Chad Michael Ward
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The Artrepreneurs - Episode 1, "Getting Lost"
🕑 Added 2020-03-28 15:06:15 +0000 UTC2019 started with a shock. Together, my new partner--Sophie "Stardust" Jane--and I had planned to start a business–a photo studio in the arts district in Los Angeles, and had spent months excitedly scheming, planning, and decorating it in our heads. But the night before we were due to sign the lease, our third business partner pulled the plug. The timing was devastating; we absolutely couldn’t afford the studio between just the two of us. Our dreams were shattered.
Sophie had just ended her lease on her place in LA, so we holed up in my Hollywood apartment to figure out what was next. It was time for some real talk. I felt trapped in a dead-end corporate job, the exact situationIe’d been working to avoid. Everything felt stagnant.
I felt stuck.
Sophie had moved out to LA from Ohio to pursue the loft opportunity while finishing off her PhD, but there was no way to afford the additional cost of LA rent on a graduate student income and all her stuff was still in Ohio. To make thing worse, our current living space was bought and rents raised. We were being pushed out.
We put our heads together and came up with a plan. Why not pursue our dreams out in Cleveland?
I knew that it'd only be for 2 years, so I felt that being "stuck" in Cleveland wouldn't be too bad, What didn't realize was that the combination fo cheaper living and being central to places like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago and NYC meant that we'd have the opportunity to get out of Cleveland from time to time and explore the world.
Being the artists and filmmakers that we were, it made sense to start documenting our adventures as we bounced from one city to the next. "The Artrepreneurs" was born.
This first episode was by far the roughest. We hadn't yet gotten FILMIC (I highly recommend this $15 app for anyone using their phone to shoot video) for the iPhone we were using to shoot and had just purchased the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal to try out.
To make matters even more difficult, we weren't even sure yet what we were shooting and why. Still, this was a great learning experience and Detroit was an incredible trip (and wonderful birthday surprise!)
We've gone on to shoot 9 more episodes since then, and I'll be uploading new vids every week or so. I hope you enjoy our journey!
