Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Raymond
Hi Christian , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Well, I always wanted to be in and around action sports from the first time I stepped on a snowboard, skateboard or surf board. This lead me down to watching every video released then from team videos to riders parts and branded content team promo videos, which in turned lead me down to the dream of being a rider/filmer hybrid combo and visioning traveling the world with my friends, sponsored and pro athletes. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to achieve so I started locally; hitting all the constests I could from riding in them to filming them, soaking up every aspect of the action sports industry I could. After years of filming and building up my name and portfolio, I finally got an offer from a local DIY magazine to be their core content filmer, handling all their photography and videography. In between riding and filming/editing I was super busy and always had something to do, and I really enjoyed the lifestyle and how it kept me from being in mainstream society and separating me from the larger syndicated sports as in the NFL, NBA, and MLB etc. Being busy non stop and always having a contest or destination in mind for my next travels or gig always kept me focused and out of trouble. Eventually after a few years the local DIY magazine ran out of funding and few of the operatives went on to have kids and the brand sort of perished away. About the same time, I was offered a content producer at Skatepark of Tampa, which is a legendary brand and contest group who has over 30 years of throwing Pro level skateboarding contests around the world, so it was a no brainer to join them and grow as a producer and grow as a person within action sports industries. Around the same timeframe, Youtube platform had grown larger and I decided to start a personal channel with all the archived content and the new content I would shoot during contests and events from various gigs I would accquire. Since then it’s been a rollercoaster ride of production gigs all over the world and feeding my Youtube channel content along the way. Fast forward to now and I have over 20 years filming action sports and I couldn’t picture my life any other way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definetely not a smooth road at all! Anyone involved with action sports knows that they are industries with alot of highs and lows and feed off the trends of people and the sales of which all affect our employment. It’s been hard to maintain constent work and learning how to manage money and gigs – always trying to make it to the next one regardless of anything else. Being present is a large side of how to unlock more work and networking with brands, team managers and events. You are always searching for the endless ride.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an action sports filmer, producer, director, editor and athlete at the same time. I always tried to ride in as many contests and events as I could while trying to film and document as much as I could as well. Achieveing Professional f[ilm status in these industries is like a 1 in 100,000 chance since everyone who rides board sports is also documenting as well, so there is never a shortage of DIY content creators in skate, surf, or snowboarding. Everyone is always shooting themselves and their friends so to rise above the DIY level and actually achieve paying gigs was a lifetime milestone for me as well as starting and running my Youtube channel into monetizing content enough to survive on along the way as well. What always set me apart from everyone else was my work ethic and dedication to the dream of making it my job and lifestyle, amongst many doubters and family/friends advice, I made it happen and definetely proved alot of people wrong.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In action sports there are always older Pro’s and industry personelle that have paved the way for new comers, we call these people OG’s and these are the people you want to look up to and emulate their careers and behavior. Knowing that these people had made it happen and lived that lifestyle and alot still do, their dedication is the type of committment you want to embrace and mimick. In every aspect of the world there are people who laid the groundwork and these people you want to respect, admire and emulate their achievements and then throw in your original style of work and progression to the present day.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullyrevved
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/christianraymondfilms
