We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan Scarzfava a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jordan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

Honestly, despite not realizing my potential for voiceover work until after high school, I’m glad that I was able to start it while attending community college. I’ve always loved drawing cartoons on paper, but little did I know until that point anyone could do that voice acting with the skills. I created my YouTube channel on April 12, 2013, and practiced different character voices a month later. Granted, at the time, I didn’t like the sound of my voice because it was always high-pitched for my age. But after finding the courage to sing and take voice lessons, I grew to embrace this passion.

Career-wise, I started doing retail work to earn money and only sang and performed in theater as a hobby. Life-wise, I like to believe I was in a good place with my family and my then-boyfriend. However, as I was continuing college, I realized that I wasn’t happy with my relationship and instead, found comfort in my artwork and voiceover.

I think starting a bit sooner would’ve been stressful because of the weight of expectations and the fact that I had massive stage fright when I was a kid. But if I could go back to change anything about my experience around the same time I started, it would’ve been to take voice lessons a bit sooner and take the time to realize what was most important to me in terms of my mental and emotional health.

Jordan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello! My name is Jordan Scarzfava (they/them). I’m an agender and autistic voice actor, illustrator, and content creator. I got into the creative industry in 2012 at the end of high school. My first love was drawing and cartoons and later became theater and voice acting. When it comes to my artwork, I specialize in character designs, sequential art, and thumbnails. As for voiceover, I’ve taken part in a variety of projects, including animation, comic dubs, and audio dramas.

When problems arise for clients, I help to solve them in the form of efficiency, time management, and providing quality work for them. For example, if someone needed a voice for a project under a short deadline, I would make time to record for that project and await any feedback that is needed.

I’m most proud of how far I’ve come with both my art and voicework because when I take the time to learn new skills, the results surprise me and give me a boost of confidence. What I want clients to see is that even with a learning disability, I’m not afraid to stand tall and show what I’m truly capable of.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Yes. I’m on the spectrum and went to a school for special needs children. I always struggled with understanding how the world worked and being social. There were even teachers who said I wouldn’t be able to go far or graduate because of my autism.

However, when 4th grade approached, I discovered something wonderful, something that opened my mind to awareness and opportunity: the violin. I met Vicki Botta and was offered the chance to play the violin, which sounded beautiful. While playing the instrument alone was hard, hearing the music that came out of it over and over opened my eyes to the world around me and inspired me to work hard and achieve my dreams.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I was a big fan of Sonic the Hedgehog back in the day and after watching some content creators make comic dubs and other voice projects, I wanted to follow in their footsteps and reached out to them for project collaborations. This form of networking helped me to get recognized on social media and to connect more with others.

Later on, I tried my hand at doing other fan content, including Undertale and Bendy. My audience spiked from there because they were popular at the time, but still something I enjoyed making. But as I fell from both fanbases, I wanted to try making my own stories and illustrations for people to enjoy, even if people weren’t too familiar with them. And I don’t do it for the views, I do it because it makes me happy.

My advice for those at the beginning stage of building an audience is to be very patient, don’t be discouraged, and don’t hesitate to find those who have similar interests as you and reach out to them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jordanscarzfava.carrd.co
• Twitter: https://x.com/JordanScarzfava
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmNWYMlzXqUS4aAo0HZOHcw
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/jordanscarzfava.bsky.social
  https://cara.app/jordanscarzfava

Image Credits

Steven Reatherford
Arion Rashad
Brycen Hassel
Sam Wilkinson
Jordan Scarzfava