Meet Jon Melicharek | Co-Founder & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Melicharek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I think for me, there was always something comforting about being a worker rather than an owner. And it took until after I met my wife and she saw firsthand how much heart and soul I gave for other people, that she brought up trying to do that for something I cared about. For a while, I watched her go back to school, get a degree, and start her own small business and it really inspired me, but there wasn’t any catalyst until I was unexpectedly laid off. I came home and one of the first things she said was “It’s now or never”. And within the first month, I had gone two feet in on making this something I could one day live off.

It was only a few weeks in when I brought in my good friend, Hunter, and he became my Co-Founder. He now edits most of the videos and we take turns behind the wheel and the camera. Sometimes there’s not as much of a thought that goes into starting the business but more so recognizing the opportunities when they’re presented.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
From when I left college at Brooks Institute at 19 in 2013, to just February of this year I was actually in the Cannabis Industry. I worked in compliance and regulatory positions, Sales, Marketing, and Distribution; at startups and established companies. I felt like I was in the Wild West or working through the prohibition. It was exciting and at times extremely frustrating. I leaned towards positions where I could have influence and try my best to keep companies afloat and moving in the right direction. But being in the most heavily regulated market and the most unregulated community of people, meant there were times I worked for free just to keep someone else dream alive. For each job I went to, about every two years or so, I’d scale their ladder and work like an animal. But a massive benefit from working with a multitude of different companies at different stages was it prepared me to face what I currently am and will soon be going through in my own business. If I had to sum up my experience to send anyone away with, it would be that working many jobs, wearing many hats, is the best practice you could get to prepare yourself as an owner of your own company. For so long staying and being loyal to one company for decades was the standard, but if I did that I would have missed out on so so so many experiences that I’m so honored to have had.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I mean how can this even be a fair question?! I’d start with a weekend at the Rancho Sante Fe cars and coffee and follow it up with some drives around the backroads there (if you know you know!). Then Sundays are for the beach of course, and maybe start the week heading into Old Town, tourist day in Little Italy, and maybe a couple of trail hikes. End the week with a nice dinner in Del Mar at Monarch maybe or up in Carlsbad village. And of course, Handels Ice Cream is an absolute must!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Marissa Berian-Melicharek, my loving, caring, absolute rock of a wife. When she started her own small business and took on going back to college over the last few years, all at the same time, that would be enough inspiration for anyone. And when the time was right she pushed me to start taking photos again and even coined the name SoCal Rollers for me.
My family even being 2,000 miles away in New Jersey where I grew up has always been incredibly supportive, and chances are I wouldn’t even have a camera in my hands if they didn’t support my moving at 17 years old to go to a photo school here in California. My Dad, John, his wife, Dale, and My mom, Alyssa, and her husband, Anthony, along with my many siblings, Jayden, Julia, Jessica, Anthony, and Carson. A large portion of why I was interested in taking photos all those years ago is to preserve the memories we make, and having a large family to share this passion with has been more than I could have asked for.
Im also fortunate enough to have an incredible friend group that I’ve known for almost 20 years, some as long as 25. It’s rare to have that in this time and age but we talk most days on our chats and they have helped me become who I am today. They deserve some recognition just having to have dealt with my craziness over the last few decades!

Website: https://SoCalrollers.com

Instagram: socalrollers

Linkedin: Jon-melicharek

Facebook: Socal Rollers Media

Youtube: SoCal Rollers

Image Credits
Jonathan Melicharek, Marissa Berian-Melicharek