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On Friday, September 13, 2024, I met Charlie Kirk for the first time.
He was Tucker Carlson’s guest for a sold out show at the INTRUST Bank Arena.
An arena full of excited fans had flooded in from surrounding states to be up close and personal with someone they admired.
I admit it: I had never heard of Charlie Kirk before shaking his hand. I can also confirm Charlie Kirk had never heard of me, nor had he been introduced to Cardio Miracle prior to this moment, either.
If you’re like many across the world, you’re just learning about who Charlie Kirk was and the impact he had on an entire generation.
He was born in 1993, when I was already in high school, and he did more for mankind by the time he was in middle school than I could do in many lifetimes.
He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, creating one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, and conservative youth movements in American history. His views were shared and spread through books, his podcast, and on campuses nationwide.
He became famous for his college tours, where he would invite students to come up, bring him questions, concerns, and debate regarding their stance on issues of political and cultural significance. He was matter of fact in his response, clearly knowing the US Constitution, the Bible, and history in general, with an uncanny ability to relate its effects on the current culture and society.
There have been no youth-aged voices that have cut through the cultural divide like Charlie Kirk. As he rose to prominence, his fame grew, and the vitriol for him to be canceled and held accountable continued to grow, which only fueled the fire of his mission and passion: to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, preach Family Values, return people to Churches, and clarify foundational principles the United States was originally meant to uphold.
Perhaps what resonated with me the most when I heard him was not only his ability to speak clearly and without any confusion to his argument, but to reason with the absurdist narrative that has grown so acceptable in our society’s tolerance for the ridiculous. As someone who pridefully balanced both sides of the coin for decades, I felt it enlightening to listen to his explanations of issues I had been confused by while working so hard to accept the leanings of my peers and relatives that I knew I didn’t agree with, but couldn’t reasonably argue with, for fear of their cancellation of my career and our relationship. Charlie stood firm in his beliefs, never shied away, and said what we all wanted to be able to say in a compelling and spirit-focused way.
One of his quotes truly stood out to me:
“The truth is that while those on the left - particularly the far left - claim to be tolerant and welcoming of diversity, in reality many are quite intolerant of anyone not embracing their radical views.” - Charlie Kirk
That very quote completely aligned with my feelings and interactions with nearly everyone I had worked so hard to align with for so many years on the left, as a listening and welcoming ear, while they bashed anyone who didn’t agree with their philosophy. If I were to argue, I would be shunned, if I were to push back, I wasn’t one of them and not welcome to even speak. This was true in person but especially online, where having an opposing view to the left would mean certain loss of work, friendship, and opportunity in general, as if I donned a scarlet letter for the world to see.
Charlie had no fear of speaking and sharing the truth, asking why anyone was enforcing theirs upon the world, and unaccepting of those with opposing views. He called them out, and in turn they let him have it, crushing his name in every corner of the web.
Charlie very often allowed the person arguing their own point to be humiliated as they stated their stance, definition, or reasoning, not due to what he said to them, but purely posing questions to ask for their explanation and meaning - to which few could offer any answer outside of the rhetoric they had been brainwashed with.
For those who claimed Charlie was controlled by a certain narrative, his mind was clear, focused, and pointed heavenward in an effort to spread the truth of Christ’s teachings and integrate into a society that had turned to accept all that is evil, confusing, and misaligned with gospel teachings and become common as a degenerative society’s downfall.
So you can imagine, that night I first met Charlie Kirk, having none of this backstory, how I was surprised to learn what a controversial figure he was in the eyes of a majority of my peers in the entertainment and speaking industry, and that opening for him could possibly cost me future opportunity, even if it was a big deal for me to be in an arena with him.
In Wichita, I was the show’s opening act.
No introduction, taking the stage to a room full of patriots, right and left attending, some protesting, most just thrilled to see two of their heroes take the stage later in the night.
Jason Hewlett (me!), a stranger and unknown entertainer, was not a welcome sight to a crowd ready to cheer on Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, whom they had raced into the arena to see.
It took some winning the crowd over, as I launched into song and gave it my all, eventually people began clapping along as I warmed up the crowd.
This was my Dad’s dream, to be a part of this tour, have his son open for it, as I had built a career of performing for corporate events and made a very healthy living. I didn’t know these men and also knew I was in danger of having people find out I was there. Candidly, I thought Tucker Carlson was a talk show host on CNN. I was truly out of the political space, and I had never heard of Charlie.
