October 22, 2016

Meet North Hollywood Videographer, Photographer, and Dancer: Jerel Mascarinas

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerel Mascarinas.

Once upon a time, Jerel aka jmOcak and his dance crew, “Stepboys”, auditioned for a not-so-popular-show-anymore, America’s Best Dance Crew. Stepboys were ecstatic to make it on to the show because of their poor dance skills but hilarious comedic performances. Shortly after the first episode they were kicked to the curb and eliminated from the show. But that did not stop young jmOcak from pursuing his dream to become an industry dancer in Los Angeles, CA. He then migrated to Los Angeles to only find out every dancer in the world lives there. One gig here fired there, and dreams slowly plunging. One day, sitting on his lonely couch, he received a phone call from a good friend Dominic “D-trix” Sandoval, one of the judges from America’s Best Dance Crew that also decided to boot Stepboys off the show. D-trix called to offer Jerel a job to edit videos and film behind-the-scenes for his Youtube channel, theDOMINICshow. Jerel jumped for joy. As soon as he landed back on his feet from his half an inch vertical jump, he realized he had no idea how to edit or film videos. Taking the offer regardless of his poor skills, he knew he would do anything to master the art of editing and filming. Weeks and months went by and Jerel was officially a full-time employee with D-trix. Jerel became quite good with editing but not so much with filming. He was set, full-time job, paid well, working for a huge client in the dance and youtube community. Until one day he had to make one of the biggest decisions of his life to date.

Over the last couple of months working with D-trix, Jerel felt overworked and unhappy with his job. He saw two choices: leave a consistent, well-paying job or quit and risk not getting money to pay rent, buy food, and end up moving back home. But Jerel has learned that, if you are not taking risks in life then you are not living. You are only playing it safe. In other words, you are letting fear get in the way of the bigger picture, goals, and dreams you have had for yourself. Jerel came up with the final decision to quit. Almost instantly he felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders and an insane amount of excitement and motivation smother his entire body. Shortly after quitting Jerel became stressed due to having no work and no money. In desperation, he applied to become an Uber driver. Jerel hated his job. He did not quit for this. As the months flew by Jerel finally landed small editing and filming jobs for his friends. Pay was small but he was satisfied and happy. As the small jobs came about, he began filming more than editing and noticed how much more exciting it was to film using his own creativity. Months went by and out of nowhere Jerel’s clientele shot through the roof. He started working with high-end industry dancers like, Philip “Pacman” Chbeeb, Hokuto “Hok” Konishi, Ivan “Flipz” Velez, Tricia Miranda, and the list goes on.

Never expecting any of this success, Jerel has become extremely grateful for all the opportunities that have come his way. Within the past couple months, his name was being thrown out and clients started asking to film weddings, dance events, fitness inspiration videos and even other YouTubers for their personal channels. Filming became a non-stop gig for Jerel, and his business became a real thing. Full-time and paid well all by himself. However, one of Jerel’s biggest goals was yet to contact him. Just two months ago, Jerel received a phone call that would change his life and make his dreams come true. Redfoo from LMFAO offered him to go on tour to film him and the Party Rock Crew partying all over the world. To start off in LA as a dancer, the first thing every dancer wants to do is to go on tour with an artist. And through all the years of hard work, the struggle to pay bills, the worry of when the next job is, has finally become all worth it. Instead of dancing on tour for an artist, Jerel is lucky enough to ‘film’ a tour for an artist. Less stress than dancing! No counts to remember, no injuries from half inch vertical jumps, and he gets treated well compared to some dancers on tour. Jerel is currently on tour today. But it does not stop there. This tour is only spot dates, in other words, he gets to go back to LA every other week or couple days. With that being said, when he is back home, he consistently contacts his clients to let them know he is ready to film. He takes no days off, and it becomes stressful at times, but it is all worth it. The only way to survive in Los Angeles is to keep on pushing even if you are already down on the ground. No matter how insecure and unconfident you may feel, never give up. One of Jerel’s favorite quotes is, “Trying is only setting yourself up to fail.” There is no time for failure. Just do it.

Has it been a smooth road?
My journey in Los Angeles has been the rockiest road I have ever walked on. I live day by day without knowing what job I will have next month or how I will pay bills in the following three months. At the beginning of every month for the last two years of my life, I always notice I am back at zero. All my checks from the previous month have gone into last month’s bills with nothing left over. For me, bills are due early in the month and that puts a hole in my gut. At the time, looking at my bank account that holds just under $40 or less, worried me. My schedule at the start of every month was filled with absolutely nothing. Empty calendar means no jobs. But the only thing that kept me going was hoping that my clients will need me, a new client will contact me, or that everything will be okay. Calling, texting and emailing clients to see if they need me, sometimes to receive nothing back. From here all I can do is hope I can eat, hope I can pay my $300 car payment, and hope I can provide for my girlfriend. I do my best to not stress. Stress only creates more worry and fear that doesn’t exist. So with all my good energy pushing towards another job, a client contacts me, and from there it is a domino effect. The phone ringing, my calendar looking full, and my life feeling alone again. However, the biggest struggle of this all was the consistency of this happening every month for the last two years. Some months worse than the others. But, I never gave up.

Any predictions for the industry over the next few years?
In 5 to 10 years, I would like to see myself in the pool of artists that make high-end video content to be able to collaborate. Maybe even directing and filming for big budget short and feature films.

What has been the primary challenge you’ve faced?
My biggest challenge was leaving a job that was secure and steady. With having a steady job, you can plan for the future, save for new camera equipment, and feel okay with upgrading your fast food meal to a large. When you do not have that, you are finding ways to pay a bill, finding ways to tip at a restaurant, and worrying constantly about when your next job or gig will be. Leaving that safe and steady job has given me numerous of reasons to stress and feel anxiety. But leaving that job has also given me the freedom to film how I want to, freedom from working a typical nine-to-five job, and most importantly, it has given me happiness for the love of filming more than ever in my entire life. That, no one can take back.

What would you tell someone who is just starting out?
Some advice for starters, no one knows you are a videographer, photographer, painter, etc, until you get yourself out there and show people your amazing talents. You do not get discovered by sitting in your room and having your work collect dust. Unless you go viral on Youtube. But get out there, use social media as your own advertisement. And keep doing what you’re doing. Do not let anyone else tell you, “You will fail.” Your decision is up to you.

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