Jeermal ‘Mr. Me Too’ Sylvester is the epitome of a champion. The South Bend, Indiana product overcame fatherlessness, poverty, and the pain of a broken home to become one of the more accomplished basketball players in the state of Indiana.  After a five-year professional basketball career, Jeermal continues to make a huge impact on young athletes and impoverished youth by sharing his testimony of overcoming obstacles and motivational message to ‘rise through the fire.’
Like many young athletes, Jeermal found himself facing obstacle after obstacle. He was sent from Chicago, Illinois by his Mom to live with relatives in South Bend, Indiana as a small child. He learned to channel his bottled-up feelings of abandonment and resentment into basketball.  Jeermal quickly became one of the top high school basketball players in Indiana, breaking records, earning a spot on the Indiana All-Star team, and accepting a full athletic scholarship to Ball State – a Division I university.
Despite the emotional roller coaster of his upbringing, Jeermal continued his basketball prowess at the collegiate level and was expected to be NBA-bound. However, during his senior season at Ball State, he was involved in a violent physical altercation with a teammate. The incident resulted in him being suspended from the team indefinitely, a punishment that likely ruined his chance at achieving his NBA dream.
Always persistent and very intelligent, Jeermal didn’t give up on his professional sports goals. He played professional basketball in Europe for five years, before experiencing a career-ending knee injury. Devastated and faced with the fear of transition from the one outlet he had for his pain, Jeermal used his Criminology and Psychology of Human Development studies from college to help other young students and athletes through the same obstacles that he’d faced. His experience and his passion for helping and motivating the youth created the perfect opportunity to use his wisdom to help others rise through the fire!
Jeermal has been privileged to work with outstanding organizations, such as the Indiana Department of Corrections, Heroes Camp Inc, and EmployIndy. Because of his ability to relate to and communicate with young students and athletes, he has been hired to speak all over the country at various summits, conferences, schools, and events. When young students and athletes talk about the worst of their life experiences, Jeermal found himself saying, “Me too!” – and the expression quickly became his nickname.
‘Mr. Me Too’ is a motivational speaker, mentor, and the CEO of Beauty for Ashes Inc. The purpose of his organization is to inspire the youth and address the needs of young adults by providing character-building life skills and etiquette training to prepare them for a successful and sustainable life. Jeermal has found success beyond sports, by teaching others how to succeed despite their past experiences.

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