Meet Pierre Crawford

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Pierre Crawford again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Pierre, always such a pleasure connecting with you and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and inspiring messages with our community. We’re looking forward to getting the download and what you have been up to since our last interview, but first can you briefly introduce yourself to folks who might have missed the prior conversation.
My name is Pierre Crawford. born in Birmingham, Alabama to a great mother. When I first did my first interview with Shoutout I was a videographer specializing in music videos operating out of a small photography studio I operated with my close friends Sunny Nguyen, Hung Pham, and Brian Pham. Starting out as a small run and gun videographer shooting with just my kit lens and steady hands to managing production budgets and filming for Riceman a YouTuber with over 1 million subscriber. Within 5 years of buying my first camera I was managing projects and rotating clients through my photography studio. Having dabbled in recording music and engineering I had an idea of what artists needed alongside their music videos in order to brand themselves and grow their engagements.

Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
As of today I no longer live in Birmingham. I’ve relocated to Phoenix and currently work as a Marketing Producer creating commercials and promotional content for Arizona’s Family News on CBS5. I’ve built over 300+ commercials for the Phoenix Suns and within my first year as a Marketing Producer I’ve been nominated for 3 Emmys, 1 GEMA Award, and won an Emmy for my work on a Lifestyle program that airs across Arizona. I’ve widened my knowledge of marketing and added to my skills as a videographer and editor and look forward to how I will continue to impact the Valley while still repping my hometown Birmingham and the 205 county.

We have now arrived at one of our favorite parts of the interview – the lightning round. We’ll ask you a few quick questions to give us all some fun insights about you.

Favorite Movie: Arrival, starring Amy Adams and directed by Denis Villeneuve or 12 Years a slave

Favorite Book: Not my favorite but one I’m currently reading and enjoying: The Snowball by Alice Schroeder

Favorite TV Show: The Boondocks

Favorite Band or Artist: Michael Jackson of course.

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Mountains

Favorite Sport (to watch): Basketball (Specifically the Phoenix Suns)

Favorite Sport (to play): Non, more of an artist than an athlete.

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): I did not. We couldn’t afford it when I was in school. I spent my free time writing music and trying to write film scripts.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: My first dream as a kid was to be a comic book writer.

French Fries or Onion Rings: Fries

Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: Whoever has more hair.

Favorite Cartoon growing up: The Boondocks (Was very inappropriate for my age at the time but the truths the show spoke I couldn’t find anywhere else.)

Favorite Childhood movie: When I was 10 I thought Spider-Man 3 was a cinematic masterpiece. Now I just like the emo Peter memes.

Favorite Breakfast Food: Any kind of fruit.

Life is often about tough choices – can you talk to us about your thought process, strategy or philosophy when it comes to making difficult choices or tradeoffs.
I am 28 years old as of writing this. When I reflect on my life, I try my best not to see the many failures I have endured as failures but rather as challenges to learn from in order to become the man that God or the universe wants me to be. I’d be lying if I said I had an easy life, but we all endure pain and challenges that help us become a more refined version of ourselves.

There is a Stoic philosophy written by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius that states:

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of one of history’s most powerful empires. He undoubtedly faced many challenges that, in his time, would have seemed apocalyptic. He wrote this line in his personal journal, Meditations. It’s easy to think that when we face challenges in life, they become insurmountable walls preventing us from moving forward. However, what Marcus Aurelius means by this statement is that life’s challenges often pave the way forward. These moments reveal who we truly are, and rather than running from them, we should embrace the challenge and face them—whether they lead to failure or not—because we will either grow from these experiences or learn which parts of ourselves we need to improve.

I thought deeply about what I would discuss in this follow-up interview. Despite all the progress I have made as a videographer and operator in my photography studio, I admit that, as a businessman and self-employed videographer, I made every mistake in the book. I operated our photography studio for only about a year before we had to shut it down. At 25, I closed my business with a negative account balance and no new clients reaching out to me for video services, feeling like the biggest failure in my family. However, at 27, I became an Emmy award-winning Marketing Producer due to my videography and editing skills.

Embrace the challenges. Embrace the failures. Embrace learning.

Website: https://pierrexavierdirector.portfoliobox.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-xavier-director/

Image Credits
Image provided by National Academy of Television and Arts Sciences.