An honest message from James - Founder of AWP

I didn’t start the Authentic Warrior Project because I had all the answers. I started it because I’ve lived the pain.

I’ve served as a police officer for over a decade. I’ve looked death in the eye, fought dangerous criminals, seen terrible things, and faced chaos most people run from. I’ve worn the gear, carried the weight, and stood in the gap when others couldn’t. But the hardest fight I’ve ever faced wasn’t on the street—it was in my own mirror.

Behind the badge, behind the strength, I was breaking.

I chased validation from the outside. I sought comfort and ran from the hard. I betrayed people I loved. I drifted from who I was, from who I promised to be. And I got really good at pretending everything was fine.

But the truth always comes to collect.

Eventually, everything cracked wide open. Secrets I’d buried came to light. My marriage was on the edge. I was suffocating in shame. And for the first time in my life, I questioned whether I even wanted to keep going.

I almost lost my marriage.
I almost ended my life.

But somewhere in the middle of all that wreckage, something deeper called to me. Not some inspirational quote or motivational voice—but something primal. Something from God. Something that whispered:

“This isn’t how your story ends and there is a plan for you.”

So I chose to fight—not to protect an image or save face, but to rebuild my soul.

I started doing the hard, quiet work. Breathwork. Journaling. Prayer. Sitting still with the truth. Owning my past instead of blaming it. Facing the pain instead of hiding. I traced the patterns back—childhood wounds, pride, my own addictions, years of playing strong and staying disconnected.

And slowly, I began to live with integrity again.

Not perfectly. But honestly. Fully. Grounded. Present.
Not just surviving—but finally aligned.

That process—that inner war—is what birthed the Authentic Warrior Project.

This isn’t a program. It’s not therapy. It’s not a shortcut or a self-help spin.

It’s the path I wish someone had laid out for me when I was in free fall.
It’s a call to rise—for the men who are stuck, drifting, ashamed, or just silently wondering if there’s more.

If that’s you, I’m not here to fix you. I’m here to walk with you.
To guide. To challenge. To stand beside you when the fire gets real.

You’re not broken.
You’re not weak.
You’re just not done being forged into who you are called and made to be.

Welcome to the fight.