We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeremiah Drake a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jeremiah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
CuttDifferent was first a clothing brand, supporting the mental health of athletes. I was a college athlete who dealt with a career ending injury. Mentally, that was one of the toughest moments in life I been through. It’s hard to understand the depression and anxiety you go through during that time, unless you have experienced that. Being an athlete in general is mentally taxing! My goal of the brand was to bring awareness to the mental struggles athletes face within their sport.
I have always enjoyed videography and photography. I never knew it would be something I wanted to do for a living. God definitely led me to this journey. The love for videography & photography equates to the love I have for football. I am able to do something I love and still be in the presence of sports.
As a college athlete, there is a strong work-ethic installed within you. I knew I would succeed, because of my work ethic and faith. I am not afraid of the grind being a videographer takes!
Jeremiah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am Jeremiah Drake, a sports videographer and photographer. I did not get into this industry by myself! I definitely had a strong support system, beginning with my wife. As a camera guy starting out, you spend long…countless hours away from your family. My wife has truly held it down. She stays at home with the little ones, while I’m out recording. She supports my long nights of editing. She has definitely supported my dream of becoming one of the top sports videographers in the the nation. The support definitely starts at home.
My brothers Paul, Shemar, and Tristan definitely played a huge role in me getting started. Paul helped supply me with my first camera for, FREE! He allowed me to start this journey with his camera and equipment. There will be no CuttDifferent Tv. without him. Shemar and Tristan are both great sports videographers. They both taught me how to use cameras and different editing software, bought me along shoots and events, and answered thousands of questions I asked them on a daily basis. I still reach out to them for advice and information.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The most effective strategy for growing my clientele was, HUSTLE. There were many times and still are times where I am doing free shoots to expand. There will be many late nights and early mornings! There will be times when you are exhausted and you do not see a return. You have to believe that God got you and it will be worth it in the long run.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Like stated before, Paul allowed me to shoot on his camera starting out for free. So, having that support system played a huge role in me getting started.
When I started getting more serious about videography, I needed to invest in better equipment and software. The biggest thing is investing in yourself! I went into debt funding my business. I used my personal credit card, a Best Buy credit card, and put other equipment on credit and payment plans. You have to have faith and believe in yourself! I knew that I would make the money back and it would be worth the investment.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @cuttdifferent_dr6ke
- Facebook: Jeremiah Drake