We recently connected with Garrison Oliver Gross and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Garrison Oliver thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Director Sassy Mohen’s “How To Hack Birth Control” was the most meaningful project I’ve ever been blessed to work on. The digital comedy series strives to encourage, educate and empower audiences. Through the use of increasing levels of brilliant situational comedy, Sassy was able to share her passion for people and remind us all how important it is to protect women’s reproductive rights. Now more than ever, we can see the impacts of these rights on women’s overall health and wellness. Currently, The Series has accumulated a plethora of awards across the country, including Best Director at First Glance Film Festival and Best Ensemble Cast at DTLA Film Festival.

Garrison Oliver , 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?

My Mother, Hedwig Paul Gross AKA Wahini inspired me through her Hawaiian Dance Shows. She would sing, dance and act with such authenticity that I was often left speechless and fascinated at how she could completely transform her mind, body and spirit each and every performance. When the time came for me to start my own performance journey, she encouraged me to move to Los Angeles and continue my training in dance. While living in LA, I became known for my bicoastal dance training at Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio, Broadway Dance Center and Edge Performing Arts.

As film and television opportunities began to present themselves, The love for storytelling became clear as well as the desire to completely transform into character. How can I best serve a story? What is required to transform the mind, body and spirit? How can you transmute energy? These questions
became the driving force behind my growth as an actor. I have portrayed authoritative figures on documentary series such as “The Face of Evil,” “People Magazine Investigates,” and Torn from the Headlines: The New York Post Reports.” Currently, Hazel Calderon and I starred in Director Elizabeth Yoder’s Horror Film “Surprise.” The film takes a look at the deadly consequences of living with unexpressed desires and unfulfilled dreams.

I am proud of all the courageous artists that have committed to living their passion. Hazel Calderon, Elizabeth Yoder and Sassy Mohen have inspired me to strive for excellence, move with purpose and share real authenticity. These ladies have burned the midnight oil endlessly pursuing their craft and have been recognized. Hazel won Best Actress at Zed Film Festival, Elizabeth won Best Horror Short at Show Low Film Festival and Sassy won Best Picture at Austin Comedy Film Festival. Looking toward the next season, I very excited for all the bright possibilities and opportunities to grow as a performing artist.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on TikTok was a trail by fire. Hazel, my lady recommended I create a combat sports channel from the perspective of a fan. Starting with short form content, I was able to create daily videos that highlighted the latest updates on iconic martial artists and boxers. As fight fans poured into the channel and voiced their opinions we were able to gain valuable insights into future content. The content has done extremely well with videos surpassing 3 million views and 1.8 million likes.

Currently, YouTube Shorts is featuring all kinds of viral videos and monetization opportunities. I, myself invested in a body transformation program and completed a personal training test at Ultimate Performance. This new experience was so exciting, I couldn’t help but share as much as possible. My new content featured compilations of resistance training movements executed to failure. The intensity and determination resonated with people and has open up an opportunity to become YouTube Partners and provide remote training services.

On Instagram, Hazel and I love to share fun loving lifestyle content featuring surfing, sand boarding and rollerblading. Our friends and family enjoy checking in on us and seeing all our new projects. The platform is an excellent digital space to show who you are, what you’re passionate about and link people to your other social media sites.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I would recommend “How To Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Haye.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/garrisonolivergross
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garrisonolivergross/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrisonolivergross/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GarrisonOGross
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@GarrisonOliverGross
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@garrisonolivergross https://www.snapchat.com/add/superfightclub

Image Credits
Elizabeth Yoder, Ricardo H Photography