Reason for taking up the sport
He saw a gymnastics video and wanted to try the sport. (ap.org, 08 May 2012)
Ambitions
To play professional football once he finishes his gymnastics career. (rio2016.com, 21 Jan 2016; nbcmiami.com, 21 Aug 2015)
Trainings
He trains for six days a week. (nbcmiami.com, 21 Aug 2015)
Philosophy / Motto
"To me, a gymnastics meet is a performance. I like being in front of a crowd." (miamiherald.com, 13 Aug 2015)
Additional information
General
FROM CUBA TO UNITED STATES
When he was 18 months old his mother moved him and his sister from Cuba to Miami, FL, United States. (ap.org, 08 May 2012)
Last update : 2016-09-23