Yellow Jackets star duals as NFL prospect, small business owner
Irony isn’t lost on Jordan Van Den Berg. For the past two seasons, Georgia Tech’s standout defensive tackle specialized in making a mess in the opponent’s backfield. His job was complete when the opposing quarterback’s white jersey was entrenched with grass stains.
“I’m a really nice guy,” Van Den Berg says with a big smile, “but I want to go hit someone as hard as I can. ” [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks ] He proves his kindness. If any quarterback needs dirty jersey cleaned, Van Den Berg is your guy.
“A lot of people are surprised,” he laughs. Last fall, Van Den Berg became the owner of Always Fresh Laundromat in East Point. “I always wanted to own my own business.
I’ve always been speaking to my dad, just like we’d bounce ideas off each other,” Jordan explained. “This came to him first. He presented it to me and as soon as we found out, we ran with it, and we did it as fast as we could.
” “ At first I was thinking, whoa, that’s a big step, definitely,” said Jordan’s fiancée, Ilanae Du Plessis, “but I didn’t realize how much of a positive difference that buying this laundromat would make. ” The opportunity to purchase Always Fresh became possible after Jordan’s years of experience with NIL. “I feel like if you’re fortunate enough to get NIL, you need to really set yourself up for your future because, like football is such a small part of your life.