Meet the British-born, former monk & award-winning digital strategist turned captivating host, storyteller and viral content creator. Since launching his video channel in 2016, Jay’s viral wisdom videos have garnered over 3 BILLION views and he has gained over 20 MILLION followers globally.
Jay was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017 for being a game-changer and influencer in the world of Media. Jay’s daily show on HuffPost Live #FollowTheReader, where he has interviewed the likes of Russell Brand, Tim Ferris, Dr. Shefali, Simon Sinek and Deepak Chopra, reached one million people daily. Jay aims to deliver educational and insightful content in an entertaining, uplifting format – with the mission of making wisdom go viral. His inspirational video reach is known to skyrocket upwards of 35 to 100 million views within seven days of launch. He has created content for and partnered with the likes of Snapchat & Facebook and serves on the National Geographic Chasing Genius Council.
After meeting a monk at the age of 18, Jay sought to redefine personal success. He was inspired by a life of service, impact and passion as opposed to money, fame and power. After graduating with a first-class BSc (Hons) Degree in Behavioral Science from Cass Business School, he turned down lucrative job offers from prestigious companies, moved to India and lived as a monk. He traded his suits for robes, shaved his head, slept on the floor and lived out of a gym locker. Jay meditated for 4-8 hours a day and studied ancient philosophy. Half the day was spent on personal growth and the other on help others. This included everything from personal and collective meditation, study and reflection to teaching and philanthropy. For three
years, Jay helped build sustainable villages, food programs distributing over one million meals per day and coached Millennials throughout India and Europe.
Jay received a proposal from his guru who believed he could share what he had learnt if he left the path. Jay moved back to London with his parents, in massive debt with no recognizable skills on his resume. Fortunately, his friends, now working for the largest organizations in the world yet
experiencing tremendous stress and pressure, invited Jay to coach them on wellbeing, purpose and mindfulness. Jay began sharing his experiences as a monk in the world’s largest corporations including EY and Nasdaq.
Driven by a desire to share his learnings with as many people as possible, he re-engaged with the world and dove head first into learning about the tools and techniques that might allow knowledge to spread as fast as entertainment. He joined Accenture, helping them build their digital division while learning about the forces shaping the new digital landscape. He quickly became their #1 social media influencer, in a company of 400,000 people. Along the way, he advised over 150 executives on their personal brands, which provided a very broad base with which to test theories. He leveraged his findings to launch his own Facebook page in 2016, which exploded.
Jay’s videos were spotted by Arianna Huffington, who asked him to create a series for HuffPost. His first four videos hit over 50 million views – the highest HuffPost had ever received. Arianna invited Jay to New York to be a Senior Host & Producer for HuffPost Live where he created #FollowTheReader. The Facebook Live Daily Talk Show, featuring authors and life changing ideas, became #1 for audience engagement – with themes that include passion, purpose, mindfulness, resilience, failure and communication.
These days, Jay continues to expand his brand through his viral video agency, group coaching & workshops.