About Julian
Built From the Ground Up. Twice.
Filmmaker. Martial artist. Lifelong entrepreneur. #1 bestselling author. This is the story behind Be the Fireholder, and behind Empire Within Academy.
The Beginning
No Blueprint, No Mentors, No Early Hand on His Shoulder.
Julian's first business, at 8 years old, was selling stationery and office supplies door to door. By 11, he'd taught himself HTML and was building websites from scratch. By 13, he was already taking college courses at the University of Houston, years before he could drive, while designing sites for local clients on the side. There was no family playbook to follow, no early mentor pointing the way. Whatever he built, he built by figuring it out himself, then doing it again, better.
That instinct never let up. At 22, he founded his university's first official car club, growing it to over 50 active members, and launched a motorsports lifestyle brand that placed top 3 in regional competitions. It was his first real proof that he could build something from nothing and watch people show up for it.
Building in Hollywood
Co-Founding a Network at 23.
At 23, Julian co-founded MCB Network 55.4 KTBU, financed by Texas billionaire and telecom tycoon, Lee Cook, who brought Julian and the team into his Phonoscope headquarters and built them a dedicated green screen studio. From there, Julian helped produce over 100 original episodes of television and learned on the fly how to run a real network from the ground up. His eventual entry into Los Angeles post-production and entertainment, was learned the hard way, through instinct and repetition, not a film school syllabus.
He went on to become a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, NALIP, the National Association of Latino Producers, and the Motion Picture Editors Guild, credentials that placed him inside rooms most people spend a career trying to reach.
Behind the Scenes
Nearly 1,000 Commercials. 17 Feature Films.
From the TV network, Julian moved into advertising, rising to Production Manager at a leading Hispanic advertising agency, where he oversaw nearly 1,000 commercials. That role sharpened something the network job had only introduced: the discipline of producing at volume, on deadline, without ever letting quality slip.
He brought that discipline to Hollywood, working on 17 feature films, several of which reached #1 globally: A California Christmas: City Lights hit #1 worldwide on Netflix, That's Amor reached #2 in the U.S. and #3 globally, A Hollywood Christmas hit #1 on HBO Max, and A Christmas Mystery reached #4 on HBO Max,later founding his own production company, Digital Horizon Studios, to create his own original intellectual properties.
Recognized in the Room
Not Just Working in the Industry. Recognized by It.
Membership in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, NALIP, and the Motion Picture Editors Guild isn't handed out for effort, it's earned by the work itself. These are the rooms Julian's career has actually placed him in, not just industries he's adjacent to.
An Unexpected Stage
Teaching Olympians How to Show Up.
One of Julian's most unusual credits came during the Tokyo Olympics, held without live audiences because of COVID. He served as lead video editor for the Games' official Facebook campaign, creating content that taught athletes how to use social media during the event. The content he built wasn't just published, it was watched by the Olympians themselves, used as actual training material heading into competition.
The Discipline
Two Decades on the Mats.
Alongside the career in film and television, Julian built a second, parallel discipline: a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the legendary Jean Jacques Machado, earned through more than 14 competitive tournaments, not just time on the mat, but real tested skill under real pressure. He also holds a black belt in Wing Chun kung fu. Almost two decades spent mastering the disciplines of combat, narrative, and inner power.
Full Circle
His Own Instructor, Holding the Book.
Jean Jacques Machado, the legendary instructor and Hall of Famer Julian trained under for his purple belt, and Marcel Santos, each holding their own signed copy of Be the Fireholder, with Julian standing between them. Two decades on the mats, and the discipline came full circle the moment his own teacher held the book it helped produce.
The Turning Point
The Transformation That Didn't Happen on a Set.
By every external measure, Julian had already built a career most people would call a success. But his greatest transformation didn't happen in a studio or on the mats. It happened in silence, through heartbreak, ego death, and awakening.
A near-fatal accident years earlier had already shown him he wanted to live a life of service. It took this second turning point, years later, to actually turn that realization into the life he's building now. Be the Fireholder is the book born from that fire, not a theory about transformation, but an account of living through one.
You don't have to read it all today. You just have to start.
Julian Habib
His First Editorial Feature
The Satori Moment.
Julian's first magazine feature, an interview with Bold Journey, asked him how he found his purpose. His answer traced back to what he calls a Satori moment, a term from Zen Buddhism for a sudden flash of clarity where everything makes sense at once. He spent hours at a dry erase board mapping his companies, his film and television projects, his contacts, his strengths, everything, until one question cut through: what would it take to make the greatest impact for humanity? That question reoriented everything that came after, including the book, and including Empire Within Academy.
Asked what's shaped him most, he named three things: resilience, the ability to keep going when projects collapsed or opportunities fell apart; vision, the ability to see beyond the immediate and hold a picture of the future clear enough to pull him forward; and authenticity, refusing to build any of it as anyone other than himself.
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From Julian's first magazine feature, Bold Journey.
First Major Media Appearance
An Hour on the Air, Halfway Around the World.
Before any of the funnels or the coaching program, Julian's first major media appearance was a full hour on Hutt City FM 106.7, a terrestrial radio station in New Zealand, as a guest on Robbie Schneider's show, The Business Hour. They talked about Be the Fireholder and the story behind it, no polish, no press team, just a real conversation that happened to reach across the world before anything else had.
Today
Empire Within Academy.
Everything Julian built, the discipline of production, the credibility of Hollywood, the humility learned on the mats, and the fire learned in silence, now lives inside Empire Within Academy. The Fireholder Membership, the 1-on-1 Coaching program, and the book itself all trace back to the same conviction: that the version of you capable of building something real is already in there. It just needs structure, accountability, and someone who's actually lived it to walk beside you.
Julian with Be the Fireholder at JT Foxx's Mega Success networking event.
At a Glance
From Readers on Amazon
What People Are Actually Saying
“Be the Fireholder lays out a pathway guided by the one and only Julian Habib. Clear instructions on how to look within and how to navigate outside forces to discover your best self.”
Oscar Palma
Amazon Review, “Life Changing Book!”
“What I loved most is that this book isn't theory, it's lived experience. Julian's stories, from overcoming personal setbacks to building a career in Hollywood from scratch, are raw, honest, and incredibly motivating.”
Verified Reader
Amazon Review, “Highly Recommend!!”
Ready to Start Your Own Chapter?
Read the book, join the membership, or apply for 1-on-1 coaching. However you start, the fire's already lit, this is how you carry it forward.