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

Hi Rob, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Picture this: You’re in the middle of a Saturday night dinner service working a double in a high volume kitchen where the ticket machine seems to be running non stop as your chef is screaming at the kitchen staff wondering why there is a 40 minute ticket time as the pile of orders drape from the pass that’s crowded with food all the way to the grimy kitchen floor. You’re working the fryer station with both fryers full, all your misenplace on their final legs and the walk-in fridge is 50 ft away with a few doors, a stressed out kitchen crew and some dishwashers standing in between you and a successful dinner service. As you dodge what feels like oncoming traffic you arrive in the walk in and immediately forget what you came in here for and instead begin thinking about what you wish you could be doing with your life. You and your team finish out another hectic dinner service, close the kitchen, head over to your local bar and enjoy a couple of drinks before ending the night and getting a terrible nights rest. You wake up in the morning, check your phone, see a few missed calls. more text’s than you would normally receive but pay no attention and mindlessly scroll social media. This was my life until Covid-19 hit America and my once career choices to become a chef were involuntarily thrown out the window leaving me in career limbo. At the time I’m a 30 yr old man who had only ever known the kitchen life. I’m at the age where changing your career was not only looked down upon but scary and filled with uncertainty knowing you’d be starting over, taking a pay cut and hoping it all works out in the end in an already saturated market. As the world winds back up you tell your chef you’re quitting your job to pursue your passion in multimedia in hopes you can become a professional photographer/videographer. You take an in between job at a company doing mediocre work until you land a few side gigs taking photos for some restaurants, a couple modeling gigs, get a few photos published in some local online magazines and you begin to breathe a little easier knowing that the biggest risk you could take in your life is actually starting to pay off. Fast forward almost 3 years later, you have a great job, health benefits, never work weekends, are appreciated and compensated appropriately for your time and haven’t felt this happy or healthy in who knows when. Let this little glimpse into my life bring some hope and inspiration to anyone who read’s this because it is never too late to take that risk and change your life!

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

For those of you reading about me for the first time, hello! My name is Rob Gonzales and I’m a local media producer here in the greater Phoenix valley. I offer professional photography/videography services to restaurants, local/small businesses and individuals looking to bring their ideas to life. My main goal with working with restaurants and small business is to help increase their brand awareness with high quality imagery and videography to be distributed across the main social media platforms, along with updating their website assets to showcase a more upscale and approachable online presence. I’ve been told from previous clients that what sets me a part from working with other media producers is how easy I am to work and collaborate with before, during and after a session! As I have a lot to be proud of in my short time spent in this career, I’d say one of my biggest accomplishments overall is actually following my passion and being able to create this new life for myself while being able to help others achieve their dreams and aspirations as well.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As simple as this is, I’d say the most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing the clients reaction to watching their dreams come to life! I’ve had restaurants sing my praise for their new marketing campaigns being a success with my imagery, I’ve had families and friends overjoyed with me being able to capture once in a lifetime moments for them to cherish forever and I’ve had professional models and strangers alike smile ear to ear with seeing themselves in a whole new light! Being able to make people smile is what it’s all about to me which is why I always try to go above and beyond for those who take the time to believe in me and choose to collaborate with me.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Though my audience is still small, I’ve managed to grow over 900+ followers in the few years I’ve been pursuing my goals and I believe its been through effective media strategy, reaching out to established photographers to ask questions about my work and how I can improve. Seeking new models to work with and effectively networking with them to build us both up together with collaborations and just trying to stay consistent with posting, messaging and maintaining a relationship with clients past and present!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rcgmedia.org
• Instagram: @rcg_media