Blaze Your Own Trail - Episode 6: From Serving His Country To Serving Time To Serving Others With Jay Elias

Episode Date: February 4, 2020

In this episode we discuss: Jay's early years His time in the military A major event that happened after his service What he's up to now You can get in touch with Jay here: www.evolutionartstudio.com https://www.facebook.com/metalhealthproject/ https://www.facebook.com/555Arts/ https://www.facebook.com/jay.elias.9041 www.bunkerlabs.org Installing strategic sales systems & processes will stop the constant revenue rollercoaster you might be facing which is attainable through our 6 Week Blazing Business Revenue Coaching ProgramBook a discovery call with Jordan now to learn more! Are you an entrepreneur?Join my FREE Group Coaching Community where we have live calls, Q&A and more! Our Trailblazer Ecosystem also enables you to network with other entrepreneurs and creator hub eliminates multiple subscriptions and logins creating a one stop shop to take action!Use code: FOUNDING100 for 12 months access FREE and Founding pricing for life! (While Supplies Last)Join now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we learned a little bit about Jay's experience in the military, a significant event that happened when he got out that was caused by him not really dealing with his emotions. And then the journey that he's on now actually helping and serving others. So I hope you enjoy the episode and we'll chat right after. Hey, everybody and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. I am your host, Jordan Mendoza. and I've got a very special guest today. His name is Jay Elias, and I'll go ahead and let him introduce himself. How you doing, Jordan?

Yeah, so I'm the owner of Evolution Arts Studio, and I'm so glad to have met you. Awesome, awesome. And so currently, Jay, you are in the Detroit, Michigan area. Is that correct? Yeah, man. We're like a few miles away from Canada, right on the river. Okay, so it's probably really warm there right now. Actually, it's like 45, I think, today.

So it's pretty nice out. That is nice. That is nice for Detroit in January. Actually, I took a business trip one time to Auburn Hills in January, and I remember the high was like 11. So I would definitely say that 45 on January 3rd in Detroit or northern Detroit, is definitely like the summertime there. Yeah, man, no doubt.

And so listen, we had a chance to wrap, to talk a little bit before we started the episode, and you've got such a compelling story. And the story that you have, it is unique, but, you know, in our society, we hear these types of stories a lot. And so I want you to take us on this journey. Let's first start out. So how were you as a kid? kid. Like when you were growing up, you know, how were you? Were you an active kid? Were you a laid

back kid? What type of kid were you? So I was always pretty shy. I can remember like in third grade. I had to get glasses. So I was always like that kid that got picked on, you know, definitely very nerdy. Always wanted to like read books when the other kids were playing with Lincoln. logs and stuff. So I was always trying to like learn stuff. But yeah, I wasn't like super athletic, but I wasn't, you know, I didn't shy away from sports, so like that. Okay. And did you have any sports that you had favored when you were a kid? So when my parents got divorced, my brother and I moved to Brooklyn, back to Brooklyn with my dad. and we did like, you know, peevee football.

So that was the big thing back then. Okay. Yeah, football is definitely one of those, you know, sports. It's team sports. So you start to learn some of that camaraderie and teamwork and things like that. And so, you know, you went on to high school. You had mentioned that you went to a, was it a vocational school? Yeah, aviation high school in Long Island City.

Queens. So for me, that was actually like a big thing because, you know, in Brooklyn, you got local schools. You could basically walk to school, you know. That's kind of how it was where I grew up. But I chose to go to school in Queens, and we had to take the subway, and it took me an hour, 45 minutes, one way. I had to switch trains in 42nd Street in Manhattan, which, you know, if you know anything about New York back in the 80s you know the late 70s early 80s um it wasn't like the greatest yet you know so it was it was challenging um to go to school but it was one of those things where like I made a commitment so um I made sure it happened you know okay awesome and then after school you joined the military can you tell us a little bit about that right so

So I got recruited right out of high school like a lot of kids do. Stars in your eyes and, you know, that sense of patriotism and wanting to do something for your country. And, you know, wanting to challenge yourself with boot camp and whatnot. So I joined the Marine Corps, yeah, for four years. I enlisted for four years in 1987. and then got out in 1991 right after the first Gulf War. And did you go overseas at all during your time? Yeah, so I was employed a few times.

