We were lucky to catch up with Nick Ricca recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving a full time job and going all in on creative endeavors at the end of 2022. I have been a creative my whole life. From an early age, I wanted to shape my life around the arts. Growing up on Maui, I was in the ocean all the time. Surfing, swimming, paddling. Romping around in the shore break shooting pictures of waves and my friends on waterproof point and shoots. I discovered a love for capturing the moments around me, the things that I loved to do everyday. I pursued a career as a surf photographer/videographer throughout high school and beyond. It was my entire life. Many of my friends were pursuing careers as pro surfers, and I wanted to document it all, and travel the world shooting. When I was 21 and found out I was having a child with my then girlfriend, and my daughter was born in early 2020. I was offered an opportunity from a friend to apply for a job in sales at Gucci, he was the store manager. I had never had a corporate or full time job. It was always freelance photography. I decided to try something new in an industry I had no clue about. From surfing, to high fashion? I was intrigued and felt it’d be fun to try something new – and actually make some real money. With a baby on the way, I knew I had to give it a shot. I started in February 2019 and worked there for almost 4 years. I learned a lot, enjoyed the structure at first, and was happy to be providing and making a stable income. But as the years went by, I realized I feeling less like myself, and my camera gear was gathering dust. Life changed quick, I seperated from my daughter’s mom. New management came in and the entire store morale dropped. I felt lost. It became clear to me I needed a change, and I was stuck where I was at. So I quit, and January 2023 was the beginning of me risking my simple and secure life to go back to creative work. My great friend and mentor, Chris J Evans had wedding photo/video work for me ready and had been eager to get me back on the team. I had worked for him since I was 16, til I started at Gucci. Learning the ins and outs of luxury wedding photography. he’s an inspiration to me and encouraged me to start modeling again, which I had been doing infrequently since I was 18. I got in touch with my Hawaii agent, Dawn Larson, and got back in the game. I was unsure of where things were going, but so happy to have my freedom of time back. I started taking some improv acting classes to get out of my comfort zone, and fell flat on my face. It was tough but freeing, pursuing these things I’ve been interested in but never tried to do. It felt good to discover things again and pursue a creative way of being. I was happy to just be out of that store. I was shooting weddings with Chris, and auditioning for modeling gigs, but after a year or so I felt it wasn’t enough. Hawaii is a slow market for the modeling compared to major hubs like LA. So I decided to try to get an LA agent to take things to the next level. in March 2024, Chris and I shot a wedding in the Dominican Republic, and on the way home I stayed a few days in LA. I had a mission to meet with as many agents as I could to try to get signed. My HI agent set up some meetings, and I raced around the city excitedly. All of them passed. It’s an industry where you get used to rejection. I was stuck, and bummed it didn’t work out. I was scrolling instagram and decided to DM a modeling agent I knew through dawn named Roman Young. We didn’t know each other but Dawn knew him well and had placed many models with his agency, Nomad Management. I believe they had originally passed on me as well when we submitted photos some time prior. So I asked for a meeting with them, I felt If I could meet in person I’d be better off than trying to send in more photos. He gave me a shot, and set up a meeting for me with Nomad. On my last day before flying home to maui, I met the team of agents at a coffee shop, took some digitals, and left. I felt it went well but I was nervous and pretty discouraged overall. A couple days after I got home I found out they wanted to do a zoom interview with me, and I was offered a contract on their commercial board. It was a huge moment for me. It felt like the work paid off and I was so thrilled to get signed in LA! They were my top choice of agency and I was so stoked. Since then, I’ve booked jobs all over the world and they’ve helped my career take off. My agent Laura Blaubuka is amazing and she’s been a huge part of my success. We’ve booked some major tv commercials for the LA tourism board, Sandals Resort, Nissan, and Samsung. As well as a big photo campaign for Corona. I’ve been taking acting classes all year with an incredible group of people in Hawaii called ICAN – the international cultural arts network. Modeling got me into acting, and I’ve found my true passion in this. I’ll always love photography but I’m going all in on acting right now. I keep having these pinch me moments where I realize I’m really living my dreams right now. I’m making a living on camera with some of the biggest brands in the world. I never expected any of this but it feels really good, and I’m so glad I never gave up on it all. There’s so many highs and lows as a creative. I was comfortable in my old 9-5. but I was dead inside and I’ve finally gotten that spark back. I’m finally stoked on what I’m doing. I was on set in Argentina a couple weeks ago, for 20 hours one day, 18 hours the next, and flew 30hrs home after wrapping. But I loved every minute and time flies by on these jobs. I spent most of July in LA shooting a car commercial, and the day I wrapped I went straight to LAX to fly to Argentina for the next job. It’s just surreal for me being from an island. I’m 27 now, this past year has been the best of my career, and I’m so glad I took that risk and found what I love. I can’t wait to see what then few years have in store.
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?
I am 27 and from Maui, Hawaii. I grew up in and around the ocean constantly. I have always been inspired by it and the natural beauty of my home. I fell in love with capturing moments at young age. My journey has led me from a career in surf photography & luxury wedding photography, to wearing a suit and tie selling handbags at Gucci, to modeling and acting.
I have had a diverse range of experiences with all of these. I love telling stories through photo and video, for people and brands. I love cameras and being around them. There is something magical to me about being on set surrounded by like minded creatives with the goal of telling a story. I never knew being behind the camera would lead to me being in front of it and have always been pretty introverted. I slowly found my confidence in exploring that and learning to act has been one of the biggest growth points in my life. Having a child at an early age has changed my entire worldview, and I’m inspired daily by my daughter. She’s 5 now and I am more motivated than ever to do extraordinary things in my life and career to provide for her and make her proud. Modeling and Acting is an incredibly competitive field, and I think being from Hawaii sets me apart. I want to make it so I can use my career to bring more opportunities to Hawaii. We need film and tv to be a bigger industry here and our state gov makes that difficult so productions go elsewhere to places like New Zealand where there’s tax incentives. I am inspired to make a name for myself in LA and beyond to show what kind of talent comes out of where I’m from.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission is to make a name for myself in the entertainment industry in film and tv. I want to do this to use that success to fund more creative endeavors and bring opportunities to Hawaii. Our economy is heavily tourism based and we can be a hub for film production. We have been for years. Many features and shows come to the islands. Jason momoa just did it with his series Chief of War. He used his success to tell a Hawaiian story in a way that’s never been done before. It’s very inspiring and I’d like to do similar things. I want to inspire kids here to pursue careers in media. To express themselves creatively and take it to the world stage.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think as a society we can support artists and creatives by being intentional in the content we consume and share. It can be as simple as going to the movies vs renting a movie online. Or seeing a local play or small band perform at a bar. It’s free to share a story on instagram of your friend’s art. using the internet to connect and collaborate with others is the way. Getting together with friends and making a film for fun. Art is about connecting with people and sharing ideas, and I think with the way the world is today we need it more than ever.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @nickricca
