John was born into an Irish-Italian family in Portland, Maine. His dad worked as an insurance salesman, while his mom stayed at home and cared for him, his four sisters and brother.

John says suburban Portland was a great place to grow up. The city's only natural waterfall flows into a marsh less than 200 yards from his childhood home, and the adjacent Audubon sanctuary was the setting of many childhood adventures.

During his senior year in high school, John enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, shipping out to Parris Island about a month after graduating. After undergoing recruit training, John was selected as honor graduate of his platoon and received a meritorious promotion to Lance Corporal.

His primary military occupational specialty was Intelligence Specialist, and he served in that capacity with the following units: Headquarters Company, 1st Marine Regiment; Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines; and VMFA-235 (Marine Fighter-Attack Squadron).

While serving with the above-mentioned ground units, John earned Jungle Expert status while training in Panama. He also trained in desert warfare at 29 Palms and attended the Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif.

He was also selected into the prestigious Marine Security Guard program, a special-duty assignment with the U.S. State Department, providing interior security at the U.S. Embassies in Guatemala City, Guatemala; Prague, Czechoslovakia; and Helsinki, Finland.

After his six-year tour in the Corps, John returned to civilian life in Portland, enrolling in the University of Southern Maine. He was selected into the university’s Honors Program, and joined the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi in recognition of academic excellence.

During his junior year at the university, John participated in a one-year exchange program with the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, in the Netherlands.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in English with honors, John pursued his dream of becoming a writer by moving to South Florida. He landed an internship at a magazine in Miami, moved into a reporter's position at a weekly community newspaper, and eventually took a position as a reporter at a daily newspaper on the Treasure Coast.

He eventually moved to the Palm Beach area and worked as a newsletter editor and Web editor before coming to Weiss Research, where he proved to be a quick study on the markets.

It's hard to pigeon-hole John into one specific area of investing expertise, since he's written and researched sectors from defense, energy and gold to interest rates, currencies and natural resources to socially-responsible investment vehicles. John has written for several Premium Service (stock option) newsletters that Weiss publishes. He is also a key writer for Real Wealth Report, and from time to time writes special reports covering geopolitical issues and the defense industry.

John lives with his 6-year-old son and his dog Charlie in West Palm Beach. In his free time, he plays his guitars, sometimes strumming chords on his steel string, fingerpicking some classical tunes, or rockin' out with his Gibson Les Paul when he really wants to melt some faces.

John is a member of the Palm Beach Sangha of the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center. He studies Tibetan Buddhist (Nyingma lineage) teachings and practices meditation techniques with the Venerable Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche.