Daily Inspiration: Meet Andy Spring

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Spring

Andy , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a recent transplant to Los Angeles, CA, landing on my feet here a little over a year ago and now residing in Koreatown/East Hollywood. I came down from the Bay Area to finish drama school at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory, studying screenwriting and acting. I originally grew up and was raised about 45 minutes north of San Francisco in an idyllic town in the Sonoma County Wine Country, amid the splendor and majesty of rolling hills, wineries, dairies, and little oak trees that dotted the landscape. It was an incredibly beautiful place to grow up. I remember setting up my toys and action figures next to a pile of boulders and just playing for hours and hours without end. I always lived very deeply in my imagination as a kid. And now, as I transition into young adulthood, I often think back to those formative years.

Even though my last name is Spring, which seems like an odd kind of “made-up” last name, it’s because it’s woven into my family history. My father’s family, originally Russian immigrants by way of Harbin, China, immigrated to the United States in the 1950s with the last name of Supruniuk. So, like many immigrants, they Anglicized their last name to better blend into Western society. My father’s parents were active in Russian community theater and avid performers. My mom’s side of the family, also Russian immigrants by way of Harbin, China, had a long history in pre-Revolutionary Russia as tea merchants in Siberia. That family lineage, with the surname of Koretsky, spawned dozens of talented Russian artists and musicians. A lot of my creativity then makes sense since it is so ingrained within both of my families’ respective backgrounds.

I was always a very sensitive and artistic kind of kid. I would spend hours on the playground reading books on aliens or some fantasy story that caught my attention and held me spellbound. I started voyaging into the world of community theater when I was pretty young, about 12 years old. My starring role was as The Scarecrow at Grant Elementary School. As high school came around, my love of acting and performance grew, deepened, and evolved. During my Junior year at Petaluma High School, I started to fall deeply in love with literature and creative writing as well. I became inspired by writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman — writers that gave expression to feelings I had always felt, but never had the words to describe.

After high school, I went to Santa Rosa Junior College and transferred to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where, for two whole years I studied English Literature, creative writing, and poetry. After college, I had a few years off where I wondered, like many people in their early-to-mid-twenties, what I wanted to do with my life, and what I wanted to leave behind as my legacy.

We all leave behind a legacy, something for others to remember us by. When I create art, whether it’s writing, acting, or creating music, I am trying to give expression to something much bigger than myself. I think many artists feel this way, and, that, when we create, we are connecting to a kind of higher power. I believe there is a spiritual component to creativity, and that, in the very act of creation, there is an almost cathartic release from the very soul or essence of one’s self. Ultimately, this basis, this foundation, undergirds everything that I do in my life.

Like many artists, I work different jobs to make ends meet. I work as a substitute teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District as well as an event server, running all over the Greater LA area. It has been a blast getting acclimated down here in LA and I look forward to seeing where the journey takes me.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t always been an easy path. Being an artist is never a stable path. But, part of the magic is remaining true to one’s self by being different, original, and unique. I always knew I was different than other people. Like an outsider looking in. I think many artists have that kind of recognition. There’s always some degree of self-doubt along with the pressures of living in a hyper-competitive world where we all seem caught up in the rat race, in the “go-go-go” nonstop grind of existence that seems to permeate life down here, for better or for worse. Being in LA, however, is a genuinely inspiring place to be. There are more artists living, working, and playing in this city than in many other places across both the country and the world. By moving into a much bigger pond, you can swim in much deeper waters. Adjusting to life down here hasn’t been without its stumbles and the occasional roadblock or two, but it feels like I am finally beginning to push myself as an artist in only the most special and profound of ways that leaving one’s backyard inevitably does.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a multi-faceted artist, entertainer, and creative performer. I am a poet/writer, an actor, and a songwriter/musician. I am working on building a burgeoning career in the entertainment industry. I am most proud of the fact that I went out of my comfort zone and finally came down to Los Angeles. It has become my home.

Every day that I’m here in this place I count myself enormously lucky to encounter such overwhelming beauty and tranquil little moments that anchor me within the chaos and fast-paced nature of the city. If you listen closely enough, in this place, in this sprawling mega-metropolis, it’s as if you can hear the heartbeat of the universe. LA becomes an exciting place when you can unlock the soul of the city, a joy that only seems to come with time and patience.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along this journey is to never give up on one’s self. The entire world could be baring down on you, but you have to be willing to go places and do things that others won’t and to always march to the beat of a different drummer. The most important thing is to maintain one’s integrity. I don’t want to gain the world but lose my soul in the process. I think the most important thing is to be kind to other people and to treat all people with love and respect no matter who they are. We’re all a part of something much bigger than just ourselves, and I think it’s important to always keep that in mind because sometimes, as a people, we lose sight of the most important things in life. Things like love and happiness, togetherness. We chase after material things that don’t matter so much in the end and, in the long run, we deplete both our energy and our resources in the pursuit of vainglorious aspirations.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @andyspring123
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/andy.spring.9/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/andyspringsteen

Image Credits
Headshot pictures courtesy of Michael J. Gonzalez — Instagram @mjgpix