Jacob Cunningham started out as a mental health support worker right out of high school in 2013. He worked in this field for 3 years, simultaneously while studying Human Services at NBCC . 

After graduating from NBCC Woodstock, Jake worked in child protection, mentoring and continued with support work. During this time, he became an active mental health advocate, using social media as a platform.

In 2016, as a guest at a Grappling Tournament, Jake was unexpectedly presented with the The Art of Existence Award for his mental Health Advocacy. The presenter, a follower of Jake’s social media, felt Jake’s posts had saved him from committing suicide. 

In 2017 Jake moved to Halifax to work as part of a mental health crisis team for mentally ill adults and by 2018, he moved to Fredericton where he was promoted to a group home supervisor and later Team Lead in trauma informed care.  By 2020 Jake had used this experience and training and turned his focus back to his educated field in trauma care for children. 

During this time, Jake had also returned to his passion in Mixed Martial Arts until an unfortunate accident led to some serious injuries in August 2021, while training.  He broke his tibia and fibula, rotated his foot 180 degrees and tore every tendon, ligament and muscle in his leg. His recovery was approximately 8-10 months before being able to train again.  During his recovery, he excelled in a variety of retail sales positions, until he applied to Shadow Security in the summer of 2022.

A few months after being employed with Shadow, Jake was grateful to have competed in a mixed martial arts bout against one of the top ranked heavyweights in Canada. After 3 years of a gruelling comeback story, on November 19th, 2022, he won by first round KO within 30 seconds of the first round and became the #1 ranked heavyweight in Eastern Canada. By April 2nd, 2023, he became the number 2 ranked heavyweight in the country. 

Since working with Shadow, Jake was quickly met with many opportunities to grow within the company worked his way up the company ladder until he reached what he describes as his dream job.  Jake says there is always a lot to learn and he is grateful for the continued opportunities available at Shadow Security. He has never been more proud to tell others what he does for work.