Rising Stars: Meet Ricardo Talavera of South Gate, California

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricardo Talavera.

Hi Ricardo, 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?
Yeah of course. So I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My parents were immigrants to this country so that played a major role as to where/who I am now. They didn’t know many people and didn’t have a lot so our first home was a small garage in Compton. It was a tiny place and that’s were a lot of my early memories were formed and if there’s something that the period taught me was gratitude and I believe that it really shaped who I am now. I remember not having lots of toys so I would go outside and play with the Rollie-Pollies in the dirt, while the kids in the front house had scooters, bikes, even a mini-playground for themselves; every weekend my mom would take me to the 99 cent store (when things were actually 99 cents) and she would take me to the toy section and tell me “Puedes jugar con ellos pero no te puedes llevar nada a casa” which translates to you can play with them but you can’t take any home; on rainy days we would have to put buckets inside because the ceiling would leak and our carpet would get wet. Although I was young I believe I was aware of what was going on, the situation my family was in, and it taught me a lot of things, one of them being gratitude, but also the importance of family and happiness: where it doesn’t matter the situation we are in we have each others backs and as long as we are together and healthy that’s all we can ask for.

In terms of how I got to where I am today – it’s just the same story over and over – the story my parents taught me; which is hard work pays off and to always be the best version of yourself (and yes this means giving your best in anything and everything you do including being the best person you could possibly to others, and others being everyone in this earth regardless if you know them or not or status). My parents are traditional hispanic parents with strict rules, house chores, and punishments which help build resilience, responsibility, and kindness. Not only did they hold us (I also have 2 younger sisters one that’s 16 another thats 5) accountable but they also walked the talk themselves. My dad having known nothing about construction became one of the best machine operators in his company after a few years through hard work and hunger to get better. We started off in the small garage in Compton, then moved to an apartment in South Gate, to a mobile home in Bellflower, and finally by around middle school my parents bought their own home in South Gate. Being able to be the oldest of 3 and seeing how my parents have grown to be where they are now to where they were when my first memories were forming it’s been an inspiration and guide to follow.

So my journey started with soccer at the age of 8 years old, where I got told that I wasn’t good enough to be a part of the team and that I should look for somewhere else to play. Being a recreational team the owner of the team told the coach he couldn’t do that if he didn’t want me to be a part of the team he had to at least let me be able to train with them. So the coach said that I would be able to train with the team and if he saw improvement that maybe there would be a chance that I could be registered with the team but that he doubted it because they were one of the strongest in the league. I remember to this day how grateful I felt when the owner of the team told the coach he had too let me at least train and in my mind I remember I told myself that I had to let him know that I was grateful that he would not regret having stepped up for me. So having never kicked a soccer ball or ever done any sort of fitness that’s how my soccer journey started giving my best, not giving up, and trying to get better every single day. Within 3 months I improved to the point where I was registered with the team, 6 months I was in the starting team (11), and 8 months I was captain of the team). I played in that Sunday league team for around 6-7 years where I kept on going giving my best and trying to get better every single day. Eventually I got recruited to a club around middle school, then got promoted to the higher level team where we made history and were one of the best teams in the country, by my junior year of high school I was recruited by a professional soccer club Orange County SC where I played for their second team, and my senior year I committed to Loyola Marymount University Men’s Soccer with a scholarship to play division 1 soccer being the first athlete from my high school to ever go division 1. I played my two years made program history reaching elite 8 in the NCAA tournament and then decided to focus on my professional career outside of soccer. Now I am a freelance videographer/creative (@ricardofilmss), completed my undergrad at LMU in 3.5 years and am now a graduate student at CSU Long Beach getting my masters in Sports Management, and just recently accepted a job with the MLS team the San Jose Earthquakes.

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?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, it’s had its minor bumps and road detours, but nevertheless that same road has gotten me to where I am now and I am extremely blessed and grateful to be where I am now and surrounded with the people who surround me. I know I touched on some of my soccer and personal obstacles in the question before, but at the end of the day I believe that everyone in this life face their own obstacles that God/life puts in front of them and I firmly believe that 1) these challenges are there to help us grow and fulfill our purpose on this earth and 2) that God/life does not put a challenge/obstacle in front of you that you can’t overcome. I know I grew up poor and maybe that was what could have been my greatest obstacle to this point but if I’m being honest I believe that this is the biggest blessing that has happened to me. Transitioning from being a D1 athlete to a narp (Non Athletic Regular Person) for many is a great obstacle/struggle and it was a bit of a struggle for me because it was a big part of my identity but then I always knew I was more than just an athlete – I was a human being like everyone else trying to figure out life. I think like everyone else I have faced my fair share of obstacles/struggles but I know out there, there’s probably someone facing something much tougher and I am grateful to be where I am now.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a social media creative that focuses on helping college and high school athletes, coaches, and teams build their brand by using digital storytelling. I also work with youth and professional athletes, coaches, and organizations as well. Originally, my idea, as to how this all started, was simply to start a podcast leveraging my position and network as a division 1 athlete to be able to share their stories to the world because being a division 1 athlete myself, and talking to my teammates and d1 peers, something I noticed was that people love you for your status and that’s cool but are afraid to truly get to know you because they hold you in this pedestal and we are human beings as well and want people to like us for who we are as well not just because we can dribble a ball or run very fast. I felt that it would be a great opportunity to help bring our school campus together and athletics world to help LMU become a strong sports school. However, after trial and error and meeting a great mentor, Travis Ellison, I found a better way to be able to do this. Originally I was hesitant to pick up a camera because like I told him “My parents would be upset if this is what I did because I’m not going to a $80k school to learn how to use a camera which I can learn in YouTube” however that has been one of the greatest blessings in my life and I was able to mix this new passion with my education in marketing as well to market athletes and it’s been amazing.

I started off by going to Best Buy and buying a vloggers camera, a Sony ZV-1F, thinking that I could shoot sports with a vloggers camera (which if you don’t know much about cameras like I did you really can’t). That summer I volunteered in for one of my friends boys high school team which is where I started sharpening my shooting and editing skills and learning what works and what doesn’t, and to this day I am still learning each day something new. The learning journey never ends!

In terms of what I am most proud of is just seeing where I started off a year and a half ago and seeing where I am now. Taking the leap of faith into a world I knew absolutely nothing about and just giving my best, asking questions, and being the best version of myself day in and day out like I have done my whole life and it working out I would say is my greatest accomplishments. I have shot NIL content for name brands like Adidas, Overtime, Hydro Flask, worked with professional athletes; which has been cool. But just being able to work with the local talent trying to start to share their stories with the world and being a small part of their success has been one of the greatest blessings as well. I’ve worked with individuals trying to start their brand (whether personal or business) and helped them navigate and discover what is their story and sharing that with the world rather than trying to do something that is going viral and off-brand and them go from 500 follower to over 1k in a couple months is the greatest reward because it takes vulnerability to put yourself out there and share with the world who you are and what you want to do; and in the beginning it’s pretty tough. So for me it’s more than just shooting content and getting paid, it’s more about how can I help you build your brand that’s my ultimate goal and I’ll do anything I possibly could to help you achieve whatever it is that you want to be known for.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to work or collaborate with me is by connecting with me on instagram (@ricardofilmss) or LinkedIn. I love connecting with people and learning from their experiences. I believe that every single one of us has something to offer in this world a unique story to share that someone else can learn from. In terms of supporting me just be the best version of yourself – by doing so you will not only be supporting me but everyone on this earth as we all live in community with one another. So be the best person you can be to others and give your best work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ricardofilmss.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ricardofilmss/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardotalavera21/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/ricardotalavera04?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==