Q: What is your hope for this movie?

Justin: That people will see that we can be passionate, excited and encouraging about positive things no matter what we do with our lives. I hope people see that young people are hurting and it is because there are not enough adults living the message of “LOVE ALL PEOPLE NO MATTER WHAT!” LOVE UNTIL IT HURTS. LOVE UNTIL DEATH. LOVE UNTIL YOU HAVE NOTHING LEFT.

Q: Why does Hard as Nails use such an extreme approach?

Justin: Well considering how extreme the culture is, what we are doing is matching that intensity with a message of hope. The culture of young people today is extreme. We live in a real difficult world full of challenges and the youth need to know that they have a God that loves them always, no matter what!

Q: So, is that why you can be so “in your face?”

Justin: There are many sides to every person. In the film you see my in your face side. I don’t yell that much but I do get intense and they didn’t make up anything. Does Dick Vitale yell? Does Coach K yell? Does Syracuse’s own Jim Boeheim yell? Does Ray Lewis yell? YES, YES, YES AND YES! They are a sport casters, coaches and players. They are yelling about a football game or basketball game. I am getting intense about people raping people, people hurting people and many other serious things that are happening in the world. I think people should get intense about these things a little more often than a sporting event. We will all die and I hope we can leave our mark caring about what matters - people matter. There are many times when I minister to the teens that I have a very soft and loving side, they just weren’t a part of the film.

Q: What are some of these challenges that you see teens having to face?

Justin: Well you see it in the film. Rejection is such a struggle for teens. Take for example the young man with the orange shirt Andrew, who feels like no one cares. He doesn’t just “feel” that way. He’s not just making this stuff up. This is real! Look at all the people who are rejected by society because they don’t fit “the mold.” I guess my approach is to just address it and not beat around the bush. These kids are struggling. Rape, gangs, drugs, violence, abuse, the list goes on. I believe that they need to understand that they can make a difference in the world. We can help them understand by showing them that God has a plan for them – to love. Knowing that God has a plan for them is the start, then they have to want to know that plan and follow that plan.

Q: What about the girl you are yelling at saying “if you have sinned you need to bash him in the face?”

Justin: First of all, I think using the intensity with which I shared that message, I was trying to get my point across. I think I did it in a way where it could have been looked at as very hurtful. When I call young people to the front of the group I do it for dramatic effect and I think in that case I went a little over board. I sometimes get too in your face and that is one time I did so. I apologize to that girl if I hurt her. The point I was trying to make was - DON’T SIN BECAUSE IT HURTS ALL OF US! I am sorry if I have ever hurt anyone in my ministry that is not my goal.

Q: Who is the young man who hurt his arm in a skit?

Justin: He is a leader for Hard as Nails and a great one. He has a big heart and he loves Jesus so much. When he was on camera he got really excited and shared that he considerate it an honor to get hurt for Jesus. I love his intensity and passion but at any of my events I would not want any leader to be hurt in anything. It wouldn’t be right for anyone to be hurt. However, I do believe he has a point. FOOTBALL GAMES, BASKETBALL GAMES and BOXING MATCHES ARE ACCEPTABLE EVEN IF SOMEONE GETS HURT. SHOULD WE STOP THE MESSAGE? No way! We need to give it all we got so that people can see that Jesus is important. GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT ON THE FIELD AND WHEN YOU BRING THE MESSAGE FOR JESUS!

Q: What happened in Vermont?

Justin: There was a communication problem between the school and HANM. The kids really had things that they needed to talk about and like always, there needed to be counselors in place to help them with these problems. We see this as an extremely important part of our ministry and we always inform the places we are visiting that we will be having the teens share as well. We seek to prepare the schools as best we can, and in this case the message was lost somewhere along the line. We will work to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.

Kids are in pain and we need to let them acknowledge it and then deal with it. Otherwise they will bury that pain in drugs, alcohol, and sex. At this event in Vermont, there were over a hundred young people that needed to go to guidance for help with serious issues and their department didn’t have enough help. So after all of this, the youth office in the diocese of Vermont asked that we not return for a while. Of course HBO blew this situation out of proportion to create dramatic effect, and in doing so they have tried to make it seem as though the Catholic Church is against us. With many bishops and priests behind us, this certainly is not the case. We continue to dialog with youth office in Vermont so that we can continue to minister to teens there in the future.

Q: What is the point of getting hit across the back with a chair? Tell us more about that illustration.

Justin: Physical ways are how the church for years has demonstrated their faith. I am no saint. I am the weakest person in the world, but look at saints like St. Francis jumping into thrown bushes to mortify himself for the sins he committed. Look at St. Felix and St. Philip Neri who fought physically to get the attention of those who wouldn’t listen to their message otherwise. These were a few of the many physical ways that others have done this.

The message of the chair, not the chair itself, is the most important piece. We are trying to get the young people to see that our sins (lying, cheating, stealing etc.) hurt us, those who were affected by them and Jesus. They especially hurt Jesus because of what he had to do so we could be forgiven of our sins. He died on the cross so we could be free of our sin. Our sins nailed him up there, scourged him, and beat him. It’s because of our sins, God sent Jesus to die on the cross. Since we chose sin, God the Father had to send his only son to die for us. The Steel Chair exercise is demonstrating this point. Whenever I say, “HE LOVES YOU.” the youth leader hits me with the chair. Until the young person can admit that they want to stop hurting themselves, others and Jesus I will not stop. If they do want to stop then I will stop. The message hits them Hard as Nails style.

Q: Do you do the Steel Chair exercise at every church?

Justin: No they filmed me at over 20 events all over the world and I only did that at two events. The two events that I did this at were both in the movie.

Q: How do you deal with the Catholic Church when they reject you? Would you ever consider opening your own church?

Justin: No I am not looking to open up my own church. I am a Catholic, I am a Christian, I am about love and I follow Jesus. The place I learned how to love was through the Catholic Church and the Sacraments, and I can never deny that. I believe in the Church, I am in contact with several bishops. Just because the style of preaching is different doesn’t mean that our doctrine is different. I have had great discussions with the bishops and they support me and Hard as Nails Ministries. For the most part the things I am doing have not been done by anyone in the Catholic Church for centuries. I get my example from the saints. Like I said before - very physical in delivering the message of Jesus, so it is in our tradition.

Q: Are you calling yourself a modern day saint?

Justin: I wish. I am not a saint, but my Church, the Catholic Church teaches that if I want to get to heaven, the best way is to follow Jesus and the example of the saints. They figured out while on earth how to get to heaven, and they left us a path to follow.

Q: Do you think your Catholic Church will make you a saint someday?

Justin: All of us are saints when we die and go to heaven. My goal is heaven and doing what God wants of me while I am on earth. So I can only hope so. And I hope they make you one too.