1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,380
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Nick amp Podcast.

2
00:00:03,380 --> 00:00:05,520
This is episode number 25.

3
00:00:06,140 --> 00:00:10,340
I cannot believe we've made it to 25 episodes.

4
00:00:10,740 --> 00:00:18,340
Did you know statistics say after three episodes, 90% of podcasts, call it quits.

5
00:00:18,420 --> 00:00:19,500
They throw in the towel.

6
00:00:19,820 --> 00:00:22,020
They stop before they even get started.

7
00:00:22,700 --> 00:00:28,220
And of those 1.8 million people, there's 200,000 people left who are going to the

8
00:00:28,220 --> 00:00:35,660
podcast that get the episode 20 and 90% of them, they also stop podcasting.

9
00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,500
I feel very blessed to still be here and keep going.

10
00:00:39,580 --> 00:00:42,560
I do not have any plans to stop.

11
00:00:42,980 --> 00:00:47,720
I plan on keeping growing as a creative business owner and as a human being.

12
00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,980
Along the way, I hope to share all this value with you.

13
00:00:51,780 --> 00:00:55,640
So if you're watching this on YouTube, do me a favor and hit that subscribe button.

14
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,240
That's the best way to grow this channel.

15
00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:58,320
Drop a comment below.

16
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,740
If you have a question that you want us to answer or a topic that you want us to cover,

17
00:01:02,740 --> 00:01:05,700
or if there's a specific guest you would like for me to have on the show.

18
00:01:06,580 --> 00:01:09,580
And for those of you listening on the streaming platforms, leaving us a five

19
00:01:09,580 --> 00:01:12,180
star review is the ultimate support.

20
00:01:12,500 --> 00:01:16,560
It helps us reach more people and connect with more listeners and helps us keep

21
00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,740
providing you more valuable insights and content.

22
00:01:20,100 --> 00:01:21,620
Now let's dive into today's episode.

23
00:01:21,940 --> 00:01:25,740
The guest we had on today's Brady Keegan, he's a filmmaker, photographer, and

24
00:01:25,740 --> 00:01:28,180
creative editor based out of Southern California.

25
00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:31,260
Right now he's making waves as a documentary filmmaker.

26
00:01:31,260 --> 00:01:33,780
He specifically a niche down in the running community.

27
00:01:34,020 --> 00:01:38,300
He's had the opportunity to work with some of the top runners in the USA, names like

28
00:01:38,340 --> 00:01:41,580
Matt Troy, who has over 300,000 followers on Instagram.

29
00:01:41,900 --> 00:01:45,900
In this episode, Brady and I delve into the topics of his journey to become a

30
00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:50,700
filmmaker, why it's important to leave your ego at the door and building meaningful

31
00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:54,940
relationships with your clients and why it's important to treat them like real

32
00:01:54,940 --> 00:01:55,780
people.

33
00:01:55,780 --> 00:01:58,540
Plus we've got a special surprise topic lined up towards the end of the

34
00:01:58,540 --> 00:02:00,780
conversation that you're not going to want to miss.

35
00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:02,900
So sit back, relax, enjoy the episode.

36
00:02:02,900 --> 00:02:06,020
And without further ado, let's cut to the interview with Mr. Brady Keegan.

37
00:02:06,420 --> 00:02:06,940
All right.

38
00:02:07,180 --> 00:02:10,700
This is episode number 24 and we're here with Brady Keegan.

39
00:02:10,980 --> 00:02:15,100
He is a filmmaker out of Los Angeles, Southern California area.

40
00:02:15,100 --> 00:02:18,420
Brady, we really appreciate you coming on here to chat with us today.

41
00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:19,700
Appreciate it, Nick.

42
00:02:19,700 --> 00:02:20,620
Super excited.

43
00:02:20,620 --> 00:02:21,060
It's funny.

44
00:02:21,060 --> 00:02:26,980
We we've been chatting over Instagram for two, three years, maybe even more.

45
00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:27,860
So it's funny.

46
00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:33,300
This is the first time we're meeting, I guess, face to face kind of crazy.

47
00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:35,660
Face to face as much as you can get it.

48
00:02:35,860 --> 00:02:37,140
Quick note about Brady.

49
00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:41,220
Back when I was entering on the creative scene, he was one of the first people to

50
00:02:41,220 --> 00:02:42,300
show me kindness.

51
00:02:42,300 --> 00:02:47,780
I was a noob in a lot of many ways and I asked him for help on finding a location

52
00:02:47,780 --> 00:02:52,980
in Yosemite and other people didn't respond to my question about inquiring.

53
00:02:52,980 --> 00:02:53,620
Where was that?

54
00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:57,540
And I understand why they didn't tell me where it was at, but Brady, fortunately,

55
00:02:57,540 --> 00:03:02,660
was a kind enough person to show me that kindness to a 19, 20 year old who had no

56
00:03:02,660 --> 00:03:03,660
idea about anything.

57
00:03:03,660 --> 00:03:09,100
He was experiencing everything life for the first time in his entire life.

58
00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:13,220
And this guy, Brady has been one of the main guys I've looked up to at the beginning

59
00:03:13,540 --> 00:03:17,420
and watched him evolve into this whole other industry of being a filmmaker

60
00:03:17,420 --> 00:03:19,500
in the athletic department.

61
00:03:19,500 --> 00:03:20,420
That's really cool.

62
00:03:20,700 --> 00:03:24,420
So again, Brady, before we get keep going, just again, thanks for showing me

63
00:03:24,420 --> 00:03:26,260
kindness at the beginning of my creative journey.

64
00:03:27,100 --> 00:03:28,140
Really helped me get going.

65
00:03:28,140 --> 00:03:31,340
And now it's just all this dove into you.

66
00:03:31,900 --> 00:03:35,940
How the heck, Brady, did you get into the creative industry?

67
00:03:35,940 --> 00:03:37,220
Was this an accident?

68
00:03:37,460 --> 00:03:38,380
You fall into it.

69
00:03:38,380 --> 00:03:42,180
Maybe someone said, Hey, Brady, can you take photos of our wedding or was it

70
00:03:42,180 --> 00:03:43,580
something that you've always loved to do?

71
00:03:43,780 --> 00:03:44,540
Can you please explain?

72
00:03:44,580 --> 00:03:46,380
Yeah, that's a great question.

73
00:03:46,380 --> 00:03:48,100
This is a story I love telling.

74
00:03:48,100 --> 00:03:53,260
So my parents, so from a very young age, my parents always gave me

75
00:03:53,260 --> 00:03:57,540
disposable cameras, you know, like the old Kodaks or Fujifilm disposables.

76
00:03:58,100 --> 00:04:02,420
So I grew up like going to Disneyland, going to the zoo, anywhere we had to go.

77
00:04:02,420 --> 00:04:08,580
My parents would buy me the disposable cameras and I just like go out, shoot

78
00:04:08,580 --> 00:04:10,420
whatever I thought was amazing as a kid.

79
00:04:10,660 --> 00:04:13,260
And that's kind of like what got my creative eye going.

80
00:04:13,260 --> 00:04:17,940
As I grew up through high school and joined the military, I always had a camera with me,

81
00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:19,780
but it was nothing I really took seriously.

82
00:04:19,780 --> 00:04:23,540
It was more so like a hobby, something that I really enjoyed.

83
00:04:23,940 --> 00:04:30,860
And then when 2020 came along, as we all know, with a pandemic world shut down, I

84
00:04:30,860 --> 00:04:38,140
had nothing to do, so I was stuck at home, decided to really dive into my passion of

85
00:04:38,140 --> 00:04:42,820
photography and try to see if I can improve in my skills, because at the time I didn't

86
00:04:42,820 --> 00:04:44,820
know how to shoot anything other than auto.

87
00:04:45,820 --> 00:04:49,220
So it's like, oh, let me try to learn how to manually use this camera.

88
00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:54,460
And I was taking pictures of products, posting them online, and it gained a little

89
00:04:54,460 --> 00:04:58,740
bit of traction, was able to get out and travel, do some landscape photography,

90
00:04:59,060 --> 00:05:03,700
really just built some passions and then somehow it blew up to where I'm at now.

91
00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:09,740
So yeah, it's been a fun journey and something that I'm super, super grateful for.

92
00:05:10,980 --> 00:05:16,300
So let's concentrate on bringing a camera with you everywhere, military.

93
00:05:18,220 --> 00:05:24,300
So before 2020, I mean, was it just something simply, I want to capture what

94
00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:29,180
I'm doing, what I'm seeing, or was it, I want to get better at this.

95
00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:31,660
Do I see a future in this aspect?

96
00:05:31,660 --> 00:05:35,780
Can you concentrate a little bit in that area, how you kind of truly went

97
00:05:35,780 --> 00:05:37,620
into how you are today?

98
00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:38,420
Yeah.

99
00:05:38,420 --> 00:05:44,180
So it was never really something that I was like, oh, I want to get better in

100
00:05:44,180 --> 00:05:46,020
this, in this field or anything.

101
00:05:46,020 --> 00:05:49,820
It was more so just like the, the creative outlet.

102
00:05:50,500 --> 00:05:56,260
I remember me and my wife got married February of 2020.

103
00:05:56,260 --> 00:06:00,740
So just before the pandemic and we went to San Francisco and we went to

104
00:06:00,740 --> 00:06:05,180
San Francisco for our honeymoon, I didn't even have a camera at the time.

105
00:06:06,380 --> 00:06:11,140
So I was walking around with my iPhone and I remember seeing photos of these

106
00:06:11,380 --> 00:06:15,820
specific locations in San Francisco and I would drag her across the city.

107
00:06:16,100 --> 00:06:18,100
I was like, Hey, I got to take this one photo.

108
00:06:18,540 --> 00:06:22,380
And she's like, uh, okay, whatever.

109
00:06:22,580 --> 00:06:23,900
I didn't even have a camera.

110
00:06:23,940 --> 00:06:26,780
Like I literally just wanted to do it because I wanted to see that

111
00:06:26,780 --> 00:06:28,340
location and snap the photo.

112
00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:29,620
It was all on my iPhone.

113
00:06:29,620 --> 00:06:33,340
And then obviously pandemic hit and I was like, Oh, let me actually try to

114
00:06:33,340 --> 00:06:36,580
learn to use a real camera and do something with this.

115
00:06:36,620 --> 00:06:40,460
So, but prior to that, no, it was more so like, I just enjoyed it.

116
00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:42,660
It was just something creative and I thought it was fun.

117
00:06:42,700 --> 00:06:43,140
I don't know.

118
00:06:45,220 --> 00:06:47,860
That's really neat that you answered it in that way.

119
00:06:47,860 --> 00:06:52,340
I mean, people do start with their iPhone and I think that's okay.

120
00:06:52,340 --> 00:06:56,780
I mean, when you're starting on a creative journey, sometimes, well, most

121
00:06:56,780 --> 00:07:01,620
times it's better just to enjoy for what it is, because as you know, now you, me,

122
00:07:02,460 --> 00:07:05,740
we do this for work and sometimes we don't, we're not able to put our

123
00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:07,100
creative spin on certain things.

