Justin Pekarek is thriving as a real estate agent and Broker/Owner of Orlando Property Advisors, the brokerage he founded in 2020. He’s made a name for himself for his video production and marketing strategies, which allowed him to close 50 transactions for over $36 million in 2022.

You may be surprised to know that Justin’s professional ventures have included being a professional figure skater and a mechanical engineer. Both of those paths have helped him develop the skills and capacity to be the agent, father, and friend he is today.

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Justin fell in love with figure skating. He rose to prominence as a teen, becoming a World Junior champion in 1999 and a Four Continents bronze medalist in 2000. He hoped to participate in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, but his skating partnership fizzled out. He moved to Boston, where he transitioned into coaching and began attending engineering school.

“In Michigan, my father was a General Motors exec. I grew up in the car world, and I love cars. Everyone had a project car in my world. I got into Japanese tuner cars growing up. I was always curious about cars and engines, so that led me into mechanical engineering. That fits my personality of figuring things out,” Justin explains.

Justin graduated college in 2008 and moved to Florida, where he began working as an engineer. Along the way, he met a former engineer who owned a luxury real estate brokerage in Windermere. Justin became inspired by his story and eventually joined his team as an apprentice.

“I got to see luxury sales from the get-go. I was really dedicated to it. I had the drive from training for something at an Olympic level every day,” Justin reflects.

Justin transitioned into real estate full-time in 2013.

“I saw there was a reward in helping people buy the homes they want,” he continues. “I fell in love with helping people, and I also fell in love with luxury homes. I was enamored with it.”

Justin’s real estate business, like so many others, took time to develop. One of the keys to his success has been video marketing. He moved to Lake Nona in 2015, while the area was still being developed, and began producing videos highlighting local real estate.

“I became passionate about video at that time. I started posting videos to Facebook about the neighborhoods, houses, and things to do. I started by using my phone and a little microphone. That really accelerated my career. I kept doing more videos and posting on social media. When I found Youtube, it was a huge driver of the business.”

Justin grew his Youtube channel to over one million views and ten thousand subscribers while making himself a household name in the Lake Nona area. By 2020, he stepped out on his own, founding Orlando Property Advisors.

“I want to give a shout-out to my two mentors, who were instrumental for me: Chris Christensen with Regal Real Estate and Mark Hayes at Stockworth.”

While real estate may not seem to have much in common with ice skating and engineering on the surface, Justin has been able to leverage the skills he learned in both professions. As an ice skater, he learned how to train at a high level, stay determined, and market himself in front of thousands of onlookers. As an engineer, he honed his problem-solving skills and learned to navigate a professional environment.

“My background in presenting on ice in front of thousands has been huge,” Justin offers. “Now, I have a studio where I do interviews, podcasts, shoot house tours on location, and edit videos myself. Back to skating — when I was a coach and choreographer for pro ice skaters, I'd come up with their program and even cut the music. Video editing is super similar to that.”

Justin’s success hasn’t been immediate; it’s taken him a decade to achieve the success he now enjoys. Looking back, he’s grateful for every step along the journey.

“Finding the way for me took a while. It took getting better at video production every year. I needed to practice it. Now, I feel like my skill set is quite honed, although I'm still getting better,” he says. “This is the prime of my career. It feels easy now because I'm living in the areas that the clients I meet want to achieve. We’re enamored with where we are at and where we are going.”

Justin and his wife, Marharyta, have a blended family with four children, Natalie (17), Cooper (11), Miles (4), and Oliver (2).