My parents gave me my first video camera for Christmas when I was eight-years-old. I haven’t stopped rolling since then. If you’re familiar with NUB TV, then you may have seen what my life is like. I started filming and editing in the 90’s as a with a HIGH 8 camera and two VCR’s stacked on top of each other. I would export my final products to a VHS tape for my first audience – my family – to watch, laugh and enjoy.
Since then I’ve never considered another line of work. I’ve continued documenting my life over the years through countless digital formats (from tape-to-tape to mini-DV tapes and PC software). Eventually, I landed on Youtube in 2006 to share my work and this past year I even picked up daily vlogging.
Throughout that decade of work I’ve had about half of my left foot in the door of the real deal TV industry, shooting a few different pilots with MTV, A&E, Tru TV and various smaller networks over the years. In all honesty, as far as pilots go, I’ve been through the ringer. In 2016 I was finally ready to move on to focusing all my energy on Youtube and online streaming. I had turned my back on that showbiz industry and, like clockwork, MTV came knocking. I had jumped right back in head first, into an industry that crushes souls, and came out feeling, well…different. From spring to fall of 2016 I was full of high energy for the camera, crossing my fingers, jumping for joy, drooling over paychecks and eventually questioning everything. It took that for me to realize the bigger picture of my existence.
This is not a story about surfing. It’s is a story about a surfer who nearly pulled off his lifelong dream.
Cast & crew from MTV Pilot filmed June 2016
