Meet Javier Servin | Creating California History Videos as “Foo Howser”

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

Hi Javier, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking has played a huge role in my career. I was working as a security guard at the movie studio where I currently work and was trying to figure out a way to move into the archives department. One day I got assigned to work an archive screening and I took a risk and approached one of the people from the archive–not knowing she was the VP. I asked her about the archive and how I might transfer to the department and she told me to go to UCLA and get an M.A. in Moving Image Archive Studies.

I applied and got into the program and kept in contact with her throughout school–I interviewed her and some other archivists for some of the papers I wrote during grad school. When I was getting ready to graduate, I again took a risk and asked if there was any internship opportunities in the department. There was an internship available, but it would only be for the summer and I would have to resign my position in security. I was newly married, had just bought a house, and had a steady schedule as a security guard. I decided to take a risk on the internship and see if it led to something permanent and things fell into place for me. Someone quit a month before my internship was over and I applied for their position and got hired with the department the Monday after my internship ended. I’ve been in the archive department for 11 years now and I’m thankful everyday that I took that risk.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have always loved California history and wanted to share that with others. I grew up watching Huell Howser’s shows and his love and enthusiasm for California stayed with me and when I decided I wanted to start making videos, I wanted to do something inspired by him, but not imitating him–that’s why I call myself “Foo Howser” in homage to Huell, but I focus on exploring California history, where Huell highlighted all different topics in the state.

I’m most proud when I get comments from people thanking me for highlighting their city–there’s a few places that seem to only get negative press and they’re thankful that they have something shining a positive light on their community. I’m also very proud when I have family member’s of some of the businesses that I’ve covered contact me to tell me how much they loved the video and how I was able to tell their story.

I’ve definitely had some challenges, especially with time-management. I work full time, so I make these videos in my spare time, but I’m trying to put myself on a schedule so I dedicate certain time to researching, filming, and editing the videos. So far, I’ve been able to stick to the schedule and that has helped me avoid working late into the night.

I hope that my videos inspire people to want to learn more about the history of California–I always say that California is our big backyard, so I hope the videos inspire them to seek out the history that’s around them.

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.
If I had a friend coming over to visit, I’d definitely take them to some of my favorite historic sites around the city. We’d spend time in Olvera Street and learning about the history of the founding of the city of Los Angeles and how Olvera Street came to be. We’d grab some taquitos at Cielito Lindo and then head over to La Plaza de Cultura y Artes to learn about the Latino history of the city. Then we’d head over to Union Station to admire the amazing architecture of that station, before heading over to Philippe’s for some french dip sandwiches.

We’d also have to spend some time in Downtown L.A., we’d go to the Bradbury Building and to the Grand Central Market to grab something to eat, most likely something from The China Cafe and then dessert from from The Donut Man. We’d definitely have to take a ride on Angel’s Flight to get a great view of the city. I’d finish the day by heading over to visit the L.A. Central Library, a place where I’ve spent hours doing research.

Everyone always wants to visit Hollywood, but if you go with me, you’re going to learn some history. We’d go to the Hollywood Heritage Museum to learn about the history of the film industry. We’d also go to The Hollywood Museum housed in the historic Max Factor Building. We would also hit up Grauman’s Chinese Theater, despite it being full of costumed characters, I love that building and seeing the handprints of the stars. We would definitely have to pop into Musso and Frank’s to have a proper martini.

We’d also have to take a drive to the Inland Empire, which doesn’t get the respect it deserves. We’d have to visit the Mission Inn and then head over to grab breakfast at Arcade Coffee. We would take a drive out to Palm Springs, stopping along the day to see the Malki Museum on the Morongo Reservation, it’s the first museum in California dedicated to Native-American history that was founded by Native-Americans. We’d then head over to grab a date shake at Hadley so we can compare it later to the one from Shields Date Garden. We would definitiely have to pay a vist to the Cabazon Dinosaurs and find a Baker’s Drive-Thru to grab some ground beef tacos and a burger. Baker’s is one of the most underrated fast food chains and is only found in the Inland Empire. Once we go to Palm Springs, we’d have to stop and pay our respects to Huell Howser’s star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame and then enjoy an evening by the pool.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The main person that I want to shoutout is my beautiful wife Ely. She is the reason why I started creating videos. Every time we’re in the car, I’m always pointing out historical buildings or facts. She always told me, “you should do something with all this knowledge you have, it’s very fascinating.” She introduced me to TikTok in 2022 and I thought it was just a dance app, but then I saw that there were other kinds of videos on there. I took an intro class to editing on LinkdIn and posted my first video in June of 2022.

She’s suggested the topics of some of the most popular videos I’ve done, including the history of the Sears Building in Boyle Heights, the history of the Farmer John Mural (RIP), and a video on why there’s so many taco shops in Southern California with the “-berto’s” suffix. She suggest making certain changes to my approach to videos and is always willing to jump in the car and go film with me. She is the definition of “ride or die.” She is my biggest supporter and she inspires me to keep going.

Website: https://FooHowser.com

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