Discovering
COVER STORY the
SOUTHERN
CHARM
Justin Reese By Kimmie Tubre
Becoming an adult comes with a great deal of pressure. While some fail under the
challenges, others are destined to thrive and succeed. This could be due to good upbringing
or solely up to the person’s determination. For Justin Reese, it was a mixture of both that
propelled him onto his successful journey.
Being the oldest son of Judge Kern Reese and clinical social worker, Dottie Reese,
Justin knew early on that nothing less than success would be accepted in his household.
Now working as a personal injury attorney, lobbyist, sports agent and star of the Bravo TV
hit reality show, “Southern Charm New Orleans,” Justin admits that his goal was for his
“parents’ efforts to pay off through his successes.”
Justin had a fortunate upbringing, growing up in the Gentilly
neighborhood of New Orleans. “We didn’t want for much and
if we asked for things, my parents would always provide.” Both
he and his younger brother Jared attended the best schools.
They took annual family vacations and regular trips visiting
his mother's family in Los Angeles, California.
“My parents were absolutely amazing,” Justin said.
“Anything that I ever wanted to do, they made it happen.”
One of those things was an interest in sports.
Justin joined the St. Augustine High School football
team. He had a successful athletic career, eventually
playing in the starting lineup and becoming the
team’s captain in his senior year. “I received several
write-ups in the newspaper, and was on television
a number of times during the Friday Night
Highlights,” he recalled.
Although his football dream school was the
University of Virginia, one of ten colleges where
he was accepted, at the suggestion of his parents,
he took a closer look at Morehouse College in
Atlanta.
“My parents said that they would pay for me
to try out the potential freshman weekend,” said
Justin. “I still had my mind set on Virginia but
if they were going to pay for me to go to Atlanta
for a weekend, then I was going to go.” After that
weekend at Morehouse, Justin was sold.
“I went to college initially wanting to be a doctor,”
Justin said. He excelled in high school science, so
pre-med felt like a natural fit. But the major caused
him stress. He struggled to organize himself. “College
sciences were the most difficult classes I’d ever taken,”
he noted. “I was playing football, traveling every weekend
and losing so much study time.
“I had to make a big boy decision,” Justin explained. “That
decision was dropping football.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BIONCA FLOT SYKES
16 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com MAY / J U N E 2 0 1 8
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