Okay, so let's talk about you. Who is Jourdan?

That is a really tough question! Let's start by saying that I am ME all the time, so maybe this was actually the easiest question I answered today!

Where does your story with journalism begin and how did you get to where you are now?

The very beginning of my journey in journalism started in high school, during my senior year in 2010. We had to pick a major for college, and growing up I was inspired by Angie Martinez and Miss Info. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be on the radio, but I truly loved hip-hop. My parents were in their 20s when they had me and I was lucky enough to go to concerts with them whenever they went, so I was always around music and it heavily influenced me. On top of that, at that time I felt like I could write better than I could speak so I figured I'd pursue hip-hop journalism. Complex and The Fader were big in a way that's very different from today but seeing them made me think that I could do that too.

And then you ended up working at Complex! Was this a dream come true?

I started interning for Complex right before graduating in 2014, and it turned out to be one of the worst experiences of my life. So I decided to veer away from that space. I picked up internships with different cultural pioneers of the time; I worked at Married To The Mob for two weeks, with Vashtie for a while, and then for a magazine called Respect. Through them, I was able to attend and report on a lot of concerts, and I picked up photography because at school they taught us that the journalism bubble was going to pop and I felt the need to diversify my skillset. We also had a podcasting class and we had to do things on camera.

They do say never meet your idols. You studied journalism during an interesting time, social media started taking over and that forced writers to learn how to wear multiple hats. You hosted a podcast called "Dating in NYC" for a while, how did that come about?

It originally started as a segment on my blog lifwithjourdan.com while I was in college in Baltimore, and after coming back to New York I realized the scene was completely different. The things that were happening to me were also happening to everybody else I knew so, for about a year, I decided to interview people about their dating life. Until somebody told me they loved my little column but nobody reads anymore and suggested I did a podcast. I found a studio in Brooklyn, recorded the first episode with my best friend and Dating in NYC was officially born. It was 2015, or 2016.

Why did you choose the Bronx as your base?

I went to high school here and I have always lived approximately 15 minutes away. Before moving into the studio where we are now, I had a great year with True to Us and I garnered many sponsorships that allowed me to spend more time in the neighborhood, mainly because I wanted to. I began volunteering here and became even more enamored with the place and started to think that maybe I wanted to move in. But I was traveling so much for work that I began questioning what would be best, to get an apartment just to hold my stuff or a studio where I could set up all things True to Us. Especially as I was doing it all out of my room, to the point where my sleep was affected because it wasn't a peaceful environment anymore. Work was there with me at all times. Whenever I got a notification somebody ordered something, I felt compelled to do it right away. So I made the decision and coincidentally I got an email from this building that's very close to the trains and here we are.

You were born in Detroit, but you grew up in New York City and this is the place that made you who you are today. How has living here shaped your interests and made you the Jourdan we know?

I am inspired by New York every day! I often get the whole spiel about how I was born in Detroit but frankly, I know nothing about Detroit. A lot of my family is there but I don't have friends there, nor do I know how to drive! My community is here in New York, and community is what inspires me to do what I do.

Speaking of community, your work is always about making space for others. Where does this need to break the glass ceiling come from?

I was raised that way by my family. My grandfather and great-grandfather are very involved in their community and family. They are people's people. So it just so happens that the way that trickled down to me is that I was always good at making community online. Naturally, after a while, I started asking how could I mirror it in real life. How can I go from URL to IRL? And that means showing up. In 2020, when we were finally allowed to leave the house I started going on a lot of walks and I stumbled upon this community garden, a farm really and I began volunteering there and had the opportunity to have real conversations with people who allowed me to connect and grow into other communities.

Access is a major hurdle for people looking to break into the sneaker industry. Many don't have the right knowledge or connections to land a job, attend events, or even know where to start. What do you think needs to change to create more opportunities for everyone?

Paying it forward is crucial. I get a lot of opportunities that are not a good fit for me but I make sure to pass on a list of names they should reach out to. In general, people need to try harder. It's too easy to pass a job to somebody you already know, and I know it's hard to open opportunities to the public because you have to sniff through people and figure out who's serious or motivated. But it's become easier than ever to sieve through friends of friends. Most of the time it's a lazy effort, right? I think the answer is to give people an ample opportunity to show up and be part of an industry that's still so obscure for many.

Does True to Us have this type of duty?

Absolutely. However, the other side of the coin is that you have to know the people who are handing out these opportunities and they are usually under private accounts! They will DM me very last minute asking to post a job or project and most of the time they are looking for a particular type of person that's maybe not online. So I try to reach out to people periodically to see if they have anything coming up so I can then share it with others.

Scouting and recruiting is a job in itself. Often the people in charge have little to no time to seek new talent. It has to be handed to them. Do you think brands have a role in community building nowadays?

I think they should. However, a brand's community and its audience are two very different types of people. Often they will choose somebody who has a huge following already, influencers and others alike. But sometimes those are not the people who are in their community. I think they should do a better job of involving themselves, but that means working with people who are already authentically connected to them. That has to be something they are willing to take the time to do.

Most of the time, though, what brands do is throw money at the problem without providing a longevity plan and necessary support. They hand collectives and communities $10,000 and call it a day, as if that's enough to uplift them.

