Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gene Kim. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Gene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My grandfather from my mother’s side was a talented artist, and my grandmother quite the singer, a master of ceremony; when they were raising me during my earliest years, they gave me the opportunities to learn art and music through drawing and piano. Although I may express in different mediums now, it provided me with spaces to find my passion earlier on and develop it. I did both into end of high school, but even before then, I still remember vividly, my mother driving us in sophomore year, casually quipped, “it doesn’t seem you have much interest in academics,” I laughed in agreement. “That’s ok. Then just chase your art to the fullest.”
Whether it’s me deciding to not to go back to a four-year university after dropping out of art school, or jumping from job to job as many young artists do living check to check, as caring and worrying parents they may have asked and inquired a few times about perhaps going back to school, or finding a path in a seemingly more consistent, stable career field, but neither ever pressured me into giving up my pursuit for the arts.
Perhaps it’s because I have a couple uncles who are also artists through the inspiration of my grandfather, my family may have acknowledged the fact that things pursued in passion are worth striving for.
For that, I’ll always be thankful and grateful.
Gene, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
The majority of my work revolve around fighters, martial artists, athletes. Having played soccer, tennis, rugby, swimming, and I eventually found my way towards the combative side learning wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, Taekwondo, Karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai. Early part of my sophomore year at VCU, a shoulder injury and concussion kept me out in the sidelines for the following few years, but I knew that I still wanted to be involved in the sports that were dear to me. Although I had gotten a scholarship for drawing and painting, there I learned and developed a finer appreciation for the art of photography, the ability to document the world as you see it. After going back to North Carolina to be home with my family, networking through old teammates, veteran players and competitors, as well as coaches, I was able to have access to various fight shows, tournaments, seminars and promotions, at first shooting for free of course, just like all beginning photographers, but once my work started going out there, the promoters and gym owners started noticing me and paying me what I asked for.
Perhaps one of the best compliments to the heart that have stayed with me to this day, is perhaps when a pro boxer who is now a close friend of mine, once told me, “I can tell it’s your photos even without the watermark.”
For me, at least regarding combat sports, because I myself see and feel from both sides of being a spectator and being in the ring myself, it allows me to see what I want to see, and how I want to be captured, which gives me an extra mental lens almost, being able to see the flow of a match and follow the competitors onto the next phase of action, whether it be a combination of strikes, or an impending scramble between two grapplers. Fighting and photography have many points in common, such as being at the right angle at the right time, most importantly ahead of time; but if you admire your work for too long, you might miss the next shots coming.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
It’s not so much about me, but the people that were around me during this time. A handful of years ago, I had left my door unlocked to my car while visiting DC at that time; unfortunately, thieves decided to ransack the car, which ended up including my 4TB Lacie external hard drive and my MacBook Pro, which contained all my projects up to that point for the last four years or so, as well as continuing ones that I was still working on at that time. Seeing how devastated I was, a friend in the martial arts community who is also a photographer suggested to me, to open a GoFundme link, despite how much I didn’t want to initially, feeling like I couldn’t ask for help. However, upon posting what happened, friends through all the sports fields I’ve interacted with, family friends, close ones all chipping in and eventually allowing me to buy a brand new laptop and hard drive.
It was a truly moving moment for me, proving that even though at that point I was still struggling, badly, to keep the dream of being a photographer or videographer full time one day still alive like a candle in the winter night, the individuals that I’ve met through the work of my lens truly supported me and my work, which only in return convinced me to push harder since.
How did you build your audience on social media?
One of my old mentors didn’t think that solely relying on social media platforms could effectively grow business without the usage of website. I do have a website now, of course, but then how I expanded my base was by adding fighters and competitors through Facebook and Instagram, or tagging them when I would post photos from events; mind you, when you tag someone on Facebook for example, now their friends can see those photos, which means the viewership that sees my work gets increased. Through the gravepine talks and my works being more publicly accessible, I was eventually referred from one gym owner to the other, or promoter to the next one, all while also meeting new people who have their own businesses outside of the gym, whether it be home remodeling or attorney firms, and leading me to bigger jobs that have allowed me to now work with influencers and fighters that I’ve been watching since younger years. It’s truly a blessing and I don’t take any of this for granted.
Contact Info:
- Website: genekimproductions.com
- Instagram: @genekimproductions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genekimproductions
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-kim-18370474/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzexjT1EAdcYw7a3van6vJA
Image Credits
Daniela Delgado Jonathan Shin Anupa Photos