When I first got out of boot camp, they sent me to, or when I got out of school, rather, they sent me to Okinawa, Japan, and we deployed from there to the mainland. So I was on board some naval ships then. And then when we rotated back, I deployed out of North Carolina out of Camp Lejeune, actually. And we went overseas to Liberia, it's over in Western Africa, and participated in some humanitarian operations over there. And then right about that time, that's when we were in Western Africa, and participated in some humanitarian operations over there. that time, that's when the, you know, the first desert storm kicked off. So we headed, like, over towards that direction. By the time we got over there, it was already over, though.

Okay. And, and so after four years, you, you decided to get out. So tell me a little bit about that transition back into civilian, civilian life. Yeah, so, I can remember it pretty good, actually. I got out in November, so it was like starting to get cold. It was a little tough finding work. You know, I tried to get some work at a bus company doing some, like, you know, as a diesel mechanic. And I wound up getting the flu. And they fired me because I couldn't make it to work.

So I went through through some stuff and wound up hooking up, like doing, you know, off the books type work. But I wound up, like, working for a garbage company, you know, private sanitation, and just started hanging out with the wrong types of people. You know what I mean? And, you know, I didn't realize at the time, but I was suffering pretty bad from PTSD. So kind of wound up, like, while I was doing that type of work. you know getting into a violent altercation and going to prison you know afterwards for a really long time so

and so what was that process like i mean you know you're how long were you removed from the military when this happened so let's see i got out in uh in november i think the altercation happened in like January of 1992, so a few months later, you know. I kind of thought I had everything under control, but I was just like raging inside, man. And unfortunately, you know, just the really lack of impulse control, really bad decision making, you know, the inability to process my emotions. I mean, I didn't even have the ability back then to identify my emotions, much less processed. So it only took a few months after I got out. And unfortunately, like I said, I wound up, I wound up shooting three people. So it's not something I generally like to talk

about. But it's like I told you earlier, you know, the more I talk about it, um, I want to the easier it is to talk about. It's kind of something that I know I have to let go. I know I have to forgive myself for that. You know, that's kind of where I'm at right now. And so what was that experience like besides, I'm sure, you know, lonely and a lot of time to think to yourself? But was there any positives that came out from, you know, that solitude? Of being in prison?

Yes. Man, I guess you could say a lot of positive came out of it. Just the fact that I made it through, you know, without killing myself, says a lot because a lot of people don't, you know. And then a lot of people come out and they're just never the same again. They can never get back to zero, you know, I was talking to somebody the other day. actually somebody that I met on LinkedIn, he's doing work with juvenile lifers, which is a crazy term.

I don't even know how that's an actual term, you know. But they give kids life in prison, you know, and he's working with them. And he had been locked up for a long time, you know. And we talk about just, you know, the whole process and how people get institutionalized and they get out and they just can't fit back in, you know, and he was saying, you know, I was locked up for 10 years and I didn't even feel right until I had 10 years on the other side, you know? Like, I felt like I had just gotten back to zero, you know, but this is a guy who's like, you know, he's pursuing a doctorate, criminal justice form, you know, criminology.

you know coming from him it kind of made me realize okay um you know I'm not alone in the way I think and there's other people that have been through the same shit that I've been through and and they're doing it you know what I mean they're making it happen they're making the change they're taking their experience and they're turning it into something good you're helping other people as a result of it you know so like I went to an event that they were hosting and met these people. Like, you know, I had, I was locked up for 11 years. I met this one lady and she had, he got locked up when she was a kid.

They gave her life in prison. Did like 30 something years, man, in prison. Like, can you imagine that? The whole lifetime for some folks, you know. There's some people listen to this that ain't even 30, you know? So it's like, when I saw her, she had a smile on her face, you know, and she hugged me and she looked me in the eyes and she's like, it's going to be all right. And, you know, this has come from someone that was locked up three

times as long as I was. So it kind of gave me hope, you know, and kind of inspired me to really go out and to share my story to start, you know, making a positive impact somewhere, somehow, you know. So I guess if I was going to bring anything positive out of the prison experience, I'd say that I just want to show other people that you could be, you know, whatever they're going to say about you, you know, condemned by society. You could be called, you know, a convicted felon. You could be called a violent criminal. You can be called whatever. But you could also take that and make it your past.

