From Destruction to Discipline | Fix Your Head and the Rest Will Follow

In today’s podcast, we’re meeting a former MMA champion who’s channelled his own mental health struggles into transforming the lives of others. Say hello to Jason Kearns, a self-proclaimed ‘ordinary guy’ who helps people do extraordinary things.

Jason is anything but ordinary, though. Having spent much of his life battling crippling anxiety and soul-crushing depression, he started the Lean & Limitless Academy to help clients with similar mental health issues to build a limitless mind and a bulletproof body.

A decade ago, Jason’s world looked very different to how it does now. On the outside, his life in Wexford, on the windswept shores of southeast Ireland, was picture-perfect. He had a steady job, a flashy car, a great girlfriend and solid mates. On the inside, though, he was in a dark place.

“Life was perfect, but I had no purpose”

“This might be a bit controversial, but I think there are two types of depression,” says Jason. “The first type is when something really bad happens in life, like losing someone close or a big job loss, and people struggle to deal with it which results in depression.

“The second type, which I think is scarier, is when you don’t actually know why you’re depressed – and that was me. Life is perfect, yet you feel this huge sense of overwhelm and purposelessness. You’re just breaking down, crying. You don’t want to be here.”

Eventually, he realised that his depression stemmed from having ADHD; a condition which, at that time, was mainly associated with childhood hyperactivity and behaviour issues, rather than broader mental health challenges.

He believes that people who experience this type of ‘inexplicable’ depression may well have undiagnosed ADHD or similar issues. The condition is closely linked with a deficiency of dopamine – the hormone responsible for pleasure, satisfaction and motivation. For Jason, the search for a dopamine high led him to a dangerous alcohol addiction.

“I didn’t fit in unless I was drunk”

“Drinking numbed those feelings, but now I realise it was mostly just a crutch to manage social anxiety,” says Jason. “I felt like I didn’t fit in unless I was drunk. I was always the funny, chatty guy, but I needed alcohol to bring that out.”

During that time, he qualified as a personal trainer and reached the top of his judo game. Physically, he was close to peak condition. Mentally, he was on the floor. Cripped with anxiety and depression, he eventually tried to take his own life – an experience that’s shaped the way he supports his clients through the Lean & Limitless Academy.

Fast forward to 2015, and Jason found himself in Las Vegas watching the infamous McGregor vs. Mendes fight. It instantly sparked a fire in him. As soon as he got back to Ireland, he went to his first Mixed Martial Arts class and quickly became obsessed.

So obsessed, in fact, that it led to something completely life-changing; he started to replace drinking with MMA training. It wasn’t long before he began teaching, and that soon led to another life-changing opportunity; the chance to live and teach in Dubai.

“You’re pretty raw; let’s get you a fight”

For a lad from Wexford, it was the ultimate dream. But after the drinking crept back in, Jason knew he had to make a big change. He reached out to Aiden Mulholland; a mixed martial artist from Belfast who’d fought in Cage Warriors, and one of Jason’s heroes.

“I scoped out his gym, went down to train, and we hit it off immediately. He told me: “You’re pretty raw, but you’ve got something. Let’s get you a fight.” I had my first amateur fight in December 2018, which I won. Two months later, I was fighting in a cage on a hotel rooftop in Dubai – such a ‘Dubai’ thing to do. I ended up choking my opponent with a guillotine in 20 seconds.”

After another successful fight in March, he returned to Ireland for the summer and tried out for the IMMAF – the amateur MMA world championships – as part of the Irish national team.

During try-outs, he ended up competing in the wrong weight class (“I was around five kilos lighter than everyone else”), but he held his ground and won instant respect – and a spot on the team. By November 2019, he was in Bahrain, fighting for Ireland at the IMMAFs.

“It’s man-to-man in that cage”

“It’s surreal to think I had the chance to represent my country; I never grew up with that dream, but it became a reality,” says Jason. “Stepping into the cage for the first time in a proper fight was indescribable. No other feeling like it. The nerves are insane, but going into a fight, you should be nervous. It’s man-to-man in that cage, and four-ounce gloves make it intense.”

