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Joseph James Rochel speaking on stage, microphone in hand, in front of an audience

Press & Media

Press, Media & Featured Stories

Stories of perseverance, leadership, faith, fatherhood, entrepreneurship, and the belief that technology should strengthen human connection - not replace it.

Speaking & interviews

Invite Joseph to your stage, studio or podcast

Joseph is available for select keynotes, panels, podcasts, and on-camera conversations. Tell us about your audience and what you would like to explore together, and you will hear back from a person.

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What he speaks about

  • Perseverance
  • Leadership
  • Faith
  • Fatherhood
  • Entrepreneurship
  • The veteran transition
  • Human-first technology

Who he speaks to

Entrepreneurs, veterans, parents, and anyone who has ever had to start over.

Formats

Keynotes, panels, fireside conversations, podcasts, and on-camera interviews.

He writes at josephrochel.com

Jump to the press kit The approved biography, the full-resolution feature image, and every archive source are further down this page.

Two-page Anthem Living Magazine feature 'A Life Rebuilt' profiling Joseph James Rochel, July 2026 issue
Anthem Living Magazine, July 2026. © Best Version Media.

Anthem Living Magazine · July 2026

A Life Rebuilt

By Leva Rusenovich · Published by Best Version Media

His story is not one of perfection. It is one of perseverance.

Anthem Living Magazine sits down with Joseph James Rochel for a rare, unguarded conversation - tracing a journey through military service, fatherhood, loss, trauma, faith, healing, authorship, entrepreneurship, and a life poured into community service.

Voyage Phoenix · October 7, 2026

Interview · Local Stories

Hidden Gems: Meet Joseph Rochel of JJM Agency

AI gives us an opportunity to become more human—not less.

In his own words, Joseph traces the path from Army service to filmmaking, fashion media, seven books and Joseph James Media, and on to JJM Agency - a Phoenix-based, AI-integrated marketing agency - along with what rebuilding more than once taught him about trust, boundaries, faith and fatherhood.

Read the interview

The Leadership Review · August 2026

Cover story

The Great Reconnection

How AI may finally free us from technology - and give humanity its life back.

Joseph Rochel · Founder & CEO, JJM Agency

Read the cover story

Military Media Archive · Baghdad, 2006

Creativity in a Combat Zone

Long before Joseph James Rochel built brands and told stories through media, he was using creativity to build morale, remembrance, and human connection among servicemembers deployed to Baghdad, Iraq.

  • Servicemembers operating karaoke equipment during I-Rock Iraq Karaoke at Camp Victory in Baghdad in 2006
    Courtesy photo via DVIDS - Baghdad, Iraq, September 11, 2006 · View on DVIDS
  • I-Rock Iraq Karaoke competition at Camp Victory in Baghdad in September 2006
    Courtesy photo via DVIDS - Baghdad, Iraq, September 11, 2006 · View on DVIDS

I-Rock Iraq: Music, Morale and Community at Camp Victory

During his 2006 deployment in Baghdad, Joseph James Rochel helped create and support entertainment programs designed to give deployed servicemembers a place to gather, decompress, remember fallen comrades, and reconnect with their humanity.

Among these efforts was I-Rock Iraq Karaoke, a recurring Friday-night event at Camp Victory. More than a singing competition, the gathering created a much-needed place for laughter, remembrance, camaraderie, and emotional release inside a combat environment.

The event is preserved in the official Defense Visual Information Distribution Service archive through photographs taken in Baghdad on September 11, 2006.

Publication record

Program
I-Rock Iraq Karaoke
Location
Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq
Year
2006
Frequency
Friday nights
Archived by
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Publication
Victory Times
Issue date
September 21, 2006
Publication type
Authorized Department of Defense publication

The official Victory Times issue description includes “VBC personnel I-rock their favorite tunes” among its featured stories.

Victory Storytellers: Helping Soldiers Escape the War for an Hour

Joseph's work in Iraq also included leadership within Victory Storytellers, a drama troupe based at Victory Chapel on Camp Victory.

A November 28, 2006 article in Victory Times, titled “Making the most of your time in Iraq,” quotes Spc. Joseph Rochel as the retired director of Storytellers. The article describes how the weekly drama program let Soldiers open their minds, explore new worlds, and briefly escape the realities of deployment.

For Joseph, these programs were not merely entertainment. They were early expressions of a lifelong belief: creativity can create shelter, connection, and hope even in the hardest places.

Program record

Program
Victory Storytellers
Role
Retired director
Location
Victory Chapel, Camp Victory
Publication
Victory Times, Vol. II, Issue 135
Article
Making the most of your time in Iraq
Date
November 28, 2006
Author
Pfc. Jason C. Adolphson, 16th MP BDE PAO
Publisher
Multi-National Corps–Iraq Public Affairs

Quoted verbatim from the archived issue: “said Spc. Joseph Rochel, retired director of Storytellers.”

In a place shaped by war, music and storytelling gave people permission to feel human again.

Military media timeline

  1. September 2006

    I-Rock Iraq karaoke documented at Camp Victory

    Official DVIDS photographs preserve the Friday-night karaoke program in Baghdad.

  2. September 21, 2006

    I-Rock Iraq featured in Victory Times

    The issue highlights Camp Victory personnel I-rocking their favorite songs alongside other morale and performance programs.

