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

Hi Zildjian Salupen, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite affirmation is to “Trust the process.” I like this because as a creative there are a lot of different stages. For example, when editing a video, some of the different stages include making selects of the raw clips, cutting to a soundtrack or a storyline, and coloring. Sometimes during these stages, the product may not appear how you might like it and you might feel like scrapping everything and giving up. These are the moments where you have to trust the process and remember that this stage is just a small reflection of the final product and that the final product will be something that will be proud to show off. You can apply this to pretty much anything – Like writing an essay, learning how to play the piano, or even learning how to cook.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Dance and videography are two things that interest me separately, so for them to be combined into something that I can do for a living is very fulfilling to me. Not only am I able to express myself creatively, I’m also able to make a living while doing it. I’ve been living in LA for around a year and a half now and was able to find success fairly quickly. But I think that I was only able to find success so quickly because of time I put into my craft and more importantly the people I met before moving to LA. Networking and knowing the right people has played such an important role in my success because most people find out about me through word of mouth.

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.
Most of my friends are dancers, so I would bring them to my favorite dance studios to take class. I would take them to Eighty Eight Studios, Playground, TMILLY, and Millenium. For places to eat and drink I like Mendocino Farms and Tacos El Venado. However, compared to the midwest, there are way more food options so I like to just search for “food” in google maps and try some place new when I have a friend in town. On a day off, hanging out in Santa Monica or Venice is always a good move.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Brandon Esparza and Manifaith Creative have given so many opportunities to create and build my name in this industry and without them definitely wouldn’t be as successful as I am right now

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2BJwD0loSBUWw8Mzr33nA

Image Credits
@joswavy, @forevermoriah, @creative.well.being

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.