Biographie
Giovanni V. Giusti, also known as Jahni Sun Rea or LionsMane (@LionsMane on Instagram), was born in Akron, Ohio, USA. He is a professional actor, DJ, artist, singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist. Giovanni wrote the lyrics and performed lead vocals on the hit song "Where We Go From Here" alongside Tony Valentino, the legendary "Godfather of Punk Rock" from The Standells. Jahni Sun Rea and Valentino have collaborated and maintained a close relationship since 2010, with Giusti affectionately calling him The Godfather and considering them family.
Giusti earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from The Ohio State University, where he studied acting, filmmaking, music composition, theatre, production, writing, drawing, painting, sculpture, glassblowing, ceramics, and more. His fine art style has been likened to a fusion of Picasso and Van Gogh with elements of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Musically, Jahni Sun Rea is deeply influenced by John Lennon, Bob Marley, Woody Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Fela Kuti. Jahni Sun Rea has said, "Music is my medicine, my form of prayer, my meditation. Music will heal the scars of humanity among all nations while harmoniously healing the spirit of our Mother Earth and beyond." (12/5/18) His music is available online and on Instagram @jahnisunrea.
In September 2007, Giovanni began his professional acting career in Hollywood, California. His journey led him through Southern Italy, Spain, and Ibiza in what he calls "The Spiritual Harvest." While living in Southern Italy, Sicily, and Barcelona, Spain, he survived as a street performer for nearly eight months, serenading couples and families with his Spanish classical guitar and voice. Feeling guided by his spirit guides, he moved to Ibiza, where he connected with a community of international artists, musicians, and actors.
Shortly after arriving in Ibiza, Giovanni was hired to restore a derelict outdoor underground theater on a citrus farm known as "The Almacen." Within two months, he revived the venue, which became a hub for underground artists, filmmakers, poets, musicians, art dealers, travelers, local Ibizanco tribespeople, neo-realists, hippie intellectuals, and critics worldwide. The Almacen also showcased Giusti’s early films, including shorts like "Boiling Toiling" and "Kogi." During his time at The Ohio State University, Giovanni won several awards for his short films. In 2014, he received multiple art awards and a grant to live in New York City for his first solo exhibition at the Astoria Queens Public Library, where all his paintings, ceramics, and glassblowing pieces were sold.
In 2009, after completing The Almacen project and spending four months in Ibiza exhibiting his art, Giovanni returned to Italy for a month. He lived and worked in his grandfather’s ancestral village in the mountains of Abruzzo, an hour from Rome. Following his spirit guides’ advice, he then traveled from Rome to Los Angeles, California, hitchhiking from Burbank to Hollywood with a man named Michael, who claimed to be the head advisor of the Screen Actors Guild. From 2010 to early 2012, Giusti studied with renowned Hollywood acting coaches Janet Alhanti and Iris Klein, learning the fundamentals of presence, repetition, and receiving.
Giovanni secured his first TV roles within months of 2010 and landed major film roles in 2011 and 2012. He primarily works as a performer, yogi, volunteer, and spiritualist under the name Jahni Sun Rea and as an EDM artist known as LionsMane (@LionsMane.music on Instagram). As LionsMane, he DJs across multiple genres including house, bass, techno, and psytrance, promoting the Peace Love Unity Respect (P.L.U.R.) culture worldwide. Giovanni tours internationally, spreading positivity and the message of peace, love, unity, and respect through music, acting, and art. He often emphasizes that "Music is my medicine."
Giovanni V. Giusti is based in Downtown Los Angeles' Arts District and Maui, Hawaii, pursuing careers in acting, music, EDM, fine art, yoga, and philanthropy. He can be contacted through his agency, OmBlessings Productions, on Instagram @omblessings, and for EDM DJing at @LionsMane.music or by phone at +1-808-400-0095.
