We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin De Anda and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, how do you define success?
I don’t like when people try to quantify success. Sure, making money and having a 401k matters, I’m not ignoring that. But to me, if you’re genuinely excited to go to work, you’re already successful. Every day I walk into work, I forget it’s even a job; It just feels like I’m doing what I love. Most of the time I’m on set, I forget time is even a thing; It’s like I step onto that stage, blink, and twelve hours have gone by. Whether I’m getting paid or not, I’d still show up.

I understand that not everyone is in a position to chase their dream job, and that’s okay. Life can be complicated, and sometimes stability has to come first. But what I’m saying is that you shouldn’t want a job just because it pays well. I know so many people who want to be engineers or doctors, not because they love the work, but because they googled the salary one day. That’s just not success in my opinion. Some people might make way more money than me, but can they honestly say they love what they do? When that alarm goes off at 6 a.m., are they getting up because they want to, or because of a paycheck? So no, I don’t think you can quantify success, because success isn’t tangible. It’s not the fancy car or the expensive watch. It’s whether or not, if you were to die tomorrow, could you honestly say you felt fulfilled?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I didn’t grow up in a situation where going into a creative field made a lot of sense. My parents worked extremely hard to move us out of a bad neighborhood and into a safer one with better schools, and even though I always had a creative itch, it just seemed more responsible to pursue something stable like becoming a doctor or engineer. That plan stayed in place until my freshman year of high school, when I got placed in a film production class by accident. What was once just a timeslot during my weekdays, slowly became my favorite time of the day. It got to the point where I was in the film room after school so long, clocks would drift from ‘PM’ to ‘AM’ while I was busy learning how every single piece of equipment worked. I began using everything I learned in the videos I was making, and even though they weren’t perfect, I didn’t care because I finally felt like I had a creative outlet. One day I decided to post a video I had made for our schools rally, and to my surprise overnight it had gotten over 10k views. I can’t really explain what happened in my brain that day, but all of a sudden I just knew that film was what I was going ot do for the rest of my life. I used whatever business skills I had at the time and started taking a camera from class and filming local events. After editing, I’d DM the organizers and offer them the video, simply asking for a tag in return. One day I tested my luck with this method, and was able to make a video for Volcom, a skate brand I had been wearing since I was a kid. I still have that post on my instagram to this day, and I will never take it off.
While I was looking for my event, I came across a car festival I had been waiting to come to LA. When I checked their Instagram, I saw that an alumni from my high school shot the event, so I hit him up and asked if I could intern, and a week later I had a media badge, a camera and a goal, “do a good job.” That one message turned into a two-year internship where I was able to develop my cinematography and editing skills, and just overall work ethic. I was just trying to get better and learn from everything and everyone around me, and somehow, during my time there, I had the opportunity to camera operate on a Honda commercial, which was pretty surreal to my 17 year old brain.

Going into college, I felt like I was on the right path, like I had something figured out. But once I got there and stepped on my first set, I realized something–I knew absolutely nothing. I was extremely humbled, but instead of letting that mess with me, it motivated me. I wanted to get better. So almost every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of my freshman year, I was on set. I was trying to learn, trying to improve, trying to catch up. I learned so much from those experiences, and I’ll always be thankful for the people who let me show up and be a part of it.
During finals week, when sets started to slow down, I was studying when I got a notification on my phone “Randy Baptista replied to your story ‘fire emoji ‘”. Randy was an alumni from my highschool who was one of the producers for a content creation group called FaZe Clan, and I had connected with him one time after he had come to talk to my class about the industry. I responded back to him explaining to him that him coming to talk to us was a huge inspiration to me, because it showed me how tangible making it in the industry was, and that if he ever needed a hand on set, I would be there. A week later I was PA’ing on a shoot with MrBeast. After that, I followed up with the lead producer and said I’d love to keep working with them. They kept bringing me back, and I made sure to give it my all every time, no matter what the role was. Eventually, I started asking if I could do more than PA, and one day a director let me operate a camera on a shoot. That moment changed everything. I kept showing up, kept working, and little by little they started trusting me with more. Most recently, I got to direct and DP a promo video for one of their talents, announcing his trip to China with James Harden. That project meant a lot to me, and it’s probably my biggest accomplishment so far.
There are two sayings I live by: “Give it your all” and “The worst they can say is no.” They’re simple, but they’ve stuck with me. I’ve never let the fear of failing be the reason I didn’t try something, but rather the chance that something could work out be the motivation to keep going. That mindset opened a lot of doors, but it came with sacrifices too. There were plenty of times I turned down hanging out with family or friends to film something instead. I’m not saying I regret it, but I know it was a tradeoff. It’s something I chose, and sometimes it keeps me up at night.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is patience. This industry doesn’t reward people overnight. Everyone is on a different timeline, and that can mess with you if you let it. I used to look at where I wanted to be and get frustrated that I wasn’t there yet. But with time, I’ve learned to actually enjoy this stage. The building, the learning, the people I get to work with. That old quote, “It’s not the destination, it’s the people you meet along the way,” sounds so corny, but it makes a lot more sense to me now. Ever since I star

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.
Technically, I’ve lived in Southern California my entire life, but for most of my childhood I spent very little time in LA. It’s only recently, now that I have a car, that I’ve been able to explore the city more, yet I still feel like a tourist most of the time, which is crazy considering I grew up just down the street. I technically grew up in Pomona, but my parents moved us to Rancho Cucamonga before I was old enough to explore the county on my own. The only times I was in LA were when I tagged along with my dad for work, wandering the backrooms of almost every hotel in the city. If someone were visiting Southern California for the first time and asked me to take them to my favorite spot, I’d bring them to Casa Blanca, the only place I really know, and my grandpa’s favorite restaurant before he passed. My family and I still go whenever we get the chance.

Growing up, my parents tried to keep us away from certain things they had been exposed to in their own childhoods. I don’t blame them for that, especially after hearing what they went through, but it’s part of the reason I sometimes feel like an imposter when I say I’m from Southern California. Over the past year, as I’ve started to really familiarize myself with the city, I’ve been blown away by how much LA has to offer and by how much of my own culture I was missing out on as a Latino. I’m thankful to the city for opening my eyes to that, and for helping me feel more connected to where I’m from.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve had countless people help me get to where I am now, mentors, friends, teachers, but I never would’ve crossed paths with any of them if it weren’t for my parents. No matter how hard things were, they always found a way to give me the tools I needed to succeed. Even if it meant being uncomfortable, they’d do it without hesitation if it gave me a shot at a better future. So thank you, Mom and Dad, for your sacrifices, your support, and your love.

Website: https://justindeanda.myportfolio.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justindeandaa?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-de-anda-717326337?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Image Credits
Amanda Hosseiny

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