And it's not a part of you anymore. It's just your past, you know. It's not you. It's just something that happened to you. So that's kind of what I want to do, impart that, that little piece to other people, you know. Yeah, no, and I really applaud that approach. I applaud the fact that, you know, for one, you're even able to tell this story because, you know, couldn't have been easy to have gone through it.

And in our conversation off air, you had talked about somebody you had met that had inspired you. and you guys are now married. Can you tell me a little bit about that love story and where you met, how you met, and, you know, how she's kind of been a rock for you? Yeah. So Vanessa, the love of my life. I met her in Puerto Rico when I was in a full-blown drug addiction, but starting to come out of it. I had just found art and the creative process. of art and it pushed me to get out and about and start meeting people. So I met her and she decided to move back to Detroit with me, start something fresh and something new. And yeah, man, she's been there like pretty solid the whole time. So mad props to Vanessa.

She's pretty awesome. That's awesome. You had mentioned that you have a son, so you guys have one son? Actually, he's not with her. So when I was on the run, after I shot those people, you know, I kind of took off. And I went down to Puerto Rico. And I had a son down there with somebody else. But he's 25 now, and he's doing his own thing.

He's up here in Detroit. He's a glass blower, crazy-counted. and yeah. Okay, so he definitely got some of the strength in the art area, probably from dad, it sounds like then, huh? You know, his mom was a rock for him. She sacrificed basically her whole life to bring him up as a single mom. You know, she eventually got with somebody.

But, you know, this woman has a work ethic. like I've never seen in anybody else. So she was a really good example to him. And, you know, his stepdad, another great example. This guy actually taught me a lot about, you know, what it means to be a man. So, you know, he had great examples growing up. Just, you know, unfortunately, I was in prison. So that was definitely, and still is definitely.

you know, very difficult thing to deal with, you know, for me and him both. So, but art has definitely bridged that gap between us for sure. So that's like another great thing about art that I love, you know, that it allows a healing in relationships, not just the inner healing, you know. Absolutely. So tell us a little bit about your artwork. So what types of things? are you fabricating? What types of, are you making sculptures? What type of art are you doing? And then we'll get into, you know,

where people can actually, you know, find your artwork. So basically, the stuff that I do is just therapy for me. I'm not like this working artist. I've never been to art school. I don't have no art degrees. I don't know anything about, you know, color theory or, you know, art history or any of this stuff. I'm just a dude that likes to make stuff.

I stumbled into the foundry process through the 555 nonprofit gallery and studio in Detroit. They were hosting a bunch of workshops, Iron-Cathning workshop at the time that I met them. There was a guy there named

Casey Westbrook. and fantastic artist you know cast iron art and yeah I just got hooked

on the metal and the whole process the way you're all put together you know you got to get from A to Z so there's a lot of letters in between you know

and that's the beauty of it is that when you're doing cast iron art it's got to be collaborative. I mean, you can set it up if you're really, really, you know, intent on being by yourself, which, you know, some people are. But for me, you know, collaboration is where it's at. That's when you really tap into the creative process, especially if you open yourself up and allow yourself to adjust your frequency, to tune to the frequency of the frequency of

of the others in the group. That's when the magic happened. You know, and everybody gets together and they start brainstorming, this one comes up with that idea, and that one comes up that idea. And then, you know, as I said, in the foundry process, it takes a team to run a blast burners and get it to operating temperature. You got to think about it's 3,000. You get between 2,500 and 3,000 degrees.

It's where you're melting metal, you know. So it takes a lot of effort, a lot of preparation, you know, a lot of effort and determination to just execute an iron ore. So that's where the collaborative process is so important because everybody has a role, you know, and at the same time, everybody's looking out for everybody else because there's hot metal, you know, flying around. and it's dangerous, you know. So, yeah, man, I love the whole process. Everything about it, fantastic. Awesome, awesome. Yeah, definitely sounds like it.

