Fans met PJ on Michelle Young’s season of “The Bachelorette,” and despite only being on a few episodes of the show, the Texas-based firefighter won over the hearts of Bachelor Nation.

After PJ went home in last week’s episode, he stopped by the “Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation” podcast and shared the tragic story of how he lost his little brother Bakari in 2017.

During the episode, PJ revealed that during a business trip to Greece just after graduating college, Bakari and some friends had an altercation with a group of guys at a bar.

PJ said, “They had an altercation outside and when Bakari went back inside, the guy came back with other guys. They chased him down and jumped him. He ended up losing his life out there, just like that. I don’t know if it was an American thing or a race thing, but it was really unfortunate the way it went down.”

Now, PJ is sitting down exclusively with BachelorNation.com to tell his brother’s story and share more details including why he’s “positive” race played a role in Bakari’s tragic death.

Check out PJ’s entire interview — including how you can get involved in the Bakari Foundation — below.

Bachelor Nation: What inspired you to go on “The Bachelorette”? How did you get cast?

PJ: I have a buddy that reached out to me about a producer who reached out to him for the show. He didn’t want to do it at the time, so I told him I might be interested. I started the process and at first I stepped away, but later on the producers reached out to me again saying they thought I could be a good fit for Michelle. When I found out it was her, I said yes because she’s attractive, goal-oriented, family-oriented, and everything that I’m looking for.

BN: And how do you feel about your experience on the show looking back now?

PJ: Looking back, I actually grew a little bit more than I thought I would as a person. It wasn’t always in front of the camera; we got a lot of downtime too, so there was a lot of time to reflect. During that time, I spent a lot of time writing and I still make time for that now. I feel like I’ve grown when it comes to reflecting and not taking the little things for granted. Also, in some situations, I’m a little more introverted, but the show helped me with getting more comfortable getting out of my comfort zone.

BN: What has been the most surprising part of being on “The Bachelorette”?

PJ: The most surprising part was the other guys and the bond we formed in the house. That was something that I wasn’t expecting. I was expecting more of a competitive, edgy bunch of type A, alpha guys, but it was a lot more camaraderie than what I expected.

BN: I know Bachelor Nation fans wish they got to see more of you this season. Was there more that you were hoping to share with Michelle?

PJ: Yeah, there’s some stuff I thought she would value to know about me and I think would have helped our connection and our bond. So there were definitely some things I wanted to talk to her about and some things that are important to me that I wanted to share. But we didn’t get the chance to, and it is what it is. I did want to talk to her about my brother Bakari’s story, what it meant to me, and how it changed my life and my family’s life. I just love talking about him because he was such a light to so many people and I think she would’ve enjoyed hearing about him. I also wanted to share how much my family, in general, means to me, because she brought up the importance of her family a lot. I know her parents have been married 33 years and my parents also just had their 33-year wedding anniversary while we were filming.

BN: When you were on the “Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation” podcast, you mentioned how your family has helped each other get through tough times. Was there anything else you’ve done to work through losing your brother?

PJ: My parents were definitely very receptive to therapy right away. It took a little bit longer for me and my little sister to kind of go that route with it. I still actually haven’t fully dove into the therapy like I should, and I’d like to in the future. I would also say, fitness and working out was a good way to get out a lot of the pent-up feelings that you can’t express or you feel like you can’t express. Another thing that really helped me out was just going back to work. I’m a firefighter and I took some time off, but when I got back to work, the guys just treated me normally. They took care of me but didn’t treat me like a victim. It was just one of those things that brought back some normalcy to the difficult situation I was trying to navigate through, and it helped a lot.

BN: Since you shared your story on “Talking It Out,” has anyone else reached out to you to say they’ve been touched by your story or share a similar story? If so, how do those messages impact you?

PJ: Yeah, I actually have received messages from people who have lost siblings, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and more, just sharing their stories. They have shared what has helped them through grief and some have thanked me for opening up about it, because now they feel like they can open up about it. That moved me a lot, because I didn’t share my brother’s story realizing that it could help others. I was just sharing it because sharing it helps me. So for it to touch and reach other people and for them to feel the same way is really moving.

BN: That’s incredible. We know you sharing Bakari’s story will definitely continue to help others. You mentioned this a bit on “Talking It Out,” but how do you think race played a role in your brother’s murder?

