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

Hi Manny, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have always had an eye for things others didn’t since 2nd grade. My teacher gave the class disposable cameras to go and take whatever photos they wanted to. All the kids were taking photos of themselves, while I was taking photos of weird stuff, like lizards fighting.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Getting to where I am today was not easy. Most would probably give up. Let’s start with the beginning, United States Marine Corps boot camp – most would not survive it. Then 4 tours overseas during my 12yr military career. I was 19 on my first tour to Iraq. I didn’t think I would make it to 20. After 12yrs of military service, I had 2 failed businesses due to bad partnerships. Ended up getting a desk job and hating it. I had to make a change. We are the masters of our own destiny. I was always a creative person with the camera, so I would always take content with my phone. After hearing out good my photos and videos from my phone was so many times, it dawned on me to pursue photography and videography. I saved a chunk of money and bought a starter kit to start shooting photos and videos. I never realized how expensive the business was. I did my first 30 gigs free of charge to build my portfolio and build a name for myself. After my 30th job, someone asked me how much I did a video for the business they seen me do a video for. Gave them a price as I was shooting for the stars and they agreed to it. After that I was hooked to doing what I love for a living on my own terms.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The person I would love to give a shoutout to is Crystal McCallum. If it wasn’t for her taking me in back in 2015, and introducing me to a lot of people, I don’t know where I would be today. She passed away at the end of May unfortunately.

Instagram: Instagram.com/MekaManny

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/iamfresco

Twitter: Twitter.com/MekaMan

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TheMannyF

Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/PrivateSelectionCo

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