Johnny Crowder (born July 26, 1992) is an American musician and public speaker. He is the vocalist of the band

Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

and the founder of Cope Notes, a telehealth-based

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

service. Crowder is also the former vocalist of Dark Sermon.

Early life and education

Crowder grew up near Oldsmar, Florida, attending Lowry Elementary, Farnell Middle and Hillsborough High schools. He would go on to earn an associate's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

Musical career

In March 2009, Crowder and the other members of the band founded In Reference to a Sinking Ship in Palm Harbor, Florida. The band released their first EP in 2010, ''Aimless'', before changing their name to Dark Sermon in 2012. Dark Sermon would be signed to multiple labels (

Good Fight Entertainment Good Fight Entertainment is a business conglomerate that was founded in 2010. The company consists of a record label, band management, sports management, a clothing line and an art studio. Good Fight was founded by Paul Conroy and Carl Severson ...

eOne Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

) and release two full-length albums ('' In Tongues'', '' The Oracle'') before the band's indefinite hiatus in 2017. Once the group's hiatus began, Prison became Crowder's main musical project. Prison was initially formed in 2014 and is made up of former members of Dark Sermon (Crowder), Adaliah, and ABACABB/In Alcatraz 1962. Their album, ''Still Alive'', would track on ''

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the ...

Heatseekers Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is ra ...

and

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

charts for one week each.

Mental health advocacy and public speaking

Crowder became a mental health advocate in 2011, joining the

National Alliance on Mental Illness The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States–based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advoca ...

as a speaker and partnering with Mental Health America. He was previously diagnosed with depression,

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, OCD,

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

, and

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, later using those experiences to become a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist. As a public speaker, Crowder tours the United States, giving keynote speeches at various organizations (like the

International City/County Management Association International City/County Management Association (ICMA; originally called the International City Managers' Association) is an association representing professionals in local government management. It is based in Washington, D.C. Washington ...

) and other public events. He has also given keynote speeches at

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

and

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

, including one during the latter's recognition of National Mental Illness Awareness Week in 2022. Crowder has also given two

TEDx Talks TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

, titled "How to Grow as a Person (And Why It Sucks)" and "Why I Don’t Want to Die Anymore". He is represented by various

speakers bureaus Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...

, including Keppler Speakers,

Washington Speakers Bureau Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB) is a privately held speakers agency founded in 1980 and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company was founded in 1980 by Bernie Swain, Paula Swain, and Harry Rhoads, Jr. In 2000, the com ...

, and Executive Speakers Bureau.

Cope Notes

In 2018, Crowder founded Cope Notes, a telehealth-based mental health service. According to the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

'', the company "sends subscribers positive thoughts and affirmations to help combat depression and anxiety". The company won the People's Choice award at the national Startup of the Year summit in 2022, ranking in the top 15 of the 100 semi-finalists.

Bibliography

* ''Trauma-informed patient and public-engaged research: Development and evaluation of an online training programme'' (2022) * ''Why I Rewired My Brain'' (2024)

Discography

Dark Sermon

*'' In Tongues'' (2013) *'' The Oracle'' (2015)

Prison

* ''Still Alive'' (2019) * ''Live in Texas'' (2020)

Collaborations

Personal life

Crowder is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

who adheres to a

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...

lifestyle, abstaining from drugs and alcohol. In 2021, he was recognized by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', appearing on their "Next 1000" list. The list highlighted upcoming entrepreneurs within the United States with businesses under $10 million in funding or generated revenue.

External links

Official website

TEDx Talk - How to Grow as a Person (And Why It Sucks), 2020

TEDx Talk - Why I don't want to die anymore, 2022

References

American death metal musicians 21st-century American male singers American public speakers Peer support {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Johnny 1992 births Living people People with bipolar disorder People with obsessive–compulsive disorder People with post-traumatic stress disorder People with schizophrenia