  3. November 28, 2006

    Joseph Rochel named in Victory Times

    'Making the most of your time in Iraq' quotes Spc. Joseph Rochel as the retired director of Victory Storytellers, and describes what the program gave deployed servicemembers.

  4. Archive pendingPending verification

    Stars & Stripes coverage

    Joseph remembers I-Rock Iraq being covered by Stars & Stripes during the 2006 deployment. The original print or digital archive has not yet been recovered, and will be added when it is verified.

Creativity was not a distraction from service. It was one of the ways Joseph served.

Publication record

  • Anthem Living

    A Best Version Media publication

    Cover-story profile · July 2026

    Source

  • Voyage Phoenix

    Local Stories · Hidden Gems

    Interview · October 2026

    Source

  • Victory Times

    Multi-National Corps–Iraq Public Affairs

    Military publication archive · 2006

    Source

Media & appearances

Where the story lives

  • Magazine & editorial publications

    Long-form editorial profiles in print and digital publications, including the military publications from Joseph's 2006 Baghdad deployment.

    Read the Anthem Living feature

  • Photography publications

    Published photographic work and visual storytelling.

    Appearances forthcoming

  • Film & creative work

    Documentary, film, and creative media projects.

    Appearances forthcoming

  • Books

    Authored works on healing, faith, and rebuilding a life with intention.

    See his books

  • Interviews & speaking

    Podcasts, on-camera conversations, keynotes, and panels on perseverance, leadership, and human-first technology.

    Read the Voyage Phoenix interview

About Joseph

A Story Forged Through Real Life

Joseph James Rochel's story was not written in boardrooms. It was forged through military service, fatherhood, profound loss, and the long work of healing - and it is that story, not a highlight reel, that audiences connect with.

As a U.S. Army veteran, author, and founder of JJM Agency, Joseph speaks candidly about perseverance, faith, and what it takes to rebuild a life with intention. His message reaches entrepreneurs, veterans, parents, and anyone who has ever had to start over.

Today his work centers on a single conviction: technology should strengthen human connection, not replace it. It is a theme that runs through his writing, his agency, and every stage he steps onto.

Approved press biography

May be quoted with attribution to JJM Agency.

Short

Joseph James Rochel is a U.S. Army veteran, author, and the founder of JJM Agency. Profiled in Anthem Living Magazine's July 2026 feature 'A Life Rebuilt,' he writes and speaks on perseverance, leadership, faith, fatherhood, and technology that strengthens human connection.

Long

Joseph James Rochel is a U.S. Army veteran, author, and the founder of JJM Agency, a Phoenix-based AI-integrated marketing agency that grew out of Joseph James Media. His public record reaches back to 2006, when - during his deployment to Baghdad, Iraq - he poured creative energy into morale-building programs at Camp Victory, including the I-Rock Iraq karaoke nights and the Victory Storytellers drama group, where Victory Times quoted him as the group's retired director. That coverage is preserved today in the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) public archive.

In July 2026, Anthem Living Magazine profiled Joseph in 'A Life Rebuilt' - a cover-story feature tracing his journey through military service, fatherhood, loss, trauma, faith, healing, authorship, entrepreneurship, and community service.

Today Joseph writes and speaks on perseverance, leadership, faith, fatherhood, and the conviction that runs through all of his work: technology should strengthen human connection, not replace it.

Download the full-resolution Anthem Living feature

On the record

Where has Joseph James Rochel been featured?

Joseph is the subject of 'A Life Rebuilt,' the July 2026 Anthem Living Magazine cover-story profile written by Leva Rusenovich and published by Best Version Media. His 2006 morale-program work at Camp Victory, Baghdad was covered by Victory Times, an authorized Department of Defense publication, and is preserved in the DVIDS public archive. In October 2026, Voyage Phoenix interviewed him for its Hidden Gems series.

What was I-Rock Iraq?

I-Rock Iraq was a recurring Friday-night karaoke and morale program held at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq during 2006. The September 21, 2006 issue of Victory Times covered the event in the story 'VBC personnel I-rock their favorite tunes,' and public-domain photographs from the September 11, 2006 event are preserved in the DVIDS archive.

What was Joseph's role with the Victory Storytellers?

The November 28, 2006 Victory Times article 'Making the most of your time in Iraq' quotes Spc. Joseph Rochel as the retired director of Storytellers, a drama group at Camp Victory that gave deployed servicemembers a creative outlet.

What topics does Joseph speak and write about?

Perseverance, leadership, faith, fatherhood, entrepreneurship, the veteran transition, and human-first technology - the belief that technology should strengthen human connection, not replace it.

Is there an approved biography and images for media use?

Yes. An approved press bio is published on this page and may be quoted with attribution to JJM Agency. The Anthem Living feature image and the DVIDS public-domain photographs may be used with the credits shown alongside each image.

How do I interview Joseph or book him to speak?

Use the contact form for interviews, podcast bookings, keynotes, panels, and events. Include your audience, format, and timeline so the team can respond quickly.

Looking for an interview, speaker or media guest?

Joseph is available for select interviews, podcasts, panels, and speaking engagements. Tell us about your audience and what you would like to explore together.

Request an interviewInvite Joseph to speak