Rising Stars: Meet Andrew St Juste of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew St Juste

Hi Andrew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I come from a very traditional Haitian Background. They didn’t believe in sleepovers (“You are my child why are you sleeping at other people’s houses?”) and they never let me go to parties. It was church family school. In hindsight I realize this was protection in their eyes but there was always a disconnect between their traditional ways and the life my siblings were living. We didn’t always find common ground but one thing that we can all agree on Coming to America. My parents LOVED Coming to America. My brother suggested it as a joke and that was the first time I saw my dad who til this day can barely get through a sentence in English laugh his behind off! It quickly became a yearly tradition in our family. That started my love for media, but at that point a job in the arts wasn’t in the cards.

Everything changed when I had a daughter. Seeing the world through a new lens as a father changed everything for me. I felt inspired and motivated in a way I never imagined. All these feelings came to a head one night when I dreamt an entire movie. I woke up at 2 in the morning wrote everything down and shrugged my shoulders as a coincidence. Then it happened again and again. At that point I realized this wasn’t an accident there was something deeper inside. I took my comedically dramatized story about my breakup with my ex and taught myself screenwriting. I saved the cat, went through story, and downloaded some of my favorite screenplays leading to a finalist award in the World Series of Screenwriting. (As a newbie I was drawn to the title since I am also into sports). This beginner’s luck mixed with frustration at my corporate job threw me into the deep end of writing full-time. I went to a festival in New York with my finalist award thinking it would be a straight shot… it wasn’t. I was hit repeatedly with the same question. “That’s cool you got that award but what have you produced?” And I realized the next thing I had to do. I moved with my daughter to Phoenix and like my favorite book ‘The Alchemist’ followed my personal legend into the desert.

I volunteered at a local access network station that filmed an independent music video show. (Think 106 and Park for local artists). I taught myself how to work a DSLR and shoot BTS. At the same time, I leaned into comedy creating a live sketch comedy show in the style of Saturday Night Live. We sold out! A few weeks later, we did it again but this time we organized the entire show in a week. We sold out again with twice the number of seats.

Fueled by a lot of failure and bad scripts I captured my journey on social media growing my IG following which garnered the attention of BuzzFeed. They launched a program with Instagram to invest in vertical content and my horror film “Stories” (a horror film through the lens of an IG story) was picked. Out of 350 applicants, I was one of 16 projects selected. Once I entered the doors of BuzzFeed I was inspired. Coming from an analyst background I didn’t fathom a job where all I had to do was shoot content all day. I leveraged the one-week BootCamp into a fellowship into a full-time job. That led to Story producer and pretty soon I was a showrunner on my first original series “Date My Fit”. A bachelorette picks a date based on the bachelor’s outfits. It was one of the first online dating shows predating “Line-up” dating shows and “Pop the Balloon”. After 3 years and helping launch Cocoa Butter BuzzFeed’s black-focused channel I left BuzzFeed to join Peacock Kids to create social content for NBCUniversal properties. I created content for How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, Gabby’s Dollhouse, and a few original digital pilots. I led their YouTube Shorts strategy and raked up over 150M views in less than a year. However, I felt stuck because although I was working at my dream location on the Universal lot. I was stuck as the digital guy.

That’s when I decided to bet on myself. I taught myself TV writing, landing two Finalist placements in two different festivals for my original Pilot “Viral”. I am a year 2 Cohort producer of the “Find Your People Program” from Issa Rae’s Color Creative and in less than 3 weeks I’m putting on my own play “General Naaman: The Musical”. (Tickets on sale now 11/1 and 11/2). The funniest thing about my zig-zag story isn’t the views on YouTube, the screenwriting placements or the jobs but it’s the joy I find when my daughter and I watch anything. Just like the same I felt with my family all those years ago.

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?
Man, where do I start? My first job in LA was paying $18/hr, juggling that with a daughter and bills it was a lot. Some bills got missed and I remember coming downstairs to drive to work and my car was repo’d! I almost killed myself on a Lime scooter rushing to work, because I had a shoot in an hour! Heartbreak, financial problems, creative block, and plenty of days of not feeling like enough.

But I try to look at every problem as an opportunity to become a solution but mentally it can take a toll. I never broke down until I joined the film industry. There were days when juggling dreams, family, a demanding job, not to mention the side hustles all come crashing and you find yourself on Olympic and Western crying at a red light. That burnout and just lack of control also is the reason my faith is so activated. When you realize it’s not your job to “make” people see you or approve you, but instead become the person that gets noticed, it shifts the responsibility and blame. That mentality and a few bible verses are the only way I can get through it. Matthew 6:33. “Don’t worry about tomorrow because every day has enough trouble of it’s own”.

Don’t let the trouble, trouble you. If you have a bad Wednesday keep it in Wednesday and move on with your week knowing a new day is coming.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently, I consult on one of the biggest YouTube channels. What digital media has taught me is the power of community. We all hear about Star Wars and Marvel fandom but generally, movies don’t sell to communities they sell the idea. On the digital side, it shows the power of a “hive”. My misunderstanding of YouTube opened my mind to all the creative mediums.

Applying this to my writing led me to create pieces that question our faith in things. My original Pilot questions what happens when a YouTuber is met with the changing tide of society. I’m directing a play that I wrote that takes a classical bible story and flips it to modern times. (Jesus Chris Superstar meets Hamilton). My priority is no longer asking for permission but instead creating things that move people directly. If we wait for Hollywood we’ll never move. Now is the time to do what we love directly.

In everything I’m involved in I tend to push the boundary on what is expected and focus on why that belief system is in place. Media IS the medium to challenge ideas and to do it responsibly. Having a child completely changed the way I approach media. When a child hears a joke it can become gospel to them. So it’s important to put out ideas that push the next generation in a positive direction.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Keep going because it will take twice as long as you think, BUT there will be twice as many surprises turns and opportunities that you had no idea were for you.

Be careful what you consume and the people you are around. Don’t let another’s bad experiences create negative limiting beliefs in you.

The world is already against you, don’t be at war with yourself. Have hope. Have faith. It’s okay to be vulnerable, even after heartbreak.

Pricing:

• Tickets on sale for General Naaman The Musical 11/1 and 11/2 early bird tickets start at $20! (Shameless plug)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/general-naaman-the-musical-tickets-1032886470237?aff=oddtdtcreator
• Instagram: @DrewDynamite04
• Twitter: @DrewDynamite04