And so do you think that your time spent in the military, you know, being on teams and collaborating? Do you think that that experience has helped you in the art realm with collaborate? So that's interesting that you said that because this new workshop series that I'm actually trying to put, I'm in the stages, the developmental stages right now, creating some curriculum, working with some art therapists,

exploring some different possibilities, which way you can go. But I want to do, you know, art therapy, right? Specifically, PTSD-based, you know, for veterans. And the reason why I want to do that is because the experience that I can provide in the foundry is very similar to a military campaign. And it's where people can come together and get that sense of camaraderie that, you know, that it's almost lost when you, when you leave the military unless you actively pursue it. You know, there's a lot of organizations out there right now that are doing great things. Team red, white, and blue. You know, mission continues.

Wounded Warriors got a lot of good, you know, programming, PPSD especially. But, you know, unless you actively seek camaraderie, that's like one of the things that we miss as veterans is being part of a team, having a mission, being able to. to execute and, you know, stand back and celebrate. You know what I mean? So being part of an iron pour, it kind of forward you all those things. And at the same time, you get to experience that healing process that happens when you're collaborating with others, you know, in a creative spirit. That's awesome, man. Very, very awesome. So, you know, what message, do you want to say, you know, we might have some folks that are currently in the military listening. We might have some veterans listening to this podcast.

So what's your advice for people that may be out there and, you know, you don't want them to have the same experiences that you had when you got out? So what are some things or some words of advice that you'd want to share with them? Well, first things first, right? don't let your ego get in the way, right? Because everybody thinks, I got this. I mean, they breed it into you. You're indoctrinated with that mindset in boot camp, you know, basic training. Well, especially in the Marine Corps anyway.

You know, it's adapt and overcome, right? So the thing about that is you have to be able to, you know, you have to be able to ask for help when it comes down. A lot of people, they don't realize that the effects of, you know, being in a combat situation might not show themselves right away. You might get out and think you're all right, but you're not all right, you know. My advice to everyone who's coming out of the military right now is to take advantage. of all the services that are being offered.

And then go above and beyond. If you feel like, you know, you need some help in a certain area, just start looking. There's so many great resources available for veterans today that weren't available when I was getting out. And nowadays, with the Internet, it's even easier. You know, when I got it in the military, it wasn't even cell phone, right?

So it was a totally different world, you know. Absolutely. Leverage your resources. That's my best advice to anyone getting out of normal. Keep your mental health in check. You know, ask for help when you need it and leverage your resources for sure. Awesome. And those are definitely really, really great tips.

And so, you know, how long have you had your business now? So you're the owner of the art studio. So how long is it up in and works? So basically I created the studio a few years ago, formed an LLC, you know, been doing some work here and there, some commission stuff. Mostly working with other artists. I kind of want to focus on public art, really large installations, getting ready to apply for Eastern State Penitentiary.

It's like the old prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's like a museum now. They do these giant installations there. I'm trying to get in over there with a big piece I got, conceptualizing right now. You know, a few other things going on. Awesome, awesome. And so what else is a future hold for you and Vanessa?

You know, we're working through our stuff just like any couple. And she's got her own business plans that she's trying to get off the ground. You know, she graduated from FIT in Manhattan. So she's a fashionista. She's going to try and launch a clothing line here pretty soon. Yeah, I mean, it's just us. and our dogs, you know, and we just got a house not too far from the studio. So, yeah, just like everybody else, man, trying to make it through, you know.

Absolutely, absolutely. It's awesome. Well, hey, you know, I appreciate you sharing your story. I know it's something that you've just recently started talking about. And, you know, the one thing that I I can tell you right off the bat is it is going to inspire others. You know, when you've gone through something, you've experienced something. And, I mean, you served a long sentence. Like you said, there's plenty of people that like didn't actually make it through. You know, so now you have this amazing story to be able to be able to tell that deals with real life stuff. You know, there's a lot of people that have aspirations to leaving and going into the military. And it's phenomenal to be able to serve your country. But like you said, when you get out, you just have to be prepared. So, you know, I appreciate and applaud you for sharing your story and for giving those tips for folks that might be getting out. Or maybe there's people that are in that are going to hear that information. Maybe there's other veterans that are listening and that are going to hear that. And maybe it's going to,

inspire them to tell their story or to take some type of action. Because I think you hit it right on the head that it's all about not letting your ego get the best of you. And I think as human beings, it's super easy for us to want to just be the tough guys, right, to be the tough person and to not ask for that help. Yeah, you know, there's a lot of misconceptions flying around. but you just got to own your stuff basically, you know. Just got to own it, man.

