JC La Verde, also known as JC Defeats, is a remarkable individual with a diverse background and a passion for helping others overcome adversity.
Born in Bogota, Colombia, but raised in Tampa, Florida, since the age of eight, JC has dedicated nearly 19 years to emergency medicine.
JC’s journey began as a Special Warfare Veteran PJ for the United States Air Force, where he honed his skills in the most challenging and high-pressure situations. He then transitioned to becoming a firefighter paramedic for Oldsmar, further expanding his expertise in emergency response.
Additionally, JC has worked as a first responder for Crisis Centers, gaining invaluable experience and insights into the human condition.
Despite facing his own traumatic experience, JC’s resilience and determination led him to establish his own empathetic wellness company.
This venture was born shortly after JC survived a brutal alligator attack that left him with severe injuries, including a shattered temporal bone, a separated jaw, and fractures in his skull. Even as he breathed through a tube in his neck, JC began putting his thoughts and plans onto paper, ultimately writing his first book on how individuals can overcome their own “alligator stories”.
JC’s company, Defeat X Adventure Co., is a testament to his unwavering spirit and commitment to helping others. The company emphasizes a team-oriented approach and supports its nonprofit initiative, Nurturing Resilience.
Through his work, JC collaborates with first responders, individuals on the fatherhood spectrum, and the disabled community, providing them with support, guidance, and tools to navigate their own challenges.
One of JC’s notable contributions is the development of his Bulletproof Protocols (BPC), which have garnered recognition for their profound impact on the human psyche. These protocols emphasize the importance of sharing perspectives and provide a visceral understanding of the human experience.
JC firmly believes that everyone has their own “alligator story,” and through his empathetic wellness company, he strives to empower individuals to overcome their personal obstacles and emerge stronger than ever before.
Deep Dive
Finding his way through diversity and challenges has been a part of JC’s entire life. As an immigrant to the States at the tender age of eight, thrust into public schools without any grasp on the English language, JC faced not only challenges but a few schoolyard fists as well.
At home, JC had a strong mother, whom he calls “a badass,” who helped keep him focused and determined, no matter the obstacle. His mom worked very hard to support the family, including JC’s younger brother, and by the age of 15, JC knew he had to contribute financially to the family.
His first job was at Publix, but his first start at entrepreneurship was a hot dog stand he built by himself. His business mind, albeit young, decided to set up his hot dog stand on the back nine of a local golf course, where he became very successful.
JC had aspirations other than hot dogs, so at the age of 18, he began working for an ambulance company and acquired his EMT license. He then attended fire school to become a firefighter. The ambulance company, Transcare, was attached to the local Crisis Center, which exposed JC to many who were not necessarily in physical danger but mental danger.
JC’s exposure to people’s mental health issues would impact him throughout his life.
In the early 2000s, getting into a fire company was hard. While waiting for a shot at the firehouse and to earn more income, JC acquired his mortgage broker’s license, but he didn’t have a passion for the field.
Right Place at the Right Time
One day at a recertification class, JC overheard some guys talking about cool military positions —something about rescue swimmers and PJ Para (Pararescue Specialist, United States Air Force).
Intrigued, he asked more about it. “Immediately, something just clicked in my heart, and I knew that this is what I’m going to do,” JC says.
Fast Forward
To become a Pararescue Specialist, you must complete a two-year program.
Initially, 300 to 600 people may start the program, with a rare, precious few who complete it. In JC’s class, there were only five, and he was one of them.
Pararescue has one of the highest attrition rates in the military, sometimes more than the Navy Seals.
Says JC, “This is when I discovered how attrition worked with people and their state of mind, how deep doubt can seep in.
“I think many of those who left the program simply did not want to drown,” he goes on, “You had to go out every single day to potentially die. You wouldn’t make it in the program if you couldn’t accept that.”
For JC, it was clearly a mental battle to stay in the program, not necessarily a physical one. JC didn’t escape the desire to quit. At least two times, he almost threw in the towel.
“Sometimes you are given impossible tasks. You feel like quitting because what they are asking you to do is impossible,” says JC, “However, rather than completing an impossible task, the Air Force is looking for three things in your actions and responses: honesty, integrity, and effort.”
Lessons
If you believe in fate, JC’s time as a PJ was necessary to move him along his life path.
“There came a time when I knew it was time for me to leave the military,” JC says. “Even though I was working at the highest level, I was still putting band-aids on bullet holes. I was just one person treating one guy on a particular day. It was fulfilling, but I dreamt of doing my own thing and making an even greater impact.”
JC claims he did not have any “revelation” at this time, he just recognized the waning of his passion for the work, describing it as “chasing mountains where somehow every mountain he went to felt empty.”
He explains, “It feels rather empty when I’m up there unless I would’ve brought somebody else with me.”
