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

Hi Marcus, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I’ve taken a number of risks in the 27 years of my life thus far, and I continue taking risks. My motto has always been: no risk = no reward. In order to progress and move forward in life, one has to be willing to step outside of their comfort zone. Stretching yourself pushes you to do things that you may have not known you were capable of. Taking risks have given me more opportunities than I could have imagined. Whether that was going from Indiana to Florida for school, then packing my things to move to Los Angeles without a job. The reason I risked moving to LA with no job was because I had one very strong connection in my industry of film. Now I do believe in taking risks, but they have to be calculated. For me personally, I believe you should take risks that you know you’ll gain something from regardless if you fall short. Some people put themselves in a predicament where if they fall, they fall extremely hard with no chance of recovering. So you have to way out your options and take the best risk(s) that moves you closer to your goals.

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.
I am an all around creative. I love being visually creative whether it’s shooting a film, shooting photography portraits, or even designing clothes. I’m in love with bringing ideas to life and expressing them visually. Something I’m very proud of at the moment is that I decided to quit my job in June of 2020. Yes, I quit my job during the middle of a pandemic but the way opportunities were aligning and wanting to get out of my current job, it all made sense. To be clear, not working a 9-5 job was in fact a 2020 goal. When the pandemic hit I thought there was no way possible that was going to happen anytime soon. But the faith I’ve built and the connections I’ve made over the last 3 years of living in LA allowed me to reach out to a number of people where I was able to freelance full-time and still make a living. But, getting to this point has not being easy, to say the least. I first moved to LA with no job, struggling to just make ends meet while sharing a one bedroom apartment with a friend. The first year I lived here I worked ever job from Home Depot, to substitute teaching, to Uber, and a few other gigs. Despite the early struggles, it did teach me how to figure out to survive and build my network. Your network = your networth. All of the biggest opportunities I’ve gotten were all because of who I knew. Simple as that. Having a great network gets you into so many doors, along with hard-work. If you’re willing to put in the time and work, I promise you it’s going to pay off. I want the world to know that I love expressing myself. I love seeing black and brown faces in front of a camera whether it’s film or photography. I want to tell the multitude of black stories that we don’t always see on screen. I also want to show others that you can be whatever you want to be. There’s no limit or restrictions to what you can do. And if someone tells you otherwise, then use that as motivation to prove them wrong.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well pre-covid, there were so many things to do in LA. Of course if you’ve never been here, there’s a number of tourist attractions. One place for sure on the list is the Hollywood sign. You can either walk the trail to see it or (the easiest way to view it) go to Lake Hollywood park. Next you’ve got to walk down Hollywood Blvd where you’ll see all the stars on the sidewalks and the thousands of residents and tourists walking up and down the street. At that same spot you can check out the mall, Dolby and Disney theater, Ripley’s Believe it or not, wax museum, selfie museum and museum of illusions. Then if you want to come back later at night, there’s countless bars and clubs to have a good time. Next, you can cruise down Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills and see and the shops. Then hit the 405 highway down to Santa Monica beach to see the pier where you can grab food and get on the rides. Some of the food spots I’d take them to would be Salsa & Beer, Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, Bossa Nova, and the countless food trucks. And can’t forget about brunch. If there’s still time left, we’d go to a pop up museum in the city or visit one of the many museums like the Broad in downtown LA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First off I’d like to recognize my parents for the constant support of my goals and dreams. They’ve always had my back and continue to as I’m on this journey to reaching success. My fraternity brother Mr. Poythress for inspiring me to higher eduction where I decided to get my Masters in film. Also, Location Manager, Alison A. Taylor, for giving me my first job on a movie set. The connections I was able to gain from working on that one project has led to so many opportunities. And last but not least, shoutout to the whole city of Indianapolis and the people that’ve supported along the way.

Website: www.marcuslorenzo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MarcusLorenzoFilms/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarcusLorenzoFilms

Image Credits
I own all the photos

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