Podcast Summary: The Bryce Crawford Podcast – The JXDN Interview (EP 178)

Date: February 2, 2026
Host: Bryce Crawford
Guest: JXDN (Jaden Hossler)
Theme: From Social Media Fame and Brokenness to Surrendering to Jesus

Episode Overview

This episode of The Bryce Crawford Podcast features a deep, vulnerable, and redemptive conversation between Bryce Crawford and singer/influencer Jaden Hossler (JXDN). They trace JXDN’s journey from a turbulent upbringing and explosive social media fame, through struggles with depression, addiction, and worldly success, to a life-changing encounter with Jesus. With honesty and unguarded emotion, Jaden shares how God worked through the highs and lows, ultimately drawing him into a new life. The episode resonates with themes of grace, spiritual hunger, deception, and the power of a real encounter with Christ.

1. JXDN’s Upbringing and Early Life

Discussion Highlights:

• Jaden’s Family and Early Moves (04:00)
  • Born in Texas to pastor parents, Jaden’s family frequently moved, resulting in instability, financial stress, and a complicated relationship with “religion” vs. God’s spirit.
  • “My parents were pastors for about, like, 12 years... There’s just a lot of things that took us out of the church and then back in and then out of the church.” (04:00)
• Struggles with Identity and Belonging
  • Growing up in the Bible Belt, then attending a Baptist school in Tennessee, Jaden noted the stark differences between charismatic Christianity and religious rule-keeping.
  • “I was just such an idiot, is literally the right word... I just wanted to be seen and loved.” (04:42)
• Depression in High School (05:00)
  • Senior year, Jaden’s choices left him depressed and isolated; he skipped 90 days of school but credits a few caring teachers for believing in him.
  • “I would go in her office and, like, cry, bro. I've been a crier my whole life.” (07:10)
  • Shout-outs to teachers Ms. Popf, counselors, and “the ones who believed in troublemakers.”

2. Social Media Genesis: TikTok and Early Success

Starting Out: (10:00–13:30)

• Musical.ly, TikTok, & the Power of Encouragement
  • Curtis (a Bible camp friend) urged Jaden to try Musical.ly, but the TikTok explosion drew him in during a season of loneliness and depression.
  • “At the time... there was no hate, bro... There was not hate. Wasn't a thing on this app.” (12:05)
• Dopamine and Validation
  • The allure of early “thousand views” quickly snowballed into an addictive hunger for more attention.
  • “That number felt so big, and it became this, like, addiction of, like, wow, if I can do that, then I can do five thousand...” (13:23)
• Rapid Rise: From Obscurity to Fame
  • Recounts unconventional networking (spamming a tour account), getting a chance on the Lights Out tour, and leveraging kindness (shaking parents’ hands at meet-and-greets) to build his following.
  • “Literally within a month, dude, I gained like 1.5 to 2 million followers...” (23:00)

Memorable Anecdotes:

• Getting Ears Pierced Before Graduation (15:00)
  • “I came back... and my superintendent... started, like, screaming at me in front of everyone... I literally can't [remove my earrings].”
• Fazoli’s Job (18:22)
  • “Don't eat the food there.”
  • Light-hearted bonding with Bryce over “Fazoli's trauma.”

3. The Illusion of ‘Having It All’: Fame, Fortune, Addiction

Tour Life and Music Realization: (23:00–29:31)

• Tour Routine and Meeting Juice WRLD
  • “Stage time was literally... we would just run up on stage... And I just couldn't bear that we weren't doing anything on stage.”
  • First true musical calling at a Juice WRLD concert: “I heard, not just people singing, but people, like, crying it from their soul... In that moment, I got new eyes and new ears.” (26:50–27:40)
• Chasing Purpose, Finding False Joy
  • Jaden dives into the LA scene, experiences homelessness offset by hospitality, and through serendipity finds his way into music studios.
  • “It was just blessing after blessing after blessing, like, I’m not even questioning it.” (29:14)

Addiction and Spiritual Emptiness: (31:29–34:37)

• Gradual descent into drugs, alcohol, and sex, which ultimately become both identity and idol.
• “There wasn't a single inch of my life when those things weren't active... It didn't feel like sin, bro. It felt like I was sinning if I wasn't doing more drugs.” (31:50)
• False friends, intermittent moments of happiness, but an increasing sense of emptiness and spiritual confusion.

4. Hitting Bottom: Arrest, Spiritual Cry, and the Turning Point

Destructive Patterns and a Cry for Ruin: (34:39–37:37)

• A pivotal moment when confronted by Curtis (“I just feel like God’s, like, heartbroken about how you’re living”), Jaden cries out in defiance:
  • “Ruin my life, ruin my life. I don’t even want to—ruin everything I have. Like, I’m so tired. I don’t want to feel guilty anymore. Right?” (35:44)
• Answered Prayer Through Crisis: Next day, Jaden is arrested and charged with a second-degree felony for drug possession while on tour.
• “The next day after Curtis told me that... and I called out to God and I was like, ruin my life. And the next day I got a second degree felony.” (37:01)

Escalation After Rock Bottom:

• Rather than immediate repentance, Jaden’s patterns worsen after returning home, experiencing deeper isolation, addiction, and spiritual torment:
  • “The second time was... far worse than the first. Like, maybe not in my actions, but in my soul and my spirit, in my mind, bro.”

