MEET THE OWNER
CJ "Lion Heart" Jackson
Welcome! Let me tell you a little about myself…my name is Courtney Jackson and although my family is from Jamaica (I’m the youngest and only male of four siblings), I was born in Miami and spent my teenage years here.
Looking for a change from a static atmosphere in South Florida after high school, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I began my service in Chicago, working in the pediatrics department for 18 months. I then transitioned from a clinical setting to a field setting and worked as a corpsman for the marines in California.
I deployed on one tour to Afghanistan in 2010. At the completion of my service, I moved to Los Angeles to study theatre and acting, where I also began boxing.
A semester later, I relocated back to Miami and enrolled at the University of Miami. Struggling to balance my course load with training and working, I ultimately decided I had to take time off from boxing and concentrate on my studies. After 5 years I concluded my studies and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and a double minor in Chemistry and Political Science.
Now I could box again, and I did…I was 19-0 and I had 2 weeks to prepare for a title shot. I lost by decision, but I was back in the ring, and that is all that mattered. Then, as life would have it we entered a worldwide pandemic and I was out of the ring again, this time for 3 years.
It finally seems like we are seeing the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel and I am training hard again...training my mind and my body to get stronger and better. It has taken everything that I have been through – that all of us have been through – to get me to where I am today…READY TO GO!
I’m excited to finally have a home (Lion Heart Gym) where I can train to pursue my World Champion aspirations and share my knowledge and my experience with my gym’s members.
My mantra for my clients is simple: " I will feed you the knowledge as fast as you can pick it up! And there's no shortcuts in boxing. Put in the work and it will show!