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

Hi Akel, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Taking risk is a scary thing and that’s why most people don’t take a lot of them, they choose a more comfortable route not only because they are scared but also because that is what they have been thought from a young age.

Most parents would want their children to have a comfortable life so they tell them to take a career that’s common and often times it might not be something they like, but because its safe they tend to do it.

Doing something you love as a career is risky especially in the arts. Even if you try to pursue it, the changes that things won’ t work out are there, things might/will not be easy nor comfortable in the beginning and this is where you can eastly give up and choose a more comfortable path. But at the same time if you push a little further the break through can come right around the corner so, once you start risking it for that biscuit, you got to go as far as you can.

For me personally I took the risk of studying VFX and Motion graphics. My parents have a company and I would be able to take over and work for them which would be the safe route. But they supported me and allowed to to take the riskier path of being a motion designer.

After that I graduated it was hard to land a job but after a few month(6) I finally got my first gig. I worked there for about 2 and half years before the company let me go because they downsized. Afterwards I looked for another gig for stability but was unsuccessful. I was freelancing at the same time I was looking for gigs but in the end I decided to risk it and just go full freelance from then on.

I’ve had my ups and downs over the years, working on gigs I didn’t really like and for clients I didn’t like just to get by. You are going to have to do a lot of things you don’t like in the beginning. But after 5 years I can say that I’m in a place where I have the ability to choose which projects/ clients I take on. And I would not have the freedom I have today without taking any of those risk I took back then. And I will continue to take more risk to get to where I want to be in the future!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art that I enjoy working on most is creating visuals for music, whether that be live visuals/music video’s/ dance videos, just making visuals that enhance the audio you are listing to in general.

What sets me apart is my musicality and ability to listen to a song and express it in a visual matter. To me this is not something that was thought to me, just something that has naturally been there from the beginning and a skill that I cultivated over time and something that I can apply to any medium I use.

My journey was never supper easy nor was it supper hard. It definitely took some time before I was able to make the decent money and get good clients. I did a lot of work that was severely underpriced in the beginning, looking back that wasn’t something that was really a must, I just didn’t know any better but at the same time your skill and price need to be in harmony. So if you are not that good in the beginning, don’t expect to earn a lot. Develop your creative skills so you can show off and get better work and then polish your communication and business skills so you can charge more for your time and not get overworked by trying to do a ton of little jobs.

My biggest lessons for freelancers and people that want to start their own business is that, you always have to be learning and communicating. You cant only focus on just becoming a better artist, you also have to learn how to socialize, make connections and be able to talk about business and money in a professional matter. Chasing your dreams is not easy, but its very rewarding and worth it in the end. I believe that if I can do it, someone that had no idea what they wanted out of live and was pretty lazy till the age of 20 then I feel like any one get do it if you put your mind to it, you have to be in it for the long game though!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is good!, I would take them to Wynwood to check out some art all around, go to 1800 lucky for some food and drinks.

Take a nice cruise over to Virginia keys to check out some awesome beaches and sunsets. Or even go to the Virginia Key park and go biking and kayaking.
Over the bridge you can also look at the Miami skyline and listen to some wave.

South point and purple lotus is another one of my favorite combos, go drink some kava, relax and afterwards go hang out at the Southpoint park and watch a nice sunset.

Many more places to go but these are my most favorites to hang.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First of all I want to shout out my parents for giving, me the opportunity study abroad and choose something that I was passioned about even though that meant that I would not take over the empire they build for themself.

Second I would like to thank Scott Chmielewski for giving me my first job and the opportunity to grow my skills in a dope environment and also for helping me stay in this country.

Third I want to thank Ofer Zmora for getting me some of my first freelance clients and helping me get my foo tin the door in the live visuals scene, forever grateful for you buddy!

Forth I want to thank my best friend CJ, without you bro life would boring and thanks for showing me such a positive outlook on life my brother.

Fifth, I would recommend the book, the freelances manifesto by, Joey Korenman, just overall good to get your feet wet as a freelancer.

And last I would say learn about the brain, a lot of us are in auto pilot. Get in the driver seat and just learn about the brain and be a forever student.

Website: www.aifx.tv

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aifx.tv/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akel-issa-71424164/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AifXtv

Image Credits
Personal picture by Giano Currie Excision Stage pictures by Drew Ressler/rukes.com

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