What happens when you walk away from everything you own and start over with nothing but faith? Tommy's remarkable journey takes us from the depths of the ocean as a commercial diver to the heights of entrepreneurial success, before a devastating financial collapse left him with $85,000 in credit card debt. Rather than accepting defeat, he discovered what he believes is a fundamental flaw in the banking system, challenging his debt in federal court and developing a controversial method for legally eliminating credit card obligations.
When his marriage unexpectedly ended, Tommy made a radical choice—taking a vow of poverty and becoming intentionally homeless, carrying only a backpack and his dog. This spiritual odyssey led him through communities of faith, organic farms across America, and eventually to rural Maine, where he lived without electricity or running water. Using candle stubs for heat and repurposing discarded produce from health food stores, he embraced extreme simplicity while witnessing the devastating impact of the opioid crisis on vulnerable communities.
Today, Tommy has found an unexpected paradise in the Philippines. "You think the Philippines is peso poor, but they have love rich," he explains. "They have what I don't have—family, love, smile." Now engaged to a Filipina woman with two children, he's developing humanitarian projects including free bamboo dome houses for typhoon victims and vertical farming systems to increase food production. Operating on a modest pension that stretches remarkably far in the Philippine economy, he's creating free medical clinics while challenging our conventional understanding of wealth and success.
Whether you're fascinated by alternative financial strategies, sustainable living, or finding purpose through service to others, Tommy's story demonstrates that sometimes losing everything is the first step to discovering what truly matters. His journey reminds us that wealth comes in many forms, and sometimes the richest lives are built through giving rather than accumulating.