Today we’d like to introduce you to A.J. Mayers.
Hi A.J., so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m an award-winning marketer who hails from the US/Mexican border town of Laredo, TX. I spent my childhood dreaming of writing fiction stories and turning them into novels. I graduated with a bachelor of science in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. After college, I moved to Hollywood where I have worked in the entertainment industry since. I have published a handful of fictional novels while juggling working full-time for MTV, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Lionsgate, and I’m currently a Senior AV Producer for Prime Video at Amazon Studios, focusing primarily on creative marketing for franchise shows. My expertise is in film/theatrical, direct-to-consumer, and TV streaming creative marketing production and post-production. In 2019, I was named to the Variety Inclusion Impact Report for my work on diversity and inclusion in Hollywood. Additionally, in 2022 I was named to Out Magazine’s Out100 list. Just recently in the summer of 2023, Amazon corporate awarded me the Making the Invisible Visible Trailblazer Pride Award. I have a passion for queer media and Latinx content which are two communities I’m a part of. I’m also a National Active Voting member of the Television Academy. I currently reside in Los Angeles, CA and live with my two dogs.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was born in a family of Texan ranchers and teachers. I had zero connections to Hollywood and had to knock that door down on my own. I grew up in a conservative catholic family while struggling with my sexuality. I knew I was gay, but for years I tried to hide it and ignore it. I turned to TV to find people like me. TV and movies were an escapist form of entertainment for me during high school, where I was bullied and never truly fit in. When I graduated, I left to Austin, TX to attend the University of Texas and take a four year journey through film school so that I could one day work on content that was diverse and told stories similar to mine. That was the dream. And so after college, I moved out to LA without a job and a bunch of wishes to make it. That was pretty scary. LA was much larger than any of the previous cities I had ever lived in.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My full-time work is in creative marketing, specializing in A/V (audiovisual) marketing assets for TV and film. Specifically, I get to produce trailers to get customers excited to see our Amazon originals on Prime Video in my current role at Amazon Studios. I also juggle co-leading our LA chapter of Glamazon, (Amazon’s LGBTQIA+ affinity group/ERG (employee resource group) and I get to work with local queer nonprofits and events promoting employee engagement within our 400+ LA members. I juggle my marketing work with a passion for the DEI space and it gives me purpose. Just over a decade and an half ago, I had to hide who I was and now here I am, being vulnerable and somehow finding myself in the spotlight at times. While it has taken nearly 15 years to get any kind of recognition, which I don’t really need, I found that the importance of others knowing who I am and what I am doing will open doors and create a platform to help others. I find myself with a huge responsibility to be a role model and to be a strong, healthy example of a queer person doing the damn thing while overcoming childhood trauma of bullying, prejudice, and lack of acceptance.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I work in streaming so I know the shift is there and where the future lies. I love being able to work on movies and shows for global audiences that they can have at their fingertips or remotes. As we develop technology and look for new revenue streams in a crowded marketplace, I predict that content creators will be more frugal and calculated in what they produce. They’ll use data to help predict and plan and they’ll also look to tell stories and find unique IP with mass followers to mitigate risks. I do hope that at the very least in 5-10 years, we see more queer stories and actors than we have ever seen before. I hope we see more Latinx stories that remind me of my childhood, and I hope that upcoming generations with new and fresh ideas help us create a fun world that reflects reality.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ajmayers
- Facebook: facebook.com/ajmayers
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajmayers/
- Twitter: twitter.com/aj_mayers
- Other: threads.net/ajmayers
