Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joey Hopper. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joey , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I started acting in theater as a child but I found my passion in film. When I was 13, I went to my first Indie Memphis Youth Film Festival. From that experience, I become interested in learning more about film and submitted my first film three years later. I got an opportunity to be on a television set when Bluff City Law was filmed in Memphis. I worked as a stand in and background actor. Those early experiences energized me to do other film projects and pursue acting experiences for television, movies, music videos and commercials!

Joey , 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 was born in Siberia and came to the United States following my adoption. I had great difficulty in school due to my severe ADHD. Despite attending many different schools, I never found an environment that fit my learning style. I began taking Taekwondo as a young child and thrived in that active learning style environment. I became more disciplined and eventually earned my black belt. I was home schooled for my final two years of high school went to a local community college where I earned an associate’s degree in multimedia production. This program was largely project based and suited my active learning style. I learned photography skills and gained experience filming live performances through my internship at the Overton Park Shell, a local historic amphitheater.

This desire to “learn by doing” resulted in trying out for the television show Bluff City Law, which would be filming in Memphis. I worked as a background actor and stand in for 6 episodes, and had just gotten a chance for a speaking role when NBC canceled the show. My next opportunity was also as a background actor and stand in for Women of the Movement on ABC. Since it was being filmed during covid, I had to live within “the bubble” in Clarksdale, Ms. and could not leave during that time. Perhaps my favorite project has been working on the set of Young Rock, a television show that focused on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s life as a child and a wrestler. I have also had the opportunity to be in two commercials staring Ja Morant, one for Hulu, and the second for Nike. I was a background actor in an Applebee’s commercial starring WWE star Becky Lynch. I’ve done music videos for several local artists, and for my own music!

I am proud that I have been able to turn my difficulties with traditional learning into a wealth of experiential learning. I’m sure that many other creative people have experienced similar difficulties or have felt restrained by traditional learning environments. As a result of my experiences, I am able to work well with others of various backgrounds and always respect their experiences and styles. I am always open to pursuing the next opportunity and look for projects that will push me to expand my world of experiences.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative artist is the opportunity to meet and work with other creatives. I’ve loved being able to do interviews for my podcast and to collaborate with other artists on projects of mutual interest. I’ve had the chance to meet great people who have already achieved success, and I have been excited to meet many individuals who are putting in the work to become the next up and coming artists! I am a people person and I find these personal interactions with others in the music, movie, and television industries to be very rewarding!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I came to the United States at an early age with a history of poverty and lack of proper care in my early childhood. I had extreme difficulties in school and needed many special services. Many people assumed that I would never be able to overcome these deficits from early childhood as the typical classroom environments did not fit my learning style.

When I enrolled in Taekwondo, I also experienced difficulties in learning the required patterns and meanings. I was anxious and had difficulty directing my energy and focus. The difference form the school environment was that Taekwondo allowed my to be very active and gave me an appropriate outlet for my anxiety. My progress was slow, but I continued in the program for many years. I reached a turning point in my teenage years when I tested to move to a higher belt level. I was not prepared and I froze while trying to execute my patterns and to recite my pattern meaning. Everyone was staring at me and I felt the same extreme anxiety that I often experienced at school. I vowed to never have that experience again, and actually received the “Best Testing” award when the next opportunity arose. My resilience and effort from that point resulted in rapid progress that ultimately culminated in my Black Belt!

I have been able to transfer the resilience that I learned in Taekwondo to other areas of my life and to prove people wrong who thought that I would never have these successes. My resilience not only got me through high school, but also a higher education degree. This resilience has driven my creative journey and ambition to “make things happen” for myself. I am not discouraged when others tell me what I cannot accomplish. I hope that my struggles and resilience are inspirational to others who may have experienced obstacles in pursuing their dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jjhop2001.wixsite.com/joeyshowcars?fbclid=PAAaa-wA-5cm4r4rv2XU6INs8aEhU-765nLbSSb5MLx4gVYsYhKCoHZBynU4s_aem_AWakq-Rc88B36JH2YN3yBaZ_t43s3Og1ha3TKKovV1st72INd6Ma6wTMklJ0JRdvOXQ
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realjoeyhoppermusic?igsh=eGthdGMxdWdsanUz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joey.hopper.1675?mibextid=sCpJLy
• Twitter: https://x.com/joeyhopperoffi1/status/1760035386951139622?s=46&t=3m12lhtkLN5LTTkLafsNtw
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@J.Hopper/featured