Jim Jones is now a rapper, reality star and entrepreneur. When Jerry Flete (aka Flee Flicks), his photographer suddenly fell, the Harlem native was with his team at a crypto coin event in Florida.
Jim intervened to save his life.
To retell the story, both men spoke to Stephanie Officer from Inside Edition Digital.
“We was just literally just hanging out on a break from work. Just hanging out,”Jerry said. “It just happened so fast. Basically, I woke up, Jim giving me chest compression and telling me, ‘Wake up. Wake up.’ He basically saved my life. I’m here today because of Jim.”
Jim claims that he was on a call with Doug when he screamed his names frantically. This prompted him to look around to see what was happening.
“I just saw Flee sitting, just going through something that didn’t seem good like he was choking,”Jim said. “He couldn’t breathe, and his eyes was going back in his head, and he was catching a bit of a seizure. I actually didn’t know what was going on. Kind of scared me.”
“I didn’t know what was going on at the moment,”Jerry explained. “I guess everything happened so fast. But I had an out-of-body experience. I felt like I was telling myself to come back to myself. Then I just, I guess when I snapped out of it, Jim was giving me chest compressions.
“Jim was the first person to whom I woke up. He was holding me. I was sitting down. Jim was also sitting down at the time, and he was hugging me, giving me chest compressions. This is how I began to breathe.”
Jim believes something he learned when he was 12 years old saved Jerry’s life.
“When I was younger,” he said, “For my little sister with a heart condition, I had to take these classes in CPR and other related subjects. These classes were required for the entire family before my sister came home as a baby.
“I think all those classes stuck with me all the way to this day because I remember everything vividly they told me to do in certain situations. I got over there. I just was as frantic and confused as everybody else at first. And then something just jumped in me like, get to it. It gave him life again.”
Jim believes that this experience has motivated him to be more mindful of his health. Jerry is now more active in the gym thanks to Jim. Jim has some tips for anyone who doesn’t enjoy working out, or may be similar to Jerry. He suggests that you just get moving.
“Movement is medicine,”He pointed out. “The easiest exercise you can do is make sure that you walking and you running a little bit.
“It’s no excuse that I train hard to eat the way I want. I should be eating a lot better than what I eat, so I try to eat 50 per cent better than I did yesterday. So, I am still learning.”
“Wealth is health” he added. “Everyone should take care of their health. Take care of yourself. It’s not a job. Every day, do something that will help you live longer.”
Jerry is grateful for Jim and calls him a hero for saving his life. “Jim is the reason I’m here today. Who knows what could have happened without him? I would probably not be here today.”
But Jim is taking it all in stride. “I’m not a hero.” he said. “Batman is a superhero. I’m not a hero.