124
00:07:07,100 --> 00:07:07,500
Yeah.

125
00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:11,100
So I'm sure in those moments, yes, yes.

126
00:07:11,300 --> 00:07:14,860
I'm sure you enjoy those moments looking back iPhone days back when I was just

127
00:07:14,860 --> 00:07:22,740
doing it for fun and process now learning photography, 2020, everything in that end.

128
00:07:22,740 --> 00:07:26,580
Did you, was there somebody that you were watching that you were inspired by?

129
00:07:26,620 --> 00:07:30,220
Or did you on your own, were you just trying to teach yourself the settings?

130
00:07:30,220 --> 00:07:33,900
Or did you look at the specific person that really gave you inspiration to,

131
00:07:34,220 --> 00:07:35,620
I want to be like that guy.

132
00:07:35,980 --> 00:07:39,820
Man, I'm going to give you the most stereotypical photographer answer ever.

133
00:07:39,820 --> 00:07:40,340
You ready?

134
00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:46,700
Peter McKinnon, but no, aside from, aside from Peter, I'm a big Peter fan.

135
00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:51,300
I, he, he's not the best photographer in the world, but he's a great photographer.

136
00:07:51,300 --> 00:07:52,940
He's not the best photographer in the world.

137
00:07:52,940 --> 00:07:55,660
He's not the best cinematographer in the world.

138
00:07:55,660 --> 00:08:00,980
I know a lot of people like to talk smack, but I like him for his passion of

139
00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:04,260
photography in, I mean, he does have incredible work.

140
00:08:05,340 --> 00:08:07,220
Don't take that as he's not talented.

141
00:08:07,220 --> 00:08:12,460
I think he's amazingly talented, but I just like really resonated with his

142
00:08:12,460 --> 00:08:14,340
personality, his drive and his passion.

143
00:08:14,700 --> 00:08:18,980
And that's something that like inspired me to continue on with photography and

144
00:08:18,980 --> 00:08:21,340
it professionally and take it seriously.

145
00:08:21,740 --> 00:08:24,260
Um, another one is Sawyer Hartman.

146
00:08:24,340 --> 00:08:30,460
Um, he was one of the OGs, if you'd like to call it on YouTube, he started off

147
00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:35,620
like a vlog channel and he kind of progressed into filmmaking photography.

148
00:08:35,940 --> 00:08:37,580
And that's kind of where he's at now.

149
00:08:37,620 --> 00:08:41,500
Uh, funny enough, he's actually, uh, one of my mentors in business.

150
00:08:41,820 --> 00:08:46,540
He's just such a kind human being and knowledgeable person.

151
00:08:46,540 --> 00:08:51,100
So to be able to learn from him after watching him for so many years is, uh,

152
00:08:51,260 --> 00:08:52,460
it kind of crazy.

153
00:08:52,500 --> 00:08:57,860
Uh, but it's, it's, uh, it's super cool to be able to bring that all full circle

154
00:08:57,860 --> 00:09:01,620
and be able to, uh, learn stuff from somebody that I truly looked up to.

155
00:09:03,060 --> 00:09:08,900
Brady, as not only creatives and people trying to improve ourselves in this

156
00:09:08,900 --> 00:09:12,700
craft, grow our business, grow our clientele and that things like that.

157
00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:16,540
As a man, we do look to people for mentorship to help increase our

158
00:09:16,540 --> 00:09:18,100
value and increase our skills.

159
00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:25,020
So for you, how valuable was that relationship learning and coming

160
00:09:25,020 --> 00:09:27,100
for so called full circle for you?

161
00:09:27,420 --> 00:09:31,140
Uh, yeah, I mean, it was incredibly, uh, valuable.

162
00:09:31,180 --> 00:09:37,020
Um, there, there's so many things that I am naive to and not good at.

163
00:09:37,260 --> 00:09:42,460
I feel like I'm decent behind the camera, but I don't think I'm the best person

164
00:09:42,460 --> 00:09:43,020
behind the camera.

165
00:09:43,020 --> 00:09:46,940
There's so much to learn in that regard, but my biggest weakness by far is

166
00:09:46,940 --> 00:09:52,660
business, um, whether it's knowing my, my true value, my rate, having business

167
00:09:52,660 --> 00:09:55,620
related conversations, pitching to brands, you name it.

168
00:09:55,660 --> 00:09:58,540
I I'm just not the best at business.

169
00:09:58,980 --> 00:10:06,740
Sawyer though, he is so, uh, working with him has literally completely

170
00:10:06,740 --> 00:10:10,540
transformed my business in just the span of a few months.

171
00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:20,620
I went from making the most $5,000 on one project to now making six

172
00:10:20,620 --> 00:10:25,300
figures on, uh, my upcoming project, which is, I'm not saying that to flex

173
00:10:25,300 --> 00:10:33,700
or anything, I'm just trying to like explain how drastic that this can be

174
00:10:33,700 --> 00:10:37,660
working with somebody that knows the business side of the house and can help

175
00:10:37,660 --> 00:10:39,260
you get to that next level.

176
00:10:39,260 --> 00:10:41,180
Uh, it brought me to that next level.

177
00:10:41,180 --> 00:10:45,060
So, um, uh, it's, it's so valuable.

178
00:10:45,100 --> 00:10:48,980
Uh, you, you gotta know where you're weak at in what you can improve on.

179
00:10:48,980 --> 00:10:52,500
And if you can find somebody to work with, to bring you to that next level,

180
00:10:52,780 --> 00:10:56,340
that is not only proficient in that area, but also passionate.

181
00:10:56,380 --> 00:10:59,540
That's it is such a game changer.

182
00:11:01,780 --> 00:11:02,500
Game changer.

183
00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:07,580
It is excellent as creatives, people who have learned the craft first

184
00:11:07,580 --> 00:11:08,460
started as a hobbyist.

185
00:11:08,460 --> 00:11:12,620
We were hobbyist at one point in the business side, man, whole

186
00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:13,420
different game.

187
00:11:13,420 --> 00:11:14,060
Am I right?

188
00:11:14,300 --> 00:11:15,820
Dude, it's, it's crazy.

189
00:11:15,820 --> 00:11:16,220
Yeah.

190
00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:18,780
It's so different.

191
00:11:20,220 --> 00:11:23,180
So with that being said, I mean, going and being creatives first,

192
00:11:23,220 --> 00:11:27,500
entering the business world, learning that whole aspect for you.

193
00:11:28,060 --> 00:11:32,380
Now, Brady Keegan, you went from someone who was considered is considered

194
00:11:33,100 --> 00:11:36,460
higher up there on the rankings of filmmakers, creatives, businessmen,

195
00:11:36,460 --> 00:11:40,540
someone now for you, let's talk to someone who is maybe 18 years old.

196
00:11:40,540 --> 00:11:42,540
Brady, what would you say to that guy?

197
00:11:42,940 --> 00:11:49,020
He, he's making, he's making, he has some clients, he's doing okay, but he doesn't

198
00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:54,220
understand how to value himself as a business person.

199
00:11:54,540 --> 00:11:57,900
He's a creative, but he doesn't understand how to value himself as a business person.

200
00:11:58,220 --> 00:12:03,660
What kind of actionable steps or approaches would you tell that young 18 year old?

201
00:12:04,140 --> 00:12:05,260
They don't have a lot of life experience.

202
00:12:05,260 --> 00:12:06,540
You don't have a lot of life experience.

203
00:12:06,540 --> 00:12:07,180
What would you tell them?

204
00:12:07,660 --> 00:12:07,980
Yes.

205
00:12:07,980 --> 00:12:10,540
So this is, this might be an unconventional answer.

206
00:12:10,540 --> 00:12:18,780
I, I don't think there is a direct, you should do this to improve in your business

207
00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:20,860
and improve in your confidence in your business.

208
00:12:21,260 --> 00:12:25,260
I think the true answer to this is networking.

209
00:12:26,380 --> 00:12:31,820
Get out there and talk with however many creatives you can, however many business

210
00:12:31,820 --> 00:12:35,980
owners you can pick their brain, learn from them, interact with them, have genuine

211
00:12:35,980 --> 00:12:40,300
relationships because you're going to learn so much more from real life experience than

212
00:12:40,300 --> 00:12:42,540
you are from sitting down and watching YouTube.

213
00:12:42,540 --> 00:12:47,740
You might see the tangible things you can physically do by reading a book about it or

214
00:12:47,740 --> 00:12:50,300
watching YouTube, but you're not going to gain the confidence and you're not going to

215
00:12:50,300 --> 00:12:55,020
know the life skills and the tactile things you can do without being in the mix.

216
00:12:55,420 --> 00:12:59,900
And even if that's shadowing somebody on a job and seeing how they interact with their

217
00:12:59,900 --> 00:13:02,540
clients or how they structure their contracts.

218
00:13:02,540 --> 00:13:05,980
I mean, it's something as small as that, but interacting with real people, having

219
00:13:05,980 --> 00:13:10,540
those genuine relationships are invaluable from just to learn.

220
00:13:11,340 --> 00:13:13,340
It's not just business, it's anything.

221
00:13:14,460 --> 00:13:19,180
So I think that would be my biggest thing for somebody starting out.

222
00:13:19,180 --> 00:13:24,940
Look, make some, make some relationships, make some friendships, make some business

223
00:13:24,940 --> 00:13:28,380
relationships, learn from everybody you can put yourself out there.

224
00:13:28,380 --> 00:13:32,220
Don't be shy and naturally you're going to get to that next spot.

225
00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:37,180
They always talk about, you know, don't surround yourself in a room with people that,

226
00:13:37,180 --> 00:13:40,300
you know, don't have the same goals and ambitions as you because you're going to be

227
00:13:40,300 --> 00:13:41,100
stuck at that level.

228
00:13:41,100 --> 00:13:46,460
Put yourself in a room with people that are above you, so to speak, and you're naturally

229
00:13:46,460 --> 00:13:51,580
going to gravitate towards their habits, their trends and move up to that next level.

230
00:13:51,580 --> 00:13:58,220
So dude, networking by far, I think is the most important part of this job.

231
00:13:58,220 --> 00:13:59,740
Networking, a hundred percent.

232
00:13:59,740 --> 00:14:04,940
So you're someone who lives in Southern California, where it's considered one of the

233
00:14:04,940 --> 00:14:11,580
creative capitals for filmmakers, photographers, creative directors, script writers, whoever,

234
00:14:11,580 --> 00:14:13,180
anybody who wants to be creative.

235
00:14:13,180 --> 00:14:14,780
LA is the place to be.

236
00:14:14,780 --> 00:14:21,420
So networking in LA, now I'm curious about, is it easier in LA to do this?

237
00:14:21,420 --> 00:14:23,660
Southern California, would you say so?

238
00:14:23,660 --> 00:14:29,020
Could you explain the opportunity levels in Southern California versus maybe someone

239
00:14:29,020 --> 00:14:31,260
living in a Midwest state?

