Despite his name, he is not related to Austin St. John, whose actual name is Jason Geiger and his screen handle in Austin.
St. John’s first and most well-known acting role was in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as young superhero Jason Lee Scott, the Red Power Ranger.
The first edition of the Power Rangers franchise premiered on Fox Kids in 1993. For the part, he adopted the stage name Austin St. John, with Austin derived from Steve Austin of The Six Million Dollar Man and St. John being his own creation.
His character, like St. John, had a martial arts background. Though the series was a big hit and earned St. John’s an international reputation as an actor, the hard hours on set, low pay, and lack of union recognition caused challenges.
St. John began his career as a skilled martial artist, earning a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo, a first-degree black belt in Judo, and a first-degree black belt in Kenpo, as well as working as a martial arts instructor for a period of time.
In 1996, he wrote Karate Warrior: A Beginner’s Guide to Martial Arts, a book on the subject.
