Meet Sam Erokhin of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Erokhin.

Hi Sam, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m Sam Erokhin, a writer, director, and producer.

Creativity has always played a central role in my life. I was drawn to it early on, but unlike many people who simply like to call themselves creative, it was important for me to actually make things and achieve real, tangible results.
What fascinated me most at the beginning was advertising. I was intrigued by its power — how it shapes culture, how ideas turn into quotes, and how messaging influences people on a massive scale. I grew up in a small town in the Russian Far East, where opportunities in creative industries were extremely limited. There was no clear path into advertising or filmmaking. I earned a degree in agricultural engineering and spent some time doing work that had little to do with what truly interested me.
Around the age of 22, I saved enough money and moved with friends to Phuket, Thailand, where we lived for several years. We formed a small creative community there — renting a house with a recording studio, making music, and shooting music videos. That period became my first real hands-on experience with directing and editing. I learned by experimenting, failing, and figuring things out as I went.

Eventually, life on the island began to feel repetitive, and I wanted professional growth. I moved to Moscow, enrolled in an advertising academy, and started working immediately. Thanks to my ability to communicate and build relationships, I began finding clients early on. I worked as a producer’s assistant at a production company and gradually grew into a producer role. At some point, I even started bringing my own teachers from the academy into projects as collaborators.
Step by step, everything started to come together. I moved from assistant producer to line producer and eventually to lead producer. Later, together with partners, I co-founded a creative agency. We developed creative strategies, produced commercials, and built long-term relationships with clients. Over time, I naturally shifted toward directing—clients trusted my vision. I often say that I learned by “playing in the sandbox with other people’s money.”
That phase became a major milestone in my life. Within a few years, we were working not only with three of the largest banks and major mobile operators in the country, but also with leading grocery chains, toy manufacturers, food producers, and the largest consumer electronics retailers. I had the opportunity to work with almost every major brand in the country, and I’m genuinely proud of that chapter. It was a true self-made journey — from a small, remote town to the very top of the career I had imagined for myself.

At the same time, traditional advertising was rapidly changing. Big campaigns were giving way to short-form social media content — fast, disposable videos designed to be forgotten within seconds. That shift made advertising less creatively fulfilling for me, and I became increasingly drawn to cinema and screenwriting.
In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. As a member of the Russian opposition and a supporter of Alexei Navalny, I publicly expressed my political position. As the Putin regime began aggressively targeting any form of dissent and the number of political prisoners was growing day by day, law enforcement started showing interest in me specifically because of my political activity. I didn’t want to become one of those people. Within just three days, we made the decision to leave the country — a decision that later turned out to be permanent.

Los Angeles felt like the only logical destination. Looking back, I’ve never once regretted that choice. To me, it truly feels like the best city in the world. I feel a deep sense of belonging here. I’m constantly inspired by the kind, open, and incredibly talented people I meet in my everyday life, and by this beautiful, vibrant, multicultural city filled with creativity and love. I’m genuinely happy to contribute my own small part to this community alongside so many remarkable people.

Since arriving in 2022, I’ve been actively building my network and focusing on film. I’ve directed two short films that have screened and won awards at multiple international festivals, including LA Shorts International Film Festival and Beverly Hills Film Festival, both Oscar-qualifying. My work has also been recognized at Las Vegas International Film Festival, New York International Film Awards, and Hollywood Best Indie Film Awards, where I received Best Short Film and Best American Director honors.
Here in Los Angeles, I’ve met and collaborated with incredible people — producers, cinematographers, production designers, actors, as well as distributors and investors. Alongside directing, I’m now actively working as a producer, helping connect creative talent with financing. I help filmmakers find the resources to bring their projects to life, and I help investors discover strong, meaningful projects worth supporting.
I’m proud to say that next year my name will appear on films released with A-list actors, which feels like a major milestone in my journey. At the same time, I’m currently developing my first feature film, which is scheduled to go into production later this year.

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?
t’s easy to talk about challenges in hindsight. But when you really think about it, it’s the struggles that make a life — and a journey — truly unique. On any road trip, the moments you remember most aren’t the smooth highway stretches, but the night you got a flat tire and had to change it in the rain, in the dark. I think life works the same way.
So no, it hasn’t been a smooth road, and it still isn’t. And I believe almost any filmmaker — or anyone in a creative field — would agree that this path is far from easy. There are many careers that are more predictable, more stable, and easier to explain. A creative path is uncertain by nature, and when you combine it with entrepreneurship and running a business, things can get especially challenging.
There were moments when I didn’t know how I would pay salaries to people who were counting on me. Times when I struggled to cover rent. Periods of real financial pressure, responsibility, and doubt. Those experiences stay with you — they shape how seriously you treat your work and the people around you.
But the hardest challenge by far was starting over from scratch in a new country, without connections, without a safety net, without knowing how things really work. That kind of reset forces you to question everything — who you are, what you’re capable of, and whether you can do it all again.
Looking back now, that same challenge turned out to be the most decisive and meaningful step of my life. What felt like the biggest risk turned out to be the most correct decision. I truly believe that everything that doesn’t break us makes us stronger — and that, in the end, things often work out for the better in ways we couldn’t have planned.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At this point, I work as a writer, director, and producer, focusing on audience-driven, commercial storytelling. I’m drawn to trillers and comedies — the kind of films many of us grew up loving. Movies inspired by filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, Judd Apatow, and the Coen Brothers. Films that entertain, move you, make you laugh, and stay with you. These are the kinds of stories that shaped me as a viewer, and I’m lucky enough to now be creating films in that same spirit.

Alongside directing and writing, I also work as a producer. I specialize in connecting creative people with financing — helping filmmakers find the resources to bring their projects to life, and helping investors discover strong, compelling stories worth supporting.

What I’m most proud of may sound simple, but it’s true. As a certain film character with a great haircut once said — Dominic Toretto — “Family is everything.” Above all, I’m proud of my family and my children. They give everything else meaning.

Professionally, I’ve grown past the stage of trying to stand out on purpose. I’ve found that my real strength comes from being myself. My voice is unique simply because my path has been unique — and fortunately, that perspective resonates with others. I don’t try to be louder or different for the sake of it. I try to strip away what’s unnecessary, stay honest, and focus on what feels true.

Not chasing trends or external validation, but trusting the process, the people I work with, and spreading love.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk has played a major role in my life — sometimes by choice, and sometimes because circumstances left no other option. As I mentioned earlier, there were moments when I had to make bold, uncertain decisions simply to keep moving forward. But overall, I genuinely believe that the ability to take risks is one of the key things that separates people who grow from those who stay where they are.

Most of us are physically and intellectually capable of roughly the same things. What really makes the difference is the willingness to step outside of comfort, to move into the unknown, and to act when there are no guarantees. That’s where new doors open. Opportunities rarely appear in safe, predictable situations — they appear when you do something others hesitate to do.

I don’t see risk as recklessness. For me, risk is a calculated leap — trusting your instincts, doing the work, and accepting responsibility for the outcome. Starting over in new countries, building businesses from scratch, shifting careers, committing to filmmaking — all of those were risks. None of them came with a clear roadmap.

So yes, I can honestly say I’m comfortable with risk. Not because I enjoy danger for its own sake, but because I’ve seen time and time again that growth lives on the other side of uncertainty. And once you learn to step into that space, it stops being fear — it becomes possibility.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sam.erokhin/