Jason Johnson (born November 30, 1974) is a professional

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

fitness professional A professional fitness coach is a professional in the field of fitness and exercise, most often instruction (fitness instructor), including professional sports club's fitness trainers and aerobics and yoga instructors and authors of fitness inst ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early life and education

Johnson was in born

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

on November 30, 1974. Jason Scott Johnson graduated from Martin Luther High School in

Greendale, Wisconsin Greendale is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,854 at the 2020 census. Greendale is located southwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. A planned community, i ...

in 1993. That year he was the Wisconsin State Wrestling Champion at 189 lbs (86 kg).

U.S. Marines career

Johnson was a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and served from 1993 to 1997. He was deployed to

Port au Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defin ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, where he oversaw peacekeeping efforts, worked with the

U.S. Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...

in Joint Task Force Operations in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and he trained with the

British Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In 1994, Johnson's

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

named him the "Iron Man” of boot camp. That year he also qualified for the

Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team The Marine Corps Security Force Regiment is a dedicated security and anti-terrorism unit of the United States Marine Corps. It provides security forces to guard high-value naval installations, most notably those containing nuclear vessels and w ...

Norfolk, VA Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Bea ...

, and he remained a member of that team until 1996. Johnson graduated from "Airborne" School at

Ft. Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employee ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in 1996. He was a member of the Marine Corps’ 2nd Force Reconnaissance unit.

Kickboxing career

Johnson began his training in Muay Thai kickboxing with the fighter Duke Roufus and won his first fight on September 6, 1998, against Jack Lagrange. Johnson beat experienced opponents and earned himself the nickname "The Gladiator". In 1999, he became the IKF USA National Amateur MuayThai Rules Heavyweight Champion. He also won the World International Federation Muay Thai Amateur (IFMA) Super Heavyweight Championship in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. He was ranked 7th in the world as a professional kickboxer. His record is 15 wins, 1 loss and 11 knockouts.

Fitness career

Johnson is a certified personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist with the

National Academy of Sports Medicine The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) is an American fitness training provider founded in 1987. Its headquarters is located in Gilbert, Arizona. History The original founder was Robert M. Goldman. NASM is a subsidiary of Ascend Learnin ...

. He founded Go Beyond Fitness. He is a sports and fitness

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

. In 2010, he was a sports model champion at MuscleMania in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. Johnson appeared in

Bowflex Bowflex is the brand name for a series of fitness training equipment, marketed and sold by Nautilus, Inc. Based in Vancouver, Washington, it sells its products through direct, retail and international channels. The first Bowflex product, Bowflex ...

training DVDs and in an 8-volume Muay Thai video series with Duke Roufus. He wrote the 2011 fitness book ''Recreate Yourself: Simple Steps To Rapidly Burn Fat and Sculpt Your Body''. Johnson was also a member of Team USA in Bodybuilding in 2009.

Acting career

Johnson is a member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

and

AFTRA The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ar ...

. He starred as Ryan Kristoff in '' Magma: Earth's Molten Core'', a 2005 movie directed by Dom Magwili.

Accreditations and achievements

Johnson is a black belt in

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and a certified

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

endurance specialist. He is a certified personal trainer. In 2010, he became a corrective exercise specialist and is a competitive Ironman

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

. He has appeared in - or written for - ''Men’s Fitness'', ''Ironman'', ''Physical'', ''Muscle and Fitness'' and ''Exercise for Men''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jason 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from California American male kickboxers Male actors from California United States Marines American male film actors American male television actors People from Janesville, Wisconsin