Meet Jerrod Ballard of J.Squared

Jerrod, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I completed my bachelor’s degree in 2011 and realized my Criminal Justice undergrad background didn’t give me the ‘I love what I do’ goosebumps. After graduating, I worked as a substitute teacher and part-time retail associate waiting to see what I could find in the CJUS field that struck my interest. It was while working retail I realized how much I was really into men’s style.

I started my initial blog in 2012 just highlighting pocket squares (which was really my thing back then, hence the name J.Squared) and have had an off and on journey of grasping being an actual blogger ever since. I relaunched the blog at the beginning of 2018 and just celebrated an official year being back. It’s evolved into so much more since then. My style has changed a lot, and I love to write, so I gave the blog a journal-like feel.

Letting my audience in on some real life J.Squared-ness.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Absolutely not. I lost/lose focus, I get unmotivated, I get discouraged, I often ask myself what the hell am I doing. I’m doing this on my own, so any costs for clothing, shoes, accessories, photo shoots, etc. is all out of pocket, and we all know how things add up.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
For now, J.Squared is an online blog (more to come). I post pictures of my style to provide inspiration and just show what I think is dope. I write about whatever is going on at the time, self-reflection, this, that, and the what nots. I’m proud of chasing what I love, being able to look back and say ‘I did it.’ Probably best known for my height (6’5) and my ability to put pieces together well. Being tall AND tacky would be a tragedy.