Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonovan Smith.
Hi Jonovan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, I come from humble beginnings, I was born in Willingboro, New Jersey, and then for a while lived in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. My father “Fernando Marrero” was a man who raised me tough. Along with the love and support of my mother “Candiss White”, I got a sense of love, strength, and pride from the family. In 2004 the family flew from Philadelphia to California. Growing up my father raised my brother with discipline and perspective to be smart and understand the world around us. Unfortunately for my father me and my brother were also very active kids. A lot of nice things were lost between me and my brother constant fighting as young boys do. Watching our father chase his dreams in mixed martial arts, he allowed us to try out wrestling, jujitsu, and various other grappling arts. I fell in love with the way of the warrior because the desire to become good was my one and only goal. The first coach I was introduced to for the art of jujitsu was Pat King, a black belt underneath Royce Gracie. I was six years old at the time. Pat King is a man who is truly dedicated to art, and he often taught me lessons along the way. Doing this at a young age I definitely woke up a lot earlier than my peers around me. I learned the virtue of patience, even though I was quite the hot-blooded impatient jokester. I was a sponge of lessons, taught to use my knowledge only to defend and never to harm unless I had to. Soon I was introduced to Catch Wrestling in the school known as “Team Freedom” under the teaching lineage of Ahmad Reese. Coach Ahmad Reese left a big impact on my spirit from now to then. He made sure we weren’t alone in practice or in our lives. Team freedom moved to the beat of one. To Coach Reese, one young warrior was worth the whole team, and all of us had worth that went beyond money or time. I learned the value of being a brother to the people around me.
More importantly, I learned the truth of being a young black child. As young kids, we were made to read about the history of America’s leaders that gave us young black kids the freedoms we have today. The more I learned every day. Unfortunately, I stopped grappling for a while, but I picked it up again in high school. I applied myself like no other and worked hard. With this, I got better and continued to grow. I had a lot of ups and downs during my journey in high school, but I believe that I could do the things that I set out to do. More importantly, my father believe that I could do them. This continued to show itself on and off the mat. I worked hard to train, and keep God and school before my sports aspirations. My father made it a point to teach me how important it was to keep God first. Without God and Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior I wouldn’t be where I am today, nor do I think my father would be where he is today. I was a worthy opponent for all to face, but I had more than my own strength fighting for me. I’ve had a lot of coaches over the years to teach me the perspectives and ideals from which they came, and respectfully it put me together as an athlete and man. With all of the Knowledge and love, I became a Fargo Freestyle national champion in my final year of high school, along with a six-time state champion between the titles of Freestyle, Folkstyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Soon I became a CCCAA State champion, Santa Marta games beach wrestling runner-up, and currently hold the Senior and Under 23, 125-kilo heavyweight spots respectively. I am the soon-to-be Olympic and world champion for Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, a feat completed by nobody.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, no matter the year of my life there will always be something for me to face. My family was never the richest we were just the toughest, my father worked tirelessly. Upon going to college I learned of the racial injustice that can live in the world to this day, even suffering at the hands of these fallacies. In my first college and my second college, I faced and saw racism firsthand. Presbyterian College in South Carolina “home of the blue hose” The Fraternity of Pi Kappa would put up racially motivated paintings on the walls of white men holding down black men. At times at the school, they would shout chants “123 Robert E. Lee, 321 the south should have won. Even the RD at the college threatened me and said never to talk with his sister again because “he sleeps with a baseball bat next to his bed”. I only ever tried to be friendly with anyone I came into contact with. Telling my father and coach that a report was made for these problems that kept happening but the best that could be done was for me to be moved to a different building. No actions were ever taken against the racist behavior at the school. I am ashamed to say it got to me, I even became depressed.
So I decided to leave and even go to a completely different state, I was accused of bringing a gun into the school. I had Been gone for weeks out of the state, all of which hurt me in a way non could imagine. All I ever tried to do in life was the right thing and now I’m back home feeling like a failure. The second university of Dubuque kicked me out in the middle of the pandemic because I was accused of sexual harassment on false claims. All of which were proven to be false, yet even upon finding out these claims were false I was still ejected from the school. This was during the international pandemic also known as COVID-19. I was seen as a threat for not doing anything. Upon leaving I was invited to the OTC, the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Upon having a great relationship with the coaching and staff, my heart and reputation were dragged through the mud once again by the Former Greco us Olympic team coach at the time, Mat Lindland.
One of my big reasons for leaving Presbyterian College was because the head coach Mark Cody did not try to help the racial situation and my regards. So I decided to leave peacefully and quietly. The coach despite this told me I would never find another college and would be forced to join the army and wrestle. So upon getting invited to one of the toughest and most respected training facilities of all time, he called Mr. Lindland to speak poorly of my name as an athlete, and state that I was investigated for the false claims in a title nine case I won. Which ruined my chance to join the OTC for good. When the head freestyle coach Kevin Jackson told me and my father, we were devastated. I’ve had two horrible experiences at college, and I just lost a big opportunity to train at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs. They drove me to a hard place after that, I didn’t know whether this dream was for me if it was all in my head and if all the hard work I put in was for nothing. So now it’s 2022, and I’m searching for a new college. At first, I had a great deal of fear afraid and untrusting of any offers that were put on my table. Then Cerritos college with head coach Donnie Garriott convinced me that they had a great environment for learning and training. I was afraid but I knew I could not continue to be out of college because I had two bad experiences. So I gave it a shot got amazing grades and became the CCCAA champion. With the help of my family, teammates, and coaching staff at Cerritos college.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Well, right now I am a college student-athlete. I work very hard in my academics trying to get my degree in business administration. As I’m working on that, I am also currently a Senior Team member for team Puerto Rico’s wrestling team. I’m getting ready for the upcoming 2024 Olympics, where I planned to represent the team, in Puerto Rico. I get to be around some of the wrestling greats of Puerto Rico while solidifying myself as wrestling great for the time to come. Honestly what I’m most proud of is that I have the ability to keep on doing what I’m doing now. I have the ability unlike all that have tried the sport to keep on going at it for my dreams. I had a dream a long time ago when I stepped into the practice room for the first time.
Nothing more will stop me from accomplishing what I was born to do. The only thing that sets me apart from everyone else is my relationship with God. Jesus has allowed me to be here today, to talk with all of you. I pray and hope that all of you will read the gospel, to learn the message of Christ. I have been saved and I would not be who I say I am without him. But I have the people in my life to thank for where I am now, and I refuse to fail them. One day you’re going to see this and you’re gonna see exactly who Jonovan Darius said he was. Keep your eyes on me, because I promise I’m gonna give you all a great show before the curtain call.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
You can work with me by emailing me at [email protected], sending me a message on @pbajr via Instagram, or Jonovan Smith via Facebook, or texting or calling me at 323-942-6206.
I will always respond with a big smile on my face and I hope you do as well!!!!!!! Thank you for the love and for reading.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/pbajr?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonovan.smith.14?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jonovansmith9424
- Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm10266228/?fbclid=PAAaY2HTL34ytKr9jw1I-PjKddqTcJI9PRlW8eXgirBLHRbEdwHlP8tPeq4MI
Image Credits
John Sachs and Tec Fall Choice Skinner
