Justin Berti is meant to entertain and inspire. Well-traveled, he was born in Connecticut and spent time in Texas and New York City, with his last major stint of twelve years being in Tokyo, Japan. Creating a name for himself, Justin was acting, dancing, and modeling in almost all major entertainment genres you can think of in the Land of the Rising Sun. Leaving Japan and moving to Los Angeles in 2015, he has been on stage, on TV, and in film, making the most of his ambitions. The role of Elliot in the Showtime series Submission was the highlight of his first year back in the States and is what most of his fans know him from. And getting to play the villain in over six Lifetime dramas in the past two years. Most notable are “Secret Lives of Housewives,” “Deadly Cheers,” and the soon-to-be-released “Secrets in the Building.” However, the lead role in his first romantic comedy, Divorce Bait, coming out December 9th of 2022, will surely add to the top of his list. Tapping into his comedic skills and diving into this character has been a breath of fresh air from his malicious deeds on the Lifetime channel. Justin also starred in the independent film Frontera, which won over nine film festival awards, four for Best Picture, since its release in 2018.
1. Justin is in Billie Eilish’s “BAD GUY” music video.
Have you seen the music video “Bad Guy”? Do you know the part where Billie is stepping on a man in a suit as he’s lying on the ground, and she is pouring milk in his mouth? Well, that is Justin. He self-submitted to this music video job without knowing who Billie was since he had just moved to Los Angeles from Japan. There was no audition for this role, just a project breakdown saying that the actor must be comfortable with a full mouth of cereal and having milk poured into their mouth. Little did he know he would be a part of the song of the year in 2019.
2. Justin taught yoga for seven years in Tokyo, Japan.
Under the tutelage of Duncan Wong, creator of Yogic Arts, Justin became a certified Yogic Arts teacher in Japan. Yogic Arts is a beautiful mix of Ashtanga Yoga, Martial Arts, and Modern Dance. Justin created a fun persona called “The Yoganator” to make yoga more dynamic, fun, and fitness-oriented rather than static poses and meditation. The nickname “The Yoganator” came from the perception that most bodies are like machines, tight and rigid, and that people can do yoga for fitness to destroy that endoskeleton and become these strong and flexible athletic warriors. Justin became a trendy yoga and fitness instructor in Tokyo with his promotional “80s Week” classes. Every third week of the month, he would teach his classes only to 80’s music, asking students for their song choices and asking them to dress in 80s fashion. After these classes, he would make healthy smoothies for his students, which enabled him and his students to create a peaceful and healthy community in Tokyo.
3. Justin’s first dream was to be a Major League Baseball player.
Justin played Division baseball at Columbia University. He was Rookie of the year and was later voted Team Captain and MVP in his senior year. He always dreamt of playing for the New York Yankees. After graduating from Columbia, nothing came of his baseball dreams. But when he moved to Japan in 2002 and saw how amazing the Japanese baseball fans were, he decided he wanted to try out for the pros in Japan. He didn’t quite make a professional team there but did make a semipro team. The fascinating story behind how he found out about this semipro team was on Japanese TV, where they were looking for good-looking baseball players, almost as a gimmick to get fans to watch the games. Little did this team know that Justin was a model in Japan, could speak Japanese, and could play the game of baseball.
4. Justin was Japan’s announcer for World Baseball Classic and MLB games.
Justin was the PA announcer in Tokyo Dome for 2006, 2009, and 2013 World Baseball Classic Asia rounds in Japan. He would announce the starting lineups, batters, and player changes as you would hear at Major League Baseball games. He would also announce the 7th inning stretch and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” where they would put his image on the big screen in Tokyo Dome. He also announced the MLB Open Series, where MLB teams came to Japan to open up the Major League season abroad. He announced the opening series in 2008 between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics and in 2012 between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. His most fond memory was announcing the name of the Hall of Fame player Ichiro Suzuki.
5. Justin’s High School Mascot was The Laguna Beach “ARTISTS.”
Most high school mascots are named after solid or ferocious animals or some old-school warrior. Justin was fortunate to attend Laguna Beach High School in Southern California, whose mascot was The Artist. Justin started his acting journey at Laguna Beach under the direction of Mark Dressler, so it seems pretty fitting he began his artistic pursuits at a school named the Artists.
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