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ST. CROIX – The Virgin Islands now has one more name in the national spotlight as Jordan Paul, an independent filmmaker from St. Croix and now social media influencer, was featured in this week’s paper issue of the pop culture magazine, “Entertainment Weekly”, a press release issued on Sunday night revealed.

Paul is showcased in the November 6 issue, which also doubles this year as the magazine’s popular “Holiday Movie Preview.” The 24-year-old’s feature can be found just two pages from the cover in the publication’s staple multi-page spread called “The Must List.” The list counts down the top ten hottest things that their editors love every week. Paul was ranked this week as number five, and their digital pick, for his high energy dance parties, which he hosts on the newly trending app called Periscope.

Periscope is an app which allows individuals to live stream video directly to an audience from their mobile devices. Paul said he downloaded the app when it was first released in March of this year, but only recently started streaming what he calls “The Official Dance Party” three months ago.

“I was live streaming on the app one day while cleaning my room, and I started dancing to the music that was playing,” Paul said. “The viewers really liked it, so I said we’ll do it again tomorrow, and they were excited to tune in–that’s how it started.”

Entertainment Weekly screenshot featuring Jordan Paul.

Paul’s Periscope channel, which can be found by searching “Jordan K. Paul”, now has a little over 2,500 followers and amassed 2.2 million hearts–a way which viewers “like” what is being live-streamed. He now occasionally hosts his dance parties in public, and has even taken the party on tour–cross country–during a road trip to the September 2015 Periscope Summit in New York City.

The day of the summit, Paul was also featured in an article on website TubeFilter.com, which said the Virgin Islander is dancing his way to Periscope stardom. Paul said he enjoys that he can interact with his followers in real-time, and often has them pick the music he groovesto. Many times, viewers can even get a glimpse of the giant Virgin Islands flag proudly hanging in the background on the wall of his studio apartment.

“It’s a great reminder that even somebody from a small place can do great things,” he said. This is not Paul’s first experience with a large social media audience. The born and raised Crucian, who moved to Los Angeles in 2013, started a video blog, or vlog, four years ago on YouTube which chronicled his journey of moving from St. Croix to California. That vlog, which he continues today, now has just over 2,400 subscribers.

“I never join these apps simply to gain a ton of followers or have really big numbers. I just like sharing parts of my life with people,” he said. “If you like watching my journey? Great! If not? That’s fine too. I’m going to keep sharing my story, because I love doing it.” Paul graduated from St. Croix’s St. Joseph High School in 2009, and went on to graduate from DeSales University with a B.A. in Television and Film Production. He also attended New York
Film Academy’s Summer Film Workshop at Harvard University.

Currently, Paul is building up his other social media accounts, while in the beginning stages of producing some independent film projects. He said his main focus will always be simply sharing his stories, and giving others the courage to do so in the process.

“I want to inspire others to get out there and do what they want to do, always reach for their goals, and keep dreaming,” Paul said.

Feature Image: Jordan Paul.