My name is Lio, but everyone calls me Jasse. I am a New York resident, but a Jersey boy at heart. I’m a gamer, a personal banker for a private investment bank and a lover of Haribo gummy bears. Growing up in a poor urban area, fitness is the last thing on anyone’s mind. I was always a chubby kid and at one point my weight became a factor for some respiratory issues that I was experiencing. Still, fitness was the last thing on my mind. I was usually happy to get any kind of meal, whether that was Spam or ramen noodles. It wasn’t even until I was 11 that I viewed myself as overweight. I was just a kid trying to get through life.

When I turned 13 things changed. As a teenager I credit my father for my introduction into fitness. He got me involved in sports, mainly football. With his motivation and the help of puberty I lost a whopping 47 pounds in 6 months. My fitness journey until recently was always off and on. Gaining 20 pounds here and losing 15 pounds there. Hovering around 170 pounds most of the time. This was mostly attributed to my lifestyle. College was mostly classes and working a part time job to pay for school. Then after graduating college I started working in finance and a lot of my time was spent working long hours and I didn’t always have time to work out when I would like. Moreover, my favorite past time is professional gaming and obviously that involves a lot of sitting around as well. Nonetheless when I do have the opportunity to hit the gym or go for a run, I give it 300%. Still, I was noticeably pudgy.

In recent months ever since my move to New York about a year ago, I went through somewhat of a mid-life crisis. I was finally realizing that I’m thirty years old and still haven’t achieved all the goals that I would have liked to achieve by this age. I have yet to visit Japan. I would like to experience Chuckie cheese for the first time, and I’ve never really had the body that I wanted. So, I began prioritize my goals and the first one I decided to tackle was fitness journey. I no longer want to sit around feeling sorry for myself so I made the proactive choice in being instrumental in changing my eating habits and to become more active.

I would like to be an inspiration for all those guys and gals sitting at home watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones or Master chef who feel like they will never be able to achieve their fitness goals or the body they want. I am living proof that is very much possible. All you need is just a support system and a little dedication. Please learn from me, and don’t wait until you have a mid-life crisis or until the season finale of your favorite show to realize your worth. You can be the change. It starts with you!!!

Working with Mr. John from BBpics.com was both a privilege and a learning experience. He always has a vision with every shot and brings more to the table than a well-executed selfie can ever provide. From expansive backdrops to ambitious camera angles you won’t be disappointed. He also provides great props for the shoots. I would describe John's personality as a mix between Danny DeVito's humor and Woody Allen's Sarcasm with a dash of James Woods' sincerity.

Moreover I'd like to place an emphasis on his professionalism. On set he was very punctual and organized. I never pondered "what's next?". He kept me engaged in how each shot should be executed and also allowed me to provide input into how I wanted to be photographed. Fitness photography is still very new to me so having a well-seasoned photographer walk me through the poses and maintain his patience with not only me but also the elements (sun, bugs, etc.) made it a comforting experience. I would recommend anyone who’s new to fitness photography to work with Mr. John from BBpics.com.