Still in pre-production for SCE. Started at 8am today. It’s now 9pm and I’m just wrapping the evening. Casting tomorrow and we will see what it brings.
Keeping me going right now is the music of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, with full dancing performance by my daughter. She’s having a blast using photo booth to shoot a self dance video.
I’m living on borrowed sleep and her energy spurs me on. Thanks kiddo! Back to the post.
Introducing Brian: Dancer, Graphic Designer, Gym Enthusiast. I meet him at Kinko’s, where I am printing my paperwork for tomorrows casting session, when after 300 sheets of paper down, only 4 more pages to print, my copier decides to stop printing. He steps up to assist me, The answer is simple, out of paper.
Brian refills the machine and we strike up a conversation. I find out that he has suffered a back injury similar to mine, but only worse, and mine laid me up for over a year. He says, “I’ll never forget the date, December 15, 2010.”
As we share stories, I discover this guy has a true testimony of exercise and diet. It takes a lot to recovery from lower back issues and here is one thing I know from experience. A serious back injury lays you out, and weight gain, depression and loss of interests are some of its terrible side effects.
Put this into your mind, Brian is a seasoned dancer. The kind of talent that you see behind your favorite musical artists. For him a back problems are a big deal. But he has turned it into a metamorphosis of sorts.
I’m inspired by him, and as always, my camera is in tow. As our conversation gets more comfortable and shift to 365. He volunteers to be photographed.
We step outside to resume our casual talk. We hang out for about 15 minutes or so and I just listen to his stories. He has turned his back issues into real blessings. Brian is not one to throw in the towel. Yes, he did gain a bunch of weigh with his injury, but still kept his commitment to the gym. 70 pounds gone in months, he is on course to regaining his strength and mobility.
In the depths of his skills, he is a video editor and is using that talent to work with some of the great dancers he has always been inspired by. He tells me, “now I talk often and learn from the dancers that used to seem so unapproachable.”
I never once tonight interviewed Brian. We found a step, he sat, talked and I listened. My big take away, “this guy has perspective.”
I do ask him two questions:
First: Do you have anything you want to share with my reader? His reply, “There is always a way, you just have to want it bad enough.”
Second: What do you see yourself doing in ten years? A one word answer, “Producing.”
Thanks for the words Brian, remember me when you are a big producer.
Tomorrow is almost here and I’m still preparing for my casting session. No rest for the weary.