Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiger Lapis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Tiger thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
Did you know you possess the power to change your destiny and shift it to the highest timeline you want? Emotionally abused by my mother and abandoned by my father, I thought to myself, I’m going to change my fate to the life I want. In my teens, I wrote a Live Action Anime Gothic Thriller TV Series inspired by my life to save my soul. I was going through so much trauma that I started to see myself heading towards the wrong path, so I poured all my heart and energy into writing this series, everything that I learned and all my strong principles I held onto, as it was the only light at the end of a dark tunnel. I never anticipated that the series I wrote to save my soul would one day go Viral on TikTok, with one of my videos hitting over 700,000 views, and soon, my TikTok had soared to over 120,000 Followers who want my series made.
My show, a dark gothic tale that combines both Live Action and Anime, is now called “Deadly Chess Royale”. It is about two Asian women geniuses who battle in deadly chess games to choose who dies as one seeks revenge and the other fights to follow her heart in a futuristic, dystopian New York City where criminals help the police fight crime in exchange for freedom. It’s meant to inspire the world that no matter what society, your parents, or the people who hurt you did to you, you still have the choice to follow your heart and be who you want to be in this world. No one can take that choice away from you.
Before I posted that video that would go Viral on TikTok, I had decided to be vulnerable on camera and talk about my journey getting this series made, the hardships I had to overcome to get there. At one point, I was homeless and living in my car after meeting the wrong people in Hollywood who screwed up my career (before that I was thriving as a film director!). To suddenly lose everything after having worked so hard to build so much of my success over the years was traumatic, but I never gave up and continued to strive forward to rebuild my life.
Of course, vulnerability wasn’t my strong suit as someone who always had to be strong throughout her life, so when I first posted this video of my journey and why I want my series made, I immediately thought, “What have I done?” The whole world just saw me vulnerable on camera. The next morning, I nearly fell out of my bed when I saw the video blow up, soon hitting over 700,000 views: https://www.tiktok.com/@deadlychessroyale/video/7080377973571849518?_t=8secLuPiSYI&_r=1
I was shocked by the outpouring of support from a massive Gen Z audience who look up to me and are inspired by my show and journey. I was stunned to attract such a young audience who understood the deeper inspiring themes of my show and commented how innovative it is. This new generation is so smart. Then the Virality kept happening, and another video hit half a million views. I even got a major Top Hollywood Studio interested in my series with no agent or manager to help me, and now have a signed letter of interest from the Development Executive after he and the VP saw my 10-min. Concept Trailer I directed and acted in, and how much people wanted my series made.
This story that I have written to save myself is now being used to inspire the world that Nothing is Impossible.
And sometimes I want to tell my younger self that even though both parents failed to support her and give her the love she needed, she will be okay because she never gave up on herself and did the impossible.
Recently, the most followed artist in the world, Devon Rodriguez, who has over 33 Million Followers on TikTok, painted my story and shared my journey and Live Action Anime with the world. While he was painting me and hearing my story of how I was emotionally abused by my mother and abandoned by my father, I was shocked when he shared with me that he was also abused by his mother and abandoned by his father. As we both sat there for a moment and stared at each other, each equally in awe that this was no coincidence and that the Universe had brought us together to share our stories, we both realized that this video will inspire and help so many out there who are currently in abusive situations or are survivors of abuse. Despite such traumatic backgrounds, both Devon and I had chosen to follow our dreams and creative passions to change our destinies. Just as I knew I had to write my Live Action Anime to change my fate, Devon knew he had to keep doing his art no matter what.
The video went massively viral on Instagram with over 2.5 Million views and over 690,000 views on TikTok, with an outpouring of support from people worldwide commenting how much this video had made them cry and help them have the courage to change their lives: https://www.tiktok.com/@devonrodriguezart/video/7416743622642634027?_r=1&_t=8rvOW8mKP1e
With all this traction, I started a Patreon page to help support film production of my Live Action Anime, “Deadly Chess Royale”: patreon.com/independencestudios. I’m looking for the right Producer to collaborate with me, and am exploring the European market for one too. I’m also looking in Japan and Korea for an Animation studio to do the animated portions of my series, a company that is similar to Studio Ghibli.
My series is here to inspire and help change the direction of this planet from where it’s headed to the right one.
Now, I have over 205,000 Followers across all my social media channels, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. As a Full-time Content Creator on YouTube, I’m currently directing, producing, writing, and acting in a new “Spider-Woman vs. Doctor Octopus” Fan Film (a full feature film) about believing in yourself and how you have the power to shift your destiny to the highest timeline. I’m even doing my own stunts and fight scenes as I love action and am a major comic book geek, which is why I also like to cosplay superhero characters and currently Live Stream on TikTok and Twitch as those characters.
I want you all to know that your heart is more powerful than anything in this world and can overcome anything, so follow your heart, follow your dreams, and never give up. I did the impossible and so can you.
Tiger, 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?
I excel in telling powerful stories that connect with the audience on a deeper level, moving their hearts and making them laugh, cry, or feel inspired. As a Content Creator on YouTube who is a director, writer, producer, videographer, actress, cosplayer, streamer, video editor, and script consultant with strong intuition, I want to use my creative abilities to produce and support content that can uplift humanity to change the trajectory of this planet from where it is currently headed. Anime and Comic Book Fan Movies like my Spider-Woman series are currently my favorite to film and act in since they give me the opportunity to tell impactful relatable stories that teach the audience valuable lessons that can inspire them. I’m here to help shift the entertainment industry back into the light given that it has one of the most powerful influences on the world right now. That is why I started my own studio, Independence Studios, with the following mission:
To produce high-quality entertainment that inspires the world and empower creatives to uplift humanity with love, compassion, and powerful storytelling.
With over 18 years of experience, I have worked on feature films, documentaries (including one that premiered at Cannes Film Festival), TV shows, comic book and Anime Fan Films, short films, trailers, music videos, commercials, comic books, novels, web series, and social media content. I also worked with Apple, the former VP of Marvel, IGN, Honda, Ford, Red Bull Global Rallycross, Microsoft, RE/MAX Fine Homes Real Estate TV Show, and GAMEVIL (the #1 Mobile Games company in Korea). I have taught Film Editing at UCLA Extension and other film schools and also taught writing classes. Filming all over the U.S. and in the U.K. and Sweden are some of my favorite adventures. I have won 11 Best of Show awards at editing competitions, totaling 41 awards that include Best Comedy, Best Action, Best Drama, Best Romance, and Judge’s Choice (yes, I’m ambitious and wanted to see if I could win in every single category across the country). To watch the audience live and witness how I can make them laugh, cry, and feel inspired proved to me the most important lesson every creative needs to know: Story is King.
I am most proud of helping creatives successfully tell the messages they want to convey to their audience through their creative works and stories. Sometimes creatives struggle with getting the vision in their heads out to the world in a clear, coherent manner that is impactful and powerful, but I can pinpoint where their challenges are AND provide the solutions they need to successfully do so. I equip them with the storytelling tools they need to be able to help themselves be successful. As a strong writer and script consultant who has the benefit of working as a director, producer, videographer, actress, and video editor, I know how to help creatives make their stories a reality from beginning to end since I have experience in pre-production, production, and post-production. I even have clients hiring me to teach them film directing, acting, writing, and video editing. Most of my clients though hire me to work on their creative projects. I’m here to help you strengthen your vision and make it a reality through your creative work, whether it be on a feature film, documentary, music video, commercial, concept trailer, comic book, YouTube content, novel, video game, or any other projects.
As an Influencer, I especially like to promote movies, TV shows, anime, and video games that contain an inspiring theme or message. Live streaming on TikTok and Twitch allows me to cosplay some of favorite superhero characters and interact with the audience as those characters.
I’m also a Motivational Speaker sharing my story at events to empower others to follow their dreams and never give up because Nothing is Impossible.
One of the most important messages I tell all my clients is this: you have to believe in yourself and that you will be successful. That energy you put out will impact the success of your projects and stories. You have to have faith in YOU too!
How did you build your audience on social media?
Be the Authentic YOU and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable! You have to be YOU when you talk to your audience on social media!
I know especially for women who consider themselves a “boss woman”, vulnerability may not be their strong point, but the audience connects more with you when they see your journey, your vision, your PASSION, the obstacles/hardships/challenges you encountered and how you overcome them. Many are looking to be inspired because it helps them on their journeys, and also many will want to support you and help you achieve your dreams!
This is how I built a strong, loyal following of over 205,000 across all my social media channels (YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram). The first video that went viral for me on social media was the first time I was vulnerable with my audience! As you saw in my earlier story, that was when I was posting about my journey with my Live Action Anime, “Deadly Chess Royale”. I was in a pretty dejected state that day since I had been working so hard to get my Live Action Anime picked up for many years (and was even homeless at one point when I met the wrong people in Hollywood who hurt my career). So I had been reflecting on the hardships I had to endure and the people who let me down when I suddenly heard the universe tell me to be honest with my audience and post a video. So I did, and in the middle of filming, I was shocked to feel something deep inside come up to the surface as tears welled up in my eyes when I said to the audience, “Even though it’s been an incredibly difficult journey, I don’t regret anything because I truly believe that nothing is impossible.”
I knew that was what my heart truly wanted to say.
I posted that video, went to sleep, but couldn’t really sleep at first as I immediately regretted posting a video of my being vulnerable and thought, “What have I done?” But the next morning, when I opened my phone and looked at TikTok in my groggy dreamy “it’s too early” state, my blurry eyes couldn’t believe at first the numbers I was seeing in my notifications. My video had gone viral overnight, I had gained so many followers in just a few hours, and I was overwhelmed by so many messages of support. That video ended up with over 700,000 views because people had mass shared it, blowing it up even further, and now that TikTok channel has over 120,000 followers of people who believe in me and want me to be successful.
So know that there’s an audience out there waiting for you to appear, and you will magnetize them to you by being the authentic you. Don’t try to be someone else because you’ll only attract the wrong audience, and I’ve seen major content creators who have millions of subscribers/followers and are rich but are stuck with the wrong audience, which now informs the type of content they are now stuck producing. These content creators are so unhappy they are willing to give up their millions of dollars of income, drop their channel, and start over.
If you want to be happy and proud of the content you produce, be the authentic you from the beginning so that you will build the right audience who support you for being YOU. These are the people who will stick with you in the long run.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Society needs to change the narrative and help artists and creatives believe that they can be creative/artistic AND successful and FINANCIALLY successful.
The myth of the “starving artist” needs to stop. It’s a negative belief perpetuated over centuries. It’s told in schools, in families, in workplaces… In fact, a lot of people in the creative community would call themselves the “starving artist” and say to each other “you know how it is” and then bond over that! No no NO! That is not going to help you move forward! You have to change your belief system if you want to change your life.
Society has to change the message they send to artists and creatives, and the creative community has to change the message they send to each other. I know this is more difficult in certain communities like Asian communities who typically don’t consider creative/artistic careers as financially viable, but you cannot follow a negative unhelpful mindset that has been going on for so many generations. Your heart, your mind, and state of consciousness determines your life path, your destiny, and your success. You NEED to protect them! The seeds you plant has to be watered with love, with positivity, with joy, with compassion, and most of all, with faith in yourself.
Society as a whole needs to provide a more positive environment that not only gives creatives/artists the resources to succeed, but the belief that they can succeed and make a comfortable living from their passions. Don’t just teach them how to be successful. Help them BELIEVE it because the right belief system will magnetize the right opportunities to them and help them thrive.
Encouraging creatives/artists to collaborate is another way to support them because magic happens when they combine their strengths together to produce something even greater. By collaborating, we can create an even more thriving ecosystem to succeed in.
Most importantly, society needs to show creatives/artists that nothing is impossible and to not be afraid of paving your own path. For instance, when I was trying to get my Live Action Anime, “Deadly Chess Royale”, picked up, too many times people in the entertainment industry tried to limit me by telling me I have to have an agent or manager in order to get to a major studio, that it’s impossible to reach an executive by myself. They also tried to break my confidence by telling me I’m an unknown as an independent filmmaker. A couple people even teamed up to tell me I was aiming too high (what??) and that instead of shooting for the moon, I need to shoot for something lower. I ignored them and did it my way by finding another door of opportunity: I was able to go straight to the VP of a top Hollywood Studio on my own with NO agent or manager to represent me. I directed a 10-min. concept trailer, pitched it to his team, and they loved my show. But to push it further, I used the power of social media to go viral and show how there’s a major audience that wants my show made. Now, I have a signed letter of interest from the development executive from that studio stating that they are interested in my Live Action Anime. I’m going to frame that letter one day.
If society can share more stories like these with creatives/artists and teach them to be innovative, to ignore the naysayers, to be open to paving their own paths, and truly trust that nothing is impossible, we can all collectively empower them to be successful and do the impossible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.independence-studios.com
- Instagram: @tigerlapis and @deadlychessroyale (my Live Action Anime)
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tigerlapis/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tigerlapis
- Other: Support my Film/TV projects on Patreon: patreon.com/independencestudios
TikTok: @deadlychessroyale (over 120K Followers here — this is where I first went Viral)
TikTok: @tigerlapisFor Project Inquiries, you can email me at: [email protected]
Live Streams: twitch.tv/tigerlapisofficial
