John Brenkus

With a profound sense of sorrow and loss, our family announces the death of John David Brenkus II, 53, of Milton, Georgia, on Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Fairfax, VA. Known and loved as the host and creator of "ESPN Sport Science," and for "bending the universe" on Brinx.TV. John had unfortunately been suffering with depression. His family would like to thank the many friends and colleagues who supported John throughout his life, and they encourage anyone struggling with depression to seek help and support. We ask that you remember John not for the way his life ended, but for the way he lived, and for the profound impact he had on the lives of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

John was born July 2, 1971, in Washington D.C., and grew up in Vienna, Virginia, where he attended James Madison High School. John played football for the Warhawks, and ran track and cross country. John's creativity and love for the energy of live events began at JMHS where he created, directed and emceed his first live event by developing "Mr. Madison", a treasured school tradition which continues to this day.

At the University of Virginia, John studied film and rhetoric communications. John's passion for pushing his capabilities was fully ignited while at UVA, where he finished his coursework in three years, learned guitar, was a DJ for WUVA, wrote an unpublished novel "Crimson Lights", and graduated with Honors in 1992. He looked forward to being finished with school so that he could make a film of his book. An independent study course with Hollywood director Steven Soderberg changed John's life. This early mentor advised John to, "Do everything myself. He told me to teach myself, not go to film school, track down my own gear and to teach myself how to edit, because everything comes from the editing." After graduating, John immersed himself in learning every element of production, from writing, producing and shooting, to editing, music and graphics.

In 1992, John and his future brother-in-law, Mickey Stern, created BASE Productions (Brenkus and Stern Entertainment) in the basement of the Brenkus family home in Vienna. Their first venture together was shooting the script for "Crimson Lights", John's college novel. Shortly thereafter, they began producing videos and local TV content. By 1996, they secured contracts to create arena production material and weekly shows for the NBA's Washington Wizards and the NHL's Washington Capitals. These were followed by the independent film "Kiss and Tell", followed by production relationships with many popular cable and sports television networks.

The list of shows John and Mickey produced together is vast, appearing on ESPN, HBO, MTV, FOX Sports Net, Spike TV, Tru TV, SyFy, A&E, as well as the National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

As BASE kept growing, Mickey says, "John didn't want singles and doubles – he wanted home runs." By 2007, they had their first home run. Based on the success of their "XMA: Extreme Martial Arts" on Discovery and "Fight Science" on National Geographic, they pitched and sold "Sport Science" which aired for two Emmy Award-winning seasons on Fox Sports Net and was then snapped up by sports giant ESPN to begin its decade-long run of dazzling audiences and earning more Emmys. Known now for his boundless energy on camera, John had actually never intended to be the host of the show. But his oversized personality – and willingness to be a human crash test dummy - made him the perfect "everyman" to lead the show on screen.

To call John a trailblazer and a visionary is not hyperbole. "Sport Science" changed the sports media landscape with a groundbreaking mix of legendary athletes, scientific analysis, high-speed photography, biomechanical motion capture and cutting-edge computer graphics that gave viewers never-before-seen insights into sports. The show was lauded in the industry as well, winning six Sports Emmys over the years, including "Outstanding New Approaches in Sports Programming." John's singular vision led his team to create some of the most memorable sports programming ever broadcast with some of the most famous athletes in the world. To further analyze human performance, John published "The Perfection Point," in 2010, a non-fiction analysis of the limits of human performance. The publication quickly became a New York Times best-seller.

After selling BASE Productions in 2012, John and his family moved from Los Angeles, CA to Park City, Utah. John joined a speaker's bureau, consulted to companies, and launched the podcast "Brink of Midnight" where guests shared their most life-changing moments, and how they overcame adversity and cultivated positive change.

After moving with his family to Georgia in 2020, John founded and created Brinx.TV, his own streaming platform and television network. Brinx.TV was a proprietary platform that leveraged niche audiences with premium content, sponsored events and unique programming. The platform was one-of-a-kind, combining bidding, buying, betting, trivia, and polling. John poured his heart and soul into bringing this vision to life. On Brinx.TV, John created and hosted shows "The NIL House", which was a pioneering look into the Name, Image and Licensing phenomenon that has transformed collegiate sports, and "Brinx Buzz", which was a daily show building community and sharing quirky insights into world events. In collaboration with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, John also created "The GOAT Code", a show that sought to reveal the "secret code" behind becoming the Greatest Of All Time, emphasizing not just physical skills but the mental and spiritual sides of greatness.

The mental side of sports was always a passion for John. He always claimed to be an average athlete himself, but his sporting accomplishments suggested a different story. He became an excellent golfer, foiled and wakeboarded at a high level, and competed five times in one of the world's most challenging endurance events: the Ironman Triathlon. Just for good measure he threw in the devastating Leadville 100 mountain bike race – and had to be carried away in an ambulance. While John's physical gifts might have been average, what enabled him to compete in such grueling events was his mind. His focus, willpower, and drive were remarkable, and led to him constantly raising the bar for ever-higher challenges.

In Georgia, John found immense happiness on the water after buying a boat to enjoy Lake Lanier. John loved experiencing the beauty of the lake with family and friends as he would wake foil until exhaustion, bring his dog, Zeppy, for a ride, grill dinner on his boat, photograph a spectacular sunset, then return to the marina with the boat's stereo system cranked up to ear-splitting decibels.

John had limitless enthusiasm, boundless energy, and effortless creativity. These characteristics were defining traits for his entire life. John always loved helping people see their potential and encouraging others to try new things. He gave many people the opportunity to begin a career or gain experience by working with him on a project.

John had a true zest for life and maximized every hour of each day. His heart was full of love for God, his family, and friends. He also loved learning something new, having dance parties, making people laugh, holding a good debate, being in the ocean spear fishing and scuba diving, riding his motorcycle, and having an enormous crab feast. John could talk for hours about experiencing the glory days of the Washington Redskins, the nostalgia of his hometown of Vienna, and his childhood neighborhood, neighbors and high school friends.

John will be forever remembered by his mother Rose; sister Mary and her husband Michael Stern; niece and nephew Lexie and Luke Stern, significant other Alice Neysa Coker; and children Bryce and Arabella whom he deeply loved. John was predeceased by his father, John, and his loyal Greater Swiss Mountain dog, Zeppelin (Zeppy).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at All Saints Catholic Church, located at 9300 Stonewall Road, Manassas, VA 20110 on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 1:00 pm. Interment is private and will occur at a later date.

Following the Mass will be a reception from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at Evergreen Country Club, 15900 Berkeley Drive, Haymarket, VA 20169. An opportunity to share words of remembrance about John will be offered at the reception.

The family appreciates the respect of their privacy during this extremely difficult time. No media permitted at either the church or reception.

Condolences and loving memories for the family are encouraged to be left at www.bakerpostfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to:

Solari, Inc.

https://solari-inc.org/donate

or

Saint Benedict Catholic Church, Johns Creek, GA

https://stbenedict.net

(Image: Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)