240
00:14:31,900 --> 00:14:32,300
Yeah.

241
00:14:32,300 --> 00:14:37,420
So actually most of my work is out of state.

242
00:14:38,060 --> 00:14:41,820
Very few of it these days is in the LA area.

243
00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:48,700
When I was doing more commercial work, I would get a lot of gigs in Orange County area,

244
00:14:48,700 --> 00:14:51,900
downtown LA area.

245
00:14:51,900 --> 00:14:57,740
But now most of my networking and most of my work is in Austin, Texas.

246
00:14:57,740 --> 00:14:59,340
It's nationwide.

247
00:14:59,340 --> 00:15:04,700
So doing what I do now, I don't know if we mentioned it, I film running content.

248
00:15:04,700 --> 00:15:07,900
So I'll go around to different marathons and different races.

249
00:15:07,900 --> 00:15:11,500
And there's just not a ton of that in the Los Angeles area.

250
00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:12,700
It happens nationwide.

251
00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:13,420
It's everywhere.

252
00:15:13,420 --> 00:15:18,220
So now it's kind of transitioned to a lot of my work is travel based work.

253
00:15:18,220 --> 00:15:21,580
So I guess it kind of depends what you do.

254
00:15:21,580 --> 00:15:28,300
LA is a great area for commercial work, for fashion, maybe even product work.

255
00:15:28,300 --> 00:15:31,900
But what I've kind of moved into is different now.

256
00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:34,300
So I guess yes and no.

257
00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:41,100
But I don't think you have to be in LA or be in a hot spot to make this career a thing.

258
00:15:41,100 --> 00:15:47,340
If you're in, I don't know, Arkansas, that's just the first random state that came to mind.

259
00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:49,580
I mean, put yourself out there.

260
00:15:49,580 --> 00:15:53,500
Maybe you can have companies send you products to take photos of.

261
00:15:53,500 --> 00:15:58,620
You can find a fashion agency or a modeling agency in your local metropolitan area.

262
00:15:58,620 --> 00:16:01,980
I don't think you have to be in somewhere like LA or New York.

263
00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:02,860
There's work everywhere.

264
00:16:02,860 --> 00:16:04,700
You just kind of have to go out and find it.

265
00:16:05,740 --> 00:16:08,540
Obviously, LA, New York, it's more centralized.

266
00:16:08,540 --> 00:16:10,780
There's a lot more and a lot more saturation.

267
00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:13,260
But then again, so is the rest of the market.

268
00:16:13,260 --> 00:16:16,860
So you're going to have a lot more photographers, videographers to compete with.

269
00:16:17,980 --> 00:16:22,940
So it's almost maybe beneficial to be in somewhere where you're not having as much competition.

270
00:16:24,060 --> 00:16:25,660
Might be something to think about as well.

271
00:16:27,260 --> 00:16:28,540
That's interesting that you say about.

272
00:16:28,540 --> 00:16:34,460
I mean, I noticed you say that you have worked in out of state areas.

273
00:16:35,180 --> 00:16:38,860
And being a creative these days, brother, you know,

274
00:16:38,860 --> 00:16:42,140
it's competitive no matter where you're at in LA.

275
00:16:42,140 --> 00:16:43,580
Obviously, the creative capital.

276
00:16:44,700 --> 00:16:51,580
And you've mentioned before creating genuine relationships with real people.

277
00:16:52,220 --> 00:16:59,340
How valuable or important do you treat that in terms of getting new clients?

278
00:16:59,340 --> 00:17:00,620
Maybe it's ones out of state.

279
00:17:00,620 --> 00:17:06,060
Is that something that you think propels you to reach more success,

280
00:17:06,060 --> 00:17:07,660
get more clients, work with more people?

281
00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:12,940
Is that something that really takes you to getting more clients and helping other people out?

282
00:17:12,940 --> 00:17:21,900
Yeah, I think, you know, working out of state and just exposing yourself to more gigs,

283
00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:26,700
maybe something you're not as comfortable with, will definitely propel you to.

284
00:17:30,140 --> 00:17:31,500
To different opportunities.

285
00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:37,500
The way I started filming running content is my buddy Chris moved to Austin, Texas.

286
00:17:37,500 --> 00:17:43,740
So he took a leap of faith to move to Austin, Texas for a filmmaking photography opportunity.

287
00:17:44,620 --> 00:17:50,140
So he was out here in LA with me and then left LA to go to that area to try to see what he could do

288
00:17:50,140 --> 00:17:50,940
without market.

289
00:17:50,940 --> 00:17:55,260
And then he met this runner, Matt Choi, and Matt needed an editor.

290
00:17:55,260 --> 00:17:58,380
And I've been doing video editing for some time now.

291
00:17:58,380 --> 00:18:04,220
So Chris linked me up with Matt and started just like that doing editing work.

292
00:18:04,220 --> 00:18:12,220
But then I started getting into filming marathons for Matt and I have never really ran.

293
00:18:12,220 --> 00:18:15,900
I've never I don't know much about marathons at that point.

294
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:19,660
So it was definitely out of my comfort zone at first.

295
00:18:19,660 --> 00:18:23,500
I didn't really know I was doing, but I kind of just watched other videos and

296
00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:28,780
figured out what I can do on the creative aspect to help propel that side of the house.

297
00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:32,060
And looking back, like those first few videos were not the best.

298
00:18:32,060 --> 00:18:37,500
I definitely know what I'm doing now and have more experience with running athletics and

299
00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:39,500
marathons specifically.

300
00:18:40,540 --> 00:18:45,260
But going out and doing those first few marathons for Matt and editing that content

301
00:18:45,260 --> 00:18:51,020
has gained me, I guess, some notoriety in the running community, which is a super, super

302
00:18:51,020 --> 00:18:53,580
small community as is.

303
00:18:53,580 --> 00:19:01,180
And it's gained me new clients, different subdivisions of niches in the running community

304
00:19:01,180 --> 00:19:02,940
that I've kind of delved into.

305
00:19:02,940 --> 00:19:08,940
And I wouldn't have got that if I didn't network with Chris, who networked with Matt,

306
00:19:08,940 --> 00:19:12,780
which then it's just like a tree that kind of spread from there.

307
00:19:12,780 --> 00:19:16,140
So, yeah, I mean, sometimes you have to put yourself out there, maybe take a gig that

308
00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:19,420
you're uncomfortable with and don't know anything about because you might be a little

309
00:19:19,420 --> 00:19:23,340
know anything about because you might end up liking it and it might push you into a

310
00:19:23,340 --> 00:19:28,460
different spot in your career where you're working with more people on bigger scale gigs

311
00:19:28,460 --> 00:19:32,460
and you have never done it or never known about it if you didn't put yourself out there.

312
00:19:34,140 --> 00:19:38,460
I want to focus in on creating work.

313
00:19:39,660 --> 00:19:44,460
So you look back, as you mentioned, you look back at some of the first videos content that

314
00:19:44,460 --> 00:19:50,620
you edited, looking back and say, hey, man, this wasn't very good.

315
00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:54,620
This wasn't meeting my expectations to how I film things now.

316
00:19:55,420 --> 00:20:01,580
Some people, they see an opportunity, they look at it and they say, well, I know for

317
00:20:01,580 --> 00:20:04,220
a fact, I'm not going to be good in this niche.

318
00:20:05,180 --> 00:20:08,380
The kind of content, the kind of video is the kind of photography that I do.

319
00:20:08,380 --> 00:20:10,220
It's not going to come out good, so I'm not going to do it.

320
00:20:10,220 --> 00:20:13,340
I'm only going to do work that I can do that is good.

321
00:20:13,340 --> 00:20:18,700
So where does that stem from for you to say, hey, yo, I don't know if I'm going to be the

322
00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:22,300
best editor at this, but you know what, I'm going to try it out.

323
00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:24,060
I'm going to see if I can improve.

324
00:20:24,060 --> 00:20:25,900
How did, where does that come from?

325
00:20:25,900 --> 00:20:29,900
How can, how did you just say, I'm going to go for it.

326
00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:31,020
I'm going to try to do it.

327
00:20:31,020 --> 00:20:32,060
I'm going to get better.

328
00:20:32,060 --> 00:20:35,420
Not going to, I'm not going to let me know when it might not be the best at it.

329
00:20:35,420 --> 00:20:36,460
It's pulled me back.

330
00:20:37,660 --> 00:20:38,060
Yeah.

331
00:20:38,060 --> 00:20:43,820
So it's a little bit of a imposter syndrome, um, and also being hungry.

332
00:20:45,020 --> 00:20:52,300
So I, I really, at that, at that time, didn't really know what my niche was.

333
00:20:52,300 --> 00:20:59,020
I worked a lot of different photography, video gigs in all sorts of different, um,

334
00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:04,860
spaces, whether it was fashion, um, some portraiture product, but I didn't really

335
00:21:04,860 --> 00:21:12,220
like have a niche per se. So when I got hit up to do running, um, I mean, I hated

336
00:21:12,220 --> 00:21:16,140
running, like truly, like I thought like who would run, who would even make

337
00:21:16,140 --> 00:21:16,940
content about running?

338
00:21:16,940 --> 00:21:18,220
Like, this is stupid.

339
00:21:18,940 --> 00:21:20,700
So I, I don't know.

340
00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:24,860
I was just hungry though and motivated and I was willing to kind of take on

341
00:21:24,860 --> 00:21:26,460
whatever gig and it was different.

342
00:21:26,460 --> 00:21:27,420
It sounded interesting.

343
00:21:27,420 --> 00:21:32,220
Whether I had no interest in it or not, the job itself was interesting and I was

344
00:21:32,220 --> 00:21:35,820
hungry enough for projects that I decided to take this on anyways.

345
00:21:36,380 --> 00:21:41,820
Um, and then slowly I became passionate about it on my own as I continue to be

346
00:21:41,820 --> 00:21:44,620
in the running community, meet more people in the running community.

347
00:21:44,860 --> 00:21:48,460
Um, and then obviously over time I grew my confidence.

348
00:21:48,460 --> 00:21:54,780
I learned what I needed to do, whether it be filming or editing or whatever side

349
00:21:54,780 --> 00:22:00,460
of the house to, uh, improve on my creative skills in that space, but it's,

350
00:22:00,460 --> 00:22:06,060
it's a little bit of being hungry, being willing to take on projects and hustle

351
00:22:06,060 --> 00:22:11,340
to get into whatever space you can just to improve on your overall photography,

352
00:22:11,340 --> 00:22:12,380
videography skills.

353
00:22:13,420 --> 00:22:15,980
Brady, you've been in the running industry now.

354
00:22:16,060 --> 00:22:17,020
You're it's a niche.

355
00:22:17,020 --> 00:22:18,060
It's very small community.

356
00:22:18,540 --> 00:22:23,580
I know you mentioned small community and runners are a specific type of person.

357
00:22:23,580 --> 00:22:25,580
It takes a specific person to run marathon.

358
00:22:25,580 --> 00:22:27,180
It takes a specific person to train.

