With billions of users across the world, social media has ruled the digital space for quite a few years now. Social media platforms have created many celebrities and viral trends, making it a great place for budding artists to showcase their talents.
At the forefront of this new wave is the Millennial generation - though recently outpaced by Gen Z in terms of size, Millennials are the first of the digital age. Both of these demographics have redefined marketing and the entertainment industry utilizing the power of social media.
Ditching a traditional path in the entertainment industry, Jake McGrady (aka Mr. Portland) is a media personality who was birthed from the social media era. Many can talk the talk when it comes to social media, but few have can actually back it up. He had dreams and a vision from day 1 and had to work with the limited resources he had growing up in Oregon to get things going. Throughout his journey, Jake has utilized the power of social media to go from an unknown kid with a passion to what he is now.
Jake has always loved entertaining. Growing up, Jake was actively involved in film and theatre, securing his first local talent agent in Portland before he was even a teenager. After numerous talent showcases and auditions, he began to book roles at a young age. He starred in commercials, short films, feature films and even had supporting roles in TV shows like TNT’s Leverage and Showtime’s Dexter.
However, being a perfectionist, Jake has always liked the freedom to create his own work. From directing to writing to acting to editing, he would make short films and skits for YouTube. Whenever a piece of content was finished, he would post it on every social media platform to promote and try and spread his work. In the early days of “clickbait”, Jake would rename his videos and edit his thumbnails to match certain trends or viral moments he saw at the time. He would then hunt down blogs online to promote his work where he thought he could get the most clicks. After amassing a number of views, he states that he slowly began to build an audience for his content. He even began to make money off of monetizing his videos through YouTube’s Google AdSense program.
Fast forward to his college years at Oregon State and his passion and enthusiasm to grow an audience on social media had just begun. Within his first week at school, Jake got involved with KBVR and sports broadcasting, working his way up to the roles of TV host and host of his 2nd
String Sports radio show at the student-run network. This is where Jake taught himself the art of broadcasting, filming and editing. He got himself involved with everything he to perfect his craft of being in front of the camera.
It was during this time that Jake saw a wide-open opportunity to rebrand himself in the world of sports media. This is where “Mr. Portland” was born. The online persona was tied to a large part of Jake’s personality, the Portland Trail Blazers. McGrady “really didn’t want to bombard his personal followers with too much Blazers content”, so he decided to divide himself in half.
From what he had already learned on social media, he knew he had to start local and focus on a very hyper-engaged and specific audience. This is also now commonly known as a micro-influencer.
His witty humor would help to ease the pain after painful Blazer losses in a relatable way that really connected with Portland fans. It didn’t take long for Mr. Portland to gain some steam. What started out as a social media experiment had quickly become Jake’s identity, medium to connect with fans, and his now biggest marketing asset.
McGrady even turned his notoriety in the Portland scene into a dream internship with nonother than the Portland Trail Blazers. With no job listing for the position, Jake secured his role on the digital media team simply by hunting employees down on Linkedin and sending countless emails. After asking for informational interviews and pitching himself to employees until he eventually got a response and hoped to impress the team with what he had already built for himself online. Little did he know this wouldn’t be the last time he secured a “dream job” along his journey.
After graduating from college, Jake became even more focused on social media and continuing to create his own voice in the Portland media scene. With his same two best friends and co-hosts, the trio rebranded their college radio show into the now “2nd String Show” podcast, utilizing social media to get the show in front of new listeners and viewers. He knew that in order to grow, the show would have to have guests from all different backgrounds to reach different demographics outside of just Portland and the Trail Blazers. This is when Jake began to use his platform to network and eventually secure guests such as musicians, media personalities, and professional athletes.
As the podcast and Jake’s social media presence grew, he would get an email that he will never forget. One thing led to another and one of Jake’s biggest dreams had come true: hosting his own TV show. Due to Mr. Portland’s audience and what Jake had worked so hard to build, NBC Sports Northwest had hired him as a co-host of ‘Blazers Outsiders’ to cover the very team he grew up loving.
When you have an audience that you organically built that genuinely supports you, the possibilities are endless. Jake knew that if he executed something correctly, he could continue to use social media to actually live out the things he had only dreamed of one day doing.
Fashion has been another one of Jake’s passions for as long as he can remember. Through the power of social media, Jake reached out to and connected with a then complete stranger online (@ripcityforlife) who he noticed was a follower of Mr. Portland’s and posted exceptional NBA player edits. After chatting about content and eventually meeting in person, the two brought in Jake’s podcast co-host and the three decided to build a brand. With months of planning and careful preparation for a social media rollout, they launched their streetwear brand, Seven Seven, which is inspired by the Portland Trail Blazers 1977 championship team.
Using his social channels as promotion and a networking tool, in just four years the brand has gone on to be worn on SportsCenter, purchased all over the world, and supported by numerous athletes, media personalities, and public figures with who Jake has created relationships with that started on social media, Seven Sevenwould eventually go on to collaborate directly with Portland’s own Damian Lillard to release clothing for the last ‘Dame D.O.L.L.A.’ project. These opportunities and achievements were all surreal to Jake. What started as small dreams and goals had turned to reality with the power of the digital age. Truly anything is possible with the reach of social media today.
“Send the text. Send the email. Start making your own content. Connect with as many people as you can. Put yourself out there. Anything is possible in the digital age. If you don’t start, it’s never going to happen. Don’t chase your dream. Create your dream.” – Jake McGrady Jake McGradybelieves he is a testament to what it means to create and control your own narrative in the digital age. With new dreams and new goals on the horizon, this is just his first chapter.
