A Story of True Gents

Jordan Brady's stories intrigue and endear, making his personal biography a HD experience. He’s the human embodiment of a page turner, so it’s a good thing he’s an open book. When you first hear Jordan speak, your premiering thought is that he has the perfect voice for radio. Then you learn he’s been putting it to use on his podcast instead. Now in its 11th year, 4th season, and 470th episode, ‘Respect the Process’ facilitates long form conversations with filmmakers about creative outputs. 

Jordan has filmed over 1300 commercials, four feature films, three full-length documentaries and one Netflix comedy special. But if you ask Jordan who he is, he’ll say he’s a father and husband before he’d say he’s a director. Family is incredibly important to him — you can tell by the kind of warmth he radiates when discussing them. He speaks about his beloved wife and fellow filmmaker, Jeannette Godoy, in the highest esteem, and the same goes for his four children. His sons work actively within the family businesses too. Ben is a director/DP at True Gent, whilst Jake edits the podcast. They truly are a family of creatives.

Before filmmaking, however, (which was never actually the plan to begin with), Jordan was a comedian. Coining the infamous 'Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow' term in his road act back in the '90s (google it) was one of many highlights of a successful career making people chuckle. Despite developing a love for film, comedy has remained a common thread throughout his life; even taking him to Afghanistan and Iraq to entertain troops in 2016. Comedy often transcends into Jordan’s directing style as well — “humour is our friend in filmmaking” he says. 

The Origin Story 

Whilst touring as a comedian, Jordan had got hold of a video camera and taught himself how to film and edit some bits and pieces — “You can either get high, eat cereal and watch cartoons, or you could learn to direct short comedy bits. So I chose the latter.” 

Admitting to being 'a bad actor', Jordan worked as a gameshow host on MTV, but it was NBCs ‘Name Your Adventure’ that changed the trajectory. “When I got to NBC, I was hired to host along with Mario Lopez from Saved by the Bell. He was hired to host because he was a star. I was hired as the second banana to do dangerous adventures the insurance company deemed too risky for Lopez.” 

Before shark diving, space camp and a few other hairy expeditions, Jordan came to a reckoning. “I told the producers, ‘what I really want to do is direct.’ They said, ‘well, we don't need directors, we need producers. So if you produce six segments we’ll let you direct’. And one, turned into three years of directing segments on that show. This led to a manager going ‘well, you’ve got to write something if you want to direct more.’ So I wrote and directed a feature , and did three feature films after that.”

What’s In a Name?

Deciding to leave his old production company, Superlounge,  behind in 2017 and go out on his own, Jordan had to come up with an entire business almost overnight. That’s when True Gentleman Industries was born. But where did the inspiration for the name come from? In an age of identifications, Jordan considers himself, a gentleman — the gender specificity associated with the word ‘gentleman’ is not something Jordan likes to attach to his conceptualisation of the term. Instead, it is about the decency, genuinity, honour and courtesy that comes with traditional understandings of the word. 

It is these very qualities that are peppered throughout all of True Gent’s’ work. You’d guess that’s why it’s been directing with names like Chrysler, Smirnoff, Toyota, Vans, National Geographic and many more. 

Commercial Directing Film School - Knowledge Gatekeepers Are Assholes 

Just when you begin to think that’s about as interesting as one life could get, you’re soon proven wrong. Being a self-taught filmmaker, there were a few people who Jordan remembers as being incredibly helpful to him. He fondly recalls one director telling him to step out of the way of the key light on set and doing so with kindness, whilst another showed him the do’s and don'ts of lenses. “But then there were others that were total assholes” says Jordan frankly. He continues, “They wouldn’t even tell you you have to take the lens cap off of the camera. They wanted to guard knowledge.” 

Perhaps this is why Jordan founded his film school. 

What started as a bit of a travelling bootcamp, the Commercial Directing Film School now has a solid base in Los Angeles that hosts students from Quebec, Tokyo, Vancouver, London, Sydney and pretty much everywhere else in between. “I thought it’d be fun to share the knowledge that had been withheld from me.” 

Jordans approach to life is permeated by the comedic aspects of his earlier years, and his teaching style is no exception. “I always teach with humour” he says smiling, whilst he reminisces back to hosting workshops in Santa Monica theatre, “it took me back to my stand-up roots.”

The Value of a Giggle

Speaking to the ethos that forms the foundation of True Gent, Jordan shares, “we aren’t going to get stressed out. Humour is our ally. You don’t have to be a comedian to run a good set, but there’s no situation for which there is no answer. I tell my kids that there are only solutions in filmmaking; that you can use humour to diffuse a situation.” 

Jordans demeanour is one that puts you instantly at ease. He drops pearls of wisdom in a manner that seems so effortless you might wonder if he even knows himself that he is doing so. There are many people who use humour to hide from the real stuff; the important bits. But Jordan does something that feels unprecedented. He uses humour to actually highlight, not detract. To be vulnerable, not guarded. And to do so in a way that helps you settle into your seat and get the full experience. 

“Your life is an accumulation of everything that happens until this point” he says, head tilted in contemplation. True Gent is one of the latest accumulations of Jordan’s experiences to date — making it a company filled with heart and expertise in equal measure. And by today’s standards, that’s pretty remarkable.