359
00:22:27,180 --> 00:22:33,980
It takes a specific person to overcome those hard moments realizing that you're

360
00:22:33,980 --> 00:22:37,180
in an agonizing pain running all those miles.

361
00:22:37,660 --> 00:22:40,860
And you mentioned that you do not like running if you didn't like running at

362
00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:43,180
the time and I follow your stories.

363
00:22:43,180 --> 00:22:45,820
I mean, man, I'm all about self-improvement, improving your life,

364
00:22:45,820 --> 00:22:46,540
getting better.

365
00:22:46,540 --> 00:22:49,180
I mean, that trends of struggle to business life, relationships we have with

366
00:22:49,180 --> 00:22:52,700
other people and you've been on a tremendous journey and I applaud you for

367
00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:52,940
that.

368
00:22:52,940 --> 00:22:54,540
First of all, and second of all.

369
00:22:54,540 --> 00:22:57,580
Was being associated with these people filming them.

370
00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:01,180
Was that just an automatic indicator that they influenced you?

371
00:23:01,180 --> 00:23:07,980
How did they influence you to become a runner yourself to decide I'm done.

372
00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:08,780
That's it.

373
00:23:08,780 --> 00:23:11,820
I'm going to improve my life and we're just going to keep getting better.

374
00:23:11,820 --> 00:23:12,860
And that's it.

375
00:23:12,860 --> 00:23:13,900
No questions asked.

376
00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:15,420
Yeah.

377
00:23:15,420 --> 00:23:19,260
So the running community is super, super positive.

378
00:23:19,660 --> 00:23:22,460
Everybody's there just to like help each other out.

379
00:23:22,460 --> 00:23:25,980
There's no like negative competitive nature.

380
00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:28,060
It's kind of wild.

381
00:23:28,060 --> 00:23:33,740
So Matt Choi was the first runner that I worked with and I was with him for

382
00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:37,740
quite some time before I picked up my next client in the running space,

383
00:23:37,740 --> 00:23:38,940
which is Jeremy Miller.

384
00:23:40,940 --> 00:23:44,620
And I would see the positivity in the running community with Matt.

385
00:23:44,620 --> 00:23:50,380
I saw, you know, how great it was going to the marathon.

386
00:23:50,380 --> 00:23:55,900
It was going to marathons with him and like how fun it was, how positive it was.

387
00:23:56,940 --> 00:24:01,980
But it wasn't really until I started working with Jeremy and seeing another

388
00:24:01,980 --> 00:24:07,100
person's perspective and seeing another subdivision sub community in there with

389
00:24:07,100 --> 00:24:11,740
him that I was really like, wow, this is pretty incredible.

390
00:24:11,740 --> 00:24:16,940
Like everybody's out here just to help each other be a better person, be more

391
00:24:16,940 --> 00:24:17,820
physically fit.

392
00:24:17,820 --> 00:24:21,820
I'm a dad and I saw other dads out there running with their strollers with their

393
00:24:21,820 --> 00:24:22,300
kids.

394
00:24:22,300 --> 00:24:25,900
I was like, wow, this is actually this is pretty damn cool.

395
00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:27,900
And I kind of want a slice of that pie.

396
00:24:27,900 --> 00:24:31,420
Like I kind of want to be part of this, like aside from just filming it.

397
00:24:31,420 --> 00:24:34,860
And plus, because I'm filming it, I should probably be somewhat adept to like

398
00:24:34,860 --> 00:24:36,860
running alongside these people.

399
00:24:36,860 --> 00:24:39,420
Maybe I should like just get a baseline fitness.

400
00:24:39,900 --> 00:24:45,420
And as I started going the first few weeks, months, like I mean, it sucked,

401
00:24:45,420 --> 00:24:52,540
but I started to grow a passion outside of filming it and realizing like how

402
00:24:52,540 --> 00:24:57,580
positive it was on my own body, how positive it was for my mental health and

403
00:24:57,580 --> 00:24:58,220
aspects.

404
00:24:59,260 --> 00:25:06,540
So, yeah, I mean, it's of course, it was beneficial for my career to be adept in

405
00:25:06,540 --> 00:25:11,820
that department because now I can like run alongside the athlete for a few

406
00:25:11,820 --> 00:25:17,340
miles, but it's really taken a hold on my personal life too and really changed

407
00:25:17,340 --> 00:25:21,260
things for me physically and on the mental side of the house too.

408
00:25:21,260 --> 00:25:22,220
I'm eating better.

409
00:25:22,220 --> 00:25:24,380
I'm making better choices in that regard.

410
00:25:24,380 --> 00:25:29,980
And yeah, I never thought I would be in this position because I hated running.

411
00:25:30,540 --> 00:25:32,300
Running was a punishment in the military.

412
00:25:32,300 --> 00:25:35,900
Like I didn't think I would ever do it for fun.

413
00:25:35,900 --> 00:25:41,420
So yeah, it's still kind of crazy to me that it's really changed my life and

414
00:25:41,420 --> 00:25:42,940
changed my mindset like that.

415
00:25:44,460 --> 00:25:47,420
I've been a part of the running community myself for quite some time.

416
00:25:47,420 --> 00:25:49,020
I was in cross country to track.

417
00:25:49,020 --> 00:25:50,540
I was doing all the miles, man.

418
00:25:50,540 --> 00:25:54,940
So we touched on the positive energy between runners encouraging one another,

419
00:25:54,940 --> 00:25:55,980
not competitive.

420
00:25:55,980 --> 00:25:57,980
And that's absolutely true.

421
00:25:57,980 --> 00:26:01,980
And seeing you, Brady, I've been following you for the last three, four years.

422
00:26:01,980 --> 00:26:06,380
You've from what I've watched, watching YouTube videos, whatever you do, you do

423
00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:10,780
seem like you're a passionate and fiery person and you put your heart into it,

424
00:26:10,780 --> 00:26:11,580
what you're doing.

425
00:26:11,580 --> 00:26:17,580
And in terms of running, how has that influenced the way you make decisions in

426
00:26:17,580 --> 00:26:18,540
life now?

427
00:26:18,540 --> 00:26:23,340
Has there been any things that you can point out from entering this running

428
00:26:23,340 --> 00:26:27,340
space that just truly influenced your mindset and the decisions you make today?

429
00:26:27,340 --> 00:26:32,140
Yeah, do you mean like in the personal, like physical aspect of running or like

430
00:26:32,140 --> 00:26:35,580
getting into like running, filming, like on the business side?

431
00:26:36,860 --> 00:26:41,340
So specifically just how you approach business, running, filming, getting

432
00:26:41,340 --> 00:26:45,820
better relationships, everything, just how has that influenced you specifically

433
00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:48,300
to take on everything?

434
00:26:49,180 --> 00:26:55,660
Yeah, I guess on the personal side, like running, it's gave me an outlet to

435
00:26:55,660 --> 00:26:57,580
go out and think.

436
00:26:57,580 --> 00:27:00,940
So when I'm out there for an hour, it gives me the head space to go out and

437
00:27:00,940 --> 00:27:06,700
think of things creatively, think about my projects and kind of focus in on what

438
00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:09,420
I need to do creatively on the business side of the house.

439
00:27:09,420 --> 00:27:15,180
There's not too many opportunities where you have silence to think about things,

440
00:27:15,180 --> 00:27:20,140
especially me as a husband, as a father, I have three kids, you know, there's not

441
00:27:20,140 --> 00:27:21,980
a lot of quiet time in my life.

442
00:27:21,980 --> 00:27:28,380
So getting out and having that quiet time is great to actually focus on the things

443
00:27:28,380 --> 00:27:32,860
that do matter outside of, you know, family and all that.

444
00:27:32,860 --> 00:27:39,260
Like it's, I'm overwhelmed so much with different projects and business and to

445
00:27:39,260 --> 00:27:46,860
be able to set all that aside and like have a space to think about it and, and

446
00:27:46,860 --> 00:27:52,780
meditate on it as I need to is incredibly helpful.

447
00:27:52,780 --> 00:27:54,380
It makes me make better decisions too.

448
00:27:54,380 --> 00:28:00,140
I don't make rash decisions out of, oh, I just need to say this to my client

449
00:28:00,140 --> 00:28:00,620
right now.

450
00:28:00,620 --> 00:28:05,420
Like if there's a business conversation I need to have, I can sleep on it.

451
00:28:05,420 --> 00:28:10,940
I can think about it for that hour and then make decisions accordingly with a

452
00:28:10,940 --> 00:28:14,220
clear mindset versus just making rash decisions.

453
00:28:14,220 --> 00:28:17,340
So it's helped a lot on the personal side, it's helped a lot on the business

454
00:28:17,340 --> 00:28:17,500
side.

455
00:28:17,500 --> 00:28:22,860
So it's kind of nice to have that time now and have that head space.

456
00:28:22,860 --> 00:28:28,300
I think as creatives and business owners, anything of the sorts, improving your

457
00:28:28,300 --> 00:28:34,540
life in that aspect, having time to assess what the heck is going on, what

458
00:28:34,540 --> 00:28:35,820
the heck am I going to say?

459
00:28:35,820 --> 00:28:41,660
I think out of rash decisions, so crucial and to hone in, I mean, you do it

460
00:28:41,660 --> 00:28:44,860
with people all the time, you have relations with business people and have

461
00:28:44,860 --> 00:28:48,860
emails, calls, phone calls, different clientele that you work with.

462
00:28:48,860 --> 00:28:57,660
And sometimes people don't recognize the amount of effort that we put into this.

463
00:28:57,660 --> 00:28:58,460
And that's okay.

464
00:28:58,460 --> 00:29:03,900
I mean, people more than likely ignorant on the topic, there's more than likely

465
00:29:03,900 --> 00:29:05,500
not a lot of malevolence on the issue.

466
00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:09,980
And as creatives, we mature, we get older and we realize that's actually the case

467
00:29:09,980 --> 00:29:11,820
most of the times.

468
00:29:11,820 --> 00:29:13,020
It's just they just don't know.

469
00:29:13,020 --> 00:29:17,900
So having that time to think about it, what am I going to say?

470
00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:21,500
How am I going to explain this in a positive or clear, concise way, setting

471
00:29:21,500 --> 00:29:22,700
those boundaries?

472
00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:28,300
And I want to transition to you into the aspect of documentary filmmaking,

473
00:29:28,300 --> 00:29:32,300
something I'm very passionate about and your involvement with that.

474
00:29:32,300 --> 00:29:35,100
Did you ever see yourself coming into that realm?

475
00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:39,100
Was it just a naturally, was it a natural thing?

476
00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:44,300
Was it a natural order of events or was it something that you brought up that you

477
00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:45,740
wanted to do for these people?

478
00:29:46,380 --> 00:29:46,880
Yeah.

479
00:29:47,420 --> 00:29:53,020
So first off, I never thought I'd be doing video, let alone documentary filmmaking.

480
00:29:53,980 --> 00:29:56,220
I was so ignorant.

