I know what it feels like to believe your voice doesn’t matter.

For years, I carried that belief. It started when I was a kid, on my first day of kindergarten, when a group of fifth graders trapped me in a bathroom stall and beat me while I screamed for help.

No one came.

That moment planted something in me. A belief that speaking up was dangerous. A belief that my voice didn’t matter. And for years, that belief quietly shaped how I saw myself, how I showed up, and what I thought was possible for my life.

It showed up when I got jumped in an alley and didn’t fight back. It showed up when I was afraid to ask a girl out because rejection felt heavier than loneliness. It showed up when I sat in my bedroom listening to my parents fight about money, realizing pain and money were somehow connected, even though I didn’t understand it yet.

And that belief almost cost me my life when I was 17.

A local gang threw me off a bridge into the Gulf of Mexico during a storm. The waves thrashed me around. My body was exhausted. I started sinking. And for a moment, I thought, “This is how it ends.”

But something inside me refused to give up.

I clawed my way to a sea wall, dug my hands into the concrete, and somehow pulled myself up, covered in blood and gasping for air. I remember standing there, looking at a fisherman who had watched the whole thing happen and done nothing.

I felt completely alone.

But I also knew something in me had survived for a reason.

From Silence To Strength

At 18, I became a firefighter because I wanted to become the hero I never had growing up. For eight years, I ran into burning buildings and helped people on the worst days of their lives. I thought I had found my purpose.

Until one fire changed everything.

Inside a burning home, I hit a live wire and got electrocuted. I woke up in the hospital three days later. The doctor looked at me and said, “You’re way too young to be this unhealthy.”

I was 53 pounds overweight, exhausted, and broken down.

That was another wake-up call. I started taking care of myself, lost the weight, and became obsessed with helping other people do the same. That obsession eventually led me to leave the fire department and start my own fitness business.

I went all in. I trained clients in parks, started a boot camp, opened my own gym, built it to 300 members, created an incredible community, and eventually attracted investors who convinced me to franchise.

It looked like the dream... Until it all collapsed.

The franchise failed. The main gym started struggling. I maxed out credit cards, took on loans, and ended up $45,000 in debt.

Then my daughter, Ava, was born.

What should have been one of the happiest moments of my life was filled with fear. I remember sitting in my truck outside the gym, staring at myself in the rearview mirror, feeling like a complete failure.

But then I remembered something people had been telling me for years:

“Jason, you’re so inspiring.”

And for the first time, I realized something.

The voice I had spent my whole life suppressing might actually be my greatest tool.

The Moment Everything Shifted

So I started speaking anywhere I could. I knocked on doors. Got rejected. Felt awkward. And eventually landed a talk where I dressed up like a giant broccoli and spoke to kids about vegetables.

No joke.

I didn’t sign any clients that day, but I saw a spark. That one tiny moment led to more talks. Then the Chamber of Commerce. Then TV segments. Then podcasts. Then people wanting to work with me because of my story.

Around that time, I got invited onto a local health show. That gave me confidence. And that confidence pushed me to chase a childhood dream: American Ninja Warrior.

After years of trying to get on the show, I finally made it. And while I was there, I asked one of the producers what his best advice was for getting selected.

He said something I’ll never forget:

“Your story is your leverage.”

That one sentence changed everything.

Because I realized my story wasn’t just something that happened to me. It was part of my message. It was part of my authority. It was part of the reason people trusted me.

And once I started applying that to my marketing, content, and communication, everything changed.

The Breakthrough

In 2019, I went all in on building my online business. I started creating content and going live almost every day. Sometimes nobody watched. Sometimes one person watched. But I kept showing up.

Then one day, instead of posting another workout tip, I shared the real story of what I was going through as a business owner: the debt, the fear, the pressure, and the feeling that I was doing everything I could and still barely keeping my head above water.

And my inbox exploded.

People started messaging me saying, “This is exactly what I needed to hear.” “I feel like you’re speaking directly to

me.” “I need help.”

At first, I thought it was a fluke. So I did it again. And again.

And every time, the same thing happened. More engagement. More leads. More clients.

That’s when I realized something most coaches miss:

People don’t buy because you gave them more information. They buy because something you said shifted what they believe.

They buy when your message makes them feel seen. They buy when your story creates trust. They buy when your content helps them finally understand the problem, believe in the solution, and see you as the guide.

I studied what made that content work, tested frameworks, and refined the process. Within 30 days, I signed 11 new clients and collected $33,383 in cash.

That became the foundation of what I now teach.

Not just content. Not just storytelling. Not just sales.

Communication that creates demand.

Why Rebel Influence Exists

Since then, I’ve helped hundreds of coaches use their message, content, story, offers, workshops, and sales conversations to attract better clients, create more demand, and build real businesses.

And the deeper I got into this work, the clearer it became:

Most good coaches don’t have a lead problem. They have a communication problem.

They’re great at what they do. They care deeply. They know they can help people. But their message doesn’t reflect the depth of their work. Their content sounds too generic. Their story is underused. Their offer is unclear. Their sales process has to do too much convincing because their communication isn’t pre-selling people before they ever enter the sales process.

That’s why I created Rebel Influence.

To help good coaches, consultants, and expert-led businesses turn their message into demand.

To help them say the thing their market feels but hasn’t been able to articulate.

To help them create content that shifts beliefs instead of just collecting likes.

To help them become the obvious choice in their niche.

To help them build an influence machine that creates trust, leads, sales, and real transformation.

What I Believe

I believe your message matters.

I believe your story matters.

I believe one sentence can plant a seed. One story can shift a belief. One perspective can change a life.

But only if you have the courage and skill to communicate it.

That’s what Rebel Influence is about.

We rebel against generic content, AI slop, empty teaching, performative authority, manipulative marketing, copycat coaching brands, and tactical noise that keeps good people sounding like everyone else.

Because the world does not need more noise.

It needs better communicators.

It needs coaches and leaders who can speak light into the darkness. People who can say the thing that wakes someone up. People who can use their message to influence, lead, sell, and create change.

That’s what I’m here to build.

And that’s what I help my clients do.

Turn your message into demand.

Become the obvious choice.

And use your voice to create the kind of impact, income, and transformation you were actually put here to make.

Want to Learn How to Turn Your Story Into a Client-Attracting Machine? Let’s Work Together

P.S. Here's my standing in all my GLORY on the first year I competed on ANW (after falling into the cold 20 degree water in Atlanta 🤪)