We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Fauster Johnson III a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Fauster , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Wow. I think when I was a child. I was once a dancer and all I wanted to be was Michael Jackson. However, as I started to get paid to model in seasonal fashion shows, paid to dance back up, paid to write raps, and paid to do other things that I would do for FREE. I was sold on the idea of creating my own lane. I have to also give my mother credit for challenging me to try different things and believe that I could create income out of creativity.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
Wow. I would need a mini doc to explain the journey. But, like I stated before, I was always trying to make money off of entertaining my friends and family, so in 2001 I started carrying around a camcorder and capturing the things that I thought were representative of Phoenix’s “INNER CITY” or ghettos. After I gathered enough footage I dropped FREEZTV VOL. 1 “Az Underestimated” which is available to be viewed now on my YouTube channel, “FREEZTV”.. I then followed the Documentary up with a 2nd & 3rd Documentary which carried over to Executive Producing a few more Documentaries for different outlets. After getting some attention in the industry I tried my hand at helping friends release music and get record deals so in 2006 I decided to drop a solo project and I’ve been owning a studio, directing videos, hosting publishing conferences, and much more ever since.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
We need more education based programs that cater to the creative child. We are in the process of opening a K-12 Charter School for creatives starting in Kindergarten.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The best reward of being creative is FREEDOM OF TIME. Working for yourself has its and it’s downs but, the most rewarding part of creating my own revenue stream has been the time I get to spend with my family as well as incubating the next idea.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/FREEZTV
- Facebook: Facebook.com/FREEZTV
- Twitter: Twitter.com/FREEZTV
- Youtube: YouTube.com/FREEZTV