Body of Work
by Jeannine Gage
On any given day, you might find Dr. Jeremiah “Jay” Wright adjusting a patient’s spine, coaching a client through a squat, or practicing posing routines in his living room while his children mimic his every move.
But long before Jay became a chiropractor and personal trainer – and a five-time champion in the Mr. America bodybuilding competition – he was a quiet kid trying to find his footing.
A New Direction
Born and raised in Central Florida, Jay grew up in Pine Hills before moving north and graduating from Edgewater High School. He was one of eight children being raised by his mother under challenging circumstances. In ninth grade, his life took an unexpected turn. After conversations between his mother and acquaintances Anne Marie and Kenny Wright, the Wrights adopted Jay.
“It wasn’t a normal adoption,” says Jay, who now lives in Longwood. “But it was for the best.”
His mother recognized that Jay would have more opportunities with the Wrights and made the painful decision to let him go, so he could have a home where she believed he could thrive.
Jay embraced his new life and credits his adoptive parents, siblings, and extended family with supporting the amazing things he went on to accomplish.
Sports and fitness had become Jay’s passions at an early age. A small child, he was bullied in school. A T.G. Lee milk commercial – in which a scrawny kid grows strong and earns respect after drinking milk – sparked something in Jay. At eight or nine years old, he began drinking whole milk by the gallon and knocking out push-ups and sit-ups with determination. By ninth grade, he was much bigger, and the bullying stopped.
Then Jay found football, earning a full-ride scholarship to Youngstown State University in Ohio, where he played linebacker and strong safety while also running track.
Making an Impression
Originally intending to become a pilot, Jay shifted course after a serious ankle sprain. The injury, his first major setback, introduced him to chiropractic care. A skilled chiropractor helped him recover much faster than expected.
“That left an impression,” says Jay.
After graduating with a degree in exercise science and a minor in biology, Jay began working as a personal trainer but wanted more. With encouragement from his adoptive mother, he enrolled at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange. It was there he met his future wife, Tara.
A native of Rochester, New York, Tara remembers her first impression of Jay.
“He was charismatic and funny – always talking to everyone,” she says. “The opposite of me and I loved it.”
Jay and Tara married in 2015 and have two children, Teagan (9) and Jayce (6).
In 2018, Jay founded PHIT (Performance Health & Integrative Training) on Lake Mary Boulevard in Sanford, which blends chiropractic care and fitness training.
Mind Over Matter
Jay’s bodybuilding career began almost accidentally while he was a student at Palmer. Inspired by Tara’s success as a bikini competitor in bodybuilding contests, Jay entered a competition and won. Then he won again. And again. Eventually, he transitioned to natural bodybuilding federations, drawn to rigorous drug testing and a level playing field.
Today, Jay competes in the classic physique division and has represented Team USA internationally. He is a five-time Mr. America champion in a revived natural competition and a three-time IPE (International Professional Elite) world champion. For Jay, bodybuilding is about pushing himself.
“Some people say it’s not a sport and that it’s too hard on the body,” he says. “Those are the people not willing to go through the hard stuff.”
Now in his 40s, Jay still competes regularly and plans to continue for years to come. And while he is an inspiration to his patients, they inspire him, too. Jay cites a 66-year-old client who once accepted pain as inevitable. Four years later, after working with Jay and following a strict fitness regimen, the man seems decades younger – without medication.
“Your mind is the strongest muscle,” says Jay. “You just have to convince yourself.”