Former Falls resident’s hard work pays off as he hits ‘the big time’

Jones initially came to this much colder, northern town in 2003 from Wooster, Ohio, to play football for Rainy River Community College.

“I chose RRCC because it was the first college I was in contact with,” he said. “I was playing semi-professional football in Ohio, and was getting better so I thought it would be a good idea to pursue it.”

Football wasn’t always what Jones wanted out of his life, however. He always dreamed of becoming a model.

When he was just 5 years old, Jones’ parents divorced, and he spent the majority of the year living with his mother and three sisters.

“With my parents being divorced it was hard,” Jones recalled. “My mom had left a good paying job for another that we could barely get by on. Times were hard, but we always had faith that things would get better.”

At age 13, Jones convinced his mother to let him attend modeling school. Aside from being time consuming, pursuing Jones’ passion posed a great financial challenge for his family.

“My mom knew modeling was something I was serious about,” he said. “It was a struggle, though. We had to bargain with the school to accept weekly payments.”

When Jones had three or four modeling classes left before graduation, he made the decision to live with his father and start high school.

“Because I moved, I was unable to attend the remaining modeling classes. I was hurt bad inside, my mom struggled to make things happen for me to do this and it all was for nothing.”

While in high school, Jones put modeling on the back burner and focused on sports.

“I learned a lot of lessons from sports,” he explained. “I had many problems with coaches growing up and now that I’m older, I have a better understanding for it all.”

Jones attended and graduated from RRCC and then ventured 100 miles south to Bemidji State University where he walked on to the football team.

Soon after he started playing football for BSU, he decided to focus solely on his academics. Jones quit the team and shifted his attention to his sports management degree.

“I wanted a good foundation and an education to be sure I’d have a degree to fall back on,” he said.

When he graduated from BSU in 2007, he headed back to Ohio where he worked as an assistant manager at Bally Total Fitness.

“I was working at the gym when I met Clark Bartram, who is one of America’s most trusted fitness professionals,” Jones said. “He guided me to the right sources.”

Last October, modeling came back onto Jones’ plate when he traveled to California to shoot photographs with Ralph Dehaan and Jason Ellis. No more than six months later, he was on the cover of Physique Magazine — a publication available in Dubai.

“This was an awesome transition from nothing to something for me,” Jones said. “I had met one of my biggest goals in under a year of starting my career.”

His accomplishments didn’t stop there. He recently won a contest for Muscle and Body Magazine where he appears on an inside spread. The issue can be found in GNC stores this month.

“I entered the contest on a whim at the Arnold classic and found out a month or two later that I was a finalist,” he explained. “After getting the public to cast votes, I came out with the win.”

Jones’ award-winning look is definitely something he takes pride in and works hard for. He works out six days each week, isolating two major muscle groups per day along with minor groups and cardio every other day. He also eats six times daily.

“I consume complex carbohydrates for my breakfast to last me through the day,” Jones said. “I also make sure to have a protein shake within 30 (minutes) of completing a workout. My other meals are boneless, skinless chicken breasts and broccoli or tilapia and asparagus and brown rice whenever the carbs are needed.”

And, while most fitness models have a professional trainer to guide and strengthen them both mentally and physically, Jones does not — he trains himself.

“I am an all-natural body builder/fitness model,” he said. “I eat the proper things and use natural supplements to get my body in top shape. I have been offered drugs many times. I have never in my life felt as though I need them to accomplish what my body can do naturally. I don’t mind taking the time needed to develop, learn and challenge myself. The drugs people choose to use are to cut corners, but it also can cut your life short. I encourage living healthy to live longer.”

After settling into the Twin Cities area recently, Jones received his first real break to pose with Maximum Fitness Magazine.

“Financially, this career has been a struggle. To finally have a job where I am getting paid is a huge relief,” he said. “It was the best feeling ever. I felt like, ‘OK, now I’m legitimate and can claim myself as a model.’ It was so awesome not having to oil my own skin or walk to get water — someone did it for me.”

In the years to come, Jones hopes to see himself climbing more ladders in the fitness industry and land himself on more magazine covers.

“I’m living my dream,” he said. “My ultimate goal is to become a force to be reckoned with in the fitness and modeling industries and be a role model for anyone who deals with struggles and dreams of a better life. I had this vision many years ago: I used to always have a thing about me where I wanted people to know who I was even if I didn’t know them and now it is all happening. It’s all part of God’s plan for me. This is the best feeling a man can have.”