Today we’d like to introduce you to Axel Lopez.
Axel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
So, let me give a little backstory. I want to say, before the age of ten, I had glimpses of the type of person, professional, and creative I am today. For instance, I was always an active kid growing up. I was a huge fan of the backstreet boys, NSYNC, and 5ive. There was always choreography in their music videos and their live performances. Obviously, watching them on TV, I wanted to be like the guys in those groups. I danced whenever their music came on, and I imitated them by pretending like I was performing at my own concert. I’m pretty sure I asked my mom if I could dye my hair blonde at one point. Also, I got interested in breakdancing for a brief period, but that quickly faded. Another glimpse was my interest in visual arts. Specifically, photography and then video production down the line, but I’ll get to that later. I honestly can’t explain why, but the concept of capturing a single moment in time fascinated me. I remember my first phone, a flip phone, had a camera and features that allowed you to place some art on the photo (i.e., a border or text). Every time I took a photo, I used those features and always made up a story in my head about that particular photo.
Over time, I got into point and shoot cameras, and that’s when I felt like an expert. I thought I had the best of best in regards to the camera, and I could take the most amazing photographs. At the time, I thought I was capturing the most extravagant shots, but really they were just ordinary things like a leaf or a puddle shot at a particular angle. When I think back to it and look at some of those photos, it’s hard not to laugh at myself a little, but it feels good seeing things come full circle. All of this will make sense, I promise! When I was 13 years old, America’s Best Dance Crew Season 1 debuted on MTV. In my opinion, it was the best season! I watched every episode with utter amazement. My favorite crew was The Jabbawockeez and I wanted to be JUST LIKE THEM. I got myself a mask, I learned every one of their routines by watching the episodes over and over, and that’s also when dance was slowly making itself back into my life. I began watching YouTube videos on how to do certain moves whether those were grooves, breakdance foundations, popping drills, etc. I was like a sponge. I was trying to absorb everything I could on top of trying to be just like The Jabbawockeez. I often recorded myself dancing in my bedroom, living room, my backyard, or outside in front of my house.
Wherever I thought I could move and would look cool, I used that spot. I then became obsessed with dance movies such as “You Got served”, “Stomp The Yard”, & “Step Up 1 & 2.” I made sure to get the names of every song I listened to in those movies, on ABDC, in Youtube videos, etc. When I say I was obsessed, I. Was. Obsessed! Moving felt so great. It helped me explore and embrace the fact that I was developing another part of me. Sometimes I felt crazy, but even then, I enjoyed it because I wanted to know what I didn’t know. Overtime, dancing became more and more of a lifestyle rather than just a hobby. I didn’t know if I wanted to pursue it professionally, but it definitely wasn’t something I took lightly either. In high school, I was known as “THE DANCER” around campus. Whenever someone heard the name Axel, I’m pretty sure the first thing that came to mind was that I danced. Now I can see why that may come off as, “I’m more than that and I shouldn’t be seen as just the dancer.” However, I didn’t really take offense to it. I embraced that part of my character because it was something that not everyone could do and it made me stand out. Now, mind you, while I did get way more into dancing, I did have very little experience with choreography. The extent of me “learning choreography” was from watching ABDC routines on tv and rewinding it over and over. I never actually went to a class.
For the most part, I only freestyled. After high school, I went to college and joined the school’s hip hop team. That was short-lived because midway through my sophomore year, I joined a professional dance company that actually competed and placed third on Season 6 of America’s Best Dance Crew, Phunk Phenomenon. There, I trained a lot more and in various styles which allowed me to broaden my perspective of dance and gain more experience learning choreography. I was able to dance professionally by opening for various music artists, perform at corporate events and Boston Celtics games, and compete on some of the biggest stages in the world. For four years, I was able to level up from being a very amateur dancer, in my opinion, to a professional not only as a dancer but as a person. I got into making choreography for myself, the company, dance classes, etc. I got to meet several important figures within the dance community and befriend a lot of dancers within the community as well. All that just motivated me more to want to get better and learn as much as I could.
