Meet Josh Trujillo | Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Trujillo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have always wanted to be a part of comic books, animation, and video games, but for me that seemed impossible. My time in the working world was exclusively in the service industry, waiting tables and doing various odd jobs. Finally, I reached a breaking point: Either I pursued my passion now or I risked having a mid-life crisis later.

I saved up enough money each paycheck to pay an artist for 1 page, and after 30 paychecks I had enough pages to tell my first “professional” comic book story. Soon others followed, and before too long I was able to supplement my income with my writing work. Now it is my full-time career.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
An ongoing goal of my work is to help people see themselves in my storytelling, which means spotlighting groups of people who might be underserved in popular fiction (as well as non-fiction.) In beginning my career as a writer, I faced people who told me to change my last name or downplay being queer because it might hurt my career. Now, many years later, I can say that those two things in particular contribute to my success. I would urge people to embrace their identities when pursuing creative work, because you never know who needs to see that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite spot in LA is probably Barnsdall Art Park. It has a scenic overlook over Los Angeles that I really don’t think can be beat. It’s also very dog-friendly, so it makes a perfect escape for me!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate this, and every piece of work that I do, to my dog. Pretzel is my favorite thing in the world and his company really makes the lonely elements of writing bearable. Pets are highly recommended for stay-at-home creatives.

Website: http://www.joshtrujillo.com

Instagram: @losthiskeysman

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-trujillo/

Twitter: @losthiskeysman