The Journey
After leaving the military, JC, having already earned all the required certifications, joined the fire service to maintain a sense of stability for his wife, knowing all the while that it was temporary.
“I didn’t know in my mind, but in my heart. I just had a feeling.”
And then…
The Alligator
JC’s vision was coming true as he built his business, Defeat X Adventure . Healing through adventure where the “X” stands for that struggle in all our lives we hope to conquer.
On this particular day, JC was running through an upcoming event series called the C-5 Rock and the Roller C-5, named because they are zone five. The event was triathlon-based, and participants would perform a series of obstacles, including swimming and biking.
The swimming portion had him in Lake Thonotosassa, where he knew there was a potential for alligators, as with any body of water in Florida, but in his experience, they were small and more likely to swim away from a person, not like the 12-foot “dinosaur” he met that day.
JC had hired a drone operator to follow along the course as part of his marketing for the event. The drone witnessed and recorded the entire attack—what we see happen in a matter of seconds on video breaks down to a level of meaning we can only fully understand through JC and his recollection.
“The Lord speaks to people in many ways,” JC says. “I am careful to say I heard him that day because it wasn’t an audible thing. He spoke to my heart.
“With my hand, I felt scales and teeth, and then I knew where I was: in its mouth. The alligator attacked in the middle of my swim stroke, so one hand landed on the bottom jaw while the other hand landed on the top. This all happened so quickly, but it was much longer in my memory. I had the attributes to understand.
“I remember thinking, dang, this tooth is really big and really sharp. My hands are going to be screwed. It was then I ‘heard’ or ‘felt’ the words ‘Open its mouth.’ My heart literally heard, ‘Open its mouth and swim to the left. You’re going to be okay.’
“My training allowed me to have muscle memory, but I still needed direction. The muscle memory needed to be there, but the muscle memory came from knowing how to swim. When given directions, I trained to follow without questioning because questioning wastes time.
“When God spoke to me, I listened and did not hesitate. The quick turn of the alligator’s head put it into a state of tonic immobility, which caused the alligator to release its mouth.
“I would love to say that I was a complete badass and turned a thousand-pound animal with my own strength, but I was just part of a miracle.”
If you believe everything happens for a reason, then you have to ask what the hell getting almost eaten by a 12-foot alligator meant to prove or assist JC on his journey. For JC, it is very clear.
“It had to be this way for me specifically. An event like this was the only kind that would stop me. If it were a little car crash or a building that caught on fire, it would not have had the impact this had on my life, my psyche, and my journey.”
As JC began writing his story, he says, “I realized there was no way I would be spending this much time in scripture and writing if I had not literally had a piece of my skull missing.”—Fate.
Sometimes, to help people, you have to be placed in similar situations. You have to suffer so that you can share the way through. It is a big ask from the Almighty but a necessary one.
JC had to deal with situations he would never have faced otherwise. A dangerous infection in the weeks following the attack kept JC in his home, attached to IV Antibiotics. If he chose to go outside, he had to wear a helmet, considering part of his skull was missing. Thus, JC wasn’t going outside very much.
This was a big adjustment for the same man with the word ‘Adventure’ in his company name.
“Through my experience, I learned the extent of someone going through anxiety,” says JC. “I went through episodes of anxiety that were debilitating. Before, when speaking to mental health patients, I could only console them. But after my attack, I could truly empathize.
“I understand now that an anxiety attack is an insane place to be where you quite literally have zero power. I realized that sometimes when you listen to professionals, you hear what they say and recognize they are trying to be helpful, but you are thinking, Would you please just shut up? It’s like everything coming out of their mouth is just making things worse.
“I realized I had done that to my patients, too. Imagine someone having a panic attack and being told, ‘Just breathe, just breathe.’ You are telling someone to breathe who doesn’t know how to breathe at the moment.”
Helping Others Through Their Alligator Stories
Those who hire Defeat X Adventure find breathwork to be a foundational element of his coaching.
“I took a deep dive into breathing, like what it is on a spiritual, mental, and physical level. From there, I connected what I learned with athletics. What can be found prominently on the Defeat X website is the statement: “If Life is an Adventure. I Can Be Your Adventure Coach. Let’s Add to Your Story.”
For those ready to harness their inner hero, Defeat X Adventure may be the key. Learn more at www.joindefeatx.com.
To hear more about the ‘Florida Man Survives After Being Bitten in the Head by an Alligator’ watch the video and read JC’s short story at www.joindefeatx.com/short-story-alligator/
_______________________
EDITOR’S NOTE: #TeamFireWatch welcomes JC Defeats as a contributing writer in FireWatch Magazine. Watch for Jaws of Life, JC’s stories, and insights within the pages of FireWatch Magazine.