481
00:29:56,220 --> 00:29:59,260
Like in the beginning, I was like, all I want to do is take photos.

482
00:29:59,260 --> 00:30:00,700
Like I never want to do video.

483
00:30:01,420 --> 00:30:07,420
Obviously, as the industry has shifted and video is more prevalent in business,

484
00:30:07,420 --> 00:30:09,020
I had to bite the bullet at some point.

485
00:30:09,020 --> 00:30:12,060
I'm like, all right, I need to get into video if I want to stay relevant,

486
00:30:12,060 --> 00:30:14,060
because I'm not going to stay relevant just doing photos.

487
00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:18,380
As I got into video, I realized, okay, it's really good for my career.

488
00:30:18,380 --> 00:30:20,460
But also, like, I truly enjoy this.

489
00:30:20,460 --> 00:30:24,380
Like it's like taking still photography, but making it way more complex and

490
00:30:24,380 --> 00:30:26,540
making it way more fun.

491
00:30:26,540 --> 00:30:30,380
So it's kind of fun to have like the different challenges in video because

492
00:30:30,380 --> 00:30:33,180
you're dealing with lighting, you're dealing with audio, you're dealing with

493
00:30:33,180 --> 00:30:36,380
composition, but then thinking about multiple different frames.

494
00:30:36,380 --> 00:30:41,660
So like video in general, like I thought that was so far out of my reach.

495
00:30:41,660 --> 00:30:45,260
So to be doing this as is, is wild to me.

496
00:30:45,260 --> 00:30:49,260
Just looking back a few years, thinking about how much I didn't want to do it.

497
00:30:49,820 --> 00:30:54,300
But yeah, documentary filmmaking, I just kind of fell into it naturally.

498
00:30:54,300 --> 00:30:56,060
I've always been interested in it.

499
00:30:56,060 --> 00:30:57,820
I've always been interested in the stories.

500
00:30:57,820 --> 00:31:03,660
I've loved documentary photography and looking at documentary photo books and

501
00:31:03,660 --> 00:31:04,060
all that.

502
00:31:04,060 --> 00:31:06,620
It's something I found wildly interesting.

503
00:31:08,540 --> 00:31:12,460
And the longer I was in the running community, the longer or the more I knew

504
00:31:12,460 --> 00:31:15,660
there were deeper stories than just running.

505
00:31:15,660 --> 00:31:21,100
There was a lot more meaning behind why people ran and some of these specific

506
00:31:21,100 --> 00:31:21,820
runs.

507
00:31:22,860 --> 00:31:27,820
So I started off with a project, the Moab 240.

508
00:31:27,820 --> 00:31:30,540
It was for this athlete, Pierce Shao.

509
00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:37,260
And he is 22 years old and had run multiple Ultramans, multiple Ironmans,

510
00:31:37,260 --> 00:31:39,340
multiple marathons, hundred mile races.

511
00:31:39,340 --> 00:31:44,300
And he signed up to do this challenge called the Triple Crown 200s, where within

512
00:31:44,300 --> 00:31:49,900
a six month time span, he ran three 200 plus mile races.

513
00:31:49,900 --> 00:31:56,380
So a 200 mile race, another 200 mile race, and it culminated with a 240 mile race

514
00:31:56,380 --> 00:31:57,740
in Moab, Utah.

515
00:31:57,740 --> 00:32:00,540
So I filmed that for him.

516
00:32:00,540 --> 00:32:04,140
We're getting ready to put that out very soon.

517
00:32:04,140 --> 00:32:09,020
The editing process is almost complete, but that was kind of like my first toe

518
00:32:09,020 --> 00:32:09,900
into the waters.

519
00:32:09,900 --> 00:32:14,460
And again, like going back to our previous point, I've never done something

520
00:32:14,460 --> 00:32:15,260
to the scale.

521
00:32:15,260 --> 00:32:17,740
I've never done documentary filmmaking.

522
00:32:17,740 --> 00:32:22,220
So I had no clue what I was doing, but I did a lot of research and I had an

523
00:32:22,220 --> 00:32:25,660
imposter syndrome face on and said, I can sure do this for you.

524
00:32:25,660 --> 00:32:30,460
When I got hit up for the project and it ended up turning out pretty well.

525
00:32:30,460 --> 00:32:31,580
I'm pretty proud of it.

526
00:32:32,620 --> 00:32:36,860
But I do have a bigger project coming up that actually kicks off in about 10

527
00:32:36,860 --> 00:32:37,360
days.

528
00:32:38,780 --> 00:32:42,940
And it is a transcontinental run.

529
00:32:42,940 --> 00:32:46,380
So quick baseline of the story.

530
00:32:46,380 --> 00:32:54,300
Paul Johnson is a naval officer based in Rhode Island, and he is attempting to

531
00:32:54,300 --> 00:33:00,300
run from Los Angeles to New York City in 40 days, which is 75 miles a day to

532
00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:05,340
break the world record and raise a million dollars for veterans charities

533
00:33:05,340 --> 00:33:06,940
and mental health charities.

534
00:33:06,940 --> 00:33:11,260
So it's just an incredible feat that he's trying to do, an incredible story

535
00:33:11,260 --> 00:33:12,860
on why he's trying to do it.

536
00:33:12,860 --> 00:33:18,060
And on top of that, all for a greater cause of raising a million dollars for

537
00:33:18,060 --> 00:33:19,900
veterans mental health charities.

538
00:33:19,900 --> 00:33:22,460
It's such an incredible project.

539
00:33:22,460 --> 00:33:24,220
Such an incredible project.

540
00:33:24,220 --> 00:33:28,140
It's like kind of wrapping everything full circle for me.

541
00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:35,020
Being a veteran myself, having dealt with mental health issues and anxiety

542
00:33:35,020 --> 00:33:36,620
and being in the surrounding space.

543
00:33:36,620 --> 00:33:40,780
It's like everything has all kind of like culminated in this one project.

544
00:33:40,780 --> 00:33:48,460
So it's pretty wild to be able to go out and direct this, film it, and just be

545
00:33:48,460 --> 00:33:49,740
part of this whole process.

546
00:33:49,740 --> 00:33:53,260
I'm still kind of in shock, still kind of blown away that this is all happening.

547
00:33:53,260 --> 00:33:58,300
But yeah, it's a lot of that imposter syndrome, having faith in yourself that

548
00:33:58,300 --> 00:34:03,980
you can do it, being interested in the subject matter and just, you know, just

549
00:34:03,980 --> 00:34:05,340
going out there and making it happen.

550
00:34:05,340 --> 00:34:09,420
So yeah, my path to documentary filmmaking was not linear.

551
00:34:09,420 --> 00:34:12,540
I never expected to be here, but I'm super stoked.

552
00:34:12,540 --> 00:34:16,940
And I truly see this as the continuation of my career.

553
00:34:16,940 --> 00:34:19,740
I love it. I'm very passionate about it.

554
00:34:19,740 --> 00:34:23,260
I love the stories of these people and it's something that I want to continue to do

555
00:34:23,260 --> 00:34:25,580
and do on grander scales in the future as well.

556
00:34:27,260 --> 00:34:31,900
Nothing makes me happier than hearing that last bit of your statement right there, man.

557
00:34:31,900 --> 00:34:35,580
I can't wait to see the work that's coming up to impact some of that.

558
00:34:35,580 --> 00:34:36,620
What you said, man.

559
00:34:38,700 --> 00:34:42,860
First of all, runners doing great work to giving back to other people.

560
00:34:43,580 --> 00:34:46,060
Amazing giving back to other people.

561
00:34:46,060 --> 00:34:51,020
And giving back is one of the many things that we can do as people and helping other

562
00:34:51,020 --> 00:34:51,980
people out.

563
00:34:51,980 --> 00:35:04,460
And in terms of your documentary filmmaking, to delve into that was, are you running the

564
00:35:04,460 --> 00:35:09,100
full two, you're not running the full 200 miles with them or are you?

565
00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:09,740
No, I can move.

566
00:35:09,740 --> 00:35:09,900
No.

567
00:35:10,540 --> 00:35:11,340
Yeah, no.

568
00:35:11,340 --> 00:35:16,140
So I'll give you like a quick synopsis of what I did for the Moab 240.

569
00:35:16,140 --> 00:35:19,660
I'll give you like my insight on what I'm going to do for Transcon.

570
00:35:20,460 --> 00:35:21,500
Quick overview.

571
00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:26,460
So for the Moab 240, we had a crew van where we went from checkpoint to checkpoint,

572
00:35:26,460 --> 00:35:29,100
which was maybe 20 to 40 miles in between.

573
00:35:29,740 --> 00:35:36,380
So I would go with the crew, jump off and meet my runner about two miles out,

574
00:35:36,380 --> 00:35:38,620
run in with him with a camera.

575
00:35:38,620 --> 00:35:42,700
So I have footage there, film him at the aid stations and then run out with him

576
00:35:42,700 --> 00:35:44,300
another two miles or so.

577
00:35:44,300 --> 00:35:50,300
And that's how I completed that project for Transcon because it is 75 miles a day

578
00:35:50,300 --> 00:35:52,300
across country for 40 days.

579
00:35:52,300 --> 00:35:54,380
It's a much different scenario than a race.

580
00:35:54,380 --> 00:35:58,940
So what my game plan is for that one, we're going to have two crew vans and

581
00:35:58,940 --> 00:36:03,660
essentially I'm going to get out, follow Paul where I need to with a gimbal and

582
00:36:03,660 --> 00:36:10,140
then actually just plot myself in the van, have the driver just go at Paul's

583
00:36:10,140 --> 00:36:13,660
pace, film Paul as we go and just kind of go about it that way.

584
00:36:13,660 --> 00:36:19,660
So obviously I am nowhere near the same shape as Paul to run 75 miles a day,

585
00:36:19,660 --> 00:36:21,340
especially with a camera.

586
00:36:21,340 --> 00:36:26,060
However, I will probably be out with him a few miles a day here and there,

587
00:36:26,060 --> 00:36:31,580
but I have had to coordinate on different ways to film him, whether that's going

588
00:36:31,580 --> 00:36:34,620
from checkpoint to checkpoint with the telephoto, getting creative that way,

589
00:36:34,620 --> 00:36:39,020
following him with a drone, hopping in a van and filming him outside the van.

590
00:36:39,020 --> 00:36:42,540
There's different ways to do it without having to actually be out there and

591
00:36:42,540 --> 00:36:44,540
putting in the quote unquote legwork.

592
00:36:46,140 --> 00:36:50,140
But that's kind of my process that I'm going to go ahead and take for this one.

593
00:36:51,340 --> 00:36:52,220
I heard so much.

594
00:36:52,220 --> 00:36:55,100
And I mean, the one thing that was really sticking out my mind, there's no way

595
00:36:55,100 --> 00:36:57,740
this guy's going to run 75 miles a day with them.

596
00:36:57,740 --> 00:37:03,820
And to delve into the whole documentary filmmaking, I mean, it's a little different

597
00:37:03,820 --> 00:37:06,460
than making a narrative film.

