We were lucky to catch up with William Rodriguez recently and have shared our conversation below.

William, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

I’m actually a college film school drop out (junior year); I would have skipped college all together; (there’s literally only one class that I believe helped me discover the content I love making (Visual Effects in Film) & that’s gotten me noticed as a freelance content creator

– Otherwise Those college years would have been better spent instead finding a regular job after high school while continuing to teach myself how to make good/entertaining content as a freelance Videographer.

– Also Being more open to doing more free work as a content creator early on even after i landed “bigger gigs”

– Not investing tons of money into expensive camera gear early on if I wasn’t sure I would make back that money in a timely fashion

– Not being discouraged when small businesses or brands wouldn’t respond to my emails or messages on social media about working with them

-That failure is something you have to go through to get better at anything

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 grew up doing taekwondo & gymnastics & As strange as it may sound I originally wanted to be a stunt man haha for Commercial & Film work

The entertainment/Filmmaking industry is such as who you know type of place, that i found it difficult to get into stunt work without knowing anyone.

One day at a gymnastics center in Brooklyn, NY I met gymnasts who just happen to be stuntman in the commercial/film world; They told me my best bet would be to try starting of as a “content creator” or some sort (like an actor or videographer or production assistant ) to create videos and get into freelancing in order to begin “networking” with other creatives in the film/entertainment industry;

that way if i ever found myself freelancing on a film set, with a small business, brand etc I could etc the people in charge (Business owners, Directors, Producers) that I also happen to be good stunt work given my athletic background in gymnastics and taekwondo.

Fast forward about 7 years (failures, trial & error) to recently I found myself dabbling as talent for Bicoastal Management NYC (talent/modeling agency) doing commercial work & student films.

Although I primary still freelance as a content creator with businesses and occasional brands I thought I’d never get to meet or work with while teaching gymnastics part time in Hawthorne, New Jersey

It’s all a lot to explain as it’d be easier to explain everything that happen in between in person to people that ask me about how i ended up where i currently am now

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

1.) To prove that with “consistency” if you genuinely believe you are good at something (starting a business) that most see as statistically impossible you can be just as successful as those with high paying 9-5 jobs.

2.) To go back & help those that helped me when most may have just seen me as a “starving artist”; I idolize the Youtuber “Mr.Beast” as his wild success story as a youtuber is super inspiring

I love creativity but I come from a “traditional family” where it was instilled that the only way of “making it” in life is to go the safe route & get a degree in the medical, law, computer or business fields.

All my cousins, uncles, aunts etc are in those fields and became financially stable and well off early in life after college.

I was in a way the black sheep of the family given my choices

I only recently became more financially stable where i make more creating content for businesses/brands than I do at my part time teaching job. I know family , friends and people have taken notice of all the rare non traditional opportunities I’ve gotten myself into (they’re surprised & think it’s cool to see)

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

“The look of whoa, awe, surprise or inspiration when I see people’s reactions to the content I make with them”

I’ve always been awed and impressed by any bit of entertaining or impactful filmmaking i’ve been able to watch as a kid to now; I see movies as an “escape from reality” and I think that’s why people love watching movies because it’s an escape to what I think many people wish their lives could be like. (A lot of people love the idea of being in a movie or making their life look or feel like one; me included)

Hence why I love making content.

Contact Info:

• Website: Heymrcreative.com
• Instagram: Heymrcreative