6 Part Series. Meaningful Memories - The Braw Beard Story - Pt 1 of 6
Getting To Know JJ In More Depth.
I appreciate you being part of the Braw Beard story so I want to share a little more about the journey so far that has not been shared before.
I
grew up in Macmerry, a small mining village.
Everyone knew everyone which was great. I got to experience what it was like for the people in the village to actually care for each other.
And even though the times have changed there… I haven’t let the times change me.
(I think this will become clear to you when you see how I interact with everyone the community that is our Brawtherhood Facebook group)
At school, I was always the quiet, hardworking type.
I wasn’t academically smart but I had common sense and was able to focus on what I wanted.
This still rings true today.
On my first day of school in Macmerry, I had come from another school so I was starting mid-term.
The teacher stood me in front of the class and introduced me to the Primary 1 class (I’d be 4). She said, “Who would like to sit with John?” This wee dude with spiky hair put his hand up. Paul and I have been best of friends ever since.
I had Paul and some other friends but I wore glasses and wasn’t the pretty boy type so this killed my confidence with girls throughout my teenage years.
I never really had success with girls until I met my wife.
I am now married to my girlfriend of 19 years. We first met when I was 16 and she was 15. It took me 6 years to get the balls to ask her out. We haven’t been apart since.
Since becoming the face of the company I’ve had to get out of my shell and gain the confidence to chat with people I’d never met before and the Brawtherhood’s been an amazing training ground for this.
Discoveries From My Early Days
Boxing taught me what it was to truly be tough.
I boxed from 10 years old for a short while (had and won 5 amateur bouts from 13 years old) and it was through boxing that I came to find that bullies weren’t actually tough.
Realising that getting hit wasn’t a big deal… learning how to relax when someone is swinging on you… and being taught how to end fights quickly were all lessons that dramatically lowered my fear of a confrontation escalating into a physical fight.
These life-changing lessons altered so many of the decisions I’ve made in my life.
I can’t imagine what my life would be like had I not been lucky enough to learn how to be comfortable with confrontation at such a young age.
I have to give credit to those lessons for being one of the greatest inspirations ever that encouraged me to dare to stand out and separate myself from the pack.
These discoveries, among others, were instrumental in teaching me that if I wanted something that was achievable, I could work my ass off to improve so that I’d be worthy of the goal I was reaching for.