We were lucky to catch up with Xavi De Guzman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Xavi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
My whole life has been about risks, but the biggest I’d have to say was moving to the west coast to pursue my art. As a former muay thai fighter – lightweight champion and Team Canada athlete, my only option to further my talents would have been to leave Toronto, but I chose to stay. That lead me into acting. In pursuing acting, things put my back against the wall which left me the only choice to leave Toronto, or stay put and pivot from acting. But I left and it’s only been an exciting run of bookings that showed me I’m great at what I do.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in Toronto, moved away to pursue more opportunities in this industry. With my successes I founded The Play On Foundation, a charity that focuses on raising funds and awareness for neurological research in brain aneurysm development and prevention. Since then, everything I do is with intention to drive traffic towards that charity. My children’s book Peeled Fruit, about a filipino mother’s love language of peeling mango for her baby, brought to you by The Play On Foundation. The 2 degrees podcast, designed to bring listeners 2 degrees away from industry professionals I’ve met, where we talk about dream chasing and mental health, brought to you by The Play On Foundation. Same with my film company, Play On Films and monthly artist showcase called Wednesday Night Live, which gives local artists a stage, also brought to you by The Play On Foundation.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I’m currently in a pivot. I’ve begun pursuing stand up comedy. Not sure what I’m doing with it, but it’s a brilliant outlet that helps me develop my talents as a writer.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Artists, against our wanting to, need to use social media. It’s an integral part of the business side of the industry. SHARE OUR SHIT (pardon my french). Don’t just like it, don’t just comment – I mean, a comment is actually great for engagement, but SHARE IT, REPOST IT, RETWEET… help get the word out. We understand if you can’t afford to donate or buy tickets for a show, but it costs nothing to share our products to get more eyes on it. It would mean the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LetsPlayOn.org
- Instagram: @xdeguz
- Twitter: @xdeguz
- Youtube: Xdeguz