We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason Yachanin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.

Jason , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents were really good about letting myself, my older brother, and sister try out and experience a lot of different extracurricular things, and then decide for ourselves what we liked. They didn’t force anything upon us. And no matter what it was that we chose to do, they were always very supportive. I’ll never forget my first big film premier in NYC… It was a pretty raunchy indie-horror film, but it was playing on the big screen at an indie, sorta “Art House” movie theatre. A lot of my family came up from Cleveland to be at the opening. The first scene of the movie, right out of the gate, I get this zombie finger shoved up my a$$h#le. The theatre is cracking up, but I’m shrinking down in my seat because my mom and dad were sitting right next to me, while my butt is taking up the entire movie screen. But, they were so happy for me that I was out there, acting, and doing what I loved. Their support has always meant the world to me.

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, readers! My name is Jason Yachanin. Most of you may not know me out there, but hopefully after reading this article… You will! I am an actor, first time published author, and small business owner. I am extremely proud to have been in the very first installment of the found-footage horror film, V/H/S, Blue Bloods, Poultrygeist, a handful of commercials, and I currently have two books in publication, with one more on the way to complete the trilogy.

Book 1: The Mysterious Happenings at 2 Morningview
Book 2: The Mysterious Happenings on Hyde Avenue
Book 3: Currently being written:-)

Both books are available on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com

My wife and I are also the co-owners of the boutique dance and trampoline studio, Perspirology in Sea Bright, NJ.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

It seems like I have a real habit for pursuing fields that are extremely unpredictable. The life of an actor can be rewarding, but it can be a tumultuous road as well. ESPECIALLY if you can’t seem to land any auditions. In the middle of 2015, I was in a complete downward spiral with my lack of booking any jobs, and I was finding myself going to a pretty dark place as a result of this. To add insult to injury, I was freelancing with a few different agents at the time and they all decided to release me from their rosters. A few years go by, and I am still not making any headway with my career. I’ll have an occasional audition from time to time, but nothing was panning out. I started to see a therapist (something I recommend for anyone looking for some guidance,) and he posed an interesting challenge to me. Basically, he said:

If you need to be doing something creative, but no one is interested in what you are offering, you need to create your own opportunities. Actually he phrased it more like – If you are continuing to knock on the “Acting door” and no one is answering, it’s time to start opening your own doors.

Mind you, around the time of these therapy sessions, social media has now become a huge platform to showcase your own work. The problem was that I wasn’t very savvy on social media. I did, however, have an interesting idea for a story that had always been floating around in my head. I had never studied writing and I didn’t know much about crafting a story, but I decided not to let any of that get in my way. I needed a creative outlet and I was going to write for my own enjoyment, my own personal therapy, and I wasn’t going to let myself get bogged down by any negative self-talk or outside nay-sayers.

It was the BEST decision I had ever made. I was creating my own art, and no one was in control over what became of it, except myself.

Since high school, I had always thought I was going to be an actor and nothing more. But, since this pivot in life, I have opened doors for so many other opportunities that I never would have had the chance to experience. I am still acting, but it isn’t the only thing that defines me. I’ve now had the opportunity to sell my books at two different horror conventions around the country and even do a book signing event in the town where I live.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I don’t know if you consider these resources, but if you are early in your creative journey, this is my opinion on a few CLASSES you should take:

1) A commercial acting class
2) Improv classes
3) Self-Tape Audition Class
4) Social Media Classes
5) Accounting

Contact Info:

• Website: https://perspirology.wixsite.com/actor
• Instagram: @jasonyachanin23
• Other: I am new to TikTok, but I do have a page: @jasonyachanin

Image Credits
@eotistudios