Meet Andrew Clark | Sound Designer, Photographer & Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Clark and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what is the most important factor behind your success?
They say behind every great man is an ever greater woman. Well, I feel I am a living, breathing example of that statement. I was driven by a woman that took my confidence and drive for success to whole other level. I am fortunate enough to now call her my life partner. She believed in my skill sets, and along with her own drove us to ultimately open up a company that I decided to put her in the position as CEO of.

Throughout every day I am constantly reminded by her of how cherished and respected I am. She is my constant encouragement to persevere through anything that stands in the way of our success, and reminder to always remain grateful, no matter what. Without her, I am confident there would be no Dópamín Media.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I was raised in a household that influenced free thought and will. I went on throughout my years of late teens, early 20s, and all through most of my 30s of professional work with a blue collar. I grew up with an appreciation for hard physical work, and holding an intimate relationship with the pride that comes along with that. Shortly before the end of my senior year in high school, I dropped out. I had begun working at 15 in the retail industry, and continued that all through high school. I almost left for the Navy with a best friend from age year 19-20 believe it or not, but had quite the difficulty joining fully due to recovering from 2 broken legs over the course of a couple years from sports. My friend ultimately left, and it never happened. I actually remember recovering from the second broken leg in a cast while watching the Twin Towers in New York collapse live. I eventually got into the field of construction shortly after recovering, I would then go on to become a plumber for a span of 17 years, from the age of 20 to 37.

After 9-10 years of plumbing, I eventually opened up my own plumbing company, and was running with magnets on the side of my gas-guzzling, 5.9 liter Dodge Ram. I was doing ok for myself, and beginning to get constant work. I remember I even financed a Yellow Page ad in upwards of $5,000 for a space the size of a small business card. After a hard break up with a long time girlfriend at the time, and a good amount of time to reflect on my future, I was influenced enough explore life-changing opportunities. I didn’t want to be a plumber any longer.

Throughout my childhood, I was brought up and surrounded with peers that all listened and were influenced by 90s Alternative, Grunge & Hip Hop music. Music in general was huge in my environment. My mother was a photographer for 18 years, and played the guitar a lot. I remember falling asleep at night to her writing, and playing to her own songs. My biological father died when I was barely 3 years old, but he was a sound man, and played guitar as well. He was a floor sales manager for years at the famous and infamous Guitar Center at the San Francisco location. I even have his company t-shirt still from the early 1980s.

After enough reflection I had made the choice to go back to school and get my GED. I would then register for a school to facilitate my interests to become an Audio Engineer. At the time I knew this was another 10 year investment. I knew I wasn’t going to really see the change for another 10 years minimum. I was ok with that. I would reverse engineer the plan. I went and obtained my GED with flying colors. I then quickly would enroll into The Art Institute of California–San Francisco, which would be the precursor to the change that would go on to occur.

I had no family with enough money to help support the $96,000 tuition that would come along with this bold choice of mine. Naturally, i fell back on my plumbing experience, and maintained my full time career as a service plumber while attending college full time for 4 years strait–no breaks. I went on to apply for another company when quickly realizing it was impractical to attempt to run your own company while attending college full time. During this time I found a company that hired me, and I eventually got promoted to management while still attending and balancing school and training as an audio engineer. I would go on to wear these 2 hats for 4 years. Enduring the conflict of interest it brought with It was hell.

Upon close to graduation, I suffered an acute hyper-extension and bucket tear of my right ACL and meniscus, and had to get surgery. I went in and got it, and continued to go to class, showing up against doctor’s orders. I could barley get around. I was then also breaking up from a relationship yet again while recovering, and was forced to move out of the house at the time I was staying in, as it was her family’s home. I found a small room that my boss at the plumbing company at the time was able to help me acquire. I would go on to complete my senior project and attend the graduation, ceremony and portfolio show with crutches while somehow also winning the best portfolio in my graduating class. It had felt like I blacked out, and then came to. Everything I had worked so hard for I got. But was it really just about the degree? I knew I had a lot more work to do.