Within those four years, social media, specifically YouTube, really started to pick up in regards to viral videos. In this case, dance class and concept videos began circulating the internet like wildfire and garnishing millions of views. While all the dancers in those videos were amazing and talented, I was also impressed by the quality of the videos. They were shot so well and they highlighted the dancers so nicely that it felt like you were in the studio with them. In feeling all that energy, I wanted to replicate that. All those dancers were in LA. We didn’t really have something like that in Boston. I wanted to push my creativity and make visuals just like those on YouTube. I wanted to highlight the talented dancers here in Boston. So, I picked up my Canon T3i, I bought myself a cheap stabilizer, I learned how to operate it, and, from there, I practiced and created as much as I could. I never thought it would be something I’d want to pursue as a profession, but learning about the technicalities, the process of pre-production, being on set, and putting everything together in post-production really sucked me in. It gave me another outlet of creativity. After about a year or so of being comfortable with producing all these videos, I decided to get back into photography. I mainly shoot portraits, but I also love shooting street photography, lifestyle, editorials, fashion, etc. I have a very eclectic taste. I think you can tell by now that I like to dip my toes into as many things as I can handle. Fast forward to now, I’ve been living in LA for almost two years and it’s definitely starting to feel more and more like a home.
Definitely, not Boston, but a city that allows me to build on my creativity and passions with different communities, individuals, professionals, etc. To be quite honest, moving to LA was not in the picture. I wanted to live in New York. However, I don’t know what or why, but something pushed me to reconsider. It was the summer of 2017 after graduating college that moving to LA was a mere thought. Nothing more, nothing less. That same summer, I traveled to Europe for three weeks, where I spent one week traveling southern Spain with my sister, Cindy and spent the last two weeks in Sevilla, Spain visiting Spanish friends I made from when I studied abroad in college. Over dinner with Cindy, I brought up the possibility of moving to LA. Again, it was just a thought. We spoke about it and moved on with our trip. Slowly, I started to take the thought more seriously and eventually booked a two weeks trip to LA for the next year so I could get a feel if it was a city I could see myself living in. Take a guess as to how that trip went 😉 The end of summer 2018, I was officially a resident of Los Angeles.
Before COVID, I was working at one of the world’s most prestigious dance studios, Movement Lifestyle. I worked two shifts a week and trained there practically everyday just taking class after class. I networked but also loved getting to know everyone I came in contact with and igniting some sort of relationship, big or small. I was also part of my dream team, GRV. They are world-renowned dance company and produced an extraordinary amount of talented dancers, choreographers, and teachers. I’ve been a fan of the company since 2014 and one of my goals was to earn my place within that team. I’m forever grateful for the training and experience I had under GFAM. With the growth I’ve experienced through my time in LA so far, I’ve been so motivated to create and showcase as much as I can. I’ve choreographed and filmed numerous projects with so many other talented dancers and have been able to film for some as well. I get so inspired by watching the dance community feed off of one another, and it pushes me to create even more.
With my video and photo business, I’m looking to work with professionals and businesses that are looking to grow and make a difference in the world with whatever product or service they are offering. In today’s world, I believe video is an essential tool that any business can benefit from. It helps with efficiency, it saves time, and it allows their customers to develop a relationship with the business. With photography, I really enjoy working with businesses, individuals or groups of people who want to tell a story through a single snapshot. Whether that story is about them, their brand, an important life event, etc. The goal is to always capture what best represents our clients and how they want to be captured.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would say yes and no. No, because when it came to dance, I had always been rather self-conscious about my technique and abilities because I was not technically trained. When I saw other dancers in class or in a performance who moved a certain way or hit certain steps with a certain amount of force or elegance, I got intimidated. I wondered, “what else could I be capable of if I started learning other styles of dance much earlier on in my life?” However, overtime, I’ve slowly accepted the fact that they are them, and I am me. I can only control what I’m capable of. Therefore, instead of dwelling about it and thinking that I can’t get any better or “what if?” I’ve pushed myself since day 1 in LA to work on what I’ve never tried before and immersed myself into new territory that I am not familiar with. I can say that if I compared how I move today to my first day in LA, I would see two completely different dancers. Before, I was scared to expand myself even more than I already had from the four years prior at Phunk. I didn’t feel as capable as others, and I thought I hit my Ceiling.
After training at Movement Lifestyle and GRV, I began to really open up and figure out what felt good and what didn’t. I began to try things I hadn’t tried before and I challenged myself with different movements, different music, and different dance exercises. It didn’t just help me understand how to move my body, but I was also able to develop my brain when it came to how I listened to music, created choreography, and taught it to other dancers. Instead of creating choreography that always looks similar, I’ve been able to interpret music differently which, in turn, allows me to create choreography based on how I’m feeling when I hear a particular type or genre of music. If it’s fast, I’ll make it fast. If something makes me just want to groove, I’ll make a groovy piece. You get the gist. I believe that one can never be too versatile, only not versatile enough. It’s definitely been not just a physical but a psychological journey throughout my dance career.
