Meet Anthony Minassian: Photographer & Cinematographer

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

Hi Anthony, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Habits are fickle things… Some can be incredibly beneficial, while others can halt any progress you have made in an instant. It’s important to be cognizant of the habits that ultimately make you. Take me for example, I am aware that I have the painfully annoying habit of saying yes to every opportunity that comes my way. While you could attribute that to one of the reasons for my accomplishments… It can also be said that the very same habit has put me in some incredibly difficult and uncomfortable situations throughout the years. You can not have success without first experiencing true failure, to which I am no stranger. As a creative, if you are finding every opportunity to avoid failure, you will not go very far in my opinion… You should get so used to failing that you welcome the idea of falling flat on your ass, because it is only when you have failed that you can truly know if your goal or aspirations are strong enough to keep pushing forward. This is where a second habit of mine comes into play. The habit of persistence. After every single failure, I always find myself trying again, no mater the size of the goal or the magnitude of the shortcoming, I get up, and re-asses the situation before proceeding with the next plan of attack. If you want to reach your goals, you need to practice these three things on a daily basis; Persistence, Patience, and Positivity. Its sounds simple, but I’ve found that the most powerful and effective ideologies are the simplest.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My story isn’t a special one, there are countless others who are on the same path. I think its about the people who we meet along the way and the memories you make while improving yourself and your craft. It always starts with an interest, a curiosity. For me it was in highschool… Senior year to be exact. I was looking for my last elective and I had noticed that my school was offering AP photography, and what started as a hobby quickly took over everything else. As I was stumbling my way through Community College and shooting along the way, switching from Psychology to Kinesiology, I never noticed that my love for image making was growing so fiercely. One day I took a long look at my situation and decided to go into the creative world 100%, its been 4 years since I made that decision and I can wholeheartedly say that I do not regret it. I only wish I made the switch earlier on in life. But I suppose that is not something we are supposed to know, for hindsight is always 20/20. I have met a lot people who share the same path and the same outlook on life as I do. If I can impart a few lessons to whoever is reading this, it would be… 1. To trust yourself, I believe that at some level, you already have the answers to all your questions/problems. 2. To ask for help, I would always try to do everything by myself, not sure if it was a pride issue or just because I didn’t want to bother my friends, but it can be so beneficial to ask for assistance at any level. 3. To give yourself time and space to find your answers, whether it be on the job or simply planning your next project, Give yourself the ability to think clearly and weigh out your options or possible outcomes. 4. Practice patience, now more than ever people are comparing themselves to others in their field, or even to random strangers on Social Media. It is so important to maintain focus on your day to day tasks, and constantly better yourself day after day. You cant compare your Chapter 5 to someone else’s Chapter 25. Stay in your own story and build the life you envision for yourself, one page at a time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a tough one, with everything that went down this past year, “going out” has been put on the back burner. If my my best friend was in town and there were no stay home mandates or curfews. I would probably start the trip by hitting all the major Museums in the LA Area, The Getty & the Getty Villa, The LACMA, The MOCA, The Broad, The Skirball Museum, The Norton Simon Museum, The Annenberg Space for Photography, and the Griffith Observatory. Next we would take a drive to the closest Tempest Freerunning Academy in the valley and get our old joints moving again. After that, we’d drive up the PCH and go up north on a camping trip to spend some time with the massive Red Woods in the Santa Cruz National Forest. Id try to stay away from the usual Santa Monica or Downtown Hollywood areas, to me you need to get above all the noise to truly appreciate LA, that’s why we would hit every single hiking trail in town. To tell you the truth, I’m not one for making extravagant plans, I usually set out with a loose idea, and improvise along the way, I feel like spontaneity is something that makes trips the most fun and memorable. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people Id like to shoutout… There is no possible way I could have done half the things ive accomplished without my network of friends and family. Id like to shoutout my family for supporting me and believing that I wasn’t crazy for wanting to create captivating images for a profession. To my Friends who gave me opportunities to try my hand at various skills in this insanely competitive field. I think ill just list some people and institutions out; To CC Weske, for bringing me into the game, for always having my back and encouraging me to better my best. To Deangelo Harding for allowing me to help on his crew and for trusting me while on his own journey. To Marcus Gustafsson for taking me under his wing, always giving me work and guiding me on this crazy world of image making. To Daniel DeArco for constantly being a source of motivation and for instilling an incredible sense of determination for a fellow creative. To Julian Campos, for always allowing me to lean on him when I need direction or help in my own endeavors. To Jessica Shinn, for being an unbridled source of positivity, always offering life experience and a close companion that has helped me navigate many difficult times in my life. To Wendy Brill-Wynkoop, for helping me recognize my full potential and pushing me to set higher goals for myself. To my cousin Michelle Peerali, for trusting me enough with her own goals and allowing me the opportunity to grow along side her. To Alex Cook & Yuri Neyman ASC, and everyone at GCI for helping me take the next step in my journey. Lastly to to my dear friend Gabriel Nunez, for giving me a shot, for mentoring me, and seeing more in me than I was ever aware of. Its because of him and everyone in the Tempest Freerunning Family that I have the confidence and the skills that I currently posses.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minassian_fo_lyfe/