Chida R. Warren-Darby
Affectionately known as “Jordan Body Architect,” Jordan Jackson has been an architect of the body for approximately eight years. A graduate of Cal Baptist University with a degree in Kinesiology, Jackson played basketball there, where he tore his ACL. As a result of the injury, he rehabilitated himself, got stronger – came back and worked with the basketball team assisting in strength and conditioning and fell in love with it. “Just seeing that people have the ability to get stronger, faster and recover – that’s where the passion started.” But a seed was planted even before college. While in high school, Jackson’s grandmother was in a nursing home, where his mother was employed. There, he spent a lot of time with the physical therapists observing the condition people were in, and hoping one day to prevent those conditions in others.
Jackson has been running his business for a year and a half, but has been training for eight years. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he was employed at various gyms, where he was the top trainer, bringing the gyms lots of business. When asked if it was difficult to break away and become self employed as a trainer, Jackson shared “It was a little nerve-racking when [you realize] you’re not going to have people bringing you clients, but I knew it was something I could do. I’m very effective.”
Though many individuals are surfacing as personal trainers – sometimes making the art of training look seemingly easy, Jackson stresses that there’s a lot more involved than giving your client orders. “I wake up really early, around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., getting my work out in early, so nothing gets in the way of that. Then I usually start training [between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.] until mid-morning, and then again around 6 p.m.” When it comes to the types of clients he has, Jackson says he’s good at training all types of people, but he has a niche for athletic performance which leads his clientele to be lots of athletes, wanting to improve their skills. But athletes aren’t his only focus. Jackson’s oldest client is 83 years old, in addition to a 75 year old client, followed by stay-at-home moms and everyone in between. Most of his clients are centered in Solana Beach and the Del Mar area.
As an African American entrepreneur working in these areas of San Diego, Jackson says that he understands in some instances he’s going to be the only Black face a lot of people will see the entire day. In being the only one, he says “I’m helping to paint a picture of us past what they see on TV and in music.” For him it’s not added pressure to do so because it’s been his life. “I went to one of the worst schools in the Chicago area, and was recruited to one of the most prestigious, affluent schools, where I was the only one.” Some days he says it’s draining, but he feels that God has him there for a reason.
While his focus is north of the 8, Jackson says he plans to do more in the Southeastern community. “I’m planning and saving for that right now,” but unfortunately in communities of color, there, at times, tends to be more convincing that we should be into health and fitness. In affluent White communities, the response tends to be “Why wouldn’t you?” A lot of this thinking can be attributed towards socioeconomics. Access to healthier foods – all the time, personal trainers or even gym memberships can be costly. Even though he’s saving to make big moves, Jackson did spend a large part of his time last year in the Barrio Logan area influencing kids to make healthier choices in eating and fitness.
The most rewarding part for Jackson with his business, is seeing the end result accompanied by a “thank you”. While there are rewards, the challenges are planning for “bigger”. “Right now I’m planning for what’s going to retire me. I’m from Lemon Grove, so I’m thinking about how I’m going to get me back over there,” which includes hiring more people and stabilizing the business.
For individuals looking to get into the fitness industry, Jackson says “Just really be about it!” He says he’s seen a lot of trainers lie to people and be fake, causing people to lose their confidence about getting in shape. “Just be genuine about being healthy.”
His warning for those looking to get in shape is not to start too extreme. “[Most people] think it’s a black and white change but it’s subtle,” he says, like cutting a few things out of your diet. “People start too big and they change everything. But start small,” allowing yourself to see the progress in the small changes. “For our community, we don’t think [fitness] is important until something bad happens.” To avoid having high blood pressure, diabetes, and other life threatening ailments, Jackson says just consider the change. “I believe in people…I believe they can do it!” To learn more about Jordan’s business visit him online at www.jordanbodyarchitect.com
