Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to James Rogers Jr.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
James, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I started taking content creation seriously the beginning of 2023 but I actually did a couple a videos way back in 2008 – 2010 with animated music videos I posted on YouTube. I was in college for I.T. and working at Food Lion as a cashier. I wasn’t focused on making the videos but at the same time I wish I had the confidence to stick with it. The videos weren’t performing well and I wasn’t handling my classes well and I ended up dropping out, partied way too much. Then a few weeks later I lost my job and needed to figure something out quick and content creation wasn’t nowhere near the level it is today so it didn’t even cross my mind to take my videos seriously. I ended up joining the Army National Guard and getting deployed to Iraq which landed me in the care of Veterans Affair so now I can commit to content creation. So everything has worked out but I do still think, What if? Could I have really been one of the pillars of YouTube if I just decided to stick with my videos. I think if I buckled down and learned the ins and outs of creating videos I could have been one of the driving forces that brought anime to the limelight here in the states. But it wasn’t my time, I wasn’t mature enough to create that game plan and stick to it.
James, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Well I go by “Mr. Rogers Review” on social media and I create review videos for movies, TV shows, anime and music. I call them Honest Opinions, straight to the point reviews that even if you disagree with me you know that I am telling you how I feel. I started on TikTok gaining up to 198K followers, then I gained more on Facebook with 205K, Instagram 45k these past two years and now I’m building my YouTube audience with 2,500 subscribers. I started making these types of videos because I love film, anime and watching stories unfold. I am a big supernatural horror nerd and I wanted to share the thing that I watch with other people. I felt like everyone was talking about the same things over and over again so I wanted to put spotlight on the shows that doesn’t get the same love and admiration. Talk about the actors that are underrated or in my honest opinion overrated. I wanted to make reviews fun but tough, some videos I don’t hold back on my dislike of it. Giving people the shows, movies, anime they never heard of or forgotten about in a quick and easy way to digest sets me apart from other reviewers. I’m proud of my growth, I’ve learned so much from editing, networking and other small details that make my videos pop for my viewers that it excites me to keep working and learning. I will continue you find new things to watch or listen to and share them with my followers, good or bad I always tell them to check it out so they can gain their own Opinion about it. I’m just a guide,
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal is to become the go to reviewer for everyone when it comes to movies and shows because I give honest feedback that people can trust.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Seeing the comments of people telling me they never heard of a certain movie/show and after watching my review they decided to give it a try and now love it. While I’m streaming someone just popping in to say I put them on to a show and my reviews are great and entertaining. It lets me know that I am reaching people and they’re not only being entertained by the show but that my videos are a bright spot for them as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr.rogersreview?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mr.rogersreview/
- Twitter: https://x.com/mrrogersreview
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mr.rogersreview?si=iLiHemP9H099MlRF
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrrogersreview?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/mrrogersreview
Image Credits
Father Time Podcast