Now the reason I would also say yes is because everything that I do, dance, video, and photography, has been perfectly placed throughout my life. When I think about it, before I took any of those things seriously, I was already involved with them when I was much younger. I didn’t know any better, but I knew enjoyed dancing, taking photos, and watching film/entertainment. Once ABDC came around, I started dancing again. Years later, video crept into my life by watching DANCE videos… Once I had video under my belt, I felt more comfortable with my technical abilities with a camera, I decided to dive back into photography and build off the knowledge that I gained. So, it’s kind of been a sort of a domino effect. I couldn’t be more grateful!
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Through dance, I am a dance teacher, I teach beginner hip-hop at a studio in Koreatown called, UrbanLA. I taught at a few studios back in Boston as well. Who knows when, but when everything is, more or less, back up and running, I would love to continue to teach whether in LA or in other parts of the country/world. Obviously, I would love to get involved in the industry as well in regards to commercial jobs, tours, etc. As for my video and photography business, we are all about helping businesses grow and scale through the power of video as well as helping capture our client’s moment in time, one moment at a time! I’ve specialized in filming dance, but over the last year and half, I’ve used those skill sets and experiences to venture into different projects and industries in order to offer flexibility for clients. The more, the better, and the easier it is to be able to help clients achieve what they want within their business through video.
What sets 4Ward Productions apart is the relationships we look to build with our clients because 4Ward is not just a company that comes in, shoots your video, edits it, and delivers it. We go an extra step further to learn about the business, the story behind it, what drives the client to grow this business, and what their customers mean to them. That way, we can better navigate what type of video is needed for the business as well as figure out a plan to implement it and watch the business grow! Even after implementation, we follow up to see how our client is doing and what the experience has been like after implementing the video into the business. What kind of success is it garnering and how much has the business grown because of it? We want our clients to know that we have their back and that we care more than just solely making a video for the business.
On the photography end, The 4Ward Gallery, we look to show our clients that we care about who they are, what story they have to tell, and what best represents them. It can be from starting a business, a hobby, their fashion sense, profession, or anything else. Our best work is when our clients feel their very best. That’s mostly why we love to shoot outdoors because it allows us the flexibility to showcase that natural aspect. Our client loves coffee? Well, we can shoot at a local coffee shop. Our client wants to promote their products for their business? We can set up a photo campaign strategy and look for said product. We work with our clients to capture each of those moments and, collectively, tell a cohesive story and present their best selves.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is a funny concept because I feel like some people don’t like to admit that their success, accomplishments, or advances in life, whatever that may be, involve some amount of luck. I definitely believe it has played a role in my life and business. For instance, I joined Phunk Phenomenon after competing at a competition called Hip Hop International. That was in 2014, and I competed with some friends from college. That’s also where I met the director/founder of Phunk Phenomenon, Reia Briggs-Connor. I was told to audition by a member of their company because they were coming up soon after. About two months later, I auditioned and earned a spot in the company had I not gone to HHI, I may not have even known of that opportunity.
So that’s definitely some good luck that has played a role in my dance career, and one that served as a catalyst to further my dance career. In regards to my business, I’m not sure if luck is the right word, but definitely the opportunity indirectly presented itself to me considering I got into making videos because I was watching dance videos. So, I find that to be an opportunity that wasn’t so obviously presented, but one that I naturally pounced on. Within my business, I’ve been lucky because not only have I been able to take class, but also work for and with some very well know dancers and choreographers within the industry. So, having those two skills sets, I believe, have proved to be somewhat lucky because it opens up more opportunity to get to know so many other types of people and possible job opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.4ward.productions
- Phone: (617)-763-0930
- Email: [email protected] , [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaxellopez/, https://www.instagram.com/4ward.productions/, https://www.instagram.com/the.4ward.gallery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4WProduction/, https://www.facebook.com/4ward.gallery/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/Dixzero1, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeikrylVl-Cc3Hjl7WsjW7A/featured, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTZFruUimKZI3Uq8LumaSjg
Image Credit:
Joseph Lee Photography (Boston,MA) for the two photos of me dancing at the Celtics game, and in the shirt & tie as well as me holding the camera rig with a black long sleeve t shirt on.
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