Rising Stars: Meet Aiden Fowler of Corona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aiden Fowler.

Hi Aiden, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been doing video production for 5 years now and the journey has been a crazy one. There are many more things to learn and experience, but I’m ready for any challenge that I need to face.

Starting off in middle school, I was a young teenager going through life normally. Going to school, hanging out with my friends, getting homework done. My brother, Jarod Fowler, was very much into Anime. The years were 2015-2016, the great app Vine was around. On Vine, there was a thing where editors would create really flashy, popping edits and even make certain edits called “loops” where a video may seem endless, but it’s ending where the video starts. My brother was in a group called, “Unknown” and it was a bunch of editors that would create 7 second clips based off of any Anime show. Jarod randomly taught me how he would edit his clips and download certain parts of a certain episode. This whole process was done on phone, we didn’t have a laptop / computer to use. I joined the, “Unknown” group for a while and I became a editor on Vine, before it shut down unfortunately.

Going into high school, I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do for my future career. I felt lost and felt like I wasn’t gonna go anywhere far. Jarod had a clothing brand called “Fowl” and it was very known during the time. His brand benefited me to see what I could potentially do for myself. One day during my freshman year, my brother had a photoshoot right after school for his brand and one of his late friends, Jonathan Bustamante (Rest In Peace) was the photographer. When I got to see all the photos, I was amazed and very inspired. This is when I thought I found hope.

I took a photography class during my freshman year and was able to learn how to use a camera. Taking photos, editing photos, using online software, learning different styles of photos, and much more. During my junior year of high school, I took graphic design class. What inspired me to do so was when Jarod took the class and there was an assignment where everyone had to make a t-shirt design for a school event. Surprisingly, Jarod’s design was chosen and the people for the event were wearing a shirt with his design on it. I was able to learn everything about Adobe Photoshop, do different kinds of assignments / designs, and learn each purpose for each tool.

I felt amazed, grateful, and enjoyed every step of my process. When COVID-19 came by, everyone had nothing much to do, but try new things or create something during the free time given. I’d tried out video production and this is what set the tone from then until now. I took a video production class my senior year and another graphic design class too. Shooting videos, editing, and the directing process is what I fell in love with. I really liked getting inspired by other videos / films and being able to create a piece of my own work.

Ever since then, I stuck with video production and I have learned and gained so much from it. From editing Anime clips on my phone during middle school to editing and filming with real equipment. We all start somewhere. This is my dream career.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Most definitely not a smooth road. I believe that whatever career path you choose, your path will never be smooth if you’re not putting in the effort, sacrifices, and even taking risks. My path has never been easy, but I am grateful and thankful for every step that has been taken ever since I started video production.

Some struggles that I’ve went through over the past years was never getting anyone to reach out to me to work on a video, I would sometimes have no ideas to create and sit wondering if my career is really worth it, start questioning myself if I’m taking the right path, questioning if not going to college anymore was a good choice, and much more.

As I had those mental struggles, it makes me feel more better that I’m not the only one that goes through these thoughts. There are so many other people that go through it, in whatever career it may be. Also, it makes me feel better that having a great circle of friends that are on the same creative level as me, are there for me to reassure that everything will form slowly but surely.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I direct, film, and edit music videos. As of right now, the genre of music I am working with is Hip Hop / Rap, but I plan to shoot with more genres when the opportunity arises. I also create my own style of Reels for Instagram; cinematography, aesthetically pleasing, creating eye catching videos for clothing brands, creating concert recaps, and much more. I am most known for creating music videos, but I do want to expand and be known for being a director in general.

One of the things I am most proud of is that my musician friend / best friend Stizzy (Ian Garcia) and I threw our own concert for all the local artists from our city, Corona. Since 2021, Stizzy and I always had this idea of bringing all the local artists together into one space and be able to network, connect, get to know one another, and show others that there is lots of unseen potential in the city we are from. Last year, on May 11, 2024 in Rancho Cucamonga, we officially threw our show called, “Apply Pressure”. We had 14 artists perform (2 from Los Angeles, 1 from San Diego), 10 vendors, 6 people helping with photography and videography, about 300 tickets were sold, and most of all everyone had a great time. The turnout was outstanding, Stizzy and I had no words the whole night and overall blessed that we had a great amount of people show up for us. We thought we wouldn’t get that many sales, but if it was less than that we would still have a great time. That isn’t the end of Apply Pressure. We are currently planning to host another show later this year or the beginning of next year. We want to make Apply Pressure a known festival in the future, this is just the start for us.

What sets me apart from others is that I like to get to know who I’m working with on a personal level, build the relationship with one another because it can go a very long way. I would like to become a friend with them and not only a business partner. I also make sure to have everyone feel as comfortable as possible, even if it’s in a fast paced / rushed scenario. I really crave quality over quantity. I feel that there is a big amount of directors / editors that are trying to get as much work out as soon as possible, but aren’t focusing on the quality and what they can do better from the last video, how can the next video stand out from the last one, what different angles should be recorded, etc. I enjoy taking my time on creating a video for someone. I want to finish the video knowing that I created something different and have it standing out from my other ones.

What does success mean to you?
I define success as being able to achieve my personal and professional goals while maintaining a balance in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aidenjfowler.myportfolio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidenjfowler/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AidenFowler

Image Credits
Photographer’s Instagram’s:
@fuckjavi__
@habibi_firebomb
@joshrmonte