“Coaching goes beyond sports. I teach these kids to face adversity without letting it derail them. That’s something I learned at Rumsey, and it’s at the heart of what I do now.”
Charles Frederick Porter II ’94 has worn many hats since his days at Rumsey Hall: actor, writer, father, and even celebrity life coach. For Porter, the journey has been about so much more than career titles. His life has been marked by resilience, both on and off the field, and a deep-rooted commitment to accountability—a core value he now helps others build as an “Accountability Coach.”
A natural athlete, Porter’s early Rumsey days were filled with sports memories that he still cherishes. He vividly recalls one game against The Frederick Gunn School when he hit a home run that splashed into the river beyond the baseball field. “We were getting stomped at first, but then we just started hitting bombs,” he recalls with a laugh. “I think I batted .500 that season. Rumsey was about those moments of triumph, the big swings that stick with you.”
This passion for sports carried him to Duke University, where he played football while pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology. His time at Duke prepared him for the next leap: moving to Los Angeles to chase a career in acting. Over the years, Porter appeared in films and network television series, eventually gaining acclaim in roles on Without a Trace and in feature films abroad.
Charles path took a sudden turn in 2010, when he was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma. It was a moment that shifted his world entirely. Facing grueling treatments, he tapped into a strength he describes as “brainwashed for greatness” — a commitment to fortifying his mind and spirit against the toughest challenges. After years of relapses, intense therapies, and even a successful bone marrow transplant in 2023, Charles fought back. Today, he’s cancer-free and full of gratitude for every day he’s given.
During his recovery, Porter found solace in writing, publishing three books of poetry, inspired in part by an English teacher he remembers fondly from Rumsey. “Mrs. Ryan saw something in my writing back then and encouraged it. That stayed with me, and writing became a powerful outlet.”
Porter’s passion for storytelling also found a powerful outlet in film, with Finding Faith marking his latest project, set to premiere in 2025. The psychological drama stars Paula Patton and Loretta Devine and tells the story of Faith Mitchell (Patton), a mother navigating family struggles, financial hardships, and personal grief—a narrative of resilience that Porter knows well.
That theme, resilience, underpins his work as an accountability coach today, where he channels his own life lessons to help clients of all ages, including young children of actors and athletes in Malibu, build mental strength. “Coaching goes beyond sports. I teach these kids to face adversity without letting it derail them. That’s something I learned at Rumsey, and it’s at the heart of what I do now.”
Porter’s advice for current Rumsey students is simple but profound: “Surround yourself with those who push you to imagine and then support you in getting there. Rumsey did that for me. It was a place where I started to stretch my mind, making friends from all over the world. You’ll learn more than just facts; you’ll learn to dream bigger.”
To stay connected or learn more about Porter’s work, you can find him at charlesfporter.com and follow him on Instagram at @brainwashedforgreatness.
