Roy was born in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1965 to a middle class blue collar family. He grew up in Gurnee, Illinois and graduated from Warren Township High School in 1983. He played High School football, wrestled and lifted weights in the off-season, which sparked his interest in fitness & wellness. Roy continued with recreational sports and exercising after High School while he worked in the automobile industry. In 1987 Roy felt that he was going nowhere fast in his job/life and joined the Marine Corps with a buddy. He had always wanted to travel the world and be a "bad ass." In October of 1987 Roy entered the United States Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego, California. His life would never be the same. He spent the holidays in boot camp and was the first graduating class of 1988. After completing the School of Infantry & Security Forces training Roy was assigned to the Marine Detachment on board the USS Constellation CV64. He spent almost two years on the aircraft carrier floating around the world from Pearl Harbor, to Pakistan, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines and crossing the equator on the way to Australia. Not only did he have a lot of fun in the different ports-of-call with his fellow Marines, but he absorbed some of the local cultures at the same time.

Roy's next orders were across the United States at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina reporting to Weapons Company 1st Battalion, 6th Marines (1/6). In "the fleet" Roy did what he signed up for -  infantry. Roy was with his Battalion in Okinawa, Japan doing jungle training when Desert Shield broke out in 1990. They all waited to find out if they would be called up. It wasn't long before they got the word that 1/6 was deploying to Saudi Arabia to be one of the first on the ground. After arriving in country Roy didn't waste time helping set up camp and was constantly on the move from that point forward ending up on the border of Kuwait when Desert Storm started on January 17, 1991. The ground war didn't last long before the ceasefire was announced, but it was full of surprises for Roy and the rest of the coalition forces. After camping outside of Kuwait City and helping those impacted in the vicinity, in April of 1991 Roy and his comrades returned from Desert Storm and stepped back on American soil. Roy said it was one of the happiest days of his life! What made him even more proud was seeing all the yellow ribbons around trees and mailboxes. Now every time Roy sees an American flag or sings the National Anthem it takes on a whole new meaning!

​Roy got out of the Marine Corps that same year and jumped right into the corporate rat race in the security field. Roy used the GI Bill to start his educational journey. He completed his Masters in Business Administration in 2011 while working, applying his studies and helping others with their health and wealth.