That's what it's coming down to. Being on LinkedIn has been great because it's such a supportive community, you know. And it's pretty authentic. You mean a lot of really cool people. So that's been great help too. That's awesome. So how long have you been on the platform? It's funny because when I came home from prison,

And then I opened up a profile, but I never really used it. And, you know, you're talking about like 2007 or 2008 or whenever it was a long time ago. And I just recently created a new profile and, you know, at the encouragement of the folks at Bunker Labs. Right. So a huge shout out to Bunker Labs, right, by the way, because without them, I wouldn't be talking to you for sure. but they're the ones that kind of push me to use LinkedIn to find other people who are driving in the same lane and to network and to broaden, you know, broaden your horizons. It's a great platform. I'm really glad to start engaging. Absolutely, yeah. And my story is very similar to yours. I've had Lincoln for what I think is a really long time.

and I actually didn't start getting active until April of 2019. And when I had logged onto the platform, probably similar to your experience, it was like a whole new world. It was, there was video, there was, you know, all these different people creating content and articles and all this stuff. And I started to realize very quickly how supportive the community was, you know, how awesome it was to be able to engage in conversation, you know, really contextual conversations. and then, you know, start to take those relationships offline, like jumping off line. Right, exactly, man. Like, I can't believe how many people I met already, like, in person, face-to-face that I met on LinkedIn. It's, like, amazing, you know.

Yeah, and that's really. And I'm talking about true, like, true connections, real relationships where, you know, you sit down and you break bread with somebody and, you know, it's like, man, it's amazing, dude. Absolutely. And I definitely feel the same way about the platform. So do you have a website? Do you have ways that people can reach you or is LinkedIn the best place for people to reach out to you if they have any questions?

Maybe they're in a similar spot that you or maybe they just got out of the military. You know, if people want to actually reach out to you and just pick your brain a little bit, what's the best way to reach you? All right. So like I said, I've been, you know, I've had a social media phobia for many years. So I haven't really been too active. I do have a Facebook account. I do have an Instagram account for Evolution Art Studio.

Crazy props to Tinker Labs, my buddy Andrew German, who put together a website for me for Evolution Art Studio. So it's www. EvolutionartRadio.com. Just got that up and running. Even though you're going to go there and the content needs to be tweaked a little because we just basically vomited it out just to get something up and running.

But it should give you somewhat of an idea what I'm up to. And you could always go to 555.5. with 555-A-R-T-S-D-O-R-G. And that's the nonprofit that I'm currently part of. And that gives you more of an overall view of our mission and our progress. You know, and they also have a Facebook page 555. Awesome.

Well, I'll definitely make sure that, you know, after the call, we'll get all those your social links and we'll put them in the show. notes, put your website in there, so that way, if people want to, want to reach out to you, you never know how many people that you're going to impact because of this conversation. And again, I want to just say kudos to you for being open, being willing to share. And I think there's big things that are going to be happening in the world of Jay Elias coming up. You know, I don't care if it's big.

I just want it to be good. So if I could just help one person, right, just one, then it's a good thing. And mission accomplished, brother. You did a great job, Jordan. Thank you. Hey, no problem. Hey, I really appreciate your time. And I hope to talk to you here soon.

Amen, bro. What a powerful story of change and perseverance and not giving up. You know, I know there's a lot of people out there that are dealing with PTSD that may were in the military or maybe it was from relationships. So, you know, if you're dealing with these things, like Jay said, the best thing is is to ask for help. There are plenty of organizations out there, like Bunker Labs, which I'll definitely put in the show notes, that can help people out that are dealing with certain traumas.

So I hope you enjoyed the episode. It was super enlightening for me to hear this story. And I appreciated him being so transparent. I cannot wait to share the next episode with you. Thank you.