Meet Alex Shapiro | Director, Cinematographer, Adventure enthusiast

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

Hi Alex, what is the most important factor behind your success?
My Wife, Hands down she is the biggest attribute to any success I have. When I started the brand, my perspective on the world was very closed and not the most broad. she taught me what it was like to be an adventurer and not a tourist. She completely change my direction, and brand from a self-centered ambition to something that, I do hope, leaves a legacy that impacts the world in the future.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a director and cinematographer, words thousands of people define themselves as. haha, to be fair this is what I do for a living. this wasn’t always what i did though. to cut a long story short, I left school, worked in construction, ended up in the marketing department, from there started my own construction company so i could have time to pursue my goal to be an internationally sponsored BMX rider.
In this journey, I ended up consulting, Basically at the time became good at creating marketing campaigns that grew companies and needed an escape. so at 25/26 I don’t remember I picked up a camera to be a Travel Vlogger, and make a living from what I love. almost got it too. except for one thing.

I fell deeply in love with telling stories, making ad’s and creating work that moved people. This does mean I got one part right, i love what I do freaking so much!!!

Back to the vlogging though, for 2 years I travelled, creating what is now known as Someshap, with a pineapple logo that signifies the dream “Crusade Against The Mundane and live your ideal life” now just shorted to crusade against the mundane.
This is who I am and who I have always been, challenging the norms.

I met my soon to be wife in this period, from the moment I met her, I knew she was the one. SO I ran far from it cause I thought that is what I should do.
Ha ha however, that was not what i did, she was the perfect partner with high values for people, a heart that truly cares and smarter than me by far.

this also took my career into a new path.
You see, we ended up moving to a town called Hoedspruit ( Pronounced HoetSpraht for those who don’t speak afrikaans) .

We went from city livers to the stereotypical African’s people see in movies in less than 4 months.
It isn’t a joke when I say lions sleep on our front door and elephants eat our pot plants. we even have a hyena den 50 meters from the house. it’s great.

Wait, sorry the story. We decided to move, I invested in a whole bunch of new gear as their isn’t any rental houses their.
8 days of owning the gear, it got stolen and insurance didn’t kick in yet. totally my fault. Oddly the trauma of this took me 2 years to overcome. My business was gone, we moved anyway.

This was the greatest discion though, we lived in an incredibly adventurous area. Yes I had to start from scratch but so what, Crusade against the mundane right?

It has been a 3/4 year journey but we have successfully been able to build Someshap Studio’s into something I am proud of.

because of the moto Crusade against the mundane, this has set me apart as a director and cinematographer. I love finding ways to change the way things are done, or make them better with little tweaks.

this could be a lens choice or changing a voice over to something not normal to catch attention, challenge the norm of that industry. like the Safari Tour Operator industry. whoohoo if i could tell you the things i want to disrupt haha.

to end off, a lesson. At the studio, enthusiasm, self thought paired with action are who we are, disruption is our nature but most importantly portraying emotion with the single goal to make people feel better when they leave than they arrive thats our value.

to stand out, find your core values, really find them, it will take years to word them, though deep down you know. ive always been a dream, a chaser and an empath.
your brand can be a second you and you are unique so highlight that vulnerable as it my seem.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To visit: Mariepskop Mountain
Lekgalameetse nature reserve
Manyeleti Game Reserve
Primitive Trail in Timbavati Private Nature Reserve

To eat:
Kasava
The Brewery
Hoedspruit Cafe

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Shout out would go to My parents and sister of course, they allowed me time to follow me, with an occasional hiya slap to set me straight haha. My dearest and best Friends Steve and Amy, Those 2 followed me on weird and wonderful things. sometimes to their determent but always stick by me. They are family to me and forever part of my greater vision.

And to my wife, the reason I can wake up at 5am and know today, is going to be a great day. For opening my eyes to see beyond fancy clothes, cool tourists sights, not backing all the food in a hiking bag, letting me steal her camera gear cause I want a cheeky vintage look, and most importantly cause she taught me how to combine my dream with reality and live it.

Website: www.someshap.com

Instagram: instagram.com/someshap

Linkedin: someshap