“I know people look at me, with my tattoos and appearance, and they don’t think I look like a country singer,” he says. “When I sing, I have a gruffness to my voice that’s different than most country singers too. But when I start to talk, you can hear that I’m as country as cornbread. And the songs, with their real-life stories and positive outlook on life, have more in common with country music than anything else. Country music is where I belong.”

Indeed, when this hulking man with the imposing look starts to sing, people often are surprised at his tender love songs and his upbeat view of what people can achieve in their lives. “I like surprising people,” he says. “My life, and my career, have been full of surprises too. But it’s always a good surprise. I like showing people that this is what I should be doing, and this is where I belong!