Bio and Bylines

A graduate of Sonoma State University, Jamison is a former bodybuilder and fitness instructor. He also worked as a Christmas tree salesman, manager of a children’s clothing store, and model before devoting himself to writing. He has written for, among others, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Vox, and VICE.

Jamison has appeared in Forgotten Plague, a documentary about ME/CFS, and a seven-episode Netflix original series released in 2018. He was also featured on WBUR’s Modern Love podcast and Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, as well as in articles published by Pacific Standard and HuffPost.

In addition, Jamison has written for:

-“Love Means Never Having to say … Anything,” The New York Times, May, 2018.

-“I’m not ‘addicted’ to my smartphone. I depend on it to survive,” The Los Angeles Times, April, 2017.

-“Writing for Myself,” Writer’s Digest, May, 2018.

-“I didn’t want a child until I got a chronic illness. Now I might never be able to have one,” The Washington Post, July, 2017

-“Dear anti-Trump protesters,” Vox, February, 2017.

– “Life Without Sex,” Men’s Journal, November, 2016.

– “I was a Weight Lifter, and Then I got Mono,” Tonic by VICE, May, 2017.

– “I’m a disabled person, and Siri changed my life. Then I lost the ability to speak,” Mic, June, 2017.

– “The Day I Killed Someone,” The Bold Italic, April, 2017.

– “Meeting my Mugger,” The Bold Italic, July, 2017.

– “My Chronic Illness Will Bankrupt Me If Obamacare is Repealed,” Bustle, February, 2017.

– “Research on chronic illness good for patients and the environment,” The Oregonian, December, 2016.

– “A psychosomatic diagnosis is a doctor’s way of saying, ‘I don’t have a clue,'” Quartz, January, 2017.

–Bustle, April, 2017.

– TalkPoverty, March, 2017.

– The Good Men Project, March, 2017.

– The Motley Fool, November, 2013.

– Elite Daily, January, 2014.

Jamison’s Story

In late 2010, during a three-hour workout, Jamison hit a wall unlike any other. He spent more than five-hours exercising each day. Annually, he spent more than 1,500 hours in the gym doing thousands of squats, hundreds of curls and countless presses. By the age of 22, Jamison had spent more than 12,000 hours of his life in the gym.

As it turned out, his obsession with exercise was about much more than a narcissistic quest to look attractive and compete as a bodybuilder. At 21, Jamison became certified as a personal trainer –working with clients and teaching group fitness classes. As much as he enjoyed the rush of deadlifting 400-pounds, or bench pressing twice his body weight, Jamison got an equal high from crawling through the fitness trenches with his clients. By 2010, Jamison had created a blossoming life for himself.

Then he got sick.

At the pinnacle of his life as a personal trainer, bodybuilder, exercise junky, and college student, Jamison suddenly became ill. Chronically ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and a constant urge to exercise, Jamison refused to fall into the depths of lethargy, depression, and a sedentary lifestyle while battling the devastating illness.

Once a thriving bodybuilder and personal trainer who could lift more than 400 pounds, by age 28 he became bedridden and couldn’t even lift a tube of a fork. For months he teetered on the brink of death unable to speak, eat solid food, or elevate his body.

This site is dedicated to Jamison’s journey to regain his health and help others realize the seriousness of his disease and the devastation it causes.

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