Former Marine John Preston has made it a mission to bring awareness to the alarming veteran suicide rate. He promises let mainstream media suppress his message to vets nationwide. After struggles with alcoholism and his brother unfortunately taking his own life, Preston has put his focus in the music industry to achieve his goal. Preston hopes to one day speak directly with Congress to force discussion of this epidemic.

Preston grew up in Kentucky from a humble upbringing. His father, also a former Marine, worked multiple jobs to provide for the family. Preston started playing guitar as an early kid and played casually all through his teenage years. After some time in the military, he took guitar more seriously, and he was urged to record and release music by his fellow Marines. He wrote and recorded music while on a deployment to Iraq in 2004. The release of “Good Good America” brought Preston into the national spotlight, with over 500,000 downloads on the first day.

The attention prompted Preston to forgo reenlistment and work with Pacific Records to release an album. After only limited success, Preston left the music industry putting his dreams aside to become a firefighter. It was his father that encouraged him to restart his music ambitions. Preston has major plans for 2018, including a large promotion campaign and a partnership with Universal Music Distribution.

Preston has fought many personal battles since his time in the military. He dealt with sporadic alcoholism for years and had a very limited understanding of the PTSD he faced. In 2016, John’s older brother Michael Preston, also a veteran, took his own life. John had lost his father 6 months earlier, and losing his brother brought about a spiraling depression. After contemplation, John realized he needed sobriety in his life, and his music career now meant more than he had ever imagined.

Preston is continuing to expand his fan base and releasing singles throughout the year. An avid admirer of Gary Vaynerchuk’s winning hours 7pm-2am, Preston is working around the clock to make his dreams a reality. Keep an eye out for Preston, I have a feeling this year has amazing things coming his way!