I came to filmmaking through the avenue of writing. I’ve always loved storytelling. My brothers and I were told it was in our blood on our mother’s side, but it was my dad who taught me the power of a simple narrative earnestly delivered. Belief is the currency of the soul. 

I decided one day I'd be a writer when I was 12 years old. Of course, back then, I wanted to be a poet, not a filmmaker. My mother hung up a limerick I wrote for class on the fridge. She told me how my grandfather wrote poetry, and how her older brother, for whom I was named, wrote a short collection of poetry shortly before he died. I quickly wrote 15 or 20 more poems. My mother printed them out, bound them in a laminated book cover, and gave me my first ever collection of poetry. 

I fell in love with writing, with wordplay, with the magic of storytelling. My mother was my first inspiration. My family's always been very important to me. My identity as an older brother is close to my heart. Today, I still write poetry. But mostly I just write my stories, hoping to inspire others in turn.

My grandfather was the best man I ever knew. He was selfless, brave, gentle, and kind. As my dad taught me and my brothers how to become men of consideration, decorum and respect, my grandfather taught us compassion, expression of emotion, and love. The impact he left on all his posterity is felt as keenly as his absence. He was a man who lived simply and to the best of his ability. I strive to live by his example every day. 

When I reached middle school I realized there wasn’t a lot of money in poetry. I also learned that money is a necessary pursuit in this life. Perhaps it would have been better if I realized this sooner, but I was an artist before I ever learned the importance of money. Nevertheless, it was the concern over it that shifted my goals away from poetry and into other writing mediums. I wrote a novel, which I only tell people because it sounds impressive, not because the novel was any good. 

In high school I discovered the poetry of visual storytelling. Cinema had always been a great love for me, and without realizing it, I had been inspired by movies from my earliest poetry days. As I began to plan for college (as a first generation student this was a controversial decision in itself) I decided to find the best film program within a day’s drive of my hometown. Small town roots go deep, and my heart still lies in the fields and mountains where I grew up. I take that love with me into each new venture.

My goal ever since I decided to become a filmmaker has been to tell stories that uplift, inspire, encourage, and educate people. I have also striven to be a voice of respect and insight for under-represented groups and individuals. If my experience in life has taught me anything, it's that every person lives a life filled with interest and value, and every person we come in contact with has something they can teach us. 

I plan to foster relationships with the professionals I've worked with so far here in the valley, using our combined resources to make films neither could achieve alone. I plan to start my own LLC, freelancing my work in Phoenix for a couple years until I've grown enough to move back to my hometown in Utah. My main focus will be documentary films. 

As a documentarian, I plan to seek out and develop films around people who no one else would think to investigate. Historical figures who are widely unknown, living individuals who have silently undergone experiences stranger than fiction. Stories of conquest, of overcoming immense odds, unbeaten but forever changed, are the best stories, because that is the story of every person's life.