“Around February 2004 is when my symptoms of Crohn’s started,” Jonathan said. “On an almost daily basis it would feel as though a hot knife had been stuck in my stomach and someone was twisting it around. The pain would be so unbearable that it would make me vomit and it got to the point where my college roommates were used to finding me passed out in the bathroom.”

As an NYPD recruit during 9/11, he was thrown right into the streets to aid the seasoned officers with the rescue and recovery of the many lost. 

It toughened him mentally, but left scars. Injuries and surgeries in the years after left him needing to strengthen his body. The gym, lifting and the people within strengthened his body, mind and spirit.