Growing up in a small town, Justin felt the need to suppress his sexuality, and in turn, he didn't feel that he could pursue his love for country music unless he was hiding who he really was. In his sophomore year, he made the difficult yet precedent-setting decision to be the first male cheerleader in his town. Justin came out at 19 and moved to Austin soon after to pursue music full-time, but he was still struggling to chase his true musical passions, which led him to try pop/EDM music. Feeling discouraged, Justin ended up quitting music altogether. But when an opportunity to audition for "The Voice" came up, he could not ignore his love for country music and knew this was his chance to be the artist he was meant to be.