Meet Ruben Gerard | Artist/Entertainer/Teacher SAG Actor

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

Hi Ruben, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
We started this studio to help high functioning autistic students with social anxiety to express themselves as creative filmmakers and artists.
This particular population has limited outlets to connect with others who share similar interests, and thus tend to isolate and have very few actual friends they can learn social skills with. At the studio they can come a few hours per week to 18 hours per week to learn from real industry artists and filmmakers and tell their own stories. This idea has been ten years in the making, starting out from a small studio at home and has grown to a bigger one in Covina, California.
Some students are working on their YouTube channels, others are making their own comics and more. They are able to learn and use industry level software to create.
Ruben and Eileen started this passion project to help other artists and filmmakers connect and continue to create their own personal stories.
Ruben is an artist/entertainer and Eileen is a social worker and both love to teach and mentor others and create a positive impact in the world for all,

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Eileen runs both businesses (she also has a social work business as well as administrating Creator’s Road Studios) She recruited everyone after seeing the need in this population, kept moving forward to create it to help those with social anxiety to be able to tell their stories and have a safe space to create.
She used to run a larger one but created this one as a more individualized one. We both worked extra jobs just to keep the studio open. Our motto is “Give your student a reason to rise.” But also People over profits! We do not push any student to be here more than a few times per week to slowly get used to being social and expressing themselves. We have many very talented artists and film makers who are now happier and not isolating to avoid social situations as much. They are growing and this is why we do this!
Creators Road Studios barely pays its bills but we are rich in the growth of our students, and that’s what it is all about.
Last year we made the studio a non-profit, so that it can keep going and if we need to, it can be taken over and continue to run with guidance. We no longer work other jobs to keep it going, now Creators Road Studios is standing now on its own with the help of Eileen’s social work business that helps to keep it going.

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.
I would take them around L.A. to see the Laurel and Hardy steps and all the old-time filming locations. Los Angeles and Hollywood are rich with history and amazing sites. We hope to get a company van later and show our students some historical filming sites!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yes, the San Gabriel Pomona Regional Center has supported our cause and allowed us to grow. We work with their clients who are our students. They work under the Department of Developmental Services of the state of California.
They consistently support all their families and clients to grow and become more independent. Their Director Dr. Jesse Weller even came out to see our endeavors and was very encouraging and gracious.

Website: https://creatorsroad.com/

Instagram: creatorsroadstudios

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CreatorsRoadStudios