“I think the key to being successful in whatever field you pursue is being passionate about what you’re doing, being consistent and working hard,” 23-year-old social media sensation, model, DJ and entrepreneur Charly Jordan (@charlyjordan) shares as we chat over the phone. At the time, she’s speaking to me from her swanky and newly purchased $3 million home in Los Angeles—not only a massive accomplishment for someone her age but also a signifier of the young entrepreneur’s budding success, which can be attributed to this notion.

The Vegas native was one of the early adopters of social media. While many may associate her with her TikTok rise to fame, Jordan actually began her following on Instagram through her travel blog. Pursuing her passion for travel and giving back to others, she embarked on various charity trips throughout the world. Not only did this allow her to explore some of the most beautiful and exotic places through her camera lens, which she captured and posted to her ever-growing Instagram feed, but it also allowed her to give back to causes she cared most about. All the while, she took the time to attend and capture international music festivals. As she was filming the DJs, she instantly fell in love with the craft.

“I’ve always loved music so much, and while I was filming the DJs, I just remember being like, ‘Wow, this is the craziest, coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I need to learn how to do this,” she recalls.

She subsequently took it upon herself to reach out to people in the music space, expressing her interest in wanting to learn to play. At one of the charity events she attended during her travels, she won DJ lessons with the legendary 3LAU. She was instantly thrilled as a longtime fan of his, as well as at the thought of getting into this area and learning how to DJ herself.

“When I arrived for the DJ lessons, he was super busy and basically told me he didn’t have time to give me the lesson but was happy to gift me a pair of turntables in exchange so that I could teach myself. I was 19 years old at the time, and CDJs—which are the basic turntables that live in every single club—were about $8,000, so I couldn’t even wrap my head around buying one of those. He just gave it to me, so I spent the next year and a half, two years, in my bedrooms and at house parties DJing for fun and trying to teach myself the skills,” she shares.

Shortly thereafter, Charly opened for Justin Caruso at Academy in L.A., kick-starting her career with her first real club performance.

“I really wanted to make sure that when, if I ever did become a DJ performing live, I spent quite a while doing it just for fun because I wanted people to take me seriously and not just think I was up there because I had a big social following. I wanted to be really good at it, not giving anyone an excuse to say anything,” she adds. “This was especially important as a female in the space because there aren’t that many female DJs. That’s why I always push women to do it, and I love it. At my shows, you’ll see the front rows filled with girls, which makes me so happy, and I always tell them to keep pushing forward since it’s such a male-dominated field.”

Following her first performance, Jordan immediately got picked up by management and started DJing professionally. This year, she embarked on a tour opening up for Cheat Codes, along with a residency in Vegas with Zouk Group. This summer, she’s headlining her first show in Las Vegas, as well as playing at Lollapalooza in Chicago. She has a new single releasing—a summertime-themed song called “Soaker.” And you’ll also find her manning the turntables at Miami’s legendary megaclub E11EVEN, of which she’s graced the stage several times prior.

“I love Miami so much. It’s hands-down my favorite place to play. I’ve played there a lot because the people have so much love for music and nightlife there, which is really unique. I also love playing at DAER at the Hard Rock, and I got to play LIV last time I was in town, which was really cool,” she notes.

“E11EVEN for me was really significant because I used to go to the club just as a fan and a lover of music. And now I’m playing there. When I turned 21, I never would’ve thought I’d be on the opposite side of the audience, so it’s very surreal.”

While music takes center stage in Jordan’s life, she also balances her other businesses with equal passion and attention, which she launched following the pandemic lockdowns—Smoke Roses and Beauty in Pain. Stemming from mental health struggles and her advocating for healthy cannabis use, Smoke Roses is Jordan’s line of organic rose petal cones, free of dyes, additives and harmful seals that are vegan and cruelty-free.

“Healthy cannabis use has helped me so much with my mental health. It can be such a positive thing for people, but I wanted to reflect that in a very clean niche with products that made people feel more comfortable smoking. In my opinion, it’s the healthiest way to smoke,” she notes. “And it wasn’t just about creating a product—there’s a whole purpose behind it, which made it all the more special to me.”

Her second brand, Beauty in Pain, is her line of clothing and jewelry that aims to address the same concerns of mental health awareness and removing the stigma around the subject.

“Beauty in Pain is more inclusive, as it appeals to more people with the same focus on mental health and creating products that provoke conversation. The whole brand encourages its users to have meaningful conversations and feel open to talk about their struggles,” she explains. “It’s why I got into social media in the first place. I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks growing up my whole life with no one around me who knew how to help me or give advice to me. So I started taking the time to educate myself and got on the internet and talked about what was going on with me, and I found that so many people could relate—it was a really cathartic experience. The spread of information and starting the conversation is the first step—but as we continue to release more products in this line and Smoke Roses, I’m really excited to tie in charity components to give a portion of proceeds to different causes and go back to what I did for years with my charity and travel work.”

While Jordan takes to social media to spread positivity and awareness on mental health struggles, unfortunately, being a public figure means she also receives the influx of negative hate or discouraging messages that—if not managed correctly—could also contribute to this toxic way of thinking. Her solution?

“I’m not going to lie, it’s something that every day I have to actively block out. That said, I’m still struggling with it. Back in the day, the internet was so much more of a positive space, but today, it keeps getting more negative. I’ve now gotten to a point where I don’t find any validity in the comment, the likes, all that. If you find validity in the positive comments, you’re also going to find validity in the negative ones. So I don’t let any of them affect me.”

She’s also learned the golden ingredient to finding balance in her life.

“Balance has been really big for me. Everyone always has their own advice—take a vacation, take breaks, etc. But for me, it’s really been honing in on my mental health—looking into the way I feel and getting to the root of why I feel that way,” she shares.

“The greatest thing for me, and that I can encourage others to do, is learn to understand yourself. Take it upon yourself to love yourself and find out what feels good for you.”

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