Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hector Gallardo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hector, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
The one thing I would change if I could do it all over again, is change the name of my company. You see, at the very beginning, my goal was to just do a podcast/vlog about my city. All the cool local shops, restaurants, artists, musicians, and the like. Me being a musician, I tried to incorporate something musically clever. Subharmonics are the things you sometimes don’t quite hear in the music, but definitely feel. So I wanted to apply that to my podcast. Highlight things you don’t quite hear about, like artists or musicians, but can definitely feel their impact.
I still like the name, but I feel it’s not the easiest thing for potential customers to remember.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Hector Gallardo. I’m a 44-year-old lifelong musician who has been playing in bands since the age of 15. Like many musicians, I’ve had day jobs my entire adult life to help support my true passion. In 2017 the company I worked for underwent massive layoffs. This was the 4th time in my life I had experienced a layoff, and I had just about had it with the corporate world. I was faced with two choices: rejoin the workforce with another company, or try something on my own.
Just before the layoff, I had started dabbling with video. I purchased a GoPro and started just messing around with editing for fun. I created a simple music video for a friend’s band, and I loved it. I grew up with MTV and was always in awe of the art of music videos.
With the support and encouragement of my girlfriend, I decided to try and start my own video company. I always thought that if it didn’t go well, I could quickly get a regular job.
Here we are five years later, and it’s still going strong. I wish I had had the courage to try something like this earlier in life. I find we too often doubt ourselves or are discouraged from following our dreams. It IS scary to completely change up your life, especially approaching 40. When everyone else around you is already established in their careers, family, financial means… here you are diving into the unknown. Unstable income, work, and opportunities can create mountains of stress. But it’s a different type of stress. One I’d choose over the 9-5 corporate world.
These days I”m focusing on becoming a full-fledged filmmaker. The experience I’ve had with small local short film competitions have all been very positive and have given me the encouragement to try my hand at creating a feature-length film. We ended up winning 4 awards for our very first short film and many more in the following years.
In the meantime, I still love working with local musicians and bringing their visions to fruition with music videos.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
There have many times throughout this journey when I’ve felt like giving up. To just go out and get a regular 9-5 job. It’s an easy out. The consistent paychecks, the stable schedule, the predictable workload, you can just autopilot through it all. Sometimes the stress of being an independent business owner can be monumental. Right after I had started this business, the pandemic hit. I burned through my savings just to keep up with bills. I know so many people that struggled beyond belief. Honestly, if it weren’t for the support of my kids and partner, I may not have made it. I believe one of the most crucial components of being an independent business owner/artist is the support of those close to you. Their words really do have an intense power that motivates more than any monetary reward ever could.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I find that the moments where I feel most accomplished is I get to see firsthand people’s reactions to my creations. There’s no feeling I’ve ever experienced before like hearing an entire theatre burst into laughter watching a film you created. Comedy can be a very personal and subjective art. But when you hear hundreds of people appreciate and “get” those jokes you wrote, it’s just incredible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SubarmonicCity.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/subharmoniccity
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/subharmoniccity
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectorgallardoeptx/
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/subharmoniccity
Image Credits
Papa Joe Todd Morten