598
00:37:06,460 --> 00:37:10,540
And I mean, in terms of being like a blockbuster or a short cinematic film,

599
00:37:10,540 --> 00:37:13,180
documentary filmmaking, it's its own thing.

600
00:37:13,820 --> 00:37:18,780
So transitioning your mind to have an approach to tell these stories about

601
00:37:18,780 --> 00:37:25,500
these runners, what was a challenge that you had to understand for this?

602
00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:29,740
And what are some challenges you're expecting for this upcoming one in terms

603
00:37:29,740 --> 00:37:32,780
of being able to tell the story?

604
00:37:32,780 --> 00:37:33,660
It's a whole different thing.

605
00:37:33,660 --> 00:37:35,100
Documentaries like over here.

606
00:37:36,060 --> 00:37:36,380
Yeah.

607
00:37:36,380 --> 00:37:40,540
So funny enough, you actually mentioned the biggest struggle for me, and that's

608
00:37:40,540 --> 00:37:42,060
telling the story.

609
00:37:42,060 --> 00:37:44,540
So I'm so used to capturing photos.

610
00:37:44,540 --> 00:37:48,620
I'm so used to making YouTube videos, which YouTube videos are very

611
00:37:48,620 --> 00:37:49,820
straightforward, linear.

612
00:37:49,820 --> 00:37:54,300
Like you have your topic, you go off of that for eight to 10 minutes.

613
00:37:54,300 --> 00:37:57,500
It might be a challenge to make it, but I mean, you have your topic, you

614
00:37:57,500 --> 00:37:57,980
follow the path.

615
00:37:59,260 --> 00:38:03,820
Documentary is a lot more complicated because you have to tell the story.

616
00:38:03,820 --> 00:38:06,700
You have to introduce your audience to the character.

617
00:38:06,700 --> 00:38:08,540
You have to make it suspenseful.

618
00:38:08,540 --> 00:38:13,980
You got to follow a path that has the ebbs and flows that has a climax.

619
00:38:13,980 --> 00:38:19,660
It is way, way more complicated than just telling the events of something

620
00:38:19,660 --> 00:38:20,620
chronologically.

621
00:38:20,620 --> 00:38:21,900
You got to think about emotion.

622
00:38:21,900 --> 00:38:24,460
You got to connect your audience to the character.

623
00:38:24,460 --> 00:38:26,940
It's just, it's so much more complicated.

624
00:38:27,660 --> 00:38:31,580
And that's something that I've had to learn.

625
00:38:32,700 --> 00:38:36,300
Some people, maybe storytelling comes naturally.

626
00:38:37,020 --> 00:38:40,940
It wasn't something as natural to me, and that's something I've kind of had

627
00:38:40,940 --> 00:38:41,580
to study.

628
00:38:41,580 --> 00:38:45,420
I've had to learn a little bit, kind of tap into the emotional aspects of

629
00:38:45,420 --> 00:38:45,820
things.

630
00:38:45,820 --> 00:38:51,980
So given as simple as asking questions in the interview, sitting down and

631
00:38:51,980 --> 00:38:57,100
having like a pre-interview with your client and learning more about them

632
00:38:57,100 --> 00:39:01,660
personally before you go out and film it is going to help tremendously because

633
00:39:01,660 --> 00:39:05,180
you're going to then know the right questions to ask, the right moments to

634
00:39:05,180 --> 00:39:11,340
film, the things that invigorate emotions, spark curiosity for your film.

635
00:39:11,340 --> 00:39:14,220
Because if you sit and watch something chronologically, yeah, it might be

636
00:39:14,220 --> 00:39:15,500
entertaining.

637
00:39:15,500 --> 00:39:17,260
You're going to see how events unfold.

638
00:39:17,260 --> 00:39:22,300
But really what people want to do is connect with a character, feel something

639
00:39:22,300 --> 00:39:24,220
in them that they relate to.

640
00:39:24,220 --> 00:39:26,300
And that's what makes a passionate story.

641
00:39:26,300 --> 00:39:29,580
So it might not be something I'm the best at currently, but it's something

642
00:39:29,580 --> 00:39:35,580
that I'm actively trying to learn, actively improving on, and something

643
00:39:35,580 --> 00:39:40,060
that I am now getting passionate about, about how to tell stories.

644
00:39:40,060 --> 00:39:45,100
Being also a photographer going over to video telling the actual story,

645
00:39:45,100 --> 00:39:48,540
brother, incredibly hard when I'm teaching other people about which

646
00:39:48,540 --> 00:39:49,420
genre of things.

647
00:39:49,420 --> 00:39:52,060
And yeah, dude, you get it.

648
00:39:52,060 --> 00:39:52,780
100%.

649
00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:55,980
I'm the smiley face when you're talking about it.

650
00:39:55,980 --> 00:39:59,100
I'm like, I'm there with you, brother.

651
00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:00,380
And that's cool, though.

652
00:40:00,380 --> 00:40:05,500
I love that you're actively trying to improve and you're not letting your

653
00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:08,460
current skill set, which I've watched your films.

654
00:40:08,460 --> 00:40:08,860
They're good.

655
00:40:08,860 --> 00:40:10,940
I've watched the work you've been doing, putting it in there.

656
00:40:10,940 --> 00:40:15,100
You're doing a great job, but I love that you're not letting your current skill

657
00:40:15,100 --> 00:40:19,660
set hold you back from doing the next one and keep getting better

658
00:40:19,660 --> 00:40:22,700
compounding it because some people, again, we talked about this.

659
00:40:22,700 --> 00:40:24,060
They let their current skills set.

660
00:40:24,060 --> 00:40:25,180
That's not where it needs to be at.

661
00:40:26,060 --> 00:40:30,780
They let it hold it back and not continue on to choose to get better.

662
00:40:30,780 --> 00:40:35,180
And a little more on the documentary side before I ask a specific question

663
00:40:35,180 --> 00:40:43,740
about this, being able to give subtle cues without dialogue in documentary

664
00:40:43,740 --> 00:40:48,860
filmmaking has been something I've really tried to hone in on for people

665
00:40:48,860 --> 00:40:49,420
listening.

666
00:40:49,420 --> 00:40:50,380
Maybe you're talking to me.

667
00:40:51,100 --> 00:40:56,620
What would you give advice for to give, to focus on giving subtle

668
00:40:56,620 --> 00:41:01,100
storytelling moments without the character talking?

669
00:41:01,100 --> 00:41:04,060
Maybe someone's just sitting there, 18 years old and they're like,

670
00:41:04,060 --> 00:41:10,220
yo, I can do dialogue, but showing those specific moments, what's your

671
00:41:10,220 --> 00:41:11,420
approach to that aspect?

672
00:41:11,420 --> 00:41:11,980
Yeah.

673
00:41:11,980 --> 00:41:14,220
So I have two answers to that.

674
00:41:14,220 --> 00:41:19,260
The first one is actually having a script.

675
00:41:19,260 --> 00:41:23,100
Now that sounds counterintuitive because you think having a script might

676
00:41:23,100 --> 00:41:24,220
be for narrative films.

677
00:41:25,020 --> 00:41:31,740
However, having a storyboard in mind on how you plan to tell this person's

678
00:41:31,740 --> 00:41:35,100
story is going to be so beneficial because when you're out there, you

679
00:41:35,100 --> 00:41:36,460
have something to reference to.

680
00:41:36,460 --> 00:41:44,220
You can kind of nudge your client or not client, but the person you're

681
00:41:44,220 --> 00:41:45,340
interviewing into.

682
00:41:45,340 --> 00:41:49,340
So if you already know, okay, I want to tell this aspect of the story, but

683
00:41:49,340 --> 00:41:53,100
this person isn't touching on it, you can kind of ask them a question, kind

684
00:41:53,100 --> 00:41:58,460
of invoke that specific moment or emotion that you want.

685
00:41:58,460 --> 00:42:01,980
And that helps propel the story.

686
00:42:01,980 --> 00:42:08,060
It even gives the character or the client something to continue on and

687
00:42:08,060 --> 00:42:10,700
think about on their own sake.

688
00:42:10,700 --> 00:42:16,940
On the creative side of the house, on telling the story without dialogue,

689
00:42:16,940 --> 00:42:26,380
you just need to get a varying array of shots and add it in a constructive

690
00:42:26,380 --> 00:42:29,020
way that's not just like throwing clips into a timeline.

691
00:42:29,020 --> 00:42:32,540
So what I like to do is I'll get beneficial B-rolls.

692
00:42:32,540 --> 00:42:34,700
I'll get a close up of something.

693
00:42:34,700 --> 00:42:39,020
I'll get a wide establishing shot and then I'll have dialogue under it.

694
00:42:39,020 --> 00:42:43,020
So sometimes I have dialogue that's not even from that specific moment, but

695
00:42:43,020 --> 00:42:47,020
helps tell the story under some B-roll that makes it more captivating.

696
00:42:47,020 --> 00:42:50,060
And it also helps transition from scene to scene.

697
00:42:50,060 --> 00:42:51,500
Sometimes you don't need dialogue at all.

698
00:42:51,500 --> 00:42:55,500
You can just have important music, sound effects, or whatever you want.

699
00:42:55,500 --> 00:42:59,260
Important music, sound effects, this B-roll to help transition things and

700
00:42:59,260 --> 00:43:00,060
tell the story.

701
00:43:01,580 --> 00:43:03,100
It doesn't have to be that complicated.

702
00:43:03,100 --> 00:43:08,140
If you sit down and study some documentaries, stuff that inspires you,

703
00:43:08,140 --> 00:43:11,020
you'll see a lot of it is actually negative space.

704
00:43:11,020 --> 00:43:15,020
And then they just use that negative space with that B-roll, the sound effects

705
00:43:15,020 --> 00:43:18,860
for those few seconds to spark an emotion, transition from thought

706
00:43:18,860 --> 00:43:21,340
process to thought process or from scene to scene.

707
00:43:21,340 --> 00:43:23,900
And that's kind of like a good methodology that I've been using.

708
00:43:23,900 --> 00:43:25,660
And I think it's helped on my end.

709
00:43:27,580 --> 00:43:29,180
Thank you for taking the time to answer that.

710
00:43:29,180 --> 00:43:32,300
I think people listening, you're going to really take a lot from that.

711
00:43:32,300 --> 00:43:34,380
What you said really do mean that.

712
00:43:34,380 --> 00:43:38,700
Transitioning just a little bit over to, I've had a couple of guys on the podcast

713
00:43:38,700 --> 00:43:42,300
already who have served in the military, also on the creative field.

714
00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:46,780
Now, is there anything that you would say that you took in from that part of your

715
00:43:46,780 --> 00:43:51,500
life that still applies to your creative side now, which you do with today?

716
00:43:51,500 --> 00:43:53,020
Oh yeah.

717
00:43:53,020 --> 00:43:56,300
I mean, there's a lot from my military days that I've taken

718
00:43:58,220 --> 00:44:00,460
aside from just business, but my personal life.

