Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Jay Thakar.
Jay Jay, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I remember 2017, a very awkward point in my life, I was working a job at a local bank, fed up with college, the “day job” routine, and not being able to feel passionate about what I was doing. To be honest I was scared that I was going to get older and end up having a career in something I hate just to pay the bills, and honestly I come from a place where following anything other than the traditional ‘go to college and get a job’ is seen as success. I know a lot of people can relate to this.
I began a hobby of filming as a means of personal entertainment. It allowed my creative side to come out and I began to practice and dedicate more time in between school and work.
I really like to be creative. I liked taking a step back and looking at my work and telling myself, “wow, I made this, I can’t believe I made something like this” and from there it was history. I kept working at my craft, learning by myself as much as possible, and practicing.
As I got deeper into the music I was working with, I found that a lot of talent was being overlooked. That’s where I decided that I could use my skills to create a platform that I can use to curate and cultivate emerging talent in the music scene. To bring light to your favorite artist’s favorite artist.
Eventually, I began to get better and better which led to more opportunities to branch out even more until one day I told myself, “It’s time to go all in”. I come from a place and time where our visual experience is not where it can be and I really wanted to level it up. Bring my own flavor to the game. It allowed me to get out of the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area and travel to places like NYC, LA, MIA, etc.
You really begin your journey when you take that first step and quit your job. That really switched my mindset because at that point. There’s no check every two weeks, no “ill figure it out later”. It’s now or never. That is when I decided to go 1000% and work on every aspect of the platform I one day look to operate and give chances to those who deserve it. In a scene that gave me a home and purpose, this is what I can give in return.
Great, 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?
It’s life, it has its ups and downs. And once you can acknowledge that and truly understand it, you can win. There’s always going to be bumps in the road but you can’t let it distract you from your destination. Especially when you’re trying to run a business by yourself, there are a million strings pulling your in a million ways and there’s bound to be some sort of conflict, whether its outer or inner.
The biggest struggle I can confidently say has always been time management. It is so easy when you don’t abide to the Mon-Fri 9-6 schedule, to either overfill your days or start to slack. For me, it’s the first of the two. I tend to get into this zone where I am constantly working on something, either a new project or editing and creating content for the social media. I have to constantly remind myself that I have to make time for my personal life and allow ‘JayJay’ to be separate from ‘Moshpit’.
Being able to take care of ones-self in order to take care of the responsibilities one’s accepted is another lesson life has a way of inevitably teaching us. We sometimes tend bite off more than we can chew however, it’s in these moments that PROGRESS is made. That extra set at the gym, that extra hour at work, that extra time dedicated to what your dreams and goals are, THAT is the part that pushes us to become our better selves.
Please tell us about Moshpit.
MOSHPIT in an essence of its self is a curation brand. I (JayJay) am the Creative Director and creator of this brand. The goal is to be able to give a voice and opportunity to those who need it.
A lot of people know us for making some crazy visuals for music videos, but taking a step back, it has always been a way I pay homage to the music game. We’ve always been proud of the music and artist we work with, as we are VERY selective.
What really sets us apart from others is the branding and aesthetic. Knowing that it gives a lot more opportunity to move forward and expand in many ways other than the typical music video directors.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One of my childhood best friends and I used to work odd jobs growing up so we could raise money to buy pizzas when no one was home. The amount of odd jobs as kids we used to do are insane compared to these days.
From shoveling show to moving bricks, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I still see kids hustling these days but its a whole different ball game. The internet made it really easy to make money without having to do a lot of physical labor. My 11 years old sister was making hundreds of dollars off eBay, something adults these days still have a hard time grasping. It just shows how different of a time we live in but I’m proud of how the world is advancing.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/moshpxt
- Twitter: twitter.com/moshpxt
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