Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Drew Xzavier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Drew, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Learning how to fly a drone was not easy, the easiest way to explain it is its like driving a car for the first time, the first time you turn that key you realize you are starting a new experience. I started with a DJI Mini 2 Model drone, which included no obstacle avoidance and no obstacle sensors other than just a downward sensor that was used to land the drone. Living right outside the perimeter of Atlanta you are not given many options of places to fly that do not include buildings.
My first flight was on top of my apartment’s complex parking deck and thats when I realized the rush I gained from flying a drone. It became a great feeling that started to feed into a hobby. I started planning locations and learning new drone shots from youtube videos and started flying them. Then I found a facebook group of other Drone Pilots called Georgia Drone Pilots and I begin learning and watching from other pilots when I would show up to our monthly meet ups.
The biggest obstacle that stood in the way was if I wanted to make money with my drone (ie taking on jobs, creating and selling prints etc.) I had to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 UAS Exam. During the month of December 2021 I decided to study for the exam and two weeks later I took the Part 107 UAS Exam and passed with a 90% on January 7th 2022. One of my favorite accomplishments.
After that I started taking on a role of creating major content with my drone to score jobs and start to create a drone based Instagram (@_ceoxdrone). After that DJI came out with a new version of the drone I owned with upgrades and called it the DJI Mini 3 Pro and I decided it was time to upgrade, this drone came with so many new features that my current drone did not have and created a new level of a flying experience.
Since having the Mini 3 Pro, I have opened up a print store (https://xreelsvisuals.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Drew Xzavier, I am 27 years old and an Atlanta Based Part 107 Drone Pilot and a Visual Creator. Not only do I fly drones but I also am a mobile videographer/reelgrapher. In my terms a Reelgrapher is a creator of short videos, they are a videographer but they specialize in creating Reels/Tiktoks for clients.
I have two Instagram pages, @_ceoxdrone and @xeffectvisuals. Clients can reach out on either of the pages, and my services can range from creating memories that last forever and taking you to new altitudes. For Drone services and taking the client to new altitudes, I can capture aerial photos/footage from above for their business, or personal event. I also offer real estate services to real estate agents for aerial photography/videography of the real estate listing. Whatever you may need a drone for we can discuss and decided what the best option for your business or event is.
For Reel Services, I offer clients the ability to capture content for their brand, products, events and more. Also to answer the burning question yes I can help with you wedding when it comes to capturing your 1st dance or putting together a short recap of the wedding in reel form as an ever lasting memory.
What really sets me apart from others is that I create content on my phone (iPhone 13 Pro), while other videographers bring in expensive cameras. I am the person who will come and and capture moments that only need the power of an iPhone while, editing and creating the footage to look as if it was taken on an expensive camera. The best thing about using an iPhone to capture the footage is I can show the client the footage while creating and also catch people in the moment that they would normal act different during when they see a camera coming past them.
I am most proud of seeing my drone content make it to Atlanta Based Instagram Pages such as @Secret_Atlanta, @DiscoverAtl, @Accessatl and also official business pages such as @statefarmarena , @grandhyattatlanta and @hyattcentricmidtownatl just to name a few.
Lastly the main thing I want people to know about me is, just because you have a hobby doesn’t mean you can not make it into a side business. My girlfriend Nicole taught me that when I created XReels&Visuals, sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and how important it is to have support system.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
NFTs, are going to one day become what posters, canvas prints are and more. The world of NFTs is very big and not many people know about it. I did have an NFTs store and I am looking to bring it back alive in the future. After the crypto market took a reserve turn, I moved more to a print store. But I am currently focusing on creating some drone content for the NFT market. Because as we head into Web 3 or the Metaverse we will start to see more people getting into the NFT market. One of the best things that people do not know about NFTs from the creator stand point is that the creator can choose to receive a royalty everytime their NFT is sold. Which is major if you think about it from an creator standpoint. Most artist when they sale via a print store, once the print is sold if the buyer resales the photo, the creator of the photo does not get any monetary credit for that resale, but as a NFT creator you would receive a monetary credit on every resale. So I really do see NFTs becoming the wave of the future.
You can follow and visit my NFT Store on Opensea.io at this link: https://opensea.io/collection/
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source for new clients for my business has been Instagram and word of mouth. Instagram, has helped my drone business grow. My drone shots has been featured on many different Instagram pages. Instagram unlocks many different opportunities to reach out to business by just tagging them into the post, and became one of the ways I was able to work with Becca Tash and the Hyatt brand on creating drone content for two of their Atlanta Based Locations.
With my speciality being in Reelgraphy and creating short content videos for business, it has offered an unlimited amount of reach for my business as Instagram is really pushing its users to create reels.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://xreelsvisuals.pixieset.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ceoxdrone
- Other: Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xeffectvisuals NFT Store: https://opensea.io/collection/cityscapedeffect
Image Credits
The Personal Photo and Other Scooter Shot Image Credits: Jack Jeffery (@ga_drone_god) All Drone Shots Are Mine Credits: Drew Xzavier (@_ceoxdrone)