PJ: When it came to the altercation and the guys that took my brother’s life, I’m positive race played a role. Thinking about it now, there was definitely some race-fueled tension. When it came to my little brother being in the picture with the bottle girl, which upset the group of guys, it wasn’t even his idea to take the picture. He was just in it and the bottle girl wasn’t supposed to be in the photo, she just stepped in. And the first thing that the guy who initially attacked my brother asked the bottle girl was, “Why would you take a picture with a Black guy?” That’s what the whole altercation started from. We get so used to our little bubbles and don’t think racism is prevalent because you don’t see it every day or maybe because your community is very diverse or maybe because you don’t experience it yourself. But it’s something that unfortunately reaches around the world. The situation with my brother was obviously really unfortunate and tragic, and I’m sure reading about it people don’t even realize these things can happen all over the world. It makes you ask yourself if we are making the progress that we need to be making as far as race and relations like that. So I think it’s very important to continue to talk about wherever you live. And for me, despite what happened, my little brother inspired me to want to get out and travel, and now that’s one of my favorite things to do.

BN: Conversations about race are crucial to keep having, so thank you for using your voice and platform to have these extremely important conversations. After everything you and your family have been through, how would you say you’ve changed over the past five years?

PJ: I’ve always loved family, but this brought us even closer. And I’ve been trying to find a healthy balance between things that I need to do for myself and trying to be able to be there for everybody else. When you lose somebody so close, you always think, “Could this be the last time this person asked this of me or the last chance I get to do this or the last time I get to see Grandma?” So I would say I’ve changed in the sense that now I definitely like to go out of my way to slow down and make more quality time for the people that matter. I also try not to focus as much on the things that don’t matter. There are a lot of things that we worry about, focus on, and stress out about, but in the grand scheme of things, most of those little things don’t really matter. And while I’m definitely even more family-oriented, I am also more bold and driven in other areas of my life like work and other things I care about. I know what’s really important.

BN: That’s a great perspective for everyone to try to lean into. If you could sit down with PJ five years ago, what message would you share with him?

PJ: It’s kind of cliché, but just specifically related to playing college football, I would say don’t get down on yourself. Texas football in general is very competitive and very tough, so it’s easy to get down on yourself, compare yourself to other people, and wonder if you made the right decisions. I feel like I spent a lot of time putting myself down in situations where I wasn’t able to see the big picture and see that there’s a lot more to college than just football. If I could’ve appreciated more the education I got, the friends I made that I’m still very close with, and things like that, I think I would have had an even better college experience. I would tell myself to not be so hard on myself about something that’s such a small piece to the bigger picture.

BN: That’s some good life advice. What is the most rewarding part of the work you do now with the Bakari Foundation that you and your family created to honor your brother?

PJ: The most rewarding part is getting to be hands-on and being with the people you can help. We’ve done school drives, backpack drives, a business entrepreneur program at LBJ High School, and more. Getting to help people and see their reactions, like sending a family to Disney World. That may seem like nothing to somebody who goes every year, but this family has been grieving a loss that they can’t wrap their mind around, and the way it helps their little boy out. Something that small really could save the trajectory of his life and shift his mindset in general. So just being able to help and seeing people grow, that’s the most rewarding part for me.

BN: The work you continue to do is so special and has helped so many people. We can’t wait to see what you continue to do. What is the best way for Bachelor Nation fans to support the work you and your family are doing to keep your brother’s legacy alive?

PJ: Right now, our events are still very local, but the foundation where we help fly the families out on a trip is not. Those people come from all over, so people can help by donating, sponsoring a family, or just by spreading our message by word of mouth. Anything we can do to expand our reach helps out more people, more families, and more kids. It all helps. So even if you can’t donate right now, maybe you know somebody who may be able to help, so spread the word. We’re grateful for whatever anyone can do to continue our outreach.

BN: And lastly, what are you most looking forward to in 2022?

PJ: There are a couple things. First, get the proper justice for my brother that our family deserves when we go to Greece for the trial in February. We want to have that door shut so we can move on and continue to grow as a family. It’s a really tough situation and we just want to get justice for my little brother and for what’s right in that situation. Next, I would also love to be able to continue to expand Bakari’s clothing line, Bakari Luxury Sportswear. The foundation is what we do to give back because we’ve been through a lot, but the clothing line is still him, very much alive. That’s how we keep him alive. We use his books, his tablet, his templates, things he left behind, conversations we’ve had with him, to create the clothing that he wanted to create. We just have to look for steady manufacturers and we want to make really high-quality stuff. We’re still very small and doing it all on our own. None of us in our immediate family are fashion designers, so we’re doing our own research and hoping to expand on Bakari Luxury Sportswear in 2022.