Today we’d like to introduce you to Dion York Foley.
Hi Dion , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Southern California, roughly half in LA proper and half in Claremont. My earliest years were spent in West Hollywood, just above Melrose during Punk Rock’s meteoric rise. Next stop was Mid-Wilshire, where most of my childhood memories lie. Claremont (“the city of trees and PHD’s”) is a small, diverse university town sitting at the end of LA County. Being the son of musician John York (The Byrds, Mamas and the Papas) I was drawn to the arts at an early age. My mother Nadia is also a talented photographer and painter who instilled the value of creativity in me from the start. At an early age I was captivated by movies and strived to be in the entertainment industry. While studying entertainment law I decided to change direction, eventually becoming a producer. Around the time Instagram first came out I was feeling creatively frustrated and started taking those heavily filtered photos that made Instagram popular. It became a great creative outlet for me, leading me to eventually buy a real camera. I now own at least a dozen cameras and shoot regularly, primarily on film. Other than photography, I love traveling, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, live music, being in nature, cars and going to Dodger games.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being evenly left and right brained, I struggled to identify my path in life. I always felt like I was being tugged between pursuing business and being a creative. Those closest to me urged me to be a Doctor or a lawyer to avoid the struggles they went through. I was encouraged to live a creative life, making art and music, just not professionally. First I was pre-med, Doctor’s get all the babes they said. Later, while studying to be an entertainment lawyer, I found myself on a film set with my sister, an actress. I was immediately drawn to filmmaking like flies to honey. I soon took up an internship with a local production company to learn the ropes and pay my dues. A short time later I was hired on full time and ended up working on 5 films that year. It was trial by fire, and I never looked back.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a movie producer, I’ve worked on 40+ films in production (Final Girl, Damage), producing about 20 of them. Feeling like I needed a change, I jumped on an opportunity to work in cannabis just before legalization in 2018. Currently, I oversee the finance and compliance for a trio of companies (White Angel Farms) that cultivate, manufacturing and distribute cannabis in Southern California. I’m also producing and writing a passion project, an animated series for kids about a Pit Bull and Chihuahua called “Buddy & Oscar.” I developed “Buddy & Oscar” in hopes of encouraging kids to adopt Pit Bulls and Chihuahuas – the 2 least adopted breeds. The first 2 episodes will be released on YouTube later this year.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a very shy kid who spent most of my time drawing, painting and playing with Legos and toy cars. Later, becoming much more outgoing in High School, is where I discovered my love of sports.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doitagaindion/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dion-foley-6193aa41/
