Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Ross.
Hi Travis, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, I grew up very poor, living in a trailer park on a truck stop in the middle of nowhere central valley, California. My dad left when I was eight years old. I was devastated. My mother worked long hours as a waitress at a Dennys. It was my job to take care of my younger brother. As I became a teenager, I had low self-esteem, constantly blaming myself for my father’s absence. I just felt that he left because I wasn’t good enough. I started to hang out with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble with the law. I was using and selling drugs. By the time I was 17, I had been arrested twice. The second time I got arrested, I was taken to the police station and put into an adult jail cell, despite being a minor. It was one of the craziest experiences I had ever had. I remember thinking to myself, “If I don’t change, I’m going to end up in a prison”. It was one of the pivotal turning points in my life.
I started to really care for my brother again, who was starting to go down a similar path to me. We watched movies together. I started looking up to the actors in films as father figures. It gave me another reason to not go back to the streets. I told myself that one day I wanted to help young people that were in a similar situation to me growing up. So I decided to get into the film industry. I started just acting at first and did that successfully for several years. But I wanted to tell my stories. So eventually, I started writing and producing. I moved to LA in 2013 and have been there since. Not many people made it out of the situation I was in. A lot of people I knew are still stuck or unfortunately have passed on from drug abuse.
In 2023 I finished writing/producing an incredible feature film based on my upbringing called CENTRAL VALLEY. From February to April 2023 the film had been invited to 6 film festivals and screened at 4, receiving awards for AUDIENCE CHOICE, BEST ACTOR, and BEST YOUNG ACTOR. It has played exceptionally to audiences and continues to receive high praise.
To this day I still struggle with abandonment issues, but I have grown a lot and learned to work through it thanks to years of therapy.
I am grateful for how far I’ve come and what I have accomplished.
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?
Getting myself away from drug use and selling drugs was very challenging. On top of that, as a poor person, you are not given many resources. I did not have a father to look up to and get advice from. I was learning as I went and through the mistakes I made.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In 2023 I finished writing/producing an incredible feature film based on my upbringing called CENTRAL VALLEY. From February to April 2023 the film had been invited to 6 film festivals, and screened at 4, receiving awards for AUDIENCE CHOICE, BEST ACTOR, and BEST YOUNG ACTOR. It has played exceptionally to audiences and continues to receive high praise.
What matters most to you? Why?
Being a positive role model to young adults, Particularly that were/are in troubling situations like I was growing up.
I try to mentor people and help them see the signs and help them focus on their goals.
I do this because I wish I had someone do this for me when I was growing up,
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TravisAndreRoss.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/TravisAndreRoss
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/travisross1
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/TravisAndreRoss
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/TravisAndreRoss