719
00:44:00,460 --> 00:44:04,700
But I think the big thing is the confidence.

720
00:44:04,700 --> 00:44:08,380
A lot of what they teach you in the military is confidence in yourself.

721
00:44:08,380 --> 00:44:14,060
And if you're not confident, you have to be, you got to have that imposter syndrome.

722
00:44:14,060 --> 00:44:16,700
I know I've talked about that a little bit already on the podcast, but

723
00:44:16,700 --> 00:44:20,860
you have to go into scenarios where you're not confident in your abilities.

724
00:44:20,860 --> 00:44:26,780
You are doing something uncomfortable and you just got to get out there and freaking do it, man.

725
00:44:26,780 --> 00:44:27,740
It doesn't matter.

726
00:44:27,740 --> 00:44:28,860
You have to set your ego aside.

727
00:44:28,860 --> 00:44:32,220
You have to set everything else aside to be able to complete the mission.

728
00:44:33,660 --> 00:44:35,820
It is greater than you is for a team.

729
00:44:35,820 --> 00:44:39,980
So that's kind of how I look at some of these things is I might not be entirely

730
00:44:39,980 --> 00:44:43,500
confident about it, but I'm going to go out there because I wanted to take on this gig.

731
00:44:43,500 --> 00:44:45,420
I'm going to make it happen one way or the other.

732
00:44:45,420 --> 00:44:48,540
I'm going to make it happen one way or another, whether I miss a shot or not.

733
00:44:48,540 --> 00:44:53,660
I will make the project happen somehow and I'm going to make it happen for my client.

734
00:44:55,340 --> 00:44:58,780
And that's kind of why I like documentary filmmaking because it kind of gives me

735
00:44:58,780 --> 00:45:00,220
something to connect to.

736
00:45:00,220 --> 00:45:02,460
And I kind of look at it as a team.

737
00:45:02,460 --> 00:45:08,140
I'm looking at the person's story that I'm telling as something I'm invested in,

738
00:45:08,140 --> 00:45:12,540
in a team mentality kind of like back into the military days.

739
00:45:12,540 --> 00:45:17,740
So it's easy to go there and just have no option other than to make it happen,

740
00:45:17,740 --> 00:45:19,100
whether I'm confident or not.

741
00:45:19,100 --> 00:45:20,940
But I'm going to put on that confident face.

742
00:45:20,940 --> 00:45:25,100
So I think that's the biggest thing that I've taken away is something that's,

743
00:45:26,140 --> 00:45:32,380
you know, changed my life, changed my perspective on things, changed my business.

744
00:45:32,380 --> 00:45:34,300
It's all about, you know, the imposter syndrome.

745
00:45:34,300 --> 00:45:36,940
And eventually it's not going to be impossible syndrome.

746
00:45:36,940 --> 00:45:40,700
You're going to just be confident with yourself, your abilities.

747
00:45:40,700 --> 00:45:41,660
And that's how you do it.

748
00:45:41,660 --> 00:45:46,300
You just, you just have to go out, be uncomfortable for a little bit, make it happen.

749
00:45:46,300 --> 00:45:50,300
And eventually it's not going to be so uncomfortable.

750
00:45:51,580 --> 00:45:54,620
Take some time real quick to focus on that team aspect.

751
00:45:56,380 --> 00:46:04,060
You mentioned that in not making this whole entire thing about yourself is a big thing.

752
00:46:04,060 --> 00:46:10,620
You said setting your ego apart as successful people are, they have to be successful.

753
00:46:10,620 --> 00:46:16,460
Put the ego aside and realize that there is a common goal, whether it's serving the client,

754
00:46:16,460 --> 00:46:23,180
serving the team, serving the person, telling the story about, can you share for the people listening?

755
00:46:24,140 --> 00:46:29,660
How does someone, let's just talk specifically about our space, our industry right now.

756
00:46:29,660 --> 00:46:37,340
How does someone get around their ego in terms of the creative space and remembering that,

757
00:46:37,340 --> 00:46:40,780
yo bro, this is about the team. This is about the common goal.

758
00:46:40,780 --> 00:46:42,940
This is about serving other people.

759
00:46:42,940 --> 00:46:47,180
This is not just about serving myself, tickling my ego, rubbing it a little bit, saying, hey,

760
00:46:48,220 --> 00:46:51,420
this makes me feel good. What do we got for those people, man?

761
00:46:51,420 --> 00:46:57,820
Yeah. So, I mean, like the thing about this space is it's so saturated.

762
00:46:57,820 --> 00:47:02,220
So I'm going to say it blunt and brutally honest, like to anybody listening.

763
00:47:02,220 --> 00:47:06,140
And if you're listening to this, you're probably already a good human being because you're

764
00:47:06,140 --> 00:47:09,180
linked in with Nick. But I mean, I'm going to say it anyways.

765
00:47:10,540 --> 00:47:13,900
But seriously, like this market is so saturated.

766
00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:16,780
There are so many people out there trying to do what you're doing.

767
00:47:16,780 --> 00:47:19,420
There's so many videographers. There's so many photographers.

768
00:47:19,420 --> 00:47:24,700
There's so many people out there that can easily do what you're doing and probably do it better.

769
00:47:25,500 --> 00:47:28,940
So don't be cocky. Don't be arrogant.

770
00:47:28,940 --> 00:47:31,900
Like be open to creative feedback.

771
00:47:31,900 --> 00:47:39,500
Be open to new things because your vision of creativity, it might not always be the best thing.

772
00:47:39,500 --> 00:47:43,580
Sometimes I have worked on a project, something I was super passionate about,

773
00:47:43,580 --> 00:47:48,220
and then I get feedback from a client or I'll send it off for feedback from one of my peers.

774
00:47:48,220 --> 00:47:51,580
And they'll be like, oh, this is all right. Have you thought about doing it this way?

775
00:47:52,140 --> 00:47:56,380
And I could have been arrogant. I could have been like, no, this is the best thing I ever made.

776
00:47:56,380 --> 00:47:59,820
But I took the feedback and I'm like, all right, let me rework this.

777
00:47:59,820 --> 00:48:02,060
Let me think about it and give it some thought.

778
00:48:02,060 --> 00:48:09,180
And then nine times out of ten, not always, but most of the time, setting your ego aside

779
00:48:09,180 --> 00:48:16,140
and taking on some of that feedback, it actually lends for a better product because us as humans,

780
00:48:16,140 --> 00:48:19,500
we're so narrow minded, especially when we get in the flow of things.

781
00:48:19,500 --> 00:48:27,500
We think what we're doing is the right way, the right answer, the one and done.

782
00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:31,660
But other people that are third parties that aren't in that tunnel vision for that project that you are

783
00:48:31,660 --> 00:48:34,860
will be able to give you different creative feedback.

784
00:48:34,860 --> 00:48:38,940
And you might think it might give you inspiration to do things in a different way.

785
00:48:38,940 --> 00:48:45,100
So seriously, like just setting it all aside, being receptive, maybe even asking for help.

786
00:48:45,100 --> 00:48:50,140
Like a lot of times I'll send my projects to my peers and be like, look, just go ahead and roast me.

787
00:48:50,140 --> 00:48:54,860
Tell me how this project is, what I can do better, if it was entertaining, how it can improve.

788
00:48:54,860 --> 00:48:57,660
What aspects of it would you do differently?

789
00:48:57,660 --> 00:49:00,540
And sometimes I take the feedback, sometimes I don't.

790
00:49:00,540 --> 00:49:05,900
But I just kind of make that decision based on if I think it actually benefits my project or not.

791
00:49:05,900 --> 00:49:12,460
But yeah, you know, just be willing and be open to everything else in the world,

792
00:49:12,460 --> 00:49:15,980
because guaranteed your way is not the right way.

793
00:49:15,980 --> 00:49:17,660
There's so many ways to do one thing.

794
00:49:17,660 --> 00:49:22,460
And there's so many people that would die to do what you're doing for what you're doing.

795
00:49:22,460 --> 00:49:28,860
So just be grateful for what you're working on, be receptive and throw it out into the world.

796
00:49:28,860 --> 00:49:34,380
Let people collaborate with you as long as it's constructive criticism and feedback.

797
00:49:34,380 --> 00:49:39,980
And you're going to grow exponentially just with the help of other people that you trust

798
00:49:39,980 --> 00:49:43,100
and other people that you look up to and admire.

799
00:49:44,620 --> 00:49:47,340
Thanks for answering that so in depth.

800
00:49:47,340 --> 00:49:48,860
Appreciate you breaking that down.

801
00:49:48,860 --> 00:49:52,700
People tend to let the ego get in the way.

802
00:49:52,700 --> 00:49:54,380
We all do what happens to us all the time.

803
00:49:54,380 --> 00:49:56,780
Even today, it's always something that everyone's going to battle.

804
00:49:56,780 --> 00:49:59,580
Remember, hey, get out of the way, man.

805
00:49:59,580 --> 00:50:01,100
Ego, quiet.

806
00:50:01,100 --> 00:50:07,500
Yeah, but going forward, me and you share something in common that I think everyone

807
00:50:07,500 --> 00:50:09,500
should have in common.

808
00:50:09,500 --> 00:50:12,700
It is coffee, drinking coffee, man.

809
00:50:12,700 --> 00:50:14,140
Can you explain to me?

810
00:50:14,140 --> 00:50:15,500
Oh, let's go.

811
00:50:15,500 --> 00:50:22,860
Can you explain to me how this whole passion for coffee, you got to get into it.

812
00:50:22,860 --> 00:50:27,660
Is this something that just maybe one day someone was like, hey, man, here's a cup of

813
00:50:27,660 --> 00:50:29,100
coffee and then that was it.

814
00:50:29,100 --> 00:50:30,300
You had that moment.

815
00:50:30,300 --> 00:50:32,460
It's the best thing I've ever had.

816
00:50:32,460 --> 00:50:36,460
Or was it just something that kind of grew on you over time?

817
00:50:36,460 --> 00:50:38,140
Yeah, I love this question.

818
00:50:38,140 --> 00:50:39,340
Here we go.

819
00:50:39,340 --> 00:50:42,140
So yeah, I don't know.

820
00:50:42,140 --> 00:50:51,260
I didn't really care for coffee for a while because growing up, my dad made Folgers in

821
00:50:51,260 --> 00:50:54,940
a Mr. Coffee Instant Pot and it just was disgusting.

822
00:50:54,940 --> 00:50:58,300
In the military, military coffee is also disgusting.

823
00:50:58,300 --> 00:51:00,780
It's just like dirt water.

824
00:51:00,780 --> 00:51:08,380
It's overly burnt, roasted, undersaturated, nasty dirt water.

825
00:51:08,380 --> 00:51:22,780
And then I don't know, after I left the military, I ended up getting a Keurig and I found a blend

826
00:51:22,780 --> 00:51:28,060
that was all right and I started to like it and I would drink it every day.

827
00:51:28,060 --> 00:51:32,540
But I just knew like, all right, this isn't like the greatest thing in the world and I

828
00:51:32,540 --> 00:51:34,940
know it's literally the best thing in the world.

