Today we’d like to introduce you to Percy Leon.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in San Francisco, CA, my parents are from Bolivia. They had moved here for a chance at a better life however they couldn’t figure out where to love. We moved around a lot from city to city. I lived in Miami Beach Florida, Richmond Virginia, La Paz and Santa Cruz Bolivia. Until they finally settled back in Los Angeles.
After high school, I enrolled at Los Angeles City College and began majoring in psychology, primarily to learn about myself. I was accepted to several universities. But I want sure if psychology was the career I wanted to follow.
I began working at one of the busiest and most profitable health clubs in Hollywood CA. At the time, I wanted to get into personal training because I enjoyed helping people. I quickly rose up the ranks and became one of their highest grossing sales managers.
From there, I did some Internet marketing for several companies. I was making good money but I wasn’t satisfied. I loved movies, I loved writing and creating.
It wasn’t until I gave career advise to one of my best friend who was at a crossroads in her life about following her dreams and do what she was passionate about. It was then I decided to pursue my own.
The career change wasn’t easy. There were many obstacles. I knew I had to work twice as hard to make this work.
I re-enrolled in Los Angeles City College’s Cinema program. I took several classes in film production, writing and directing. I also learned about producing and directing by reading several filmmaking books, reading award-winning scripts and watching the directors cut from Blue-ray DVDs.
I entered and won a documentary being “Going Green” film contest sponsored by the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and Apple beating out several other colleges and universities in Los Angeles. This was the first film where u wrote it, directed it, camera operated it and edited it.
I was always a fan of the vampire genre and I filmed a few vampire scenes from famous films and posted them on my YouTube channel. The films went viral and I started to acquire a lot of subscribers who loved that genre.
Those films opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for me. I acquired enough subscribers to shoot at Youtube Space LA. It lets me work on several commercial productions and short films.
Last August, I was able to produce branded content for Fox Studios and Youtube Space LA and shot a short Alien film at the Alien Covenant set. I also have been an early adopter of filming in virtual reality.
My YouTube channel has over 13,000,000 million views and growing. Besides being a content creator, I was work as a consultant helping out others develop their YouTube channel based on their specific niche. I will be releasing an episodic web-series on my Youtube channel, along with weekly, horror, science fiction and virtual reality films on a weekly basis.
Documentary filmmaking is a medium I am interested in further pursuing since it doesn’t require much of a budget. I am also currently in the final production stages of a documentary about Proposition 60 and Measure B that was part of the CA ballot in November 2016 and in November 2012.
The film objective film that chronicles the political, economic and social related battles between AIDS Healthcare Foundation the largest HIV/AIDS non profit against the Adult Film Industry over health-related regulations.
I plan to do more social related documentaries in the future.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road. There were many challenges. The first one is leaving a company where I was doing well financially but I wasn’t happy. Deciding to leave and follow my dreams was a big and challenging step.
I had an idea of where I wanted to be. I just needed to learn the foundation of production and to be surrounded by other creatives. I used to do and still do realistic 5-year plans making a few changes along the way.
I worked as Brand Ambassador for many organizations. Every week was a hustle to find something that would last several months or weeks that would also pay enough to make a living and be able to go to school.
I wanted to write, produce and direct my own projects. So, I had to always be doing that. Every week, I’m writing, producing and directing a new film or a weekly content that’s engaging and interesting.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a content creator, video influencer for my YouTube channel FantacularTV, where I write, produce, direct, camera operate, edit, vampire horror, comedy, sci-fi and virtual reality films.
I specialize in building YouTube channels and Instagram accounts. I have also been writing, producing and directing documentaries. I am most proud of my past accomplishments.
What sets me apart from others is, I’m ambitious, driven and I always try to see the light at the end of the tunnel. One skill that sets me apart from others is I never crumble under pressure. I always excel.
I am at my most creative when I have several problems that needed to be completed within days.
What were you like growing up?
In high school, I was the quiet, shy type. I grew up very insecure of myself with severe social anxiety and suffered from depression. It was at that time I discovered which turned out to be the most influential person in my life, Prince. He was an artist I greatly admired and he has inspired me so much and continues to do so.
Prince’s music was my escape from reality. Through his creativity, his music and spirituality it helped me so many times in tough situations. I indulged in creative writing, theater, plays and drama clubs outside of school. I began opening up to people seeking help and little by little I overcame it.
I also loved horror and science fiction films and began writing short stories that I’m producing today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/percyleon1
- Phone: 213-700-7570
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/percyleon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/percy.leon.56
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PercyLeon1
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