With billions of users across the world, social media has ruled the digital space for quite a few years now. Social media platforms have created many celebrities and viral trends, making it a great place for budding artists to showcase their talents.
At the forefront of this new wave is the Millennial generation - though recently outpaced by Gen Z in terms of size, Millennials are the first of the digital age. Both of these demographics have redefined marketing and the entertainment industry utilizing the power of social media.
Ditching a traditional path in the entertainment industry, Jake McGrady (aka Mr. Portland) is a media personality who was birthed from the social media era. Many can talk the talk when it comes to social media, but few have can actually back it up. He had dreams and a vision from day 1 and had to work with the limited resources he had growing up in Oregon to get things going. Throughout his journey, Jake has utilized the power of social media to go from an unknown kid with a passion to what he is now.
Jake has always loved entertaining. Growing up, Jake was actively involved in film and theatre, securing his first local talent agent in Portland before he was even a teenager. After numerous talent showcases and auditions, he began to book roles at a young age. He starred in commercials, short films, feature films and even had supporting roles in TV shows like TNT’s Leverage and Showtime’s Dexter.
However, being a perfectionist, Jake has always liked the freedom to create his own work. From directing to writing to acting to editing, he would make short films and skits for YouTube. Whenever a piece of content was finished, he would post it on every social media platform to promote and try and spread his work. In the early days of “clickbait”, Jake would rename his videos and edit his thumbnails to match certain trends or viral moments he saw at the time. He would then hunt down blogs online to promote his work where he thought he could get the most clicks. After amassing a number of views, he states that he slowly began to build an audience for his content. He even began to make money off of monetizing his videos through YouTube’s Google AdSense program.
Fast forward to his college years at Oregon State and his passion and enthusiasm to grow an audience on social media had just begun. Within his first week at school, Jake got involved with KBVR and sports broadcasting, working his way up to the roles of TV host and host of his 2nd
String Sports radio show at the student-run network. This is where Jake taught himself the art of broadcasting, filming and editing. He got himself involved with everything he to perfect his craft of being in front of the camera.
It was during this time that Jake saw a wide-open opportunity to rebrand himself in the world of sports media. This is where “Mr. Portland” was born. The online persona was tied to a large part of Jake’s personality, the Portland Trail Blazers. McGrady “really didn’t want to bombard his personal followers with too much Blazers content”, so he decided to divide himself in half.
From what he had already learned on social media, he knew he had to start local and focus on a very hyper-engaged and specific audience. This is also now commonly known as a micro-influencer.
His witty humor would help to ease the pain after painful Blazer losses in a relatable way that really connected with Portland fans. It didn’t take long for Mr. Portland to gain some steam. What started out as a social media experiment had quickly become Jake’s identity, medium to connect with fans, and his now biggest marketing asset.
McGrady even turned his notoriety in the Portland scene into a dream internship with nonother than the Portland Trail Blazers. With no job listing for the position, Jake secured his role on the digital media team simply by hunting employees down on Linkedin and sending countless emails. After asking for informational interviews and pitching himself to employees until he eventually got a response and hoped to impress the team with what he had already built for himself online. Little did he know this wouldn’t be the last time he secured a “dream job” along his journey.
After graduating from college, Jake became even more focused on social media and continuing to create his own voice in the Portland media scene. With his same two best friends and co-hosts, the trio rebranded their college radio show into the now “2nd String Show” podcast, utilizing social media to get the show in front of new listeners and viewers. He knew that in order to grow, the show would have to have guests from all different backgrounds to reach different demographics outside of just Portland and the Trail Blazers. This is when Jake began to use his platform to network and eventually secure guests such as musicians, media personalities, and professional athletes.
As the podcast and Jake’s social media presence grew, he would get an email that he will never forget. One thing led to another and one of Jake’s biggest dreams had come true: hosting his own TV show. Due to Mr. Portland’s audience and what Jake had worked so hard to build, NBC Sports Northwest had hired him as a co-host of ‘Blazers Outsiders’ to cover the very team he grew up loving.
When you have an audience that you organically built that genuinely supports you, the possibilities are endless. Jake knew that if he executed something correctly, he could continue to use social media to actually live out the things he had only dreamed of one day doing.
Fashion has been another one of Jake’s passions for as long as he can remember. Through the power of social media, Jake reached out to and connected with a then complete stranger online (@ripcityforlife) who he noticed was a follower of Mr. Portland’s and posted exceptional NBA player edits. After chatting about content and eventually meeting in person, the two brought in Jake’s podcast co-host and the three decided to build a brand. With months of planning and careful preparation for a social media rollout, they launched their streetwear brand, Seven Seven, which is inspired by the Portland Trail Blazers 1977 championship team.
Using his social channels as promotion and a networking tool, in just four years the brand has gone on to be worn on SportsCenter, purchased all over the world, and supported by numerous athletes, media personalities, and public figures with who Jake has created relationships with that started on social media, Seven Sevenwould eventually go on to collaborate directly with Portland’s own Damian Lillard to release clothing for the last ‘Dame D.O.L.L.A.’ project. These opportunities and achievements were all surreal to Jake. What started as small dreams and goals had turned to reality with the power of the digital age. Truly anything is possible with the reach of social media today.
“Send the text. Send the email. Start making your own content. Connect with as many people as you can. Put yourself out there. Anything is possible in the digital age. If you don’t start, it’s never going to happen. Don’t chase your dream. Create your dream.” – Jake McGrady Jake McGradybelieves he is a testament to what it means to create and control your own narrative in the digital age. With new dreams and new goals on the horizon, this is just his first chapter.