Out of the 4 years in school for audio, I had developed a massive network of creatives like no other. I had made life-lasting impressions and life-lasting friends. I had made a portfolio of work. Something no degree could replace. Now I knew what I had really manifested. I went on work for that plumbing company for another 2 years before finally coming clean and admitting I no longer wanted to work as a plumber. After building enough experience as a freelance audio engineer, and mustering up enough cash and confidence, I finally made the move to Southern California. I stayed in San Diego my first year with my best friend Aaron Goldsmith. He let me stay with him at his condo to help me get on my feet. I eventually needed to go back into plumbing shortly after moving. I got hired out of Oceanside, Ca at a small company, and continued there, commuting an hour each way until I then eventually moved to Los Angeles exactly one year after. I wrote id down. “I WILL MOVE TO LA.” I would read that every day while in San Diego.

I continued plumbing, still with yet another small independent company while freelancing for another couple of years after moving to LA. At a certain point, I was plumbing, freelancing as an engineer while also working a graveyard shift editing overdubs in Portuguese and Spanish for reruns of classic American sitcoms.

I hit a breaking point after enough time had passed with no movement. I was plumbing, beating my body up day after day, with no successful opportunities. After the pandemic hit in 2019-20, things became even more stagnant. My creative work came to a halt. I had to push through, and keep myself inspired while living in a small room in the quiet retirement neighborhood of Woodland Hills during a global lockdown. I was waiting it out to make, yet another big push for myself in my audio career. It all seemed to happen as I met my life, and now business partner Teresa. She saw the best in me once we met, and pushed me/us to take our passions and talents further, to what eventually developed into our company, Dópamín Media. Through the beautiful people we would go on to photograph, is where we would find our calling and momentum to build a creative, and empathetic media company from it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in downtown LA. My favorite thing about downtown is the food and independent business. No matter where you go, you can typically always find some amazing Mexican food at the very least. Whether it’s a food truck or restaurant, downtown LA has it.

First on my list for some iconic LA food would be LA Cafe. I live a block away, on the same street–Spring St. There, you’ll find all kinds of amazing concoctions of food that are super delicious, and a lot of it even plant based! Being a meat eater I had no idea until a few visits into living here. It’s a for sure must. If you’re like me, and sometimes have a difficult time deciding on what to eat, the famous Grand Central Market is another “must do.” Only a couple blocks from where I live, Grand Central Market offers food from all corners of cuisine including Mexican, Seafood, Japanese, Thai to name a few, and for the meat eaters: a butcher to give you any part of a pig that you want. On Sunday’s, we have a Farmer’s Market that takes place up the street that lasts from 9am-2pm, and is another experience recommended.

As you explore through the Farmer’s Market on 5th street, I also highly recommend stopping into the world famous The Last Book Store. This place is nirvana for the book lover anywhere in the world. Practically every genre is covered here, and there’s a special room with all the really rare and high valued literature on display. If anything, it’s just a really cool place to go check out.

McArthur & Echo Park are 2 iconic parks with amazing views and scenery, perfect for some great photography. It’s free, and free is always good. There is also a large array of rooftop bars and restaurants. One of which is called Perch, one of my favorites. this place has amazing food, service and the views while you eat can be breathtaking. I live in the Jewelry District / Fashion District. The Arts District is another area of downtown. You’ll find a plethora of hip bars and beautiful street art here. And if you’re a shoe lover, there’s a swanky, hidden pop up style shoe retailer called Bodega that has all kinds of custom shoe wear from big brands. To start or end your day the choice of coffee here is also plentiful to choose from. Recommended cafes include Bohemian House of Espresso + Chai and Dayglow are just a couple.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Before even making the physical leap of moving from my hometown (The Bay Area, Ca) to Los Angeles, I was introduced to a man by the name of Tony Crowe–a well respected audio engineer and sound designer in the film/TV industry throughout the greater Los Angeles area. He essentially brought me under his wing as an aspiring sound designer myself, and helped me build my network out here in LA before, and after making the move. Without his mentoring and help, I wouldn’t have learned a lot of important lessons, gained a lot of specific experience, nor have met and developed relationships with some pretty awesome people along the way.

Website: www.dopaminmedia.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dopaminmedia

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhclark/

Twitter: www.twitter,com/dopaminmedia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/D%C3%B3pam%C3%ADn-Media-106437771314330/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn0Lms_jpFBc_KT7z_vPROA

Image Credits
Photo #1: Photographer: Jazzmyn Ward Photo#2, 3, 5, 6, 7: Photographer: Teresa McCullough