Meet Jon Shoer of The Walt Disney Company in Burbank

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Shoer.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Rockland County, New York, on the border of New Jersey just outside New York City. I got my bachelors degree at SUNY (State University of NY) Albany in Sociology with the goal of becoming a high school guidance counselor. I was a musician since the age of 10 and spent most of my high school and college years playing in various bands (punk, hardcore, indie rock). My parents were always artistic people as well, but both worked traditional jobs. My mom was an ESL teacher my entire life and guided me towards working in a school to reap the benefits of weekends/holidays/summers off, finish at 3 pm during the year, benefits, 401k, etc…. and that would allow me to have enough time and money to enjoy passions (music and photography). I always imagined myself touring in bands, or directing music videos, or creative directing big David LaChapelle style photoshoots… but had no idea how to even go about getting into that. In my town, you weren’t really exposed to things like that, you just saw it on TV. My parent’s direction seemed like a safe path and that’s the way I went.

My senior year of college, I really fell in love with photography during a trip through the Middle East. A few months after I got back from that trip I graduated from college and came out to Los Angeles to visit my brother for the summer before I was supposed to start graduate school back in New York. In those months while crashing on his couch, I was out almost every night jamming with bands, taking thousands of photos of live music and random people, meeting incredible new friends that were out in LA chasing their dreams…. it was super inspiring.

Halfway through the summer, I met my first mentor, Gadi Rouache. He was out here helping people turn concepts into content using a Canon 5D and the Adobe Suite. Photos, videos, websites, graphic design, strategy, and more. We really vibed and he eventually offered me the opportunity to shadow him and learn more about cameras, shooting videos, editing, and designing. The work we were doing ranged from working with bands like Incubus to creating websites for high schools, our focus was on opportunities and storytelling so we did almost anything that came our way, and anything to get those jobs done.

I had maybe a week or so left until I was supposed to fly back home and start a career I was already miserable with when I got a call to shoot behind-the-scenes photos for a Teen Vogue cover shoot with Selena Gomez and Giampaolo Sgura. I was blown away at the opportunity and it thankfully went really well. I got offered more jobs with Vogue working with artists like Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Kesha, Rita Ora, and more. I decided it was best if I stayed in Los Angeles and ride this out… this was the opportunity people would kill for.

I decided to get my own place in LA (thanks to my brother Mike for letting me couch surf for like 3 months), and Gadi, Frederik, and I decided to take our little company, Gadi Creative, to the next level. We moved our operation out of the 2 bedroom apartment in West Hollywood to a house in Koreatown. We turned the basement into our office with a full recording studio, photo studio, editing bays, and we even built a 50 person venue in the living room with a stage and lighting truss.

Over the next 6 or 7 years, Gadi Creative grew into a company of 14 people, eventually working out of a real office space in Downtown LA, with Gadi as our CEO, Frederik as our COO, and me as our main photographer/cinematographer and Head of Production. We continued to provide “Concept to Content” strategy, branding, and production for companies like Amazon, Condé Nast (Vogue, GQ, W Magazine, Golf Digest), Hearst (ELLE, Esquire, Marie Claire), PacSun, Diff Eyewear, Hyundai, Vice, Blizzard, Activision, Billboard, Yahoo, Edelman, Warner Brothers, Children’s Hospital, and more.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I truly believe that nothing good comes easy, and the best things in life are working really hard for. I think I faced most of the common problems young creatives face in a city like LA, along with the pressure of having employees and making sure they are taken care of. Failure and rejection is always hard when working as a creative. Being broke and all the issues that come with that (car, food, health, accessibility). Not having health insurance for a long time. Getting burned on projects and taken advantage of by clients, learning that you must always manage expectations. The insanity of staying up for like 25 hours getting something done for your client and not knowing what you are doing with your life but it feels right!

Please tell us about The Walt Disney Company.
DTCI stands for Direct To Consumer & International, and is responsible for for products like the new Disney+ streaming Service.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood would be crispy Fall afternoons in New York, out riding bikes and skateboarding with my friends with no cares in the world. No social media or smartphones…. just blissful ignorance to the world around us, and living in the moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jonathanshoer.com
• Email: jon.shoer@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jonnyshoer

Image Credit:
Jonathan Shoer

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.