Who is Jeremy Knauff?

I am known as the guy who gets people like you featured in the media so you can become a recognized authority in your industry, attract more clients, and earn more money. But there's a lot more to my backstory than just being an awesome publicist.

Before this, I ran a successful digital marketing agency for nearly two decades. Then I was blindsided by a health crisis that nearly killed me. From there, I spent two years on my deathbed while my business withered away and I burned through my family's savings and racked up tons of debt just trying to stay alive. To say these were dark times would be an understatement.

I wish I could say that like an episode of House, some brilliant doctor figured out exactly what was wrong, prescribed a dramatically unconventional treatment, and I lept back into life healthy and pain-free. But that's not what happend. I've now spent nearly a decade in excruciating pain from head to toe, 24/7. And while this has easily been the most challenging thing I've ever faced, there was a silver lining to this experience in two different ways.

The first is that when that health crisis destroyed my world, I had to rebuild everything from the ground up. Because of that, I had a lot of catching up to do and after two years as a ghost far from the public eye, I had become a nobody. So I began to leverage public relations, along with social media and search engine optimization, to rebuild my personal brand and reputation. I had to work my ass off and figure it all out on the fly, but the outcome was astounding. I quickly rebuilt my reputation as an authority in my industry, and as a result, my company grew faster that year than it ever had before. I realized how valuable this was, not just to me, but to others as well.

That's when my agency, Spartan Media, pivoted to focus on one service—getting experts featured in the media so they can become a recognized authority in your industry, attract more clients, and earn more money. And since then, we've placed hundreds of people like you in the media thousands of times.

Today, my life is spent mostly behind a desk, on stage, and at fancy events, but it used to be a lot grittier...

As a much younger man, I served in the United States Marine Corps infantry with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines. My job there was to be available at a moments notice to step into harms way to defend our nation and those who can't defend themselves. This is where the other part of the silver lining comes into play.

During my time in the Marine Corps, I had the honor to serve alongside some of the most amazing men you could ever meet. These are men I call brother still to this day. Men who have endured unimaginable hardship together and would do literally anything for each other with zero hesitation. When I was at the peak of my health crisis, thoughts of taking the easy way out popped into my head more often than I was comfortable with. And then, one of these men took his own life. That was a life-changing moment for me.

Up to this point, I always belived that suicide was a sign of weakness. But after experiencing those thoughts myself, and after Todd, as tough as he was, took his own life, my perspective changed. That was when I made it my personal mission to fight the epidemic of suicide plauging the veterans community today. If you didn't already know, we're currently losing twenty-two veterans every single day to suicide. That is unacceptable to me.

Had I not faced that health crisis that destroyed my life and nearly killed me, I would have likely never made the pivot to become a world-class publicist. More importantly, I would have likely never made it my mission to fight the scourge of suicide that is stealing veterans from their families.

Despite the unfathomable challenges I've faced as a result of this health crisis, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything because it has resulted in a tremendous amount of good in the world. I guess that's just my burden to bear, and I'm OK with that.