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

Ry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

This depends on what your definition of “success” is for yourself. Some people prioritize money and social status over their own day to day happiness or the kind of impact they leave on others. I can only speak on how I want “success” to look in my life and I lean towards freedom, happiness, and impact.

Freedom has a financial aspect to it for sure. But it doesn’t take a ton of money to have all of your needs met and tuck a little money away. If you don’t have to think about your rent/mortage, utilities, food costs, etc. then you are living a lot more free than most.

Happiness is a more complicated one, but I try to simplify it in my life. If I wake up excited to start the day, driven to accomplish whatever is scheduled that day, and love those close to me, I am happy. I had to start doing a lot more of what I love to realize it is that simple. I would always play it safe earlier in my life. I went to college, worked corporate 9-5s, all while chasing the dream in the background. This is beyond stressful and led to waking up to a lot of frustrating days. It creates a lot of escapism (vices) too, which actually furthers you from your ultimate dream. Just be willing to make quick changes and try new things if you aren’t as happy as you want to be.

Impact is a big one for me. I want to help everyone I can and if anyone can ever learn something from my past mistakes or life experience than I am fulfilled. As a songwriter I am telling those life stories and creating small moments for you to feel something real and hopefully inspire you to be yourself and tell your story to others in your own way. If we all live to leave positive impacts on other people this world would be a much better place.

Now, what do I think it takes to achieve those things and be successful in life? A willingness to put the effort in. You have to want those things I am talking about. Find your own definition of success that you truly believe in and go after those things. I have found my own success by self reflecting often, especially when I was not happy. I ask myself a lot of questions and the answers are usually pretty obvious. Then I make changes to the things that are bothering me. Whether that is a job, relationship, habit, etc. Move on. It really can be that simple and I think you will be surprised with the results. When you are living with excitement and energy every day you feel pretty “successful.”

Ry, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born in Baltimore, MD in 1993. I started writing at a very early age. Probably 5 or 6. I would write fictional short stories at my grandmother’s house in Maryland while she watched me. A few years later my parents got divorced and my family grew pretty distant. I was a kid caught in the middle of it. The Eminem Show came out around this time and I became obsessed with rap. I was only 8 but I truly felt the emotion and was just enamored by the rhyme schemes. I started writing and rapping on this little karaoke machine I had. I would record mini albums on cassette tapes and just freestyle in my mom’s basement for hours.

A few years later my mom and I moved to York, Pennsylvania. I got a MacBook for Christmas and it had Garageband on it. I was hooked. Made music almost every day recording on laptop mics, headphones, USB mics, whatever I got my hands on. I was ripping beats off of YouTube and mixing my own vocals on Garageband. All of this music was terrible but little did I know I was laying a pretty solid foundation for my future.

I dropped a few songs on Myspace and YouTube when I first started but didn’t really start releasing consistently until my senior year of high school. I started releasing mixtapes on Dat Piff and doing covers on YouTube. I still wasn’t very good but I had a little traction. Went gold on Dat Piff and had a cover reach 100,000 views. I just didn’t know how to capitalize on it nor was I good enough. I spent the next few years going to college at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). I was doing a lot of shows and networking through these years. Opened up to a lot of artists and went on a college tour. Had a lot of fun.

I made money here and there from music but wasn’t enough to sustain a living on my own. Got a regular job after I graduated college and music started to kind of take a back seat. I ended up investigating child abuse cases for the next 3 years. I stopped releasing music and deleted most of my older material. I still have all of the songs they just are not online anymore. I lost who I was, to be honest. Those were not happy years for me. It is not a good feeling to know what your true dream and passion are in life and then run from it.

That leads me to 2020. I packed up my car and drove from Pennsylvania to California by myself. Music wasn’t necessarily the reason but unhappiness was. I needed change and I didn’t care if going to California was the right change or not, I just needed to try something. Once the pandemic hit a few months later I just started writing all the time again and that led to recording and eventually releasing music again. I realized I had so much more to say after some life experience and I really was able to grow as an artist. I completely switched genres and have been making more pop/indie music but that rap influence is still there. I discovered a new tone in my voice that I feel delivers my writing in a more genuine way than before and I just can’t stop making enough music. It’s a really fun place to be in and I am enjoying this stage of my life.

After living in Los Angeles for a year and a half I moved to San Diego and have been here for a year now. I am doing music and videos full time. I release a new song every month and I also direct, edit, film videos for other artists, businesses, etc. I have been doing all of that for my own career as an artist for 15+ years but have recently branched out to help bring other peoples visions to life, which I cannot express how excited I am to do more of!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I quit making music in my early 20s after chasing it for almost 10 years. I took my entire catalogue down and disappeared. Used my college degree and got a job investigating child abuse cases for 3 years. Got a townhouse and a BMW and to everyone in my small town it appeared I was doing great. Little did they know I was burning inside. I knew the entire time this wasn’t the best route for me but it was safe. Or was it? It didn’t feel safe to me because I woke up every single day miserable. Working a job you do not enjoy AND giving up a dream you had your whole life is never the formula if that isn’t obvious to you already.

2020 I quit my job, packed my car, and drove by myself from Pennsylvania to California. A few months later I am sitting inside during Covid lockdown and decided to start making music again. I had songs out within a month and have been doing that for 3 years straight now. I got back to doing what I love and have always loved and can’t ever imagine letting that go again.

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

The impact. There is nothing more rewarding for me than other people sharing their own stories around a song I wrote. It is wild that an idea from our heads can blossom into something that is then consumed by other human beings all around the world and they feel something from it. They get brought back to old memories they may have forgot about or get to relive those special moments for a few minutes while that song is on again. Music is an incredible thing.

Very similar to music with videography/photography. The rewarding feeling is when you can help bring your clients vision to life and then you both get to share that vision with the world. People will watch and feel something. People will be inspired to create and chase their dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ryaugust.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryaugxst/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyAugxst
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyAugxst
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ryaugust
• Other: https://amap.to/ryaugust