Today we’d like to introduce you to Roderick Waites.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
A lover of all things creative born and raised in Fort Worth, TX. I started my ambition on being a socialite at an early age. I’ve always been the kid you see with their mom dancing to the music on the speaker in the retail stores. I knew I wanted to make people laugh and make someone’s day a lot brighter. My passion was always dance but I had this effect on people to make them laugh and produce dopamine all around me. My parents always instilled in me to do the right thing and the right things will be done to you, so I am a firm believer in energy and how I give back to people and the universe. Through my childhood, I have been gifted by God to dance and not only put on a show but minister to God’s people. The first time I started dancing I was 10 years old in my home church, New Bethel Complete in Christ Church. There, I was coddled and raised by so many people that loved me and my personality which eventually made me a family-oriented person so for every family get together I love to make them laugh and dance to get my family hyped, this is when I discovered I was pretty hilarious as well. Once I discovered my witty personality I began to take to social media and see a lot of personalities like mine. I grew up on the app “Vine” so there was always something to laugh at and be excited about and as I scrolled for hours upon hours, I began to think to myself that if I make my family laugh then I could also make a lot of other people laugh on social media. Laughter is good for the soul and dance is good for the body so I’ve always made sure I crafted my personality to appeal to everyone. As I stated before I grew up on the app “Vine” but I never got into making any content or truly trying to explore my potential on being a socialite, but that didn’t mean that my time wasn’t coming.
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?
Being my true authentic self was always a struggle because I felt like I needed to be what others wanted me to be so I could be accepted. Not only was that hard it was also great for me to realize my strengths and how I could use that struggle and turn it into an accolade of overcoming. I always dreamed big but I never had the idea of becoming an influencer or even thinking my opinion matters to a lot of people. Once I found my voice and stuck with the content, I continued to create then things became easy to just be myself. If there was anything that my struggle has taught me is that being accepted by yourself and the ones you love is better than being accepted by people who won’t understand the reason behind why you do what you do.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a jack of all trades, my dance is from talent, my modeling skills are from ambitions I have, my photography is from experience through jobs and my styling/fashion consulting is from being a believer in pouring into people. It might seem crazy but I am known for just being a whole vibe and networking with a lot of different individuals in multiple industries. More or so now I am known for being a content creator and being that socialite people want to be around. I am mostly proud of staying true to who I am and not putting myself into a box, I recently just hit 2 million views on one of my videos on “Tik Tok” and that helped boost my socialite networking skills to the max. This not only helped me with notoriety but this also helped with people seeing how I am different because of all of the things I am pursuing. I know nowadays you go to someone’s social media page and you see them doing the same type of content as opposed to me I have so many avenues of content and reaching a lot of new people every day from different walks of life.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I always encourage people to be a go-getter and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. I also encourage that you work with like-minded people or mentors who either have the same vision as you or see the vision that you want to make real. Guidance and getting wisdom from people who came before you will always help you put your future choices into perspective. Also remember to not rush the process and don’t change who you are for more likes, comments or subscriptions because changing for others only hinders your growth and potentiality.
Contact Info:
- Email: jayepitome@yahoo.com
- Instagram: Jayepitome
- Twitter: Jayepitome
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jayepitome
Image Credits
Doug E-Fresh
Roderick Waites
Jayepitome
