Erik Troy shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Erik, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity is the most important part of a long-lasting business. That’s because integrity is in short supply, and everyone knows it’s all about “supply and demand”. In our time, where trust in businesses has become horribly tarnished, integrity has become a hot commodity.
My dad once told me “integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking”. This comes to encompass a lot of different things.
As an employee or a contractor working beneath someone it means telling the truth, even if that truth is delivering unpleasant news. It means owning up to your mistakes in spite of potential ridicule.
All of this helps a production to run smoother.
A good boss understands this and doesn’t punish people for acting with integrity. Instead he holds them close, because people who act with integrity are humble enough to give the full picture of what exactly is going on in the pipeline.
There are plenty of intelligent people who have nothing to show for it, and there’s no short supply of energetic people with all the passion and no direction.
Integrity, on the other hand, is the hallmark of someone who can make a great success of themselves.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a filmmaker; a writer and director, mostly.
I made commercials in the Boston area before I moved to Los Angeles. My ads were associated with landslide victories in political campaigns and Kickstarter campaigns that exceeded well over their goal.
I’m making my first feature film with the help of experienced producers who have worked under all the large studios we know and love. In fact, our storyboard artist has an episode describing her work history on our YouTube series. You can find our page titled “Calameda Road”, the same name as our film. Over there we describe our crowdfunding effort, the people associated with our project, and the characters involved with our story.
The story itself is described as follows:
“An armored truck heist leaves the driver (Trevor), a comic book enthusiast, stranded on a desolate road where he must unleash his inner hero to defeat a ruthless gang and save his colleague from their ringleader.”
We’ve just secured fiscal sponsorship from an organization called “From The Heart Productions”. Through their nonprofit status, all donations made to the film will be tax deductible, and our Kickstarter campaign, starting September 10th, will offer other options so that you can deduct more off of your taxes as a business expense. These include advertising opportunities, writing consultations, and pitch sessions with myself and some of our collaborators on the project.
It’s been a lot of work getting this far, but it’s been worth it.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Our bonds are predicated on our decisions. A person who forgoes their own interests for the wellbeing of someone else has proven themselves to be charitable. Someone who acts solely in their own self interest is considered selfish.
Depending on the decisions you make, people will determine who you are based on those decisions.
You can be a team player, someone who is understanding, anything you hope to be, as long as your decisions fit the definition you desire. The world gives back what we put forward.
This isn’t just a fact of life; it’s also how writers create characterization in their stories.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
No, not really. It’s too difficult to give up.
It feels weird, living a life that has nothing to do with storytelling.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yeah, it’s very real. I just have a lot of layers to me, which might give the appearance of many contradictions.
I’ve had people think I’m a former high school jock. Other people think I’m an educated New York artist.
While I’ve played hockey, football, lacrosse, and anything else that could have landed me in a hospital; I’ve always been a nerdy little gamer.
And while I did go to an excellent school in Brooklyn, I’m also a former laborer who used to dig holes for a living.
I’ve used my varied experiences to inform my storytelling, and to tap into the audience I’ve lived around my entire life.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I just want them to enjoy my movies. It’s really a joy to know someone 100 years from now could watch one of my films and consider it so enjoyable that they’re willing to watch it all over again.
I watch a lot of old movies that were made by people who have long since passed away. These people make me laugh, gasp, and jolt out of my seat in fear.
We’re separated by decades of time, and they still hit audiences with the experiences they’ve left behind. I can’t imagine a better feeling than knowing I’ve left some great films behind.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calamedaroad?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikjamestroy?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/calamedaroad?s=21&t=h3DXgBdqBejxTuvbkcbFpQ
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/762500033317755/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoXrBy8VwzCEQbETKi1i6PX05VD8vCZte&si=ancFIW6vNX6Tg4Az
