Jacob Balken on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Jacob Balken and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Jacob, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
For me personally, I think a healthy balance of integrity and energy is important. Reason I say this is because I think the two go hand in hand, especially in the workforces in which I’ve found myself in right now. For example, you don’t exactly have the skillset that a certain client is requesting, or even in a steady position. You have to possess the integrity to say “I don’t know how/I’m not exactly the most comfortable at this skill”, AND the passionate energy to continue that sentence and say “BUT, I am more than willing to learn these steps to achieve the most successful product, service, etc.”

These two traits I think will get anyone pretty far, especially if you put in the work and make things happen. That’s the mindset I’ve always tended to have as well as an awesome quote from psychologist Jordan Peterson that I always carry with me, “Work as hard as you can on at least one thing and see what happens”.. thus utilizing both my integrity and passionate energy!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
So my brand is kind of broken up into two different parts, which is a good thing! It honestly helps me stay organized.

On one facet of my creative mind I’ve got JBal Productions, which is my independent production company in which I team up with local events, small businesses, creatives, what have you, to bring their visions to life through my photography or video work. I also do short films too, I’m in development on my next big BIG project already! It’s called ASKyourself and it is such a badass story! I also collaborate with one of my best friends Gradey Filion (who you’ve interviewed before!) and certain events invite him out in which I’m on his media team, trying to capture every moment from his and my perspective!
through photography and video!

Speaking of him, this leads me into my other, spookier creative outlet, JBal Haunts! I absolutely adore the Halloween season, so much in fact that I believe Halloween should be celebrated 365 days a year! With that being said, JBal Haunts is my outlet for showcasing my spookier side through me being a scare actor, showcasing my horror cosplays and my general love for all things Halloween and spooky things. Believe it or not, I also get hired on some pretty cool spooky events to perform and scare act for them, the most recent one being Experience The Set’s THE RIFT Evil Dead Speakeasy, where I played a Deadite! I also attend horror conventions and any other spooky events I can throughout the year when I’m not scare acting at said events myself. Sometimes I go in costume, sometimes I just go as myself to bask in the spooky vibes!

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
It really came down to 2 people who really taught me the most about work. These two people were Brian Gallagher, who served as my mentor all the way back in high school; and Jason Quartararo, who was my vice principal back in high school.

Brian taught me that experience is everything, and that you always should be hungry for more. He also taught me that although it is good to focus o one thing and see how far it gets you, to always have another option and to keep your mind open to other opportunities. I say this because for the longest time, I knew that I wanted to go directly into the film industry after I did high school and graduated college with a film degree. This was my ultimate dream. Eventually, I changed majors when I graduated high school and got into community college… twice! I first changed over to a Psychology major, then I changed back to Film to get my transfer degree to go to a 4 year university. Now, I study at Cal State Northridge for my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, and a minor in Photography and Video. I got the best of both worlds!

Jason, better known to most in my circle back in high school as Mr. Q, taught me that my work ethic is mostly due in part to who I surround myself with, and that you can’t produce honest fulfilling work if you aren’t honest and true to yourself… which also reflects onto other people. I struggled a lot in my junior year of high school, which conveniently enough was the first year he was principal there. I was constantly failing classes and hanging out with the wrong crowd, to which my parents at the time called him and from there, our bond formed, and he taught me all that stuff about myself, to my benefit. He still follows up with all of the crazy successes and projects I tackle today!

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could go back and say one kind thing to my younger self, it would be that you cannot control what you did or what will happen in the future, control what good things you can succeed at right now. I know it isn’t really a compliment or anything we associate with a “kind thing”, but it is still a great piece of advice that I would tell my kid self without hesitation. I still struggle with it today, but then I give myself that reminder that I can control what is happening in front of me, not in the past or what may eventually happen.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
In my opinion, the biggest lie that the entertainment industry tells itself is that you have to absolutely say “yes” to everything that comes your way. The reason why I labeled it “entertainment” is because I work in a variety of fields in that respective industry, whether it be behind a camera, doing marketing, or being an immersive performer. You have every right to go with your gut and say “no” to a gig for whatever reason. For me, that main big reason that’s been ongoing right now is because of school, which a lot of people understand and empathize with. Some people from my experience have overlooked the fact that I was going to school, and my gut feeling told me to not go onto that gig because school is more important. This industry lie has led me to organize my priorities a lot better, which I am actually very proud of!

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Honestly, probably not. It’s a skill I constantly have to work on because I have always been a person who thrives off of praise and good words from other people. When I’m faced with any sort of critique or I don’t receive that praise, I shut down and I can’t function or work. Like I said, it’s a skill I have to learn to adhere to, because I’m not always going to receive that praise that I work so well on. When I know that I’m doing good on something and a person I’m working with praises me, I tend to literally pour my heart and soul into a project.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jbalproductions.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jbalproductions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-balken-195380262
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnfad4yDFbBxIBYb4bueWw
• Other: Check out my spookier side at:
  instagram.com/jbalhaunts!

Image Credits
All photos shown are copyrighted to me, Jacob Balken. Models pictured are Adam James Aldrich, Brittany Ludwig, Gradey Filion, and Brandon Angulo.