Rising Stars: Meet Patrick Shatter of Los Angeles / OC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Shatter.

Hi Patrick, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up I was always questioning things. My favorite questions that used to annoy teachers and elders were “why?” and “what’s the point?” They never really had answers that made sense to me. I went to a private school that tried to mold me into someone I wasn’t, and I was constantly getting into trouble for staying true to myself. When you don’t fit the norm, it’s easy to start thinking something’s wrong with you. That can lead to mental health struggles and a lot of unnecessary medicating. I see it as a tragedy that we medicate kids just because the environment they’re in is producing a certain result.

Music changed that for me. I discovered it as a kid and instantly felt connected. My parents got me my first guitar, and I spent countless hours in my room playing and listening to music. It made me want to start a band and become a rockstar. I chased that dream with some success in my teens and early twenties, playing in bands and performing around Southern California.

Fitness became another big turning point. I picked up a magazine that claimed I could gain 30 pounds of muscle in three months. I didn’t gain 30 pounds in three months, but it taught me structure and discipline that I’ve carried into everything since. I spent years with weight training and bodybuilding before discovering yoga and eventually circus arts.

When the rockstar path didn’t move as fast as I wanted, I felt like I needed a “grown-up job.” That led me to becoming a corrections officer with the sheriff’s department. It’s funny how someone who hated rules growing up ended up doing hard time in county surrounded by even more of them. I knew pretty quickly I couldn’t do it long-term. Looking at the older guys at work who seemed miserable made it clear I didn’t want that for the next 20-plus years.

After thinking a lot about what I could do that I wouldn’t hate, I decided to just start my own thing. I was already eating a lot of peanut butter for my training, it’s a great high-protein snack, and I started experimenting with my own blends. I settled on a mix of peanuts, cashews, and coconut in dessert-inspired flavors. That helped me stay on track with my diet while still building muscle. I infused a lot of the energy from my music days into it and created Rockstar in a Jar. You can see some of that journey on the show *60 Day Hustle* on Prime Video.

About seven years ago I started yoga, and that really shifted everything. It led me into circus arts, which let me blend music, strength, flexibility, and performance all together. Having that unique mix of skills opened doors in film and TV and gave me the chance to travel and work in different places.

A big turning point along the way was randomly meeting someone who became a mentor. He saw potential in me that I couldn’t fully see myself and helped guide me as both an artist and an entrepreneur.

Alright, 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?
The road to a creative career is anything but smooth. School doesn’t really prepare you for anything outside the normal system and the usual career paths. When you’re doing something different, it takes a ton of time, energy, and effort just to make any real progress and you have to build up a lot of resilience along the way.

Most things you try aren’t going to work out right away. That’s what stops most people. They get discouraged and quit way too soon.

From my own experience, a couple of the biggest struggles stand out.

First, lack of guidance. When you’re starting out, you probably don’t know anyone who’s actually successful at the thing you want to do. So you end up getting a lot of advice from people who have no idea what they’re talking about.

Then there’s self-doubt. This one is huge because everything starts with you. It’s easy to spend way too much time worrying about what other people think, or overthinking and waiting for the perfect moment. The good news is there’s 8 billion people in this world, so the chances of anyone remembering your mistakes are slim. Truth is, there’s no perfect moment. The only way to move forward is to just start doing stuff. If you never try, how are you ever going to figure out what works and what doesn’t?

Real success isn’t about studying and planning every single detail of your life. It’s more about taking action and adjusting as you go. You don’t even know what you need to plan for until you start seeing some results.

Over time I realized the most important thing you can train is your intuition. You have to learn to trust yourself. The more you try things and gather real information, the better you get at figuring out what to do next.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I like to call myself a professional sidequester. I’ve never really wanted to be just one thing, so I follow whatever interesting opportunities come up. That’s led to some pretty unexpected experiences.

Seven years ago I couldn’t even touch my toes. Now I’ve represented the U.S. at the Yogasana World Championship in India and came home with a bronze medal. I also competed in Mister Philippines and won Best in Talent. I’ve done film and TV work across the States and in London, and I perform circus arts, mostly hand balancing and juggling. I own a peanut butter company called Rockstar in a Jar. There’s a show on Amazon Prime called 60 Day Hustle that follows part of that journey. I also have energy stickers you stick on your forehead that give you a 20% boost of good energy.

The thing I’m most proud of is not letting the younger version of me down. Quitting would’ve been the easy way out a lot of times, but I didn’t.

What sets me apart? There’s only one of me, same as there’s only one of you. We’re all unique. I just decided to lean into that instead of fighting it.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like best about the city is the opportunity. There’s a lot of diversity, and it’s pretty easy to meet like-minded people. There’s always something going on, so you never really run out of things to do.

What I like least is the traffic, the Flock cameras, Data Centers and the unnecessary trash. There are also some weird regulations that end up pushing people out and hurting the city more than helping it. It could really be a beautiful place if it was just taken care of and cleaned up a bit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rockstarinajar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrickshatter/