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

Juan, appreciate you joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

By working and socilizing with my head down

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 Juan Flores Mena. I am a twin brother, not identical but close enough. I was raised in Mexico City by the most beautiful single mother. My dad was somewhat around the picture, he would come by every so often

COLLEGE:
After high school, I enrolled in University at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Undecided of my career path, while knowing I wanted to pursue a life within the arts, I found myself taking photography classes. Here is where I met my studio professor John Rees. As the years have gone by, I’ve come to realize that I constantly find myself working and directing a studio the way he would. I would say he has been one of my biggest influences in my career, and truly has been such a beautiful thing to still be in contact considering he has had few hundred more students after me. Throughout my college time, I got. a job with Utah Valley University’s Athletic Department under Clint Burgi. If there is one person who truly became a father-like figure to me it was him. I worked at UVU for a total of 5 years. My duties corresponded to broadcasting every single sporting event on our designated website. The knowledge I was able to obtain during my time was truly the foundation to my career. I had to work under pressure everyday, I had to create recaps as soon as the sporting events were done, at times I would also have to snap photo galleries while the events were going on, it taught me how to work with discipline and as fast as possible. I was able to finish college fall of 2020, with a Public Relationships Degree.

Shortly after moving to los Angeles, I got involved in the music industry, and have now gone across the country doing what I love.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Would love to go deep into this on a call but yes, oh my god. Since day one ive had a full time job, if not multiple. A lot of people always thought that my job was what I was posting, but those were just rewards. I knew i had to works a lot more and establish myself more than the next person, while busting my ass to be stable and not have to worry about income. This was my first year ive freelance. But even now, I had an oppurtunitty to go full time right after tour and i said yes. Figured an income right after getting home couldnt hurt. WOOORK

How did you build your audience on social media?

Def would love to go deeper into this on a phone call, but i feel like this is the why to a lot of the things im doing right now. If you can manage to be authenthic while holding a voice, you will go as far as you want.

Contact Info:

• Website: Shortkingstudios.com
• Instagram: sk8orjuan

Image Credits
@Elliotxingham