Today we’d like to introduce you to David B. Meadows. Them and their team share their story with us below:
David B. Meadows was raised in the coal mountain town of Wheeling, West Virginia before joining the US Navy after High School. He served for 13 years as a member of the US Navy SEAL teams, primarily operating as a Sniper and Reconnaissance Specialist while serving multiple combat operations in Afghanistan. After his service was completed, Dave followed a surprise passion for Acting and began training and working in theater throughout Virgina. His talent led him to pursue Theater Training in New York with the Michael Howard Conservatory and subsequently, the Prestigious “Studio of New York” Conservatory before heading off to Europe to Study the classics with the Prague Shakespeare Company. Over the years, Dave has honed his work in theater and film across the United States and Europe performing in such plays as: The Great Gatsby, Othello, Midsummer Nights Dream, Death of a Salesman, and Henry V. Dave’s theatrical accomplishments led him into film and TV, including: Captain Phillips, Imperium, Banshee, House of Cards, Superstition. Recently he starred in the critically acclaimed Feature Film– “The Manson Brothers-Story of the Midnight Zombie Massacre” and joined the Cast of “911-Lone Star” on Fox.
Last Year Dave teamed up with Army Veteran Ryan Curtis and Real estate Entrepreneur and Award-winning producer Scott Adler in the formation of a new Production company aimed at empowering and employing Veteran and First responder filmmakers through classic storytelling.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha! It’s been anything but “Smooth”, in fact for me obstacles and challenges are the norm; so, ironically, they have “smoothly” driven me to achieve what I have and I am grateful for all the hardships I have endured. My father passed away when I was a toddler and my mother raised me solo, dirt poor, in West Virginia. She somehow accomplished the toughest job in the world while earning her degree and working multiple jobs to provide a life for us. My mom is the most absurdly strong woman I have ever known and taught me a very important truth of the world–Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can stop you unless you let it. Everything starts and ends with your choices. If you dream “Big”, taking the easy road and living in your comfort zone will never get you to where you want to be.
Throughout my entire childhood nothing came easy and at times, I felt like an outcast. In SEAL team selection, I failed the first time and I was told I’d never make it. During Acting Training, I was initially turned down by multiple Conservatories. However, every time I look back on what my mother taught me, I saw each setback as an opportunity to learn and grow….nothing less. A failure is only a failure if you treat it as your final destination and not just a stepping stone along your path. To this end, I never place blame on anyone or anything else and instead look for the good I can salvage from the bad and use it to grow. In reality, I think strong adversity and setbacks are the keys to real growth and fulfillment in life. Show me someone who has never had pain and setbacks and I will show you someone who is living in their comfort zone.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Internally, I focus on personal growth and creating opportunities for myself and others above and beyond everything else. I look inward as to what feels right for me as opposed to what everyone or everything else might expect from me. My work is a personal challenge and an opportunity to become a more evolved version of myself. Learning for me always trumps money, fame, awards, or recognition. At each stage of my life, whether it be a child outcast, a Navy Seal, and an Actor or Businessman I feel I have grown and learned more about the world and how I interact with it. I am a big believer in the ideology of the Japanese Samurai or the Renaissance men of old; that is, Life, or at least my life, is about balance. And by balance, I mean each and every part of us whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual must be nurtured, understood, and in harmony with each other.
Externally, I am currently working with my partners to create a production company dedicated to allowing other like-minded military veterans to seek out a new way to learn, grow, and work within the Art World. Often the public seems to have an image that Vets in the Entertainment industry are only good for a couple of things–and all of them focused on “military-type caricatures.” We want to shatter that stereotype. Vets, like all people, are complex humans. We want to give them an opportunity to shine and show their full humanity, in whichever way they want to explore. The funny, the tragic, the dramatic, and the action-packed. We are creating productions that will floor audiences on what can be accomplished by a bunch of former Military Dudes.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I have a funny relationship with “luck”. Am I lucky to have lived and experienced the life I’ve lived or is it the natural by-product of my investment in myself and others? First, I really don’t like the term “luck”. I believe in creation. I am a big fan of Thomas Jefferson’s quote “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” I have noticed that when I have been striving the hardest and doing the work, things just seem to fall into place at the perfect time…and when I am not, well, the reverse is true. However, in both cases, the event is far less important than how we choose to react to it. You can have the best thing in the world happen to you and if you don’t capitalize on it correctly, you’re sunk. Or, the worst can happen and you find a way to make gold out of it. Again, this goes back to mindset. How you choose to see things in your world. You have the absolute power to create your reality around you through your vision and mindset. One of the biggest things that separate winners from losers is the way they react to opportunities which ultimately gets labeled as “good luck” or “bad luck.”
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.davidbmeadows.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialdavidbmeadows/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/David-Meadows-137905439638802
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrWal8No_T23hck0mCqLfmg
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3690667/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