829
00:51:34,940 --> 00:51:42,460
I know it's like a plastic pot of probably stale coffee with some water going through.

830
00:51:42,460 --> 00:51:45,180
I'm like, I know there's a better way.

831
00:51:45,180 --> 00:51:51,260
So I ended up researching how to make better coffee without a coffee pot.

832
00:51:51,260 --> 00:51:55,020
And I got, I think it was a French press I got first.

833
00:51:55,020 --> 00:52:00,220
And I got pre-ground coffee and I threw it in the French press and I was like, oh man,

834
00:52:00,220 --> 00:52:02,860
like, I mean, it tastes like coffee.

835
00:52:02,860 --> 00:52:07,820
I mean, I'm like, I mean, it tastes good, but there's like so much sediment in this.

836
00:52:07,820 --> 00:52:11,020
Like, why is, why am I getting coffee grounds in my drink?

837
00:52:11,660 --> 00:52:12,940
So then I did some more research.

838
00:52:12,940 --> 00:52:18,140
Oh, like, okay, you got to like grind your coffee to a correct size for French press.

839
00:52:18,780 --> 00:52:20,780
And then like, it just kept going from there.

840
00:52:20,780 --> 00:52:24,220
I was like, oh, water temperature, oh, brew ratios, oh, pour overs.

841
00:52:24,220 --> 00:52:27,580
And it just like blew up and exploded.

842
00:52:27,580 --> 00:52:33,740
And it became like a call it unhealthy obsession.

843
00:52:33,740 --> 00:52:38,540
I don't know, but it's, yeah, it's definitely an obsession of mine, but it's more so like,

844
00:52:38,540 --> 00:52:41,740
it became a, a Zen type of thing.

845
00:52:41,740 --> 00:52:46,620
Like it's become my morning ritual aside from just drinking coffee.

846
00:52:46,620 --> 00:52:53,500
Like I thoroughly enjoy waking up, having that five minutes to myself to do a slow pour

847
00:52:53,500 --> 00:52:57,980
over in the morning, it's something that helps reset my mind, focus on something.

848
00:52:58,780 --> 00:53:03,900
Cause it's, I mean, it's become second nature to do a pour over with like the correct ratios

849
00:53:03,900 --> 00:53:06,780
and like the beans I want in grind size, whatever.

850
00:53:06,780 --> 00:53:09,500
But like, it makes me think in the morning.

851
00:53:09,500 --> 00:53:13,980
It makes me appreciate what I'm doing and kind of start the day off with a win by making a good

852
00:53:13,980 --> 00:53:17,660
cup of coffee, something that I made versus like pressing a button.

853
00:53:17,660 --> 00:53:20,300
So I think that's why it means so much to me.

854
00:53:20,300 --> 00:53:27,260
But also, yes, I do thoroughly enjoy the drink as well, but that's like the deeper meaning

855
00:53:27,260 --> 00:53:29,100
behind it and like how I got started in that.

856
00:53:29,100 --> 00:53:32,860
But yeah, it's definitely like an obsession, a passion for me.

857
00:53:33,660 --> 00:53:35,260
I do, I love coffee.

858
00:53:35,260 --> 00:53:36,140
I don't, I don't know.

859
00:53:36,140 --> 00:53:36,540
That's it.

860
00:53:38,780 --> 00:53:40,700
Best answer I've heard all day so far.

861
00:53:40,700 --> 00:53:41,180
Yes.

862
00:53:41,180 --> 00:53:47,660
And for people listening, for me too, what, what blend or two beans should we all be drinking

863
00:53:47,660 --> 00:53:48,540
in 2024?

864
00:53:48,540 --> 00:53:51,100
Could you recommend is just one blend beans?

865
00:53:51,100 --> 00:53:51,980
What do you got for us?

866
00:53:53,100 --> 00:53:54,460
Anything other than folders.

867
00:53:55,340 --> 00:53:58,780
No, I mean, it depends on, on like your, your preference.

868
00:54:00,060 --> 00:54:04,140
I've grown to really like a light roast and something a little bit fruitier

869
00:54:04,140 --> 00:54:06,060
because I like to taste the notes of the coffee.

870
00:54:06,060 --> 00:54:12,620
So I usually gravitate towards like a Nicaraguan or even like an Ethiopian because they have a

871
00:54:12,620 --> 00:54:18,620
little bit more complex flavors, a little bit more juiciness, acidic undertones.

872
00:54:18,620 --> 00:54:20,540
This is getting really, really nerdy.

873
00:54:20,540 --> 00:54:25,340
And people that don't know anything about coffee are probably like, this dude is insane.

874
00:54:26,540 --> 00:54:31,020
But yeah, honestly, like I think the easy answer is just find a local coffee shop or

875
00:54:31,020 --> 00:54:31,500
roastery.

876
00:54:31,500 --> 00:54:35,340
That's not Starbucks, Dunkin's, something like that, something that's like an actual

877
00:54:35,340 --> 00:54:36,460
specialty coffee shop.

878
00:54:37,260 --> 00:54:41,580
Go and pick up one of their bags and just try that.

879
00:54:41,580 --> 00:54:44,220
Like if you don't have a grinder, have them grind it for you.

880
00:54:45,100 --> 00:54:47,820
Most will be more than willing and happy to do that.

881
00:54:47,820 --> 00:54:52,460
And that will be a great introduction to something different than just like grocery

882
00:54:52,460 --> 00:54:53,180
store coffee.

883
00:54:53,980 --> 00:54:56,860
It doesn't have to be any single origin, whatever.

884
00:54:56,860 --> 00:54:59,820
Just find something local and that might be a good start.

885
00:54:59,820 --> 00:55:01,740
And you might just fall in love with it that way.

886
00:55:03,340 --> 00:55:03,980
You heard it here.

887
00:55:03,980 --> 00:55:08,780
Go to your local coffee shop, get their blend, whatever they're introduced to the world of

888
00:55:08,780 --> 00:55:09,180
coffee.

889
00:55:09,180 --> 00:55:10,300
And you're not going to regret it.

890
00:55:10,300 --> 00:55:12,860
Mr. Keegan, 2024, he was here.

891
00:55:12,860 --> 00:55:15,820
We're two months in, everybody's closing out.

892
00:55:15,820 --> 00:55:21,260
Can you give me one statement on your approach to life and how you're going to take on

893
00:55:21,740 --> 00:55:23,100
the year of 2024?

894
00:55:24,620 --> 00:55:26,300
Good question.

895
00:55:28,460 --> 00:55:30,620
I mean, just heads on, I guess.

896
00:55:32,300 --> 00:55:37,980
This project that I took on, this TrainsCon project is so abstract and huge.

897
00:55:37,980 --> 00:55:43,740
And out of my comfort zone, I mean, you just got to go all in and just go for it.

898
00:55:46,940 --> 00:55:51,500
There's a lot going on this year for me with this project, with my retainer clients,

899
00:55:51,500 --> 00:55:53,980
with my regular work, with kids.

900
00:55:53,980 --> 00:55:55,900
And it's crazy.

901
00:55:55,900 --> 00:56:02,460
There's no other option for me if I want to survive in the industry than just to go all

902
00:56:02,460 --> 00:56:03,980
in and just go hard.

903
00:56:03,980 --> 00:56:05,660
So I mean, that's it.

904
00:56:05,660 --> 00:56:12,540
2024 is a year to make it happen and just go all about it for the greater goal of making

905
00:56:12,540 --> 00:56:13,660
2025 better.

906
00:56:13,660 --> 00:56:16,300
So I mean, I guess that's it.

907
00:56:16,300 --> 00:56:18,540
Just forward-facing outlook.

908
00:56:19,500 --> 00:56:20,460
Excellent, Brady.

909
00:56:20,460 --> 00:56:25,500
We appreciate you taking the time to just sit here, chat with me, give some valuable

910
00:56:25,500 --> 00:56:29,340
insights on your perspective on the way you view things and what you've been through.

911
00:56:30,140 --> 00:56:33,900
People who want to learn more about you, Mr. Keegan, where can they find you at?

912
00:56:33,900 --> 00:56:37,020
On the social platforms website, anything of the sorts.

913
00:56:37,020 --> 00:56:42,940
Yeah, you can find me on Instagram at Brady Keegs, B-R-A-D-Y-K-E-E-G-S.

914
00:56:43,740 --> 00:56:46,860
You can also find me on YouTube under the same username.

915
00:56:47,420 --> 00:56:52,380
I haven't been active on YouTube in about a year, but I plan on getting back there.

916
00:56:52,380 --> 00:56:53,660
So maybe stay tuned.

917
00:56:53,660 --> 00:56:56,140
My website is BradyKeegan.com.

918
00:56:56,700 --> 00:56:59,580
But yeah, I'm pretty active on Instagram.

919
00:56:59,580 --> 00:57:01,340
So you can catch me over there.

920
00:57:01,340 --> 00:57:02,620
You heard him here.

921
00:57:02,620 --> 00:57:04,700
Catch the guy Instagram again, Brady.

922
00:57:04,700 --> 00:57:06,460
Thank you for being on here.

923
00:57:06,460 --> 00:57:09,900
Looking forward to seeing what you're doing and maybe in the future, I'll see you.

924
00:57:09,900 --> 00:57:11,100
Maybe I'll come down there, man.

925
00:57:11,100 --> 00:57:13,100
Dude, or I'll go up there.

926
00:57:13,100 --> 00:57:14,620
So dude, it was a pleasure.

927
00:57:14,620 --> 00:57:15,660
Thank you for having me on.

928
00:57:15,660 --> 00:57:17,180
I really appreciate it.

929
00:57:17,180 --> 00:57:19,660
Wrap with a conversation with Mr. Brady Keegan.

930
00:57:19,660 --> 00:57:22,380
I really appreciate him taking the time to chat with all of us.

931
00:57:23,100 --> 00:57:25,020
He has now officially left the building.

932
00:57:25,900 --> 00:57:28,540
I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did.

933
00:57:28,540 --> 00:57:31,340
If you want to stay connected with me, you can follow me on Instagram.

934
00:57:31,340 --> 00:57:32,380
It's @thenickamp.

935
00:57:32,380 --> 00:57:36,780
And hey, don't forget to hit that subscribe button on YouTube if you want to see more of these videos.

936
00:57:36,780 --> 00:57:39,580
Your support means the world to us and none of this would be possible without you.

937
00:57:39,580 --> 00:57:43,420
If you found this video helpful or enjoyable, do me a favor and share this with a friend

938
00:57:43,420 --> 00:57:45,660
who you think might benefit from listening to us.

939
00:57:45,660 --> 00:57:48,700
Your word of mouth helps us reach more people and grow this community.

940
00:57:48,700 --> 00:57:50,620
Again, thanks for watching.

941
00:57:50,620 --> 00:57:52,860
And remember, new episode to drop every Wednesday.

942
00:57:52,860 --> 00:57:58,700
Until next time, take care and stay creative.