That night, after opening the show, I sat and listened to Tucker interview Charlie. I remember thinking, “How can one person know so much and be so young? How can he integrate the Constitution and what our Founding Fathers believed, with Biblical references, quoting without even stammering, and making it relevant to today’s listener?”
That was Charlie Kirk.
He was about family, faith, freedom, country, all of the things I believe in, too.
As I sat there, I looked him up online and was stunned to realize he had such a massive following and I knew nothing about him.
It was at that moment that I began to follow Charlie Kirk as well.
It was also that weekend when I posted that I was doing a tour with Tucker Carlson and my entire world seemed to fall apart. Suddenly all of my friends on the left, with whom I had carefully and generously listened to their rhetoric for decades without arguing any point, began to tell me what terrible people Tucker and Charlie were. Having been on the side of “independent” for so long, with friends on the right and the left, what I was being told was quite confusing.
As I began to research what was being shoved my way, the hate and anger of both family and friends on the liberal side, I had to reconcile my own opinions, beliefs, and what I stood for, as the attacks became stronger on my character, my work, and in my industry as a very popular keynote speaker and entertainer for high-end corporate events.
From stop to stop on the Tucker Carlson Tour, as his guests told their stories, people like JD Vance, RFK Jr, and Donald Trump, Jr., I began to read deeper, search the scriptures, ponder, pray, and truly come to terms with what I believed, while being vilified by my peers.
As I looked at my internet searches I realized my news sources had only come from CNN, Yahoo News, occasional clips from The View, and Late Night Talk Shows. That’s when I subscribed to The Blaze, Daily Wire, TCN, and Megyn Kelly. A new angle and incredible enlightening filled my path. I had already enjoyed Dr. Jordan Peterson’s work, now I was finding a whole new viewpoint that our entire family embraced despite family and friends telling us we were losing our minds.
Charlie Kirk, with viral social media clips on college campuses nationwide, was the voice I listened to and resonated with the most. I had never seen a person who could wrap it all into one argument that made sense logically, peacefully, spiritually, and with absolute genius and zero hate.
All I was getting from the left was loud hate. With the exception of a few peers, who were hanging on for dear life that I was still a good person, all others quickly called for my cancellation. I am thankful for those few friends who did hang with me, because they know me so intimately from years of being real friends.
All I was getting from the right was quiet cheering and gratitude in private messages. They weren’t allowed to say anything or they would be canceled, lose their job, offend their family, and I was one of the only people they knew who was publicly saying something. Very few said anything publicly, and those who did were vilified as well.
The louder the left got, the more they forced me away, as I considered what they were telling me to believe and how wrong I was.
The more they pushed me the more I leaned into Charlie’s words.
I asked my Dad for a priesthood blessing in a hotel room on the tour as I watched my name slandered across social media, in Rolling Stone magazine, the Washington Post, and had ethics violations sent to the National Speakers Association on my behalf to be removed from the Speakers Hall of Fame for being on this tour.
My father’s blessing was the Lord’s intentions and guided my path through his inspired words. Along with comforting and affirming conversations with my Bonus Mom, Janet, everything came together for me to stand for the same things Charlie Kirk was talking about.
By the end of the Tucker Carlson Tour, having been on the road with him, learning from him and his many guests, I realized this was the team for me. I was fully aligned with the conservative movement and felt it important to stand for that.
On October 31, 2024, I was honored to be invited to open for President-elect Donald Trump as the final show on the Tucker Carlson Tour. I was told to perform for 15 minutes, but was warned it might have to be elongated in real time due to Trump’s pension for being late to live events.
While on stage, the clock continued to add time, as I navigated winging my performance for 47 minutes, ironically, the same number Trump would be re-elected as President less than a week later.
The crowd loved it, online the vitriol was loud, as keyboard warriors blasted me for doing a show that was too long, without realizing I was killing time for Trump to arrive by entertaining an excited crowd of 20,000 in the Desert Diamond Arena near Phoenix, AZ.
Off to my left, as I continued looking backstage to see when I should wrap it up, I could see Charlie Kirk sitting next to Tucker Carlson, RFK, all smiling and clapping for me, and other significant patriots looking to make a difference in American history. I marveled at the thought that it was my opportunity to entertain this crowd, a no name entertainer, before the big names would grace the stage, and Donald Trump would go on more than 2 hours later.
