Born in Minnesota and raised in Nebraska, Erickson was a three-sport athlete in high school, competing in football, wrestling, and track. Following high school, he played football and ran track at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. After three semesters, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and became a machine gunner, deploying twice, including to Afghanistan in 2012.
Jonathan then went back to school in Oklahoma and became a wildland firefighter. After two seasons of firefighting on The Kaibab National Forest, including trips in support of firefighting efforts in Montana, he returned to school at Arizona State University. He is now the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Liberty Performance Training in Phoenix, Arizona, and is the director of their tactical program. He holds a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a USA Track and Field Level-1 certification.
