We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ivan Meshcheriakov. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ivan below.
Ivan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I’ve always pondered this question. I often wish I had started my career as an artist much earlier. But I also realize that everything happens in its own time. You need to be mentally and emotionally prepared for many things, especially when success comes suddenly, as not everyone can handle it. That’s why I spent a long time DJing and then moved into business, prioritizing financial stability. In hindsight, I believe this was the right path, but perhaps I should have pursued music full-time, focusing on creativity, exploring opportunities, and learning to play an instrument. However, I also understand that if success had come quickly, like it does for many, I might not have been able to handle it. So, I believe everything happened the way it was meant to.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hello everyone, my name is Ivan Meshcheriakov. I’m 33 years old. I’ve been involved in music since the second grade, although I don’t have formal music education. Since 2006, I’ve been actively working as a DJ in various nightclubs across Russia. Recently, we moved to Los Angeles, and now I’m focused on music production and content creation. In my content, I have conversations with some of the most famous and talented musicians, producers, and audio engineers. I ask them about the secrets to their success, their favorite plugins, and other intriguing questions that could be valuable and interesting to my audience. To get a better understanding, I recommend checking out my Instagram page, where you’ll immediately see what I’m all about.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
This journey has truly tested both me and my wife. After moving to Los Angeles and deciding to have our first child, we quickly realized the road ahead would be long and challenging. A few months in, we made the decision to stay and chase my dream of becoming a music producer. To make the move to LA possible, we took out a loan to pay the doctor, but that wasn’t enough to stay. We needed to pay for a car, apartment deposits, doctor’s fees, and an immigration lawyer. I worked 12-14 hours a day to pay off all our debts. It was mentally, financially, and physically exhausting.
Our first immigration lawyer failed our case, and we thought we’d have to abandon our dream and return home. This was during the peak of COVID, which made everything even more difficult, adding layers of complexity to our situation. My wife gave birth, and with her taking care of the baby, I was the only one providing for our family. When we received the news that our case was almost denied, we knew that if things continued like this, we’d have to give up on our dream. So, we urgently hired a second immigration lawyer and filed an expedited case. We had to gather over a thousand pages of documents in a very short time and also find more than $10,000 to cover the fees.
During this time, my wife was pregnant with our second child, our car broke down, and everything seemed to be falling apart all at once. But fortunately, things took a turn for the better. We managed to submit our documents on time, my wife gave birth to our second child, we bought a new car on credit, and within two months, we received approval from the consulate for our case. But the challenges didn’t end there. In the U.S. immigration process, there’s a lot of bureaucracy, so to get our green card, we had to transfer forms from our old case to the new one. This was very difficult, and our deadlines were fast approaching. Then, suddenly, I was in a major car accident. Our new car, which was on credit, was completely totaled and beyond repair. I sustained some injuries, both physical and psychological, which made things even harder. Yet, I still had to work, pay off our debts, and cover the legal fees.
Over the next year, we needed to buy another car because, in Los Angeles, especially with two small children, you can’t get by without one. Our car is also essential for earning an income. Just when we thought we had recovered from the first round of challenges, we were hit with another. We needed to find a large sum of money in a short time again. We decided to take a risk and contact a congressman, and simultaneously, we filed a new petition for our second immigration visa, which cost even more money, including medical tests and other expenses. But somehow, we managed to pull through, and in the end, we received our green cards and successfully legalized our status through the extraordinary talent visa. I can now officially say that I’ve been recognized as talented by the U.S. immigration services.
My journey is far from over. Now, I’m surrounded by some of the most talented producers, musicians, audio engineers, and many other creatives. I’m working with various interesting and popular music and audio brands, writing music, and producing several artists. This story has strengthened us and made it clear that America is not for the faint of heart.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I’ve had the privilege of knowing many audio engineers, producers, and other prominent figures in the music industry. That’s what inspired me to combine my ideas into a video series where I ask, ‘What’s your secret sauce?’, ‘Top 3 favorite plugins?’, and ‘Vocal chain of…?’ Initially, I was just trying to get views by any means, without a clear sense of the ultimate goals or purpose behind my content.
That’s why it’s crucial to first decide how you want your brand to be represented on social media. As a person and a professional, you are also a brand—a personal brand. Start by identifying your visual markers, how you want potential clients to perceive you, and defining your filming style. Once you have a better understanding of this, it’ll be easier to determine your niche, explore various filming ideas, and select a couple of concepts to adapt to your style and start creating content.
I would recommend starting small, just like you would in the gym—you don’t lift heavy weights right away; you start with lighter ones. Begin with one good video per week, then gradually increase your output. Aim to eventually publish videos daily and maintain consistency. Try to create at least 360 videos over the course of a year. This will give you enough data to understand what works and what doesn’t. If you only create a handful of videos, say 5-10, and then stop, you won’t have enough information to assess what’s effective.
Consistency is one of the key factors for success on social media. Another critical element is the visual or audio hooks. Every video should start with a strong hook, and you need to grab the viewer’s attention within the first 3 seconds. The competition is fierce, and everyone’s in a hurry. If you create high-quality content, with strong hooks, and post it regularly, you’re much more likely to achieve your desired results.
Contact Info:
- Website: Meshplugins.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivanfromrnd
