Meet Jackie E. | Media Personality, Content Creator, Sneaker Enthusiast, & Former Division 1 Basketball Player

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jackie E. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jackie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Growing up, the word “risk” often frightened me. As a child, I was always the one to play it safe – I did not take the “big jumps” off of the swings in the playground. I also tried my best to not do two things: get wrong answers on tests and get in trouble. If I was not sure something was correct, taking a “wild guess” would be my last resort. In general, I found reassurance in knowing my actions would seldom lead to a mistake. I think basketball provided me with a more positive perspective about what “risk” could mean. There’s a famous quote that says, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. As a shooting guard, I learned very quickly that taking a risk (shooting the ball) can also bring reward (scoring points). That helped my basketball career ALOT! Haha! I learned that every risk doesn’t have to end with something bad happening. Not to say that every outcome will be favorable , but it provided me with a more optimistic outlook on “risks” altogether.

Now that I am a content creator, I’ve had to embrace risks even more. Content creating has endless risks. There is a risk in deciding to be a content creator, what content to create, what platform you’re going to post on, what time you post, and the list continues! Overall, I think the biggest risk you take is putting your work on display for everyone to see. We put so much of our thoughts, creativity, and sometimes ourselves into our content. It’s a work of art! I would be lying if I said, posting content was always an easy task. When posting, you immediately expose yourself to the thoughts and opinions of others with the click of a button.

However, there are also great rewards and benefits that come with content creation. You can connect with like-minded people, have potential brand deals & partnerships, and not mention helping and inspiring people all over the world. Taking risks has done all these things for me throughout my career and I am so grateful.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being an educator by day and a media personality, content creator, and writer with the rest of my time, is definitely a balancing act.  It requires a lot of time management and intentionality. I created my brand “The Tubby Effect” in hopes of curating a space where all of my passions can be on display. In case you’re wondering, “Tubby” is my nickname. With my love for sneaker styling and natural hair, my content aims to provide inspiration for sneakerheads, non-sneakerheads and all of my “curl” friends! I am a firm believer that when it comes to styling sneakers, the possibilities are endless ! Sneakers can go with any outfit. I also believe that natural hair is a personal statement of your uniqueness. Your hair is your “crown” of glory! It doesn’t matter if it’s Rapunzel’s length, in an uptown fade, slicked back, or in an afro. Fashion starts from the CROWN of your head and goes down to the SOLES of your feet!

Additionally, I am a host, actress, photographer, and speaker. Whether you’ve seen me making appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America, Essence magazine, Foot Locker Women’s & Donna Recipe’s IG Feed, June Ambrose’s IG story , writing blog posts for Kicks & Fros, or even hosting events at NYC Fashion Week, I truly embrace my ability to tap into the multi-media space while still remaining true to all of my passions.

I have a video series on Instagram called “Kicktion of the Day”. In this series, I breakdown all of the words and phrases of the sneakerhead community and make it easy for everyone to understand. It’s so fulfilling for me to educate others on something I am so passionate about and provide common ground for sneakerheads and non-sneakerheads alike. There is one episode of “Kicktion of the Day” that I am very proud of ! I did the entire episode in Spanish in honor of Hispanic heritage month. As an aspiring polyglot (a person who speaks more than 3 languages), that was a huge accomplishment for me and I look forward to doing more episodes in other languages!

A recent proud moment I had was being invited to be a contestant on the 2nd season of the show “Love Kicks” by Ebay. This is a sneaker game show that tests your sneaker knowledge throughout a series of questions and activations ( including a sneaker ball pit)! My episode airs in July! Make sure you all tune in on Youtube!

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned throughout my content creation journey has been to create content that is authentic to what you are passionate about. When I first started creating content, I started with doing make-up tutorials and editorial fashion content. I liked those two niches a lot and they were very trendy at the time. However, I wasn’t passionate about them. It wasn’t until the pandemic happened that I fully dove into creating content around sneakers and my personal style. That was when I started finding true joy and fulfillment in content creation ! One piece of advice I would give to anyone who is just starting their content creation journey, would be to make sure that their content reflects something that they are passionate about.  When you create from a passionate place, you not only attract an audience organically but your passion often inspires others to do the same.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Most people assume that all jersey people go to NYC for fun. That’s only partially true ! LOL. I definitely enjoy going to NYC but there are also so many amazing places to go to in Jersey! I will share some of my favorite activities /restaurants/ places from both NJ & NYC that I would take my friends who are from out of town! I always like to give tons of options and just go with whichever things my friends choose. All restaurants listed below are good for either brunch or dinner.

Jersey :

Top Golf – Edison, NJ
Long Branch Beach & boardwalk- Long Branch, NJ
Englewood Boat Basin ( Scenic/hiking)- Englewood, NJ
American Dream Mall- ( Shopping center, amusement park, aquarium, skiing, mini golf, & more )- East Rutherford, NJ
Sojo Spa Club – Edgewater, NJ
Haven Riverfront Restaurant & Bar- Edgewater, NJ
Viva Margarita- Edgewater, NJ
Riverwalk on River Rd. – Edgewater, NJ
Al Basha Restaurant – Paterson, NJ
Fat Taco ( Restaurant)- Hoboken, NJ

Pier 13 ( Food Trucks, events, riverwalk)- Hoboken, NJ

Branch Brook Skating Rink- Newark, NJ
Little Tijuana (Restaurant) – Newark, NJ
Rumba Cubana ( Restaurant) – Rochelle Park, NJ

The Lola- Cocktail Lab & Eatery ( Restaurant)- Hoboken, NJ

New York:

Times Square ( 42nd street )
Grand Central Station
Summit One Vanderbilt ( Observatory)
Top of the Rock (Observation deck)
Rockefeller Center ( during Christmas season)
Vessel – Hudson Yards
Broadway shows ( Lion King, Wicked, etc.)
Don’t Tell Mama- Piano Bar
Angel of Harlem (Restaurant)- Harlem
Brooklyn Bridge Park- Brooklyn
Museum of Ice Cream
Kokomo NYC ( Restaurant)- Williamsburg , Brooklyn
Miss Lily’s 7A Cafe ( Restaurant) – Avenue A , NYC
The Edge Harlem (Restaurant)- Harlem

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc. that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?  
I would love to dedicate this shoutout to Jesus, my husband, my family, and closest friends (my village). Your unwavering support and encouragement throughout my basketball, acting, hosting, and content creating journey has been the fuel to my fire. On the days when I felt discouraged, had a bad game, or had a creative block, you all were my backbone and I am forever grateful for you all. I also want to dedicate this shoutout to my “sole sisters” ! During the pandemic, I was able to connect with an amazing sneaker community and sisterhood. Community is so important and during a major time of uncertainty in our world, it was a blessing to find a group of like minded people whose support meant everything to me!

Website: www.thetubbyeffect.com

Instagram: @thetubbyeffect

Youtube: @thetubbyeffect

Other: My blog posts can be found at: https://www.kicksandfros.com/blogs/blog

Image Credits
Sonali- @sonaliohire ( https://www.instagram.com/sonaliohrie/) Elyse Ketura- @thecatchbyelyse ( https://www.instagram.com/thecatchbyelyse/) Ricky Shoebio- @spacecampfresh ( https://www.instagram.com/spacecampfresh/) Melissa Lyric- @mlyriclens ( https://www.instagram.com/mlyricslens/)