During the set I snuck in a plug for Cardio Miracle, as I had at every stop on the month long tour, as this was my “payment” for donating over a month on the road in performances and hoping to spread the good word of our health product that literally has saved over a million lives through nitric oxide therapy. I could see my Dad in the audience with tears in his eyes, my wife proud of her sweaty husband who had nearly died the night before from food poisoning (story for another day) and was up there killing it for an audience who had no idea who I was.
As I ended my set, shaking hands with the first speaker, Nicole Shanahan, with Charlie Kirk up next, he embraced me with a monster hug and shouted, “You are one of the best performers I’ve ever seen! We have to do more together, we’ll be in touch!”
I felt like I had been embraced by a true Captain of God. A man much greater than me, who approved of my efforts, whom I had listened to and followed for just over a month, and had completely become a disciple of his work, even as he was 16 years my junior.
On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated in front of thousands in Orem, UT at Utah Valley University. He had been threatened for years regarding his appearances wherever he went, but this time it really happened.
The world changed that day. We will never be the same. A light was blatantly snuffed out in a moment of tragic consequence that cannot be replaced.
Charlie was a category of one. One of one. No one can fill his shoes.
The loss of Charlie Kirk is a loss to the world. The fact that an innocent man was taken is bad enough, yet to make matters just feel worse, it happened 25 minutes from my house, where my friends were seated with their families to see something so horrific in real life. Utah Valley is one of the safest places on earth. And then, that his video and death was spread all over the internet, our children have witnessed it, and somehow even worse, that people are celebrating this happening to any human?
The algorithms forced his assassination upon us that day. Social media, the internet, places which are normally regulated, was suddenly an open game to share this most horrific moment with those who would have never clicked to find it, but it was already there when it opened. Why would that be forced upon us? There are reasons we can all speculate, and I have my assumptions…
Folks, this is no longer politics, it is a matter of humanity. How you responded to his being shot, and then tragically passing, says a lot about you as a person.
He was the best among us, the person I would have voted for as my US President at any moment had he run, and now his life will stand as one of the great peaceful martyrs whose voice will be larger in death than it even was in life, nevermind the fact it was already leading the largest conservative movement in the United States.
I am so proud that, for a moment, I felt like his friend, his peer, and he made me feel important. As I posted my support of Donald Trump online on that Halloween night prior to him being re-elected, I was quickly and fully canceled, being threatened, and lost all of my opportunities as a speaker in 2025 with events already held, contracted and lined up. It was devastating financially, emotionally, and has hurt my family.
Charlie Kirk lived that experience full time, and he continued to go, freely about, no bullet proof glass, just full confidence in his mission, with the faith of a man who knows where he stands with God and Christ. That’s courage at its finest. That’s the kind of man I want to become.
LISTEN TO MY SPECIAL TRIBUTE SONG “HEY, CHARLIE” HERE.
Knowing Charlie felt and experienced the same, was canceled by so many, threatened, and eventually killed, has helped me to know what to stand for and where to stand.
Now with Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom, I feel more power, spirit, and reckoning than ever. He was Christ’s disciple, I choose to be that as well, and our missions align.
Charlie Kirk heard about our company, Cardio Miracle, when we met him in Wichita, KS a year ago, but I don’t know if he ever tried it or knew about our mission. I would think he would have been impressed with our efforts and intentions.
You may not know that our company, Cardio Miracle, is being attacked every day by criminals and evil, kicked off online e-commerce sites for reasons that we win on every legal front and then get back on, only to be kicked off again, and slandered across social media for what we stand for. We are on the Lord’s side, and we will continue to win, because Cardio Miracle is a divinely inspired product that will not be silenced by hate. Love wins. Love on another. Stand together. And drink as much of it as you can, in order to have a heart strong enough that it can stand up for what is right.
Our prayers go to the Kirk family, as have our donations to support them. We will continue to preach what he did, which was love, peace, the gospel, Christ’s word of the Bible, the Constitution, the mission of our Founding Fathers, and perhaps above all: Free Speech.
Any time I have a microphone in my hand I feel truly honored, and even if scared for my life over the past year any time I take the stage, as someone who will not be silenced by my own muting for fear of being canceled or even executed, I take courage in being a voice that Charlie Kirk approved of the few times we shared the stage, and will carry forth his words, and the Lord’s work, spreading love, joy, and kindness, as this is The Promise.