Jason was born in the sixties, under the sign of Gemini, and raised in beautiful, sunny Santa Barbara, California. His favorite color is purple.
As a very young child, Jason's favorite book was Dr. Seuss' gem, My Book About Me. The actual writing credit for the book read, "written by Dr. Seuss and his friend, _(put your name here)_." Jason interviewed many various neighbors and relatives, got autographs from his mailman, someone with a mustache and someone tall. Jason scrupulously inventoried his home and possessions when Dr. Seuss gave him "My house has ____ forks and ____ light bulbs." On the page that began, "When I grow up I want to be..." Jason wrote "an Actor."
By the age of ten, Jason was in the habit of waking up early before school to watch the syndicated Jack LaLanne show. Jack LaLanne was one of JAGs earliest and strongest influences outside his family and set him on the path of being focused on always maintaining and improving optimum health and physical fitness. As a youth he played tennis, racquetball, soccer, baseball, swimming and wrestled for his school, Dos Pueblos. During his school years, being raised by ex Marine, conservative Republican father and Reverend's-daughter mother, Jason was convinced to give up that silly dream of being an actor and that dental school was the smart thing to do. Jason charmed and breezed his way through school, graduated with honors and a 3.92 GPA, and had decided not to go the medical route, but was accepted to UCSB with a declared major in Business Economics. Jason later followed in his father's footsteps and opened a Ventura branch office of the family business, Jerry Griffin Insurance.
When in his 20's, JAG made his first step toward reclaiming his own true passions. He had already made a small fortune in the high-risk auto insurance business and lost it on bad real estate investments. For a fresh start, he decided he wanted to move somewhere where it actually rained sometimes. Inspired by the beauty of the television show Twin Peaks, filmed in the Seattle suburb of Fall City, Jason moved to Seattle intending to leave the business world and get a more physical career; like being a UPS man or getting involved in the National Park system as a Park Ranger. But instead, seeing a want ad in the paper lead him to discover a rewarding career as a personal trainer and teaching aerobics. Being in front of the aerobics classes and meeting other aerobics instructors, lead to another discovery; a passion for dancing. Jason began studying dance; Ballet, Jazz and finally, Modern. Jason was now a personal trainer/Modern dancer.
Jason was introduced to the practice of massage through dancing and fell in love with the practice. He graduated from massage school at the age of thirty and, at about the same time, discovered Nia. Meeting and studying with Nia co creators, Debbie and Carlos Rosas, sent his life in another new direction. The dancing world proved frustrating to JAG, who was into the artistic expression and the performance aspects, but not into the lifestyle, which included a lot of smoking, eating disorders, physical exhaustion, pain and sacrifice. Thanks to Nia, Jason was able to combine his two passions (the creative expression and the health and fitness) into the best of both worlds. As Jason puts it, "I'm so happy to have this workout technique that does such a thorough job at not only conditioning the body and nurturing its own capacity to heal itself, but is so creative, passionate and expressive."
The thing that Nia didn't provide, though, was the thrill of the performance. Despite how it may seem, being a teacher in front of a group fitness class didn't satisfy the performing bug. Teaching created a different atmosphere. But, thanks to a casual comment from a student of his, ("You should be an actor") Jason started studying acting with Earl Kelly at the Directors Studio in Seattle. The program entailed bringing real casting notices into class, and working with Mr. Kelly directly on every aspect of being an actor: deciding which parts were right for you, writing the submission letter, choosing a monologue, handling the audition, the call back, and, when it eventually happened, the homework required of an actor preparing to play a part in a play. He taught not only the acting aspect of the work, but the function of an actor within the bigger picture of a show and the business itself. It was a brilliant program for a late-blooming actor to jump start a career. Jason, now redefined as a Nia teacher/actor was soon auditioning and performing and has been consistently "on the boards" ever since.
In the year 2000, once Jason realized Y2K wasn't going to destroy the planet, he made the inevitable move from Seattle to New York City where he could be a small fish in one of the biggest acting ponds there is. Now firmly established in NYC, he is a member of Emerging Artists Theater, TOSOS2, and Wings Theater. He belongs to Actors Equity, AFTRA and SAG. He spends his days mostly teaching Nia or as a commercial print model and evenings as an actor. Jason teaches Nia in locations throughout Manhattan (click here for schedule) and can almost always be seen either on stage, TV commercials or in magazines, billboards or brochures as a smiling doctor or loving father. (Click here for latest appearance)
Jason strongly believes that if you do what you love, and treat everyone with respect, that everything else will take care of itself.