Dan R Gomez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Dan R, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I’m very habitual, so if it’s a weekday, I usually get up and have coffee first before anything else … of course! Then I exercise for about 45 minutes to an hour. I like to alternate between cycling for 10 miles three days a week and resistance training 3 days a week. If the weather isn’t cooperating, instead of riding my bike, I’ll get on the treadmill and do a walk/jog/run instead. After that, I shower, then I’m out the door to work.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, everyone out there! My name is Dan R Gomez and I am a jack of all trades, but I define myself mainly as an audio engineer, screenwriter, and editor. I’ve always felt, of those three things I used to describe myself the most, writing has always been my strong suit, probably because I’ve been doing it for so long. When most kids were doodling in the margins of their notebooks during school, I’d be writing some kind of short story about superheroes or spaceships and aliens. I am the co-founder, co-owner, and managing partner of a multimedia production company called DNA Studios. We focus predominantly on film and video production, but we’ve built such a vast network of people and professionals through all our years in the entertainment business, that we can pretty much say “yes” to anything any client throws our way because if we can’t do it ourselves, we’ll find someone in our network who can. And we’re okay with that, we’ve never been the type of team that wants to hog all the glory to ourselves. Before we bring anyone on to work with us in whatever capacity, we always tell them that we’re in the business of lifting everyone up and not just one or two individuals. For the better part of a year now, we’ve been working on a short film called Family Night Fright. It’s a horror slasher and that’s a genre I’ve always wanted to do. We’re currently in post production on that one and hope to start submitting to festivals sometime after the holidays. Whereas we usually handle films all on our own from start to finish, with Family Night Fright we were kind of brought on by the Executive Producer as contractors for mainly the production and post- production phases of the film. But as we’ve gotten deeper and deeper into post, we’ve been bringing on some of the professionals from our network that I spoke of earlier. And that’s fine too, like I said, we never want to say “no” to a client, so if there’s a position that needs to be filled along the way, we can answer that call as well.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
I’m very big on loyalty. I’m the type of person that if you’re always honest with me and keep an open line of communication, you will always have a place in my inner circle, a space reserved for only my most trusted confidants. But, wow, if you break that bond or betray it, I can hold a grudge like there’s no tomorrow, and I’m talking for years! As far as restoring that relationship… I think it takes forgiveness, knowing when you’re wrong and especially copping to it. A heart felt “I’m sorry” also goes a long way with me and I’m sure with most people. Nowadays, no one wants to admit when they’re wrong, or apologize when they are, because everyone wants to save face. But I’m telling you, life is all about learning lessons and more importantly, learning from them. How can you do that if you can’t even admit when there’s a lesson to be learned. Again, it all comes back to honesty. Honest with yourself as well as with others.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I mean, yeah, let’s go cliché and say “failure.” But, taking that a step further, I think saying or doing something stupid because I was too afraid to ask for help or too scared that if I did ask for help, I’d get laughed out of the room, or worse… fired. One of those is definitely a “me” problem, but the other is definitely a “they” problem. I’ve been fortunate to have worked for some pretty cool and understanding people in the past. The type of people that make you feel comfortable in your work environment and even encourage you to ask questions because at the end of the day, your success is also their success. But some people, they just don’t foster that type of environment and they’ll let you know. Then, what happens is you become scared to open your mouth or ask questions for fear of making a fool of yourself. There were definitely some opportunities I missed out on because I didn’t open my mouth or didn’t feel encouraged enough that I could.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
I’m sure a lot of your readers out there will disagree with me on this one, but hear me out for a second. The truth is, we’re all born the same with the same opportunities. I had a whole classroom turn on me in college when I said this once, so let me elaborate: Yes, some people are born into wealth, and some are born into poverty. I’m not dismissing that at all. What I mean when I say we’re all born the same with the same opportunities is that we’re all born with two arms, two legs, and a brain, except those born with some physical disability, I understand that too, of course. What we do with those things is up to us. I think the one thing that all successful people share is that they all worked hard to get where they are. Whether that was through using their brains or their brawn. We’ve all heard the stories of the immigrant who comes to a country with nothing but $6 in their pocket and they parlay that into a successful business. Or the kid who was born into poverty and becomes an Olympic caliber athlete. I may have a different view on this then most people because I’m the son of two immigrants and my dad was actually that guy with the $6 in his pocket and no college education. We can all achieve great things so long as we apply ourselves and use what we were born with. There is no substitute for good old fashioned work ethic, my dad taught me that.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
I love the outdoors, I mean literally, just being outside. I can feel at peace sitting on the beach, listening to the waves crash along the shore and nothing else. Or cycling on the lake path with just the sound of nature all around me and no earbuds in my ears. Or just having a beer on my patio as the sun sets each evening. The rest of the world and all the other minutiae of daily life just fades away in those moments.
Image Credits
Daniel Miliszewski
