Senior running back Shemar Petrie impressed coaches and peers this football season with his tremendous improvement on-and-off the field. He is also an amateur YouTuber, recently launching his channel, and expresses his pure passion for singing wherever he goes.

During his freshman and sophomore seasons, Petrie started on Bangor’s junior varsity football team. A spark was ignited inside of him, and the motivation to advance his skills began. Now just finishing his senior year, Petrie has six varsity touchdowns under his belt. 

“The feeling of improving is amazing. I really worked hard for this and seeing that it is finally paying off makes me strive to work even harder. I am nowhere where I want to be, so I’m just pushing myself even harder now,” Petrie said.

Petrie’s drive for success started eleven years ago when he signed himself up for the Patriots youth team. 

“I always loved watching football as a kid and I always wanted to play, but I couldn’t at my old school. When my family and I moved to Bangor, Doug Toth convinced me to try out for the team in third grade. When I asked my mom, she was ecstatic,” Petrie said. “My journey began then and I am so grateful that I am still able to play, it’s a blessing.”

Of course football was simple then, but years later Petrie puts in countless hours in the weight room and sharpened his skills on the field. 

“I had workouts five days a week around 5:30 a.m. and then in the afternoon I would lift. By the late evening, I would have seven-on-seven practice or personal training sessions with Coordinated Health,” Petrie said. “It really made me stronger and more confident in my craft. It helped me realize football isn’t just a sport to me, it’s my motivation.”

Petrie’s admirable dedication is inspired by the one person he credits all of his success to, his mother.

“I work hard for my family because I know all the sacrifices my mom went through to just get me to this point in my life. The hard work is not only about me, but the people around me. I work hard to make my mom proud. She is the reason why I have been able to accomplish so much,” Petrie said.

Although Bangor’s football season recently ended with a 50-7 win over longtime rival Pen Argyl, Petrie’s personal career is nowhere near the end.

“I do plan on continuing playing football in college and majoring in something along the lines of physical therapy or sports medicine. I have looked at a few, such as Old Dominion, James Madison, Toledo, Mississippi State, and others,” Petrie said. “Wherever I end up at, I hope the school has a reputable football program, awesome school spirit, good food, as well as an appealing campus.”

Hanging up his cleats and shoulder pads, Petrie pulls out his camera to film his own comedic YouTube routines. Published over a year ago, his first video focused on just introducing himself to the world, but Petrie’s channel content has grown since.

“I always enjoyed watching YouTube growing up and used to pretend as if I was making videos of whatever I was doing in that moment,” Petrie said. “I made videos of everything, even just eating, playing video games, cooking, or going out to places.”

As one of his favorite hobbies, Petrie hopes to grow his YouTube channel and expand his content to mukbang food videos, filming his workout routines, and general vlogs documenting his life.

“I hope that it just keeps going up and I get more people watching my content. I want to be that channel that whatever video you click on it puts you in a good mood,” Petrie said. “I want to inspire people to go out there and follow their dreams because you can do whatever you want in your life, don’t let anyone or anything get in your way of doing that.”

Taking his own advice, Petrie uncovered his hidden talent: singing. He now sings his heart out everywhere he goes, especially throughout the halls of Bangor High. While he is confident in his singing abilities now, Petrie wasn’t always so outgoing. 

“I almost quit because I just didn’t think singing was for me, and I didn’t think I was cut out for acting either. My love for music was still there, and so I decided to give it a shot,” Petrie said.

After nearly giving up on his musical career, Petrie was determined to share his newfound talent with all around him. 

“I always wanted to be involved so I joined choir my freshman year and I absolutely loved it. I have no regrets and actually want to continue my singing in college by joining the school’s choir or becoming involved with some sort of vocal performance program,” Petrie said. 

With his lively personality, skilled singing ability, and driven mindset, Petrie will thrive in any environment he lands in.