5. Stirring of the Spirit: Encounters, Loss, and Pre-Salvation Awakening

A Season of Death and Searching: (46:54–55:00)

• Loss of Best Friend: Cooper (his “soulmate”) dies from fentanyl poisoning on the way to a Bible study:
  • “He got poisoned by fentanyl on his way to a Bible study, actually, with Gabe and Frankie, which is so gnarly, dude.” (46:55)
• Cultural Shifts and Spiritual Alarm: A high-profile assassination (Charlie Kirk) triggers existential dread and an unusual spiritual wake-up call:
  • “When he got assassinated, I heard, ‘What time do you have left?’ That’s what I heard in my head.” (47:55)
• Attempts at Self-Improvement Fail: Even after quitting drugs and sex, Jaden finds no real transformation:
  • “Everything in life I had got better. I stopped doing drugs, I stopped doing sex... and it still wasn’t the answer. The answer is a person.”

6. The Encounter with Jesus: Surrender and New Birth

Testimony of Salvation: (56:05–60:46)

• The Undeniable Experience (Direct Quote)
  • “No lie, bro, in a way I’ve never experienced in my life, the presence of Jesus Christ, the son of man, came into my bedroom... Every breath I took was the first one.” (57:20)
  • “He showed me for about 30 seconds I had the most intense fear I had ever been given... For 30 seconds, he showed me how separated I was my entire life... then he covered me in grace.” (57:56)
  • “The only thing I did was meet the truth. I didn’t figure out the truth. I met him.” (45:19)

The Aftermath: Grace Over Works

• Jaden describes falling repeatedly in the first weeks after his encounter, but God’s grace propels him closer instead of driving him away.
  • “The difference was, bro, instead of drawing me further away from God, it brought me closer to God. That grace that I talked about in that moment, hit me again. He said, jaden, I love you. Remember you met me.” (58:16)
• Transformation Emphasized Over Legalism
  • “Conviction isn't the repulsion of sin. It’s the attraction of the Holy Spirit.” (58:54)
• Growing desire for Scripture, new affections for people, sense of purpose and peace.

7. What Redemption Looks and Feels Like

Obedience, Personality, and the Ongoing Walk: (60:46–64:43)

• God Redeems, Doesn’t Erase (“He gave me my personality back”)
  • “I’m still an addict, but I’m an addict to the Lord. I’m still obsessive, I’m still extreme, but I’m extreme about my faith and about the love that I give other people.”
• Miracle of a New Identity
  • “He didn’t take my personality and change it. He gave my personality its original purpose.”
• The Role of Others’ Prayers
  • “My mom prayed for me for so many years, dude, and I used to hate it... There’s nothing—I would give up everything... to experience what I experienced in my bedroom and to live the way that God has allowed me to live now.” (64:23)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|---------|----------------| | 13:23 | JXDN | “That number felt so big, and it became this, like, addiction of, like, wow, if I can do that, then I can do five thousand...” | | 31:50 | JXDN | “It didn't feel like sin, bro. It felt like I was sinning if I wasn't doing more drugs.” | | 35:44 | JXDN | “Ruin my life, ruin my life. Like, I'm so tired of this. Like, I don't even want to—ruin everything I have.” | | 37:01 | JXDN | “And the next day I got a second degree felony.” | | 46:55 | JXDN | “He got poisoned by fentanyl on his way to a Bible study, actually, with Gabe and Frankie, which is so gnarly, dude.” | | 47:55 | JXDN | “When he got assassinated, I heard, ‘What time do you have left?’... and I started getting a lot of fear about dying.” | | 57:20 | JXDN | “No lie, bro, in a way I’ve never experienced in my life, the presence of Jesus Christ... came into my bedroom...” | | 58:54 | JXDN | “Conviction isn't the repulsion of sin. It's the attraction of the Holy Spirit.” | | 60:14 | JXDN | “The Lord told me, 'jaden, the gift for obeying me isn’t a better life, it’s more me.'” | | 64:23 | JXDN | “I would give up everything, literally everything in my entire life... to experience what I experienced in my bedroom and to live the way that God has allowed me to live now.” |

8. Conclusion and Prayer (64:43–End)

• Bryce invites Jaden to pray for listeners.
• Jaden prays for peace, redemption, the Holy Spirit’s conviction, breaking of enemy lies, and an intimate meeting with Jesus for each person listening.
  • “You are not defined by your sin, but you're actually defined by the blood that paid for it... let a sound mind come over their mind. Let there be a peace.” (65:55+)

9. Spirit and Tone

• The episode is candid, raw, and full of hope. Both host and guest resist religious clichés for honest storytelling and genuine gospel passion. At every point, they highlight both the gravity of sin and the overwhelming grace of Jesus.
• Bryce celebrates and encourages Jaden, honoring his role and reminding listeners: “If you're honest with God, you get more of him. That's the whole—finally, when you got honest with God, then he met you.” (60:19)

Key Timestamps

• 04:00–05:20 — Jaden’s upbringing, faith, and depression.
• 12:00–13:30 — TikTok’s early days and social media dopamine.
• 26:50–27:40 — The Juice WRLD concert moment of calling.
• 31:29–34:37 — Descent into addiction and false happiness.
• 35:44–37:01 — Spiritual cry to “ruin my life” and felony arrest.
• 46:54–55:00 — Loss, existential dread, and failed self-salvation.
• 57:20–58:54 — The encounter with Jesus in his bedroom.
• 60:14–60:46 — “The gift for obeying me isn’t a better life, it’s more me.”
• 64:43–End — Closing prayer for listeners.

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers a gripping story of the dangers of fame, the lies of the enemy, and the emptiness of a life “with everything”—until Jesus steps in. Jaden’s story is one of immense transparency, marked by supernatural grace, real repentance, and hope for anyone feeling far from God.

If you’re seeking authenticity, hope in the mess, or just a deeper understanding of Christian transformation, this interview is a must-listen.