I wish it was 10k! It's usually just a couple of stacks. Or I get hit up to do stuff in my community, for my community and it's expected to be done for free. But it doesn't work like that because things that people in the community need cost money.

You seem like an extremely confident person. How does one get to a place where you are so unapologetically yourself?

I had to figure out who I was. When I was a young girl, I tended to conform and put on a mask but then I had to ask myself: who am I? And after some soul-searching, I chose not to perform anymore.

That plays into the concept of authenticity. What does being authentic mean to you?

Being authentic means everything to me because that's all I have. When my collection isn't selling anymore or when people are not texting back and opportunities stop coming, all I have is myself.

Now, going back to True To Us. When did you decide to take the platform to the next level?

Probably 2021? I was still looking for jobs because I never stopped looking for jobs! But we did our first round of clothes in the summer of 2020 and it kept going, then in 2022, we had a juice collaboration, a beer partnership and then Jordan came along. I was like "ok, this is it!", and it feels very good!

Sneakers are such a big part of your life. Is that the first thing you look at in people?

Yeah, even still! It's been like that since I moved to New York! So since I was six! I remember somebody looking me up and down because of the shoes I had on and I was like, wait a minute. They are treating me funny because of my shoes, I don't like this! I was just thinking like an actual little kid at the time and I was like, I did not care about shoes. I cared a lot about my clothes, but with shoes, I was like, you know, I like to play. I like to run around. But ever since then, I'm always looking at shoes first, always.

What's your take on the current state of the sneakers industry?

It's crazy to see because I grew up in the sneakers chatrooms! On forums and Tumblr, there were little bubbles of community and now it's a million times more. It makes me feel good not to work in journalism anymore because even just covering what it has become, so different from the scope I saw it as, I would need to make it normal for people who don't find it normal and now that's all I see.

Your work is all about women and centering women. The sneakers industry is still massively male, both from a business point of view and also the product. When will sneakers for girls stop being pink?

The sneakers I made are pink and blue *laughs*. This is a conversation we have been having for a long time, before even starting True to U, and it seems like finally in the past two to three years companies began listening. So that is happening. The issue is accessibility. I miss being able to go to Footlocker, buy my sneakers and leave. I don't want to sign up for a raffle. I don't want to enter any CAPTCHAs. It shouldn't be difficult for me to spend my own money for a pair of shoes.

So do you think there should be less exclusivity around these sneakers drops?

Personally, I think so. But the core audience doesn't like that. Because no matter where you are from, nobody wants to look like each other. If there is a sneaker that has a whole lotta drops, like the Panda dunks, then everybody is upset and they find it cringy that it has come out so many times rather than think wow, this has been a super accessible shoe for everybody to get. It's a standard basic shoe and that's why a lot of people are buying it. I wish there was less exclusivity because my feet are big and so I am arguing and fighting with men over shoes! Men and bots!

How do you define a classic?

A classic has wearability. So a classic for me is an Air Force 1. I can wear it with anything. I have worn it for years. I'm 31, I've probably been in an Air Force 1 for maybe 25 years. I will consistently buy that sneaker over and over. Any variation of the sneaker, I will buy it. I will buy the same exact white on white pair every single year. That's a classic to me. It's a staple. I will always be an Air Force 1 stan.

You are a pioneer in your field. A true trailblazer paving the way for those who will come after you. But who are some of the people who made a dent in your life and inspired you to do what you do?

My mom, for sure. She was 21 when she had me and the minute she decided my name was going to be Jourdan, I was Jourdan in Jordans. She is a heavy shoe collector as well, and my father taught me how to clean my sneakers. My parents had a huge impact on me when it comes to sneakers. Then Teyana Taylor for sure. She's from Harlem and I met her when her first sneaker dropped. And then many of the women that I met through Jordan brand have stood out to me significantly for the way they have advocated for us. It's been beautiful to see. Patrice, Vanessa...Jazarai Allen-Lord. She's kinda like my mentor and has always supported me even before meeting me. Then Liz, who works for adidas and created the S.E.E.D school program so that Black and Brown women who are into sneakers but maybe didn't go to college can have an opportunity to do a two-year program with the brand and learn everything sneaker, design and things like that. Those are the women I look up to in the industry.

I want to talk about entrepreneurship. What are the barriers young, female entrepreneurs like yourself face?

Money! It's the hardest thing to come to. There are many entrepreneurial brunches, meetings, zoom meetings and all of these things...but I can't brunch myself into a grant! I can't brunch myself into funding, and that's what we need. Funding. A lot of people's ideas don't get off the ground, not necessarily because they don't know how to go about it but because this shit costs money! It costs money to play; it costs money to make samples. It costs time and money. You know you're paying your manufacturer, but you're also paying your graphic designer...you're paying whoever to get the best quality stuff! Now I'm paying four people, and then I have to set the price for the clothes in order to get my money back for those four people. Somehow pay myself and then also have enough of a profit so I can do it again. Sometimes it feels like it's unrealistic. When it comes to female entrepreneurship, there isn't enough funding.

What does the future look like for True To Us?

Long term I want to have a website where people can search for internships and jobs and also submit jobs and internships to True to Us, so that people can find it. Short-term, I guess bigger collaborations, more funding and selling out! And of course also being able to show up for people in real life more.