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

John, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

FAILURE. Do not be afraid to fail. Do not be afraid to be genuine. Show everybody who you are through your business and you’ll get people that resonate with you.

When I lost my corporate job in August of 2020, I was presented an opportunity disguised as a failure. I asked my wife to give me until the following March to try my hand at trading full time and running my photography business as a source of income.

It wasn’t easy. There were times I felt it was too much and I almost went back to searching for a job. At times I would talk myself into it saying, “it’s ok. Being an entrepreneur may not be for me. It is a ton of work and stress. A job is much easier.”

It was a tug of war of emotions, failures, and wins. My family was skeptical…..even I was skeptical at times.

But what I learned is that you must have an unwavering confidence in yourself. In your ability to push through the tough times…….you can also do with a dash of stubborn-ness!

And here at the end of 2024, I still struggle with these emotions at times. They never go away. But I’ve gotten better at believing in myself. And the only way that can be developed is simply going through it. The experience of it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hello, my name is John. I am an Automotive Photographer, Trader of the Financial Markets, and educator of Decentralized Finance.

As a photographer, I have been hired by clients ranging from Mecum Auctions, RM Auctions, Fisker, various aftermarket companies, and of course The History Channel!

I have always had a passion for cars. Owned some of my dream cars, attended various car events, and met some of my best friends through this passion. So I decided, why not photograph cars?? :)

I started my Photography business in 2011 where we were shooting Weddings, Portraits, and Automobiles. Weddings were fun, but after a few years I was getting burnt out, and pivoted to photographing only cars.

A highlight of my career as a photographer was the time I received a phone call from The History Channel to shoot for their hit show Counting Cars! Danny “The Count” Koker was the star of the show and wanted to do a Calendar Photoshoot with 12 of his favorite cars. It was the most insane photoshoot I have ever done where the shoot, editing, and delivery took a couple months! The episode is called Count’s Calendar if you’d like to check it out!

This was huge. I was able to negotiate a royalty deal for the calendar sales of that year in addition to the press and of course the earnings from this campaign.

I remember after I received my first check just sitting in my office chair with tears of joy. I was on cloud 9 and ecstatic beyond belief.

This became my downfall. I began to think how can I top that? What can I do? I would continue to shoot, but my heart just wasn’t in it anymore and my work suffered for it. Looking for shortcuts, not delivering at the highest quality I could possibly do. At times I thought about shutting it all down.

Mind you, I was still working my corporate job. So juggling different responsibilities eventually burnt me out. I took a step back, took on enough jobs throughout the years to keep the overhead covered and to keep it alive just in case I ever had the passion to pursue it again.

Then the death blow came. My domain for my website expired and was quickly bought up by someone. I tried to get it back, but with no luck.

So I decided to rebrand into The Car Photographers. I’ve been wanting to do so for quite some time and I truly believe the Universe has a way to make things happen. This was my opportunity to do so, and so I did.

The difference with my photography compared to others in my area, is that I offer the option to have fully customizable photographs. I can remove entire backgrounds, composite in your favorite scenery, and place their pride & joy in virtually any location they want! The photos then get my creative photoshop editing and composite work as shown on my website.

One recent client hired me to photograph his Shelby Cobra to sell at Mecum Auctions. We then printed one of the photographs on Metal Print that had a view of Red Rock with also some dramatic lighting of the car. He said the print helped sell the car!

Throughout my corporate and photography career I traded the financial markets. Started trading during the Great Financial Crisis in 2009. Tons of hard lessons of losing money, blowing up trading accounts, and massive failures that would cripple a grown man to their knees and have them crying….

I eventually found my way in trading throughout the years by being less active and taking more of an investing approach. In addition to this I educate in the Decentralized Finance space.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

I found it surprising to see this question listed! I truly believe NFT’s will help facilitate convenience to verify and transfer ownership of valuable items. Such as collectibles, music, art, and even Real Estate!

Imagine buying a home at the click of a button from the comfort of your chair? Amazing times we live in!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The unknown. The challenge of having to create a work of art for the paying client…..and it must be something THEY love! This is why it is very important to convey your work, your style, and your edge in your craft. If people can vibe with your work, then ultimately it does make the job easier.

This may be difficult for new creatives with a smaller portfolio. Go out and create as much as you can, even if it’s free! Build your portfolio!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thecarphotographers.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_car_photographerz/
• Twitter: https://x.com/FLOAT_LOCKER
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Float_Locker