Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Ambriz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My journey started as a welder, working my way up to an engineer, I used to design and fabricate aftermarket exhaust for some of the most prestigious car brands including, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, and many more. I worked in this space for about five years. Being a people person, I quickly began to grow tired of being at a shop all day with no real human interaction or any interaction to my surroundings. I was desperate for a way out.
I always had a passion for storytelling, through images or film, never spent much time doing while I was younger but it sounded like my way out. I had met a man named Pierre Rogers who founded a company called PuroTrader, the worlds largest cigar trading platform. He needed help with marketing, the only problem was there was no budget for this position. I believed in his vision, and we quickly got along. We share many of the same passions, he became a friend and a mentor to me. Wanting the change, I decided to help, I began taking photos of cigars, I realized that it wasn’t an easy task, marketing tobacco is much harder than anything else since it is illegal to pay for ads. I came to the conclusion that we had to market through lifestyle, I quickly began to network and establish partnerships with brands I felt fit the lifestyle of a cigar enthusiast. Throughout time partnerships grew in both quantity and quality, many of the brand managers became friends of mine and began to ask for help to market their brands, I quickly noticed this could turn into something so I began to help, keep in mind, I was doing all this for free, I really just wanted to perform and show the seed before the need. As time passed, I started to get more proficient in the craft and I started charging real money.
In a two years span, I have been published in many articles and magazines, including Forbes. I am known as one of the best lifestyle photographers, working with some of the best brands. I hope to continue improving and adding value to all my current and future clients. My main focus is still Purotrader, I consider it as a business of my own since I’ve helped it since its early stages. I would love to see that journey all the way to the end.
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?
The road has not been smooth, it’s been so frustrating but yet so rewarding. Not just monetary. It has been a challenge to pick up a new career and figure out how to become good at it. As I mentioned before, doing this for months without pay was extremely hard, living off savings almost two years was extremely hard, mostly because I had to keep up, I wanted to be part of a circle that didn’t pertain to my social class growing up. I had to do the lunches and the dinners and all that stuff while knowing I wasn’t generating a steady income. But I had a vision and a set goal so I lived it through. As I was progressing, I would constantly question my skill, I would question my creativity and that alone is always one of the hardest things to deal with.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Adapt Creative story. Tell us more about the business.
My company specializes in content creation, we create campaigns that get your company’s point across in a creative way. We are set apart because we are able to maximize what we do, we only take clients that I know would work well with each other so no matter what my team and I are photographing or filming, we are able to use another’s clients product and integrate it to cross-promote within that campaign. We strategically plan shoots and use specific people as models that I know will maximize not one but 2 or 5 clients at one time.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
This is one of the first lessons Pierre, my good friend and mentor thought me… “be a great believer in luck, but know that the harder you work the more you’ll have of it”.
That will stick with me until the end of time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adaptcreative.co and www.purotrader.com
- Instagram: @zirbmaa @adaptcreative @purotrader
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