About

Brand Statement

    My name is Charles Johnson. If I could perfectly encapsulate my character in five words, they would be kind, motivated, nerdy, sociable, and hardworking. My whole life I have tried my absolute best to be kind to others. It is just how I was raised. I was always told to share with those who may not have much, to be kind to everyone, and to always help someone if they are in need and I am able. These values have been instilled in me ever since I was a young child. I am also highly motivated. I have kept up good grades in college so far. I also workout five days a week and play sports a couple times a week. Even when my knee was in bad shape, I managed to pull through and bring it to a point where I can now run, jump, squat heavy weight (at least for me), and play all my favorite sports. I have also been very nerdy my entire life. I watched the Lord of the Rings with my grandpa when I was a kid and ever since then it has been my favorite thing. I have read the books as well as some of the other parts of the legendarium like The Silmarillion, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Whether it was Lord of the Rings, various video games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, or Pokémon, as well as many other movies, books, and tv shows, "nerd culture," has always been a huge part of my life and my character, even to the point where I have a Lord of the Rings tattoo. I am also very sociable, and I have always loved talking to new people, meeting new people, and making friends. It was something I used to struggle with even as much as I loved it, although now I rarely struggle. I have always liked hearing people's stories. Finally, I am very hardworking in everything I do. I feel like it is a waste to do something if I am not going to put one hundred percent effort into it. Whether it is at the gym, playing basketball or pickleball, or even relaxing, I will put in all of the effort I can to do as well as I possibly can. 

    

    I have had many character defining experiences, but the most impactful one has been the problems with my knee. A little over two years ago I was having knee pain when running and lifting and it took an x-ray, checkups from my doctor, and finally an athletic trainer to figure out it was simply patellar tendinitis. It affected my ability to play sports, workout, and hang out with friends before and during the recovery process. It affected my ability to work since I did overnight stocking and was constantly on my feet, pulling heavy pallets, and squatting down to stock products. It got to a point where it was just a part of my life, and I stopped trying to fix it. Eventually I got sick of it and decided I was going to do everything in my power to fix it. Now I can work without pain, play sports with friends without pain, and lift without pain. It showed me that if I put my mind to it, I can accomplish difficult things. Another experience that shaped my life was my weight loss journey. I had many friends and even random people at the gym helping me along the way. My parents would buy healthy food for me to cook, and they would motivate me to keep working hard. I had many ups, and many more downs during it but even after being over three hundred pounds two separate times in my life, losing seventy and keeping it off showed me that at the end of the day hard work can move mountains, but it takes a village to settle the valley in between. Whether it was a hard day at the gym or a long night at work, I always had someone in my corner cheering me on.

    One of my favorite things in life is conversation and stories. I enjoy communicating with people in almost any way, but my all-time favorite is normal in person conversation. I can make small talk and I don't mind it, but I like a long in depth conversation. It is nice either talking to someone you know or people you never met in person because you get to socialize, and you get to see a more authentic and real version of people than you do online or over the phone. If it is a nice, in-depth conversation, you can see people's real emotion and body language whether they are telling a funny story or talking about when they were a kid. For me, in depth conversations, especially stories, can sort of feel like that person is taking me along for a journey through their life.

    I feel like I am here to become the best version of myself for those around me. I need to get physically strong so I can help those around me even if it's a simple as moving a couch, I need to get emotionally strong so that I can always be there if someone needs a person to go to, and I need to get mentally strong so that I don't lose myself along the way trying to accomplish these goals.

    Ultimately my mission transfers directly to the type of person I am right now and what I want to be in the future. Right now, I am somewhat strong, but I still have a lot of work to do. I workout consistently and I work hard, but I let my diet slip which is why I need to get mentally stronger. I feel horrible when I see someone sad or crying but I don't know what to do or how I should handle it, so I need to get stronger emotionally. Sometimes when I play sport's I know what I need to do but I can't do it, which shows I still have room to grow physically. Even so, I am still so far from where I started. It almost feels like climbing a mountain. The peak is so far away I can't see it when I look up but when I look down, I can only see memories from where I started. I want to become someone dependable, a positive influence who people feel like they can ask for help. I want to be strong so that I can do the things I love at the highest level with the people I love. I want to be a man that helps people.