We were lucky to catch up with Roberto Rivera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Roberto, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Consistency, Passion, Tenacity

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

My name is Rob Rivera, a content creator out of Tampa, FL. I got into video and photography as a way to capture the world we live in. Growing up my grandmother would constantly push for family trips and visiting new places. This sparked a curiosity about what was out there. When I picked up a camera I was just looking to show new perspectives of our surroundings or people’s stories. Currently, I direct and shoot music videos, corporate commercials, branded ads, and social media content for several clients which I enjoy, but I also still have a passion for travel and capturing the world we live in. Many people may not have the desire, time or means to travel, so I made it a point to explore and show people what is out there. I am most proud of having left my job 6 years ago and in doing so, being able to take back my time and use it to travel and capture new locations, including Iceland and Japan. Personally I am torn between becoming a full production company versus being an independent content creator or “influencer” that focuses on my original love in life of marrying cameras and travel.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I originally began shooting real estate photos and video. I still do to an extent, but I was really focused when I was still working a day job. When I first left, I had no idea how or If it was going to work but I was very determined to quit letting what I do for a living make me unhappy and leave me unfulfilled. The world has changed a ton in the past 10 years and I took to social media to promote myself and my work. Everything I shot, visited, and did in regard to the business I made it a point to post it to social media. Online, I feel like perception is reality so if people perceive you as someone who is busy and in demand, it grows on the viewers establishing you as whatever it it that you do. From one share to the next it grew over time to where many people I was just meeting had already heard of me through my work. I have almost marketed exclusively by word of mouth, which I don’t recommend as it’s quite slow growth, but it has gotten me to where I am now. As far as key milestones, I have had some work reposted by A- list celebrities which many people took notice of, being able to capture content with other creators in Japan also seemed to resonate with a lot of people. More recently, I was asked to submit music video treatments for artists on Atlantic records and it made me realize I was growing as a creator and as a business.

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

I think its safe to say, when work you spend time and effort on is noticed and appreciated by people it is extremely rewarding. As a creative we are our own worst critics and often times no matter how much time and love we put into something, we can always find something to dislike about it. This changes in our minds, if even temporarily, when its made public and you get public recognition and praise for something you may have thought was average or not that great. Not sure all creatives will agree, but I feel like this is why social media has such a huge impact on our lives today as it allows our work to reach potentially hundreds of thousands of people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.animusvisual.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/animusvisual
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/animusvisual
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/animusvisual
• Other: im on Vero!

Image Credits
Thaison Nguyen