Mushroom Story and Outtakes

It was all about the mushroom story. I had reconnected with my old friend Fabian, aka CloudKickaPiff, during my days at S. Street Media, and having him in my life, watching his daily journey and rise in the entertainment world on social media, had become a constant source of inspiration for me. Still drunk, depressed, and feeling like a failure to my hometown in the shadow of Anthony Ramos’ massive success, I gravitated to Fabian, who grew up just down the street, and would serve as a reminder that success comes in different forms. As he continually mastered his craft, becoming a powerhouse director in the music video space, I found myself glued to his Instagram account, watching his every move, using his story as inspiration to keep going with my own. I paced around my apartment, holding my new GoPro tightly in my hand. It was a reminder that I had come a long way since that fateful day with Danny aka Xziinto, Brenna’s younger cousin, where I had failed miserably at trying to shoot a music video. I sat down on my couch, memories flooding my mind. I couldn’t help but compare my work to that of Fabian’s, who had become the Scorsese of musical cinema. Danny and I had made our way to a park in Queens, the same spot where I had once broken through with mushrooms. We attempted to shoot the music video for “La Voz,” but it was a disaster. I couldn’t serve as talent and keep my eyes focused on the screen of my Lumix G7 simultaneously, and we would suffer the consequences of an unplanned, unprepared video shoot. As the day was wasted on unusable 4K shots, I’d laugh at the misfortune, instead of cry, as I had become so used to failing that it seemed funny now. Watching the footage back, I couldn’t help but cringe at how bad it was. It was a far cry from the quality that Fabian shoots. But I didn’t let that discourage me. Instead, I took it as a learning experience. I knew that I was out of my league, but I was determined to get better.