John grew up in St. Pete Beach, Florida where his family has owned a greasy spoon diner since the early 1950s. He also played baseball at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration and Law & Justice.  John went on to graduate from Stetson University College of Law. During law school John was on the dean's list and was also a competitor on the Moot Court team.

After law school, John began work as a Staff Attorney at Gulfcoast Legal Services, Inc. in St. Petersburg, FL. He spent most of his time here handling advanced directives, landlord-tenant, and consumer issues. After a couple of years at Gulfcoast, John began work as an Assistant Public Defender for the 6th Judicial Circuit of Florida. This allowed John to gain a lot of experience in criminal law and had him in the courtroom almost every day of the week, whether it be advocating for clients at their pre-trial hearings or fighting for his clients at trial. 

In 2017 John and his wife moved from Florida to Washington to escape the hot weather and be closer to the mountains. John is licensed to practice law both in Washington and Florida.