Meeting the 1FootGod
Episode 26 of the Dunk Talk Podcast features one of the most iconic one-foot dunkers to ever live. I (Dylan Haugen) brought on Jordan Southerland, known as the 1FootGod, alongside co-host Hunter Castona for what turned into one of the most entertaining and detailed episodes in the show’s history. Jordan came on with his signature energy, jokingly introducing himself as an 11-year-old 5 foot 2 dunk god named Bartholomew James Smith, and said he wished he had been on episode 25 since his jersey number is 25. We had connected with Jordan at dunk camp and knew his story was too good not to share on the podcast.
The Early Days: Baseball, Basketball, and Steph Curry Ankles
Jordan’s athletic background goes way beyond dunking. He was actually a baseball player growing up and even made All-Star and won two championships as a kid. He quit baseball after a particularly brutal stretch where he got hit by pitches in the lower region at least nine times in a ten-game span, with three coming in a single game. That was enough for him to walk away from the sport entirely. He also played basketball and had natural bounce early on, but a bad ankle twist gave him what he described as Steph Curry ankles for the next year. He had to wear those big bulky McDavid ankle braces and lost his entire bounce during that period. But he knew the athleticism was there, and that experience motivated him to eventually work on getting his bounce back.
The First Eastbay and Unlocking Dunks
One of the funniest stories from the episode was Jordan describing his first ever eastbay. He said his foot was barely half a centimeter off the ground when he pushed the ball between his legs and forced it over the rim like one of those old Russell Westbrook dunks. He said you would have thought he was Vince Carter in the dunk contest based on his reaction. He genuinely believed that once you hit your first eastbay, you could just do it every time automatically, like unlocking a move in a video game. He quickly learned that is not how dunking works at all, but the moment planted the seed for what would become one of the most impressive one-foot dunk repertoires in the community.
During high school, Jordan was posting YouTube videos with titles like future Team Flight member. He was dreaming big from the very beginning and using social media to document his progress before most dunkers his age were even thinking about building a platform. That early commitment to putting his content out there played a huge role in getting his name known in the community.
Contest Career and Competitive Philosophy
Jordan has an impressive contest history and shared some incredible insights about the competitive side of dunking. He talked about keeping his ticket from his first ever event at the Indiana State Fair, which he still carries with him as a reminder of where he started. He did not win that first contest, but it launched everything that followed. He went on a three-year undefeated run at one point, putting him in the same conversation as dunkers like Justin Darlington, who had a two to three year stretch where nobody beat him, and Jordan Kilganon, who had not lost in six and a half years at the time of recording.
His contest philosophy was one of the best pieces of advice in the entire episode. Jordan firmly believes you should come out with one of your hardest dunks first and put the pressure on your opponent immediately. He referenced losing in China because he came out light and gave his opponent room to breathe. His approach now is to open with something devastating like a 360 windmill or an under-both and force the other dunker to respond at that level from the jump. He mentioned that his first dunk of the contest used to be an under-both for an entire year straight because it set the tone.
New Dunks and What He Was Working On
At the time of recording, Jordan was working on some absolutely wild dunks. He mentioned an eastbay under-both where he got to the front of the rim and got stuck and hung really badly. He was also working on a behind-the-back upside-down dunk that almost happened on an accidental attempt. He had also been repping out the JR scorpion for fun and said his first dunk in a potential contest would have been that because Donovan was planning to do an east scorpion in their next matchup. Jordan compared Donovan’s impact on contest dunking to what Steph Curry did to the NBA with three-point shooting, saying Donovan was going to force everyone to elevate their game.
Jordan was also expecting a baby girl in October, which meant he had to skip a contest in November that would have been against Donovan and Joel Henry. He was honest about the fact that family was taking priority but clearly still had the competitive fire burning. He told us about his YouTube content where he had been going crazy with Christ-a variations and other advanced dunks.
Why This Episode Matters
This was labeled Part 1 because Jordan’s story is simply too big for one episode. In this first installment we covered his athletic background, how he discovered dunking, his contest career and philosophy, and what he was currently working on. Jordan Southerland is not just a great dunker, he is one of the most charismatic and genuine people in the entire community. His personality came through in every single answer, and the episode is worth watching just for the entertainment value alone on top of all the actual dunk knowledge he dropped. Make sure to follow Jordan on Instagram at @1footgod and subscribe to his YouTube channel for some of the most creative one-foot dunking content out there. Watch the full episode above and stay tuned for Part 2.