William Franklin
William Franklin

William's socials

"Jake The Viking"

William Franklin

Author: Faiysal Kothiwala

Published at: Dec 10, 2024

Time as a TBS ambassador

I have been with The Beard Struggle for the last 2 years.

Why did you choose TBS?

No other brand provides the same quality as The Beard Struggle.

Favourite TBS Products

My favourite products are the radiance Beard Wash and Conditioner, Day Liquid Tonic and Gentlemen's Beard Balm.

Favourite TBS scent

My favourite scent is Valhalla's Gates.

About Jake

Born and Raised in North Carolina, USA, Jake is more than just the typical guy with a fancy beard. Growing up in New Bern, NC, Jake was a full time student-athlete at New Bern High School, where he gained national attention for his abilities in the sport of Football. By his senior year, Jake was talking to several Universities, including LSU, Univ. of South Carolina, NC State, UNC, ECU and several others. But Jake was more than just some "dumb jock". He also graduated high school with a 3.4 GPA, thanks to both of his parents being educators. His mother even became a Superintendent of a School District before officially retiring.

Jake went to the College of William and Mary out of high school in 2010 on a football scholarship where he would stay for a year and a half before deciding that that was not where he wanted to be. Jake had become an LSU fan during middle school and always wanted to go there. So in December of 2011, Jake informed Head Coach Jimmye Laycock that he wanted to take a leap of faith and chase his dreams. He would then spend the next year and a half at community colleges to get his Associates Degree and in June of 2013 Jake officially became an LSU Tiger.

Jake played football for the Tigers in 2013 and 2014. Getting to be teammates with some of the sports' best players such as Odell Beckham Jr, Jarvis Landry, Leonard Fournette, Jamal Adams, and many more. After completing his collegiate career, Jake would attempt to go professional by attending two "Pro Days" at LSU, but this is where his football career would end, and his social media career would begin.

After college, Jake didn't have a real idea of what he wanted to do, he just knew he was meant for greatness. He started pushing social media hard, created a YouTube channel, and in a few short years Jake would muster up a following of over 3 million across several platforms, and is known worldwide by fans of all ages.

If you were to ask Jake what the most important thing he has learned in his life, it would be to always follow your heart and to take chances. Never settle.