That first fight was a baptism of fire. He was put in the cage with a Kazakh world champion who Jason describes as “a beast.” Once again, he held his ground. Despite conceding, the experience of fighting a world champion made him realise he was capable of anything.

After a few more amateur fights, he finally got the offer to fight ‘pro’ in Dubai; he immediately accepted. Since it was during COVID, the fight took place outside in the open air, with a small crowd of VIPs and the Burj Khalifa looming in the background. Jason won.

“Looking back, the difference with MMA was my level of dedication. Growing up, I wanted to be a footballer, but I only trained a couple of times a week and played matches on Sundays. With MMA, I was training every day, studying tutorials and watching fights obsessively. Since then, I’ve believed that with enough work, anyone can achieve whatever they set their mind to.”

“One of my best nights was on mushrooms”

During his time as a pro fighter, Jason admits he still drank heavily afterwards as a reward. In recent years, though, he’s finally addressed his relationship with alcohol. His method for kicking the habit might seem unorthodox, but it’s proved highly effective.

“Taking mushrooms allowed me to unlock a part of my brain I hadn’t accessed before. I don’t class mushrooms as a drug, they shouldn’t be illegal. They grow in the ground, they’re natural. And beyond the chemical benefits of psilocybin for mental health, I realised I could have fun, laugh and enjoy myself without a drink. To this day, one of my best nights was spent on mushrooms.”

Jason challenged himself to go six months without drinking. That period of abstinence led him to another life-changing discovery; ayahuasca. For those unfamiliar, ayahuasca is an ancient Amazonian plant medicine; a psychedelic taken ceremonially with a shaman.

“It’s not a recreational drug; it’s something people use for self-discovery and healing,” says Jason. “The best way I can describe ayahuasca is like getting a helicopter ride to the top of a mountain. You can see the best route and what lies ahead, but it’s not a shortcut – you still have to make the journey. It gives you clarity on where you’re going.”

What Jason saw during that ceremony was a life without alcohol. He also saw vivid images of himself in a gym, wearing branded coaching gear, surrounded by lights and cameras. Months later, while recording a new exercise library for his coaching app, he realised his setup mirrored that vision.

He knew then that he’d made the right choice to leave teaching and pursue coaching – and that crucially, he didn’t need alcohol to live a full, varied and interesting life.

“People are scared to live a boring life”

“When I committed to not drinking, I proved to myself that I could enjoy social situations without alcohol. My rule now is that if I’m not comfortable going there sober, I just won’t go there. It’s not that I’ve given it up altogether; just that I don’t need it in my life right now.”

Many of Jason’s clients now come to him not only to turn their life around, but because they want to improve their relationship with alcohol. What he often notices, though, is that they’re afraid to stop drinking because they fear they’ll live a boring life, sitting in watching Corrie every weekend.

“It comes down to this: you’ve got to decide what excites you,” says Jason. “And some of it will be challenging, but there’s no such thing as a comfortable life. Drinking in front of the telly on a Saturday night may bring you comfort in that moment, but you’ll be hungover on Sunday, folding clothes and feeling depressed with the kids screaming in the background.

“Nobody wants that, but a lot of people are caught up in that cycle and don’t see a way out. And that’s what I help a lot of the guys in my program with; you don’t have to give up alcohol, but you can change your relationship with it and cut down a lot. Some guys end up cutting it out just because they’ve created a life that doesn’t need it, like I’ve done.”

With all his clients, Jason follows the same principle; you have to fix the head before you can fix anything else. There’s no point exercising, training and changing your diet if your head isn’t right, because until you fix your head, anything you try to do isn’t likely to last. Fix your head, says Jason, and the rest will follow.

Don’t miss the next episode of Stay Hungry – we’ll dive into straight-talking insights on business marketing, growth mindset, and the realities of running a business. And if you want to take the hassle out of your marketing, we’ve got you covered with our done-for-you service.

Proud to have worked with...