Jerry Trimble was born in Newport, Kentucky.  As a child, he was insecure, fearful depressed and bullied on a regular basis.  At age 14, he was inspired by Bruce Lee and began studying the Korean art of Taekwon-Do.  Soon after, bullying became a thing of the past.  In six months, he began teaching the art. At 15, Jerry earned the rank of a first-degree black belt and became the number one point fighter in the Midwest U.S. At 18, he started Kickboxing and won the "Kentucky State Championship."

In April 1979, Jerry moved to Atlanta, Georgia to pursue the World Championship.