Check Out Anthony Westlake’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Westlake.

Hi Anthony, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I go by “STAND-IN”.

I started my career as a professional dancer in 2016, right after graduating from Chapman University with my bachelor’s degree in economics.

After a few years of touring/ traveling the world, dancing behind some pretty major artists (P!NK, Christina Aguilera, and others), I met someone who accidentally changed my life.

In 2019, I had a fleeting spark with a songwriter. Joking around one day, we made a deal that she’d learn to dance if I learned how to write a song. So I learned how to write songs. Cute, right? That’s the short version, it didn’t work out, it broke me, and now I make music.

That experience honestly ripped my eyes open to a lot of issues that laid dormant inside of me. I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember, but 2019 really sent me over the edge. I was a kind of sad I had never felt before and couldn’t seem to decipher it.

In 2019 I realized how depressed I truly was and how good I’d become at hiding it. I was never the best at telling anyone how I was really feeling because no matter how hard I’d try, my words always came out cryptic. So, I pulled out my notes app on my phone and just started writing down my wild, oftentimes regrettable, thoughts, and I sifted through until they made sense to myself.

Random thoughts eventually turned into coherent sentences. Those sentences somehow became songs.

While touring Europe with P!NK in 2019, I bought an audio interface and brought a guitar with me. I loaded up Logic Pro for the first time in Amsterdam on June 13, 2019, and tried to make an actual song. The early ones sucked, but thankfully I stuck with it. Somewhere along the way, I fell out of love with the songwriter and in love with songwriting itself.

And now, just under two years later, I’m releasing my debut EP, “This One’s For The Skinny Jeans In High School” under the name “STAND-IN”. It comes out everywhere May 28, 2021 and I’m really f**king proud of it. I finally feel like I’m saying the things I want to and how I want to say them. It didn’t make sense to myself until I found music. And the songs on this project are the most true to myself of anything I’ve ever created in my life. I hope you enjoy!

Alright, 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?
If I’m being honest, my venture into making music has been pretty smooth so far. I think the onset of the pandemic early 2020 accidentally created the perfect space for me to continue exploring the new world I stepped into. Work was scarce, and I feel like a lot of professional dancers took up some new hobbies since then. I was just lucky to have found something to pursue before lockdown even started.

I’ve definitely had my fair share of back and forth, the days where you hate everything you’re doing and questioning whether or not you’re good enough to be doing it at all. But that’s just the normal thought process for a creative in any field.

All things considered, I’m still really fresh stepping into music. I don’t feel bound to any sound other than my voice, so the music I make steps into so many different genres as weeks pass. If I like something I create, I share it. That’s my mentality for all things creative. I like to share my process as I evolve and grow, almost like I’m documenting it for myself. I’m never going to be fully satisfied with where I’m at, so if I waited until then to share anything, I’d never release anything into the world. So why not share?

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a professional dancer and newly found recording artist. I’m definitely known for my time in the dance industry. A majority of my following was built on people following my career as a dancer. I’m thankful for the ones who still put up with me and support me now that I’m making music.

I don’t think anybody is really set apart from anyone else. We’re all human, we all want to be happy. I’m sure as hell not the only recording artist doing it because it makes them happy. But, I have my own voice, for better or worse, and I’ll be damned if I don’t use it to tell my own story.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a bit more shy. Fairly boring too, if I’m being honest. I was an overachiever (and still am). High school was pretty easy for me on all fronts not social. I had a small group of really close friends, and we were definitely not the most popular on campus.

I was the weird kid in skinny jeans who brought his skateboard into class and was too scared to smile back at the cute girl sitting across the room.

I’ve always had an appreciation for the arts though. Weird, quiet, and really into art. I’m so cliche I could vomit.

I loved to draw (and still do), I started dancing when I was 13 (and still do), I gave up my dream of becoming a professional skateboarder when I started dancing (but still do). It’s actually kinda funny writing this all down. I realize once a new hobby comes into my life, it never really leaves me. No wonder I do a bunch of random stuff nowadays. I’ve always been this way, haha.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: standinmusic.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/Anthonydoubleu
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/JfGrrcbdBamtyHTCA
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2xnnIcN5wPHyFZdX75BLUw?si=BDLH4jxxSqSvB1Avrmhr4A

Image Credits:
Samuel Balatbat Lee Gumbs