We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jared Berger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jared below.
Jared, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
From the mobile video side of things, I grew up with a giant RCA VHS camcorder (which I still have) and simply loved recording life. I have tons of old home movies and always cared about telling a visual story. I never went to school for any film making, instead I went for Music Business. I watched a lot of movies and always took note of certain shots that made me feel a certain way. I tend to look at everything differently and will often think about filming and framing things that I’m looking at whether I’m recording or not. Fast forward – when mobiles phones kept getting better cameras inside, I knew I could do something more with something less. Taking the idea that I could start recording or shooting pics at any given moment instead of saying “I don’t have my camera!” I knew that I had everything in front of me to create fun stories in a different way. Before anyone offered up Mobile Courses, I had a lot of trial and error figuring out how to give the best visual experience out of a small handheld device. Without a gimbal, a lot of the video was still extremely shaky and I didn’t want to spend more money on software to fix things after the fact – so I learned to move better. I was always trying to perfect things right then and there – creating a lot of raw visuals from apps like Phhhoto (which is no longer around). Instagram came out with Boomerangs and that became my main way to tell stories with my Sensitive & Savage series. At the time, there was only a handful of people doing what I was doing and now some movies are made on iPhones.
From the Scooter side of things, I rode one in my mid 20’s and also worked at various radio stations in Denver. One of the owners of Sportique Scooters was also a radio fan had advertising with our station. We developed a rapport and long story short, I ended up working for him years later when I lost my job in the radio business. It’s a small shop but also one of the few scooter specific stores in the whole nation – selling and servicing vintage Vespas, 50cc scooters and much more.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I go by Bergerbot and it comes from a time when I was an artist and prevalent in the Vinyl Art Toy world as the content creator and social media guy for Kidrobtot. As mentioned, my day job for the last several years has bee the General Manager of Sportique Scooters in Denver, CO. We sell vintage scooters, new and used 50cc scooters and up. Selling is only one part of what I do – I use my phone to create content that we utilize on instagram, Facebook and YouTube to tell others about our products and show vintage restorations/builds and what’s going on in the shop. We also go on a lot of fun mountain rides and I shoot and edit those as well. There are a lot of really great and well know scooter shops in the country and quite a few of them do videos and often times, even better than me. What I try to bring to the table is something unique and not the same format that you’ll see over and over. A lot of shops just try to mimic each other without truly trying to find their own voice and style. What I’m proud of is the way I tell stories and make others shine while doing it – I don’t make it about me. Even when it comes to Sensitive & Savage, my videos are about what I see – not about me as a creator. I love being on camera but you’ll rarely see me there. It’s all through my eyes – my friends and adventures and the way I see them and piece it all together.
I should also mention that because of all of the personal work I create and share, others have seen my style and want those visuals to represent something within their own business. I have been hired by companies to shoot videos for art shows, ThriftCon, coffee shops and even weddings. Yes, I have shot and edited multiple weddings on my iPhones over the years and it’s one of my favorite things to do. I shoot all content for Alpine Edge Landscape Lighting as well. There have been many BTS shoots as well. I’m often told by industry professionals that my work is different, fun and unique in a world that is run by high tech cameras and DSLR’s. I’ve had a bad habit over the years of feeling less than because my equipment isn’t as pricy or “good” as what their using but time and time again the same people assure me that they are blown away by what I’m doing and how. I’ve learned to take those compliments and then capitalize on them,
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My whole life is a story about pivoting and adapting. The only thing that stays constant is my character and how I choose to respond to the changes that life throws. I’ve had a lifetime of floating through existence while also trying to chase dreams and make desires happen – some of them have even come true! But as life shows us, that can all change in an instant and then you have to figure it out. I wanted to manage bands and produce music, so I went to school for Music Business with an emphasis in those things. I had a job in radio, which is also ever changing. One day you’re on air and then the next, you don’t work in radio anymore. Every job I’ve ever had led me to a relationship which led me to my next career. From skin care to voice work, to running a Cupcake Truck and now scooters. Knowing who you are and putting all of your confidence and core values into any work you do is what matters – that’s what people latch onto. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling BMW’s, life insurance or candles – if your integrity and character are in tact, those pivots grind with less grit and opportunities also seem less daunting. Be comfortable with you are and the “what you do” won’t matter as much.
How did you build your audience on social media?
My advice would be to be yourself and to consistently share, but organically – never force it. I had to learn that likes and follows don’t equate to views and overall engagement. I know people who have 1,500 followers and get 600 views and comments on one post as well as people with over 30k followers who hardly ever receive likes or comments on any post. Whether the social media account belongs to me or the business I work with – I give it my all. My goal is to make content that is engaging and fun and something that will drive people into the business to check it out, Dollars happen after. I see a lot of people desperate to make money from social media but that inherently drives people away – they see through it. Go back to the basics of what it’s for. Making fun digital eye candy that makes people want to engage with you. All the good stuff will happen after. Just be honest and unique.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/bergerbot
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bergerbot
- Facebook: @SportiqueScooters
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredberger
- Youtube: YouTube.com/@bergerbot
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@sportiquescooters https://www.instagram.com/sportiquescooters https://sportiquescooters.com
Image Credits
Mike Finney