Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Usle.
Hi Justin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story is a bit of a winding road. I’ve always been a wanderer of sorts. I grew up mostly in New England, aside from a short family stint in Colorado for my Dads education, and would consider myself a Vermonter at heart. I went to college at Elon University and enjoyed the people but not so much the experience. I took a semester off and hitchhiked up and down the coast of Australia and almost didn’t come back. I should have dropped out then; the travel bug had me. I did return and graduate but knew that was the last of school for me despite the idea of being a lawyer for a time. I went out and ski bummed with my buddy in Jackson Hole for a season and then bounced back to Vermont and fell for a girl but didn’t want to get tied down, so I moved to NYC to pursue doing voice-overs and acting, but honestly had no idea what I was doing, so I decided to go abroad. I ended up living in Spain, Philippines, Thailand, and Dubai (there are a lot of details/fun stories in each place if you’d like to do a separate section on it), but I decided that I enjoyed acting and voice-over and decided to move to LA, but then Covid hit so I got a job in Lake Tahoe at a casino and ski bummed again for a couple of years until I realized Covid wasn’t going anywhere so I moved to LA, and that was about a year ago. It’s my type of weird, and enjoying it so far.
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?
Hahaha no. I struggled with the idea that I had lost out on “the one” and was kinda moving from spot to spot, trying to find a better me without realizing you can do that anywhere. I also struggled with ADD/ADHD and just tried to push through on my own without any help, which I managed to be fair with weightlifting and some amazing experiences and friends. I have a lot of varied skills but didn’t feel I had the one thing that I was passionate about. I consider myself a social introvert, so I can go out on the town but need my space to recharge, and to be honest some of that spawned from insecurity that I had to deal with. The good thing being is that I started to acknowledge these things over the past few years and realized I had to deal with them head-on.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actor and voice-over guy with side hustles working at the Wilshire Theatre as an usher/security guard and doing jobs behind the scenes on set so I can learn about the industry front and back of the camera.
I am proud that I have stuck with this road, despite its difficulties; I recently went through some of my previous works and realized how far I have come and how much better I am now at work.
I have a lot of clients for car commercials, seemingly my specialty at the moment, and I’ll leave that link here; https://youtu.be/nv9GKELegNg?feature=shared
There are a ton of actors out here; I think what sets me apart is that I see myself as a zen meathead, and I aspire to be the best version of that out here, and I will get to where I want to go with it.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan on mirroring my career path like that of Dave Bautista; I admire his courage to branch out from big-ticket movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and doing small stints in Blade Runner; I plan on doing big-budget action comedy and then flipping the script and doing small indies about a father protecting his family during WW1.
That and I want to hit every continent, I got two to go and buy a little house in Granada, Spain.
I also recently made a big change in that I have gone vegan (except for honey, which the bees do anyway). I am giving it a go till the end of the year and see how I feel. If it’s a true life change, then I will keep going with it.
Pricing:
- For VO, my rates depend on the project, with a base of 250, but always willing to negotiate and help when I can
Contact Info:
- Website: www.justinusle.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/shadowmoonvibes
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/justinusle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Shadowmoonvibes/
Image Credits
Photos Credit to Nogen Beck Photography
