Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamar Ortiz.
Hi Jamar, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a Creator, Brand Ambassador, CEO, and CyberSecurity Analyst. I was borning in San Jose, California, raised in Raleigh North Carolina, and currently live in the beautiful city of Tampa, Florida. Before moving to Tampa in 2018, the peak of my goals were to graduate college and get my dream job working at a bank’s data center. When I got to the peak of my goals and accomplished all that I had in mind, I became extremely unhappy with everything… work, relationships, the city of Raleigh…etc…I became depressed and felt like I didn’t fit in and something was missing in my life. Harnessing the power of meditation got me through my depression. Meditation helped me start thinking more clearly, opened my mind and helped me to start working on the next chapter of my life. At that moment of beating depression is when I became a different person.
I started making vision boards because that’s what everyone does when they feel lost in life, right? My vision board of course probably had what 90% of others had… Healthy lifestyle, big houses, nice cars, beautiful family… As we meet people in life, you will see that there are many commonalities and differences. I believe although my vision board was similar to others… The person looking at the vision board is the real difference, how much does my fire burn inside me vs. others, how important is my why?
In 2018, I packed up all my stuff, quit my dream job, and moved to Tampa in hopes of creating a new life and chasing that “thing” that was missing in my life. What I have found over these past five years in Tampa is more important than the “thing” I was looking for. I was able to reach a great height of self-actualization. I looked back at all that I have done and noticed a trend of risk taking and accomplishments. While driving your life into the future, we don’t often take metrics on ourselves. Taking metrics and evaluating my life is how I was able to reach my highest performance levels spiritually, physically, and financially. While it is extremely hard to get to that high-performance level, it is even harder to maintain it, but the internal feeling you have will last forever. Knowing that if you veer off track, you have been there before and you will again.
From Corporate to my own clothing brand, to bartending, back to Corporate and entrepreneurship. Now, I am doing things a bit different. I believe I prematurely started my clothing brand. I didn’t have enough capital saved to maintain it and was using the small profits I made from selling merch and bartending to stay afloat. Now I am in a state of financial security and love where I am at. Nothing is a rush as it was before. Creating, building and being an entrepreneur is in my soul. I love it and that’s what excites me when I wake up everyday. What am I going to create next? How am I going to do it? How am I going to manage my time? How am I going to balance being overwhelmed with everyday tasks? This is what you call the journey, true creators and entrepreneurs know that’s what’s important. It’s the ups and downs while still remaining calm and ready that we must learn to love and appreciate.
Fast Forward to 2022 and I am exactly where I want to be, starting new projects and enjoying the ride. My most recent project is an NFT project I am working on with my older brother David. This project is more than just art and collectibles. We are building real utility for our holders that not only impacts the individual but impacts communities. The project is centered around giving back to our communities. This past year in 2021, my fiance and I raised over 1K with the help of our family and friends via social media to give a Christmas to kids in need within our Tampa community. Now, with our new NFT project we want to continue to give back and introduce this generational Blockchain technology of Smart Contracts to our community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No way has the ride been smooth. From early on in my life, I was always in fights, always getting suspended from school and had below average grades. I graduated high school with a 2.5gpa, but college with a 3.1, so I slowly started taking my education seriously. In grade school, I always knew I was better than my efforts, but at that time it is very easy to be labeled. If I didn’t play soccer, I don’t know where I would be. The only reason I went to college was because I had a scholarship to play soccer at Barton College in Wilson, NC. There were times where I had no hope or money because all I did was party. In college, I stopped listening to rap music for some time and started studying and listening to stoics like Napoleon Hill and Alan Watts. This is when my mindset started changing and I began to embrace challenges rather than run from them. I went through a really bad depression after college but was able to realign myself before moving to Tampa. I did not want to leave Raleigh if I could not get a hold of my mental state first. I did not want it to be like I was running from something. I wanted to really embrace who I was becoming and where I was going.
We’ve been impressed with NFT Bro’s, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
A lot of my friends don’t know, but I have always been into art and creating since I was a kid. I took art classes all throughout high school and was even an art major in college before switching to IT. Although I did not graduate in the arts, my mind will forever be in creator mode, whether it’s drawing, painting, graphic design, video editing, creating a new business you name it…If it has to do with creating, it’s for me. I cannot speak too much about my upcoming NFT project because I am not legally allowed to disclose too much, but our community should be very excited. NFT Bro’s is looking to build relationships with our community and established local businesses to help guide them into the future of blockchain and Web3 technologies. There is a new age of technology upon us that most only see as art and collectibles, but it is much more than that. We are slowly building our team of very talented creators, so if you are a business looking to get into the NFT/Blockchain/Web3 space, DM on Instagram. At my core, I have always been a giver and a family man, so that is what this project is centered around, how can we give back to the people that support us and the community we live in. The most proud part of creating NFT Bro’s is building this with my older brother David. David has built many businesses of his own. We look at things differently and have a ten years age gap, so I believe this makes us a great balanced team. David and I are still working through design stages, but giving back domestically and internationally is at the top of our list. Not when we reach x amount of profits, but how can we give back and have our community involved every step of the way.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I cannot say enough about how much I love this city of Tampa. I believe this city has a high ceiling, this is the next LA, the next New York, the next Miami. This city is full of creators, influencers, and beautiful people trying to create a platform. The Jason Skeldon’s, the Muto’s, the Dru’s, and Saber Media. From Photographers to the DJ’s, the Street artist to amazing Jewelry and clothing brands, Tampa has it all. We are out here grinding to leave our footprint on this city and world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamarortiz/
Image Credits
Photographer Instagram: @TampaJordan
