San Antonio drew national attention by hosting its fair share of celebrities in 2025. Kodak Black, Melii, and the social media-famous AMP streaming group all roamed the same highways we find too congested. It takes a village to put a Texas town on the map, but one resident-who is no doubt pulling their weight-has had a goal to make it happen since they were a child.
Jordan Zapata, now 28, spent much of his childhood on the city’s west side with his siblings, mom, and dad, who worked several jobs to pay for the roof over their heads. Today, his corporate duties range from securing a last-minute, local private chef for Van Diesel to finding talent to convincing Spurs legend Tony Parker to let a group of twenty-something-year-old pranksters stay in his roughly $19.5 million home. How’d he get here?
Zapata was an ambitious kid. Not in the way every parent believes of their kin, but in the boots on the ground, roaming the city for business opportunities in places they are probably still too young to be.
As a student at Stevenson Middle School, he was helping local venues host teen nights by passing out flyers at malls, campuses, and other third spaces. At the event itself, he sold sodas and ran errands for his then-mentor and today-real estate agent, Scott Malouff. It didn’t come with a crazy payout, $30 at most per event, but to a kid looking for purpose and direction, it was a start. And a risk that paid off in a way he couldn’t have imagined.
While other sixth graders were dabbling in geometry homework, paper fortune tellers, and school dances, Zapata was selling merchandise, CDs, and concert tickets for artists like AJ Hernz and, later, Blake Hartfield. But once he hit eighth-grade status, his dad offered some blunt counsel: You’re underpaid.
“He was like, ‘You’re doing all this, but you know, you’re gonna go into high school soon,’ Zapata recalls. “‘You know, you need to start making some money.'”
Zapata took it to heart, and by the time he was in tenth grade, he had taken on the role of ticket-seller for ScoreMore Shows, founded by the University of Texas at Austin graduate Sascha Stone. The entrepreneur is credited with bringing big-name rappers to San Antonio before they reached star status. Zapata, who was studying at Brandeis, then later at O’Connor High School, made $2 off each ticket he sold for Big Sean, Tory Lanez, and other artists’ shows.
“Kendrick Lamar was doing a venue called the White Rabbit with maybe 70 people in the crowd,” Zapata says. ” J. Cole, with maybe 200 people in the crowd. They were very early in their career.”
Parts of Zapata’s high school life were normal, and others were far from it. He formed friendships with Spurs players like George Hill and Danny Green, who he says sometimes vouched on his behalf tyo teacher when he missed class for work. He juggled baseball, basketball, and football, with hopes of making it as a professional athlete, before heading out to the MTV Woodie Awards or meeting Lil Wayne backstage.
In August 2015-only two months after graduating-he crossed paths with “Everyday” rapper Logic (real name Sir Robert Bryson Hall II) and became his personal assistant. Snapshots of Zapata’s Instagram show the pair at dinners, in the studio, and in front of screaming fans.
MySA 25
Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series highlighting 25 people, places and things that has influenced the San Antonio and surrounding areas, including all of Texas, since 2000.
“I’m excited to announce the big news, I’ll be moving to L.A.,” a 19-year-old Zapata captioned a post. “It’s been a long journey, but I’m ready for what the future holds.”
It was eight months of McDonald’s runs, setting up interviews, and running errands. But it was a milestone moment that, once it ended, accelerated his career.
“We’re on tour in Buffalo, New York … And he’s [Logic’s] like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna have to let you go.’ He was like, ‘You’re too much of a boss to be my assistant … ‘You can go back to San Antonio, or you could go to L.A. and figure out what you want to do next.'”
He chose Texas. From there, he went on to work with stars like Juice WRLD, Love Island USA‘s Jeremiah Brown, and several others, continuing to build up San Antonio’s reputation as a place where entertainment thrives. This not only creates fun events for locals but boosts tourism, which, in turn, creates more employment opportunities and adds to the global GDP, per the World Travel & Tourism Council.
“The best way I could explain it is just connecting dots from A to Z,” Zapata says. “Just plugging dots in and making everyone happy and comfortable.”
Alongside these initiatives, he also runs the charity the Ram Heart Foundation, which often provides materials, haircuts, and food to local families in need.
“I make beats. I manage artists. I book concerts. I bring celebrity guests. I do philanthropy,” Zapata says. “I wear a lot of different hats. You can never put me in a box.”
San Antonio, Texas, resident Jordan Zapata has helped bring Kodak Black, Jeremiah Brown, and Chris Brown to the city. He comes from humble beginnings. (Courtesy of Jordan Zapata/Desiree Serna)
San Antonio, Texas, resident Jordan Zapata has helped bring Kodak Black, Jeremiah Brown, and Chris Brown to the city. He comes from humble beginnings. (Courtesy of Jordan Zapata/Desiree Serna)
This article originally published at The visionary making San Antonio a magnet for celebrities.
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