Meet J.D. Reager

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful J.D. Reager. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with J.D. below.

J.D. , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
The short answer: from within. HA!

There are certainly days where I don’t feel particularly confident as an artist or just in life – no one is supposed to feel confident all the time. But the secret, if there is one, is to get comfortable enough with yourself at your best and worst to just keep going after it – whatever it is.

Self-esteem is a whole other ball of wax. It has taken me years of therapy to dig out of the self-loathing that was instilled in me by father, religion, and an increasingly shallow culture. There are no easy answers here: try not to compare, and love yourself enough to forgive yourself when you fuck things up.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
First and foremost, I am a musician. My new album Where Wasn’t I? was released in October 2022 on vinyl and in digital formats on Back to the Light Records. My next show in Memphis will be August 26 at Shangri-La Records – BE THERE!

I am the founder of Back to the Light – which is a podcast that I host, a podcast network, and a record label. The Back to the Light podcast has over 120 episodes available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. that deal with creativity and mental health. The network includes other fine podcasts that I produce and/or distribute, including Champions of the Lost Causes, which focuses on nonprofit/cause-based work, and Duddy’s ur Buddy!, which is short-form inspiration. The label, in addition to releasing my new record, has put out music by Jeremy Scott, Loose Opinions, Two Way Radio, Arthhur, Joshua C. Travis and The Subteens.

I am also a content creator for Memphis Wrestling, which I humbly submit is the best professional wrestling show in town.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Patience I have, at times, driven myself crazy with anxiety waiting for any and every little thing: a reply to an email, a new mix of a song, my career advancement in general. . . NOTHING ever happens fast enough. Over time, I am learning to exist in the unease of the unknown/undelivered.

2. Forgiveness
Things will go wrong. You will make mistakes – you have to make them to get good at anything – and you will fail.
Forgive yourself and continue living.

3. Physical health is important
I failed to acknowledge this for many years. I’m not talking about being ripped or a size 2 – I am clearly neither of those things, I’m talking about basic maintenance and a little common sense. . . maybe don’t drink a pint or more of liquor in a day or eat fried spaghetti for dinner every night. Especially as I get older, I realize that flexibility and movement are SO IMPORTANT. So I do DDP Yoga and take walks – I don’t always enjoy doing it, but I always enjoy feeling good about myself afterwards. Mental health and physical health are more closely tied than many people think.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
I have to mention two people. First, my therapist – though I have a feeling she would deflect this and say that I actually made all the positive changes in my life happen for myself. But, her honesty and encouragement have been essential to my personal and professional comeback story – and for that I will always be grateful. I know that therapy itself isn’t for everyone, and certainly not every therapist is a great one – but, if/when you find the right fit, it can be a deeply rewarding process.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention my partner/wife – we are always learning from each other, supporting each other, forgiving each other. It’s what you do when you love someone.
Thanks, honey.

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