Episode #136
Jamie Leibert: Battling Monsters Ep. 136
In this episode of Prison to Promise, Dr. Craig Waleed sits down with entrepreneur, athlete, and nonprofit founder Jamie Leibert for a candid conversation about confronting the parts of ourselves that can either hold us back or push us toward transformation. Jamie Leibert, known as Captain Manicorn, is a professional adventure athlete and filmmaker whose climbs and flights span 80+ countries. He climbs into the world's most remote places and flies out by wingsuit and mini-wing. He spent about 13 years in the system, group homes, through four years in federal prison, and beat a meth addiction he still manages every day. He built Just Care More to help kids, then realized he had to heal himself first. Now he leads the Battling Monsters movement, using adventure to fight for mental health. He is directing El Monstruo, a Battling Monsters film in production. Show up. Struggle. Suck less. Repeat. Jamie shares his journey from a troubled youth and incarceration—including time spent in solitary confinement—to building a life rooted in purpose, discipline, service, and personal accountability. A pivotal decision to seek therapy helped Jamie develop deeper self-awareness and recognize potential within himself that had gone largely untapped.Their conversation explores what it means to face the "monsters" we carry: fear, insecurity, trauma, destructive habits, self-doubt, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. Jamie also discusses founding Just Care More, his work supporting foster youth, his path into entrepreneurship, and the lessons athletics has taught him about perseverance. At the heart of Jamie's philosophy is a simple but powerful mantra: "Show up. Struggle. Suck less. Repeat." It reminds us that transformation rarely happens all at once. It happens when we keep showing up, confront what is uncomfortable, learn from the struggle, and become a little better each time.
