Over 3,700 miles across America. 75 days. On a bike, while handcuffed, dragging chains behind his bike to symbolize the weight of porn on society. All while wearing a Porn Kills Love shirt.
Today, Garrett Jonsson set out to spread the word about how porn kills love, and how there is hope for anyone who struggles with an addiction to pornography. He’s a committed Fighter with a big voice of awareness for the cause, and we are so stoked to see him repping the movement on the road. In Garrett’s own words:
“We see pornography as a huge societal issue and we believe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. We feel a need to deliberately disrupt the destructive patterns caused by pornography. That’s why we’ve set out on this journey.”
If that isn’t cool enough, this isn’t the first time Garrett has been an outspoken advocate for FTND.
In February 2016, Garrett ran 30 marathons in 30 days to raise awareness on the harms of pornography. On top of that, he added an extra challenge of wearing handcuffs during every run to symbolize the addictive chains of pornography.
He ran the same route every day—26.2 miles while wearing handcuffs—and invited others to run with him while promoting the #PornKillsLove movement.
On March 5, Johnson completed his 30th and final marathon and released a video detailing why he set out on his journey:
Starting today, he’s riding across the entire United States to again spread the word and rep the movement.
Garrett is riding from Yorktown, VA, to San Francisco, CA, and will ride every single day in handcuffs, while dragging chains behind him and wearing a Porn Kills Love shirt. His journey is called Coast2CoastInHandcuffs, and the goal is to build awareness and change the conversation around porn.
This movement is all about people like Garrett—our Fighters across the globe, using their talents and passion to drive this important cause forward and change the conversation around porn.
We’re always excited to see that this is a movement alive with creative Fighters who go to amazing lengths show their drive and passion for love. We love to see all the different ways our Fighters spread the word!
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
Your donation directly fuels the creation of new educational resources, including our awareness-raising videos, podcasts, research-driven articles, engaging school presentations, and digital tools that reach youth where they are: online and in school. It equips individuals, parents, educators, and youth with trustworthy resources to start the conversation.
Will you join us? We’re grateful for whatever you can give—but a recurring donation makes the biggest difference. Every dollar directly supports our vital work, and every individual we reach decreases sexual exploitation. Let’s fight for real love: