Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Derek Bauder. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Derek thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Leaving the Military to pursue a career as a Filmmaker was the most considerable risk I’ve ever taken. In 2014, I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard right out of High School to earn free college in hopes of attending film school. I chose the Coast Guard as my Branch of Service because my Father was a Coastie, and the idea of saving lives as a profession sounded noble. I went to Boot Camp in Cape May, New Jersey, and was stationed in Port Angeles, Washington, on Coast Guard Cutter Active. I was a deckhand performing typical ship work and participating in Counter Narcotics operations. I quickly learned that I get very seasick, but I pushed through it while I waited to be assigned my next duty station. I was sent to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, for Aviation Technical Training. After six months of learning to be an aircraft mechanic, I was assigned my next duty station: Airs Station San Francisco. From there, I spent the next four years performing Search and Rescue as a Helicopter Flight Mechanic along the California Coast. It was a very stressful job, but saving lives was enriching. Sadly, many search and rescue cases don’t have a happy ending. San Francisco can also be surprisingly lonely despite the number of people living there. Living alone, I battled depression, and what helped me through it was watching movies and TV shows in my free time. My desire to become a filmmaker became more vital than ever. I started to do my research and found out that a buddy of mine was friends with a sound guy. His friend got me on a studio lot in Los Angeles to see what the “set life” was like. The visit to the set showed me that it was not only everything I imagined it would be but also had a sense of comradery that I liked about the Military. After speaking with the First Assistant Director, he offered me a job as a Production Assistant, and I faced a big decision. Do I leave this secure job in the Military to pursue my dreams? I went to my parents for advice, who were rightfully nervous but supported the idea. After that, I devised a plan to save as much money as possible before getting out at the end of my enlistment in 2020. Many of my fellow servicemembers told me it wasn’t a good idea to get out and that I would return to the Military. I put my head down and continued preparing for the inevitable challenges I knew separating from the service would entail. Three months before my separation date arrived in 2020, the pandemic hit. I started to doubt my decision, and the Coast Guard even offered me a temporary extension to my service contract.
I thought about it hard and knew that if I said yes to the contract extension, I might not decide to get out when the decision came up again because of self-doubt. I followed my heart, trusted my gut, and was honorably discharged in April 2020. With no end to the pandemic in sight, I began making TikTok videos and streaming on Twitch to support my family financially. Since then, I have amassed over 6.3 million followers across social media and recently Wrote, Directed, Produced, and Starred in my first short film. Now I have my sights aimed at developing a TV show. I would not be here doing any of it if I hadn’t taken that giant leap in 2020. I knew it was a huge risk, but I also realized that most people fail at pursuing their dreams because they never take that extremely necessary but equally terrifying first step.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a 27-year-old Filmmaker and Content Creator from Yuma, Arizona. I joined the United States Coast Guard in 2014, where I conducted Helicopter Search and Rescue and Counter narcotics along the West Coast. After six years of military service, I was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard and moved to Los Angeles to become a filmmaker. The pandemic shut down the film industry right as I got out, so I began to make videos for TikTok and stream video games on Twitch. In December 2020, I moved my Wife and Son to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I continued making content while pursuing a filmmaking career. Since then, I have amassed over 6.3 million followers as @DannyDorito23 on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. My content mainly features family vlog-style content, movie/tv show-related videos, food/beverage taste tests, and trends. I am very personal with my audience and only partner with brands I can genuinely get behind. Besides making content with my family, I spend half my time as an Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer. My first short film, “Pollo Loco” is currently in its festival run, and I am now developing a TV show.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, social media content, movies, and tv have always been a way to escape everyday stresses. Some of us might have parents going through a divorce or are students learning what it really means to be an adult. You may work a job requiring many self-sacrifices or need to figure out your life’s purpose. After making goofy videos on Snapchat and seeing the laughs my coworkers got out of them, I realized that I can do for other people what movies and tv shows have done for me. My goal is to help you escape the stresses of life, even if for only thirty seconds. I hope my content makes someone smile, feel inspired, or just be reminded that we are all human. When my audience members tell me I have done that for them, I know I’ve made a difference in people’s lives. That is the most rewarding thing to me about being a Filmmaker.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started making content three years ago and immediately realized that videos can always be better. I continued to make videos while improving at it with every post. Consistency was and is one of my most significant driving factors. If you hold yourself to a content schedule and give it all your effort, you’ll find out quickly if it’s something you genuinely want to pursue. Making content always takes time and requires you to experiment and learn from your results constantly. You must find out what content style is right for you and make it unique to your personality. If you want to make social media a full-time career, you have to be resilient and make sure you are financially prepared to be your own boss. At the end of the day, what you get back is dependent upon how much effort you put in.     

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannydorito23/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DannyDorito23
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannydorito23
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXwe9qguxWyA9tYsqVMQYmA
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@dannydorito23

Image Credits
Headshot Photographer – Jackson Davis Photography Behind The Scenes Photos From The Set Of Pollo Loco – Audre Holtz Pollo Loco Poster By – David Colon