Ian was born to Esteban and Linda Diaz in the summer of 1984 in Pueblo, Colorado. Although a birth is normally an event of celebration and joy, it was not the same for the Diaz family this time. Despite the rarity of maternal death during childbirth, and more so the cause, eclampsia, it was an event that would come to define Ian for some years to come. He would never see, smell, touch, hear or know his mother, but he would always look back on the stories he was told about her with fondness. It was almost like he could reproduce her in his head sometimes.

All things considered, however, growing up was not an unpleasant experience for him. But as he grew older, his brother grew more and more resentful of him, calling it Ian’s fault for the death of their mother. When he was very little, the family moved from Pueblo to Denver, in the interest of cutting down on commuting and financial stability, not having to pay rent. As a child, he grew into loving baseball and hockey, playing both at one point or another, but choosing to play hockey in college.

In spite of his family background, Ian never learned to speak Spanish. Instead, his father went the route of full integration, emphasizing the need to speak English. Due to this, he is still unable to communicate effectively with those that speak only Spanish, but he can understand very well. Thanks to his extended family speaking Spanish often, he does use some phrases or other terms and greetings.

He often found that he couldn’t be seen as “enough” in either direction racially. His surname was enough to make him not white enough, whereas his inability to speak Spanish made him not Hispanic enough. Although it was not an issue until much much later in his life, it was clear to him that his family was treated differently from others. He tried to let it roll off his back, but his struggles with his finding his sexuality made it even more of a difficulty.

When he was going into middle school, his father met someone new, but did not remarry until Ian was into high school. His relationship with his brother had become strained, to the point of being what could best be described as estranged. Ian constantly wished they could be closer, more to the idea of the notion he had for a relationship between siblings. But in the meanwhile, he grew close to his step-sister. And even though he was not related by blood to his step-mother by blood, it was still a figure he could look up to in the role of a mother.

When he finally went to college at UC Denver, he threw himself into his studies, and also played hockey, hoping to be recruited professionally one day. During the end of his freshman year, he attended a party in which he got drunk and ended up making out with another male student. Everything he had been told about these things, he couldn’t reconcile with what he was feeling. But he couldn’t resist these urges either. And because of it, in the summer before his sophomore year, he was accosted by some people he had known in high school. They had known about the incident at the party but were far from happy about it, and they were more than eager to show him just how unhappy they were. Although they beat him up, they didn’t walk away unscathed. After all, he was one to play hockey. However, due to injuries sustained over several times having been ganged up on, as well as injuries from playing hockey, he couldn’t go on to try to play professionally. He resigned himself to finding another career path, and to present day still wonders what could have happened differently if times were different.

It was this event that led him to spending some time with his childhood best friend who had just graduated high school. It eventually led to his first real encounters with another man. Though, he had still ended up making out with various other men on campus after the fact, always while he was partying. He grew closer to his friend, to the point they eventually ended up dating. After a time, they mutually decided that it was not something that was going to work for the two of them, but they remain friends.

In 2006, he graduated cum laude with a BA in Communications, with a focus in psychology. He worked for a time in a relative’s sports bar while he tried to earn an internship at various firms and agencies. It was then he realized just what a difference a name could make. But he still came to embrace that fact, ogten going by his nickname, Diego, though he remains relatively in the dark about his background. In 2008 he finally landed a job at a marketing firm, working as an advertising specialist.

In time, he met the man who would one day become his fiancé, But after six years of working at the same place, he felt that he could do something more fulfilling. He considered other lines of work, even thinking about going to work in the same field but for one of the local teams. Nothing really seemed to have an opening or to work out. But, an opportunity arose, wherein he was invited by his uncle to take over the bar that he worked at so long ago. After speaking about it with his fiancé, he decided that it was the best option to take. It had the opportunity for him to change his life for the better.