Check Out Preshous Jordan’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Preshous Jordan.

Hi Preshous, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been an entertainer/performer for as long as I can remember. I did my first play in elementary school and started taking dance classes and competing in dance competitions around the same time. I took dance and acting classes throughout middle and high school at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts then stopped taking dance classes after high school. I’ve always loved acting and saw that as my dream career so when it was time for me to make a decision on college majors I wanted to major in theatre so bad but I let people convince me a theatre major wouldn’t be the best decision for my future. I went with journalism as my major only because I believed that was a “conventional enough” choice but would still lead me to being on TV and entertaining like I’ve always wanted. I continued taking acting classes and acting in independent films and plays during my four years in college. When I graduated from Long Beach State with my journalism degree in 2019, I moved back to my hometown, San Diego. Shout out DAYGO! I started working at a broadcast news station called KUSI where I was a video production assistant. So basically I would do all the in studio behind the scenes camera stuff like panning and zooming in the cameras, counting the anchors down, getting in-studio guests ready and sometimes even going on-air to do small funny segments with the weatherman Mark Mathis.

Not too long after, the pandemic hit and it was such a weird time. Because news and journalism is an essential business, I got to keep my job but several people at the station lost theirs. Our tasks in the station became slower because there were no more in-studio guests because of social distancing and mask mandates and stuff. I had also JUST started going to the gym at this time cause I was gaining weight. I don’t even like the gym!! So when gyms closed down I was hurt! I tried doing at home workouts but that just wasn’t cutting it for me.

So one day my mom was like “We should get some roller skates” I was like “Ooo okay yeah!” I used to roller skate as a kid at birthday parties and I went to the rink a couple times with some friends after high school but at that time I only knew how to go forward. When those new roller skates came in the mail I realized I had lost any little piece of juice I thought I had! I had a little bit of balance but these skates felt nothing like I remembered. I couldn’t skate for nothing! I was falling and everything! I basically had to relearn how to skate. After that first day on skates, I was determined to get better. I joined a Facebook group for San Diego skaters and met some friends on there. Shoutout Sara and Bethaney for being the first people to want to hang out with me!! From then on, I would get off of work at the news station, take a nap and go skate with my new friends or by myself for up to 7 hours at a time pretty much every day. I learned so much from my friends Derrick, Monae and Dre at the start of my journey that really transformed me into the skater I am today.

After Dre helped me find the confidence to skate on camera after always shooting his videos, I started posting my own videos on Instagram. I had a rapper pay me to make a video to one of his songs and at that point I was like WOW! People actually like the way I skate enough to have me promote their music!? Shortly after that, I had a video go viral with 1Million views and over 100,000 likes. I was SHOOK!

Not too long after that, Danielle Hawkins, a really popular skater and entertainer messaged me on Instagram asking me for some information because she was looking to book skaters for a Disney Channel pilot. I was SO EXCITED! I was flown out to Louisiana for two weeks to work on the show as a skate double and featured skater. I used to love Disney Channel as a kid so getting booked on a Disney Channel show was a dream come true for me!!

Then after that, the artist Raury flew himself and my friend Jared out to San Diego to shoot a music video for his song 2020 Vision.

I was starting to get in a bit of trouble at my job for calling out for these skate jobs back to back but about a month later, I got a job inquiry email about a skate performance job that would last from July to November in the LA area and also pay me more than my current job. This was almost a no-brainer for me, but I was also kind of nervous to leave my job since this was only a four month commitment and I was almost certain my job wouldn’t let me take that much time off and come back. Unfortunately this job only lasted one month but, I decided to take that risk and put in my two weeks notice at my news station job. I’ve always wanted to move to LA and be a performer/entertainer and I felt this move would be my first and biggest step into making this a full-time job.

I started working at DiscOasis which was this HUGE pop up roller rink party in the middle of a botanical garden in Palos Verdes. It was so much fun to skate every day as a JOB with so many other talented skaters! It was almost unreal that this was real life.

From then on, Danielle Hawkins got me booked me on the Silk Sonic “Skate” music video where I met Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak and she also tapped me in with the LA Roller Girls for a SheIn fashion show. Since then, I’ve been working with Danielle and LA Roller Girls consistently. My credits include the American Music Awards with P!nk, NBA halftime shows for the Clippers and Warriors, Saweetie, City Girls, Amazon, Lizzo and so much more. I also now have an agent who has helped me book several commercials and even a guest star role on NCIS:LA where I got to act and skate at the same time! I also work with brands like Taylor Fitwear, Skin Authority and Skunkbags on Instagram content.

Skating has really changed my life and I’m also continuing my acting journey by taking weekly acting classes and shooting skits and short films with my friends. A short film that I shot called “Eviction” by Sidney Cooper Jr. just recently got accepted for the San Diego Black Film Festival this year and I’m so excited!! I hope to continue to do more acting jobs this year and on!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s not always smooth. I think one of my toughest experiences was losing my grandpa while in New Orleans shooting the Disney Channel pilot. That day was the absolute hardest for me. I had a lot of stress on me as one of the most inexperienced skaters on set because I was only 9 months into skating while working with skaters who I looked up to and followed on IG who had been skating for years. I couldn’t keep up and felt like I was letting the other skaters down all while having to process the fact that I had just lost my grandpa hours earlier. No one on set even knew. I was fighting for my life trying to hold back tears that day. I felt a bit guilty for not being with my family and for accepting the job because I knew there was a chance he could pass at any moment while I was out there. I just tried to hold strong to the fact that my grandpa would be proud of me for following my dreams and thankfully I made it back home in time to be with my family for his funeral.

It also hasn’t been the smoothest because I’m the type of person who loves to stay busy and being your own boss or having a non-conventional job can get inconsistent at times. There are slow months and also super busy months but I’m trying to learn to look at my downtime as a blessing and a chance for me to rest and recharge and focus on how to go about getting the next bag!

And I’m not gonna lie, I struggle with confidence a bit at times. Sometimes I feel like I’m not good enough to do certain things even though all of my opportunities and experiences say otherwise. I almost didn’t even submit myself for the American Music Awards out of fear that I wouldn’t be chosen. I’m glad that I did though because that was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a professional roller skater, actor, entertainer, performer, creative, content creator, or “Multi-Hyphenate” as the queen Issa Rae would call it. I do a lot of things but I’m most known for roller skating.

I’m most proud of my ambition and just for me staying true to myself. I’ve had big dreams since I was a kid and I’ve had many roadblocks on the way to me trying to get to where I am now but I’ve always known where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do and I’m proud that I’m here and living for myself.

I think what sets me apart is my personality and vibe. I’m a naturally goofy person in everyday life especially when you get to know me. I love to brighten peoples day and make them laugh and smile. I don’t take myself too seriously and I don’t get embarrassed easily. I’m not afraid to be real whether that’s posting myself falling or being transparent about how I’m feeling about life online. Perfect is very boring to me.

What makes you happy?
I cannot say this enough and it’s probably gonna sound very cheesy but LIFE! Life makes me so happy. The good times and the bad equally. I’m so thankful for it all. Life is such a journey. Life just be moving not caring who’s buckled up or not!! I look at every experience as some sort of lesson.

The amazing people I’ve met throughout my journey also make me very happy. I live for good energy and good people who are open, optimistic, risk takers like myself.

The fact that I’m getting to live out my wildest dreams makes me happy as well. All I know is younger Presh is so proud of me and wants to continue to see me do even more and that’s what keeps me going.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohhsopreshous/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrQ26oDKlavYwW180HNq6ig

Image Credits
@derekharrisphotography @thebrycestudio @legeminimind