Austin St. John

Austin St. John was born on September 17, 1974 in Roswell, New Mexico, to his parents Steve and Sharon St. John, becoming brother to Stephen. He graduated from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California. Austin is of German, Native American, Irish, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish decent and speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Italian, and Korean.

Because of his father, who was a U.S. Marine, he moved with his family from town to town throughout the United States. With all that moving, that didn’t stop Austin of dreaming to grow up to become a pro-baseball player for the Boston Red Sox. But Austin took another path in life.

Since he was five years old, he has been practicing martial arts and has studied Tae-Kwon Do, Judo, Newaza, Kung Fu, Tang-Su-Do, Shoto-Kan, Chinese Kick Boxing, Kick Boxing, Boxing, and Mauy Thai Kickboxing, and possibly others. He holds several black belts in several styles, he feels one should study as many arts as possible in order to become well rounded. He claims: “It’s a way of life, I don’t do it for sport or hobby.”

Even though it is a way of life, for a long time Austin did and still is active in fighting competitions. Within the last few years he has put on some pounds of muscle in support of the fighting he has competed in. He competed in various competitions in the United States and Asia, such as the Vale Tudo and the Bad Boy competition.

With martial arts he learned the meaning of “Discipline” and it helped him to prepare for every major event that he has had to overcome or adapt to throughout his life. He says: “There is a great deal of mystery and mystique in martial arts. Aside from the physical demands, it also allows me to develop inner strength and discipline which, in turn, builds character.”

At 18 years old, Austin auditioned for the pilot of a new children’s television show that would use American actors, but Japanese footage. Right away the producers could tell that the cast had a fantastic chemistry, and even though the show was on a small budget that it would somehow break through. And breakthrough it did. The show would become known as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and Austin’s life would change forever. Suddenly, Austin was famous with children all over the world and even adults! He would be recognized on the street because he was the Red Ranger, leader of the Power Rangers and everyone knew who he was.

The fame was a sudden change for Austin, and as a naturally private person, it was a bitter-sweet change. Though he welcomed children and fans that would come up to him, he was also cautious of some more fanatic fans that would stalk his home and show up in the parking lot when he would get out of class. Because of these people, Austin had to move twice, get sensor lights on his home, and take other precautions in protecting his private life. To this day, Austin is still very protective of his private life. He is very welcoming with his fans and will speak with them and sign autographs when they see him, but he wishes that they respect his privacy.

Once Austin left the Power Rangers the first time he produced and starred in the video “Karate Masters – Beginning Martial Arts For Kids” and published the book Karate Warrior – A Beginner’s Guide To Martial Arts (ISBN 1561387843), which he co-wrote with Steve Rowe. He then began traveling around the world, did a few independent movies in Europe and Asia. Later in 1996, Austin returned to Power Rangers as the new Gold Ranger and co-starred in the movie Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. After leaving Power Rangers a second time, Austin continued teaching martial arts and later became a firefighter and got his EMT training.