MY STORY

Choosing a career path was something of a challenge for my younger self. I knew that I wasn’t destined to be an accountant or a doctor or anything that required a lot of “-ology” classes.

My parents loved me. A lot. So, that ruled out a hugely successful rap career. I’m completely uncoordinated and only excel at sports that require bodily slamming into things, like ice hockey, boxing and rugby. Taking that into consideration, I realized I’d never be a Saint-esque art thief. I can’t paint unless it’s by number and while people might pay a 7-year-old 50 cents for that sort of thing, they won’t pay an adult. I freaked out on my aunt the first time I had to peel the legs off peel-and-eat shrimp so the culinary master chef dreams went up in smoke. And my mother flat out refused to pay for college when I said I wanted to be a pyrotechnician.

It’s probably a good thing that I discovered photography and video. If I hadn’t, I assume I’d still be working in a steel factory back in Michigan, living on the caffeine pills I needed to function for the 7am shifts. I also wouldn’t be living in beautiful Los Angeles, soaking up sunshine and museums like they’ll disappear tomorrow.

What started as an accidental experimentation with my mom’s video camera turned into a full blown obsession. I have happily gone from dabbling in the world of a small-town high school news station writer to creating photography and video for some of the biggest companies and most successful artists in the world.

Day in and day out, I spend almost every waking moment thinking about imagery– creating, collaborating, analyzing. It’s been over 13 years since I first picked up a video camera, 6 since I graduated college with a BA in film and 5 since I became a working professional paying my bills solely with art… I love every single moment.