Shorty grew up in two distinct worlds, one being a middle/upper-class suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles with his dwarf parents, and the other being the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in Watts, a section of South Central Los Angeles, where he lived with a family friend to avoid conflict at home. By the age of 15, Shorty was living on his own.
At 18, he was involved in a gang-related shooting and convicted of several felonies, serving a total sentence of 10 years, 10 months, and 10 days. While in prison, Shorty turned his life around and by the time he was released, he was determined to make a better life for himself.
Looking to start anew, Shorty turned to the entertainment industry and soon discovered he could earn lucrative gigs as a little person. He landed his first job at Universal Studios Hollywood as "Alvin" for an Alvin and the Chipmunks stage show. Since then, he has appeared in numerous commercials and worked on several movies, including The Grinch with Jim Carrey, The Kid with Bruce Willis, and ShowTime and Daddy Day Care with Eddie Murphy, among others.
Shorty has also performed live on theater for years and founded his own company, Shortywood Productions, to provide and manage little people entertainers for various shows, private parties, and corporate events.
However, Shorty has a special passion that has been a significant part of his life since he was a teenager - championing the cause of pit bulls. He has owned pit bulls since he was 14 and credits them with "saving his life" for being such loyal companions through some of the toughest times in his life.
Because of this, Shorty formed Shorty's Pit Bull Rescue, a second business that rescues, rehabilitates, and places neglected and abused pit bulls in loving, nurturing homes. Shorty's Rescue is not a shelter or a charity, but rather a group of employees who work tirelessly to help relieve the suffering of and prevent cruelty to pit bulls through education and activism.
Shorty has also become interested in service animal training after injuring himself in a stunt. He trained one of his own pit bulls to be a service animal and has been actively involved in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) community ever since.
Currently, two of Shorty's dogs are registered service animals, with one in training. Shorty is a workaholic by nature and doesn't have much spare time for socializing. When in social settings, he often surrounds himself with people of all backgrounds in his home in Los Angeles and his second home in Mexico, where he also spends a lot of time promoting pit bull awareness.
Shorty has a special place in his heart for his employees Ashley, Sebastian, and Ronald, who are all little people. He loves cigars, wine, and relaxing with friends and his five pit bulls.
As of September 2011, Shorty is working on new episodes of Pit Boss, producing a movie called "Hercules Saves Christmas" with his pit bull Hercules, and writing a memoir of his life story, which is set to be released in January 2012.
