Jonathan D. Orozco
Founder. Mentor. Sobriety Advocate.
Jonathan D. Orozco’s career has taken him around the world multiple times, but serving and inspiring others is what drives him. The creative director and founder of Haute Couture Media creates campaigns for hospitality and luxury brands while mentoring aspiring creatives, supporting men in Bible study through faith, and sponsoring people in recovery. More than 17 years sober, he calls sobriety his superpower, crediting it with making him more dependable, empathetic and present. Whether he’s guiding an intern or making his mother laugh between cancer treatments, Jonathan measures a good day by who he’s helped.
What inspired you to choose sobriety?
For me, it was my future family. I wanted to be a good husband, a father and someone who could mentor others and make my community proud. I thought, ‘I don’t think I should wait to be that person. I need to be that person now.’ If one of the biggest things love requires is sacrifice, I could sacrifice drinking. You have to find something bigger than yourself to initiate change. It could be your faith, a mission or a person as long as it’s something you can pour your love into—that’s the key. Sobriety has helped all my relationships, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
How has your experience changed the way you show up in the world?
In the past two years, my father and my grandmother passed away, and my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through two major back surgeries. It’s challenged me to be present and aware. When my father was alive, and now with my mom, every time I see them, I want to make them laugh. My mom took care of me long enough. It’s my turn. People need someone to care and to advocate for them.
What’s your best mentorship advice?
When I was a kid, my dad told me I needed different kinds of mentors: someone older, someone for faith, someone for business, someone for family and a peer mentor, too. Even while traveling the world, I’ve met wise people and asked, ‘Can you mentor me?’ I learned to mentor by being mentored myself. We’re built for community. Just as others supported me, I’ve helped people through addiction and found support in friends who’ve faced cancer or trauma in their own families. When you have people willing to help carry that weight, the troubles and hard times become easier.
What’s gotten better as you’ve aged?
The way that I love. As a kid, you love freely and without judgment. Then you start worrying about what people say and think of you. Eventually, you learn and stop caring so much about those opinions and come back to, ‘I’m doing this for something bigger than myself.’ That feeling of pure joy returns. With age, you’ve gone through so much that you value loving others so much more. Serving others has a way of pointing you toward what’s important.
“Jonathan is one of the most humble, selfless people I know. Whether someone needs guidance, encouragement or a fresh start, Jonathan shows up with an open heart.” —Sahar Zamir, Over 40 Alum
