In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.
What is your name?
Jordan Graham
Where are you from and how long have you lived in Kelowna?
I'm from Vancouver and have been living in Kelowna for one year.
Who is your favourite person to spend time with and why?
My favourite people to spend time with are Niko Smeds and Garrick Brown. They're the type of friends that I can have a discussion with about anything and everything and it will always end up interesting.
If you could go anywhere in the world right at this moment where would you go and why?
I'd go to New York City. I feel that a city as large and diverse as New York would harbour the types of subcultures I would find fascinating to dive into. I'd like to roam the city and explore everything it has to offer.
What is your favourite local store in Kelowna and why?
Pulp Fiction, definitely. I've spent countless hours in this beautiful coffee shop writing. Sebastian is always super friendly every time I come in.
What is your favourite activity?
Writing stories, especially when I get really into a scene and the characters and the world they inhabit absorb me.
If you had to choose: pizza, tacos, or burgers?
I'm more of a sushi fan.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
Hard to say hahaha. The one that pops into my mind is when I walked straight into a tree on vacation with my family. A girl had caught my eye across the street and I didn't see it coming.
What is the most inspiring thing that has happened to you?
The most inspiring thing for me has been more of a long term realization that, if I really do work hard towards my dreams, they start to come true.
Tell us your favourite childhood memory
My and buddy Shane would always go biking around Birch Bay in Washington. His family owned a trailer down there in a nice gated community. I'd get to go down for a week each year. Now, most importantly, we used to cause trouble. There wasn't too much to do so we made our own fun. We'd tear around on our bikes for hours, racing through the 5 mph roads (seriously… five miles.)
One day, we decided to go in to the junkyard at the very south end of the park. We were strictly told not to go into the junkyard by our parents. But, we needed a new bike and we knew we could probably find one in the big metal bin. We're in there a good twenty minutes, all the way at the back, when Shane points down the street at a security car coming up the road. We quickly get out of the bin and run across the junkyard to the small office trailer. We get on the back side of it right up against a chain link fence. I get to my knees and peer under the thing as the tires of the car roll slowly up the dirt road. We squeeze behind the trailer, keeping the trailer between us and him. Suddenly Shane tugs me on the arm and points behind him. The fence does an L-turn into the trailer cutting us off. But we can't go back and face humiliation. With nowhere to go, we both climbed the fence and dropped down the other side. Before I had a second to think, Shane took off running down the road, so I started running too. The security guard yelled at us but I just kept running. Our bikes from where we'd stashed them and took off. The security guard tried to follow us in his car but he never had a chance, we knew the park like the back of our hands.
Where do you volunteer or give back to in the community?
I like to be as positive as I can in everything I do around the city. I think the biggest thing I have to give to anyone is a smile and a story or two. Something to make them laugh and brighten their day.
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
Oh man. Talk about a heavy question. One thing… I won't say world peace because that's what everyone says. I would have everyone would read more. I think the potential we all have, as individuals and as a species, gets unlocked the more we read.
What is your favourite activity in Kelowna?
In the winter, snowboarding. In the summer, I enjoy reading in the park.
Where would you sneak away to in Kelowna to spend some time alone?
My parents have a home on the west side with an incredible view of the city and lake. I like going up there at night to think about what I want to happen in my life.
Where would you like to see positive change in Kelowna and why?
To be honest, I don't think I've scrutinized the city well enough to find any flaws worth changing. But I would like to see more healthy food restaurants.
If you were granted one wish for work or in life, what would it be?
One wish? I'd like to go to space, even if it were only for one day, just so I could stare back at the Earth and marvel at it.
Tell us something that not everyone may know about you.
I think 'All you need is love' is the truest statement ever uttered.
What is the name of your business/organization?
I'm a Science Fiction writer. My first book is untitled as of yet.
What does your business do?
I invent crazy, insane, fantastical people in my mind and then set them on adventures worthy of writing down in a book.
How do people connect with you through social media? (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest)
@GodsandNomads
Why did you get into/start this business?
I spent five years trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and the thing always kept coming back to me is I wanted to write a book one day. So I figured why not start there?
What is the goal of your business?
My personal goal for my writing is to win both the Hugo and Nebula and eventually have a novel adapted into a movie.
What has been your biggest struggle either in work or life?
My biggest struggle in life is the constant stream of thoughts going on inside my head. I find it important to take the time to quiet my mind and meditate on what's really important.
If you could start all over again would you do things the same or would things be different?
I wouldn't change a thing.
Why do you think it is important to shop locally?
Because of the amount of resources that are expended and wasted each year trucking and shipping goods across the planet.
Give someone you think that deserves it a shout out and explain why!
Jeremy West! He's a manager at the Cactus Club Cafe downtown and a friend of mine. I want to give him a shout out because I think he does an incredible job down there.
My nomination for the In Focus spotlight is:
Glow Juicery! They make amazing healthy juices that I drink every day now!
We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna!
