Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle A. Loftus.
Hi Kyle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m walking you through my story, how I started, and where I am today. My name is Kyle Leonard Loftus. I am a US-based filmmaker, photographer, creative entrepreneur, and content creator. So, I originally first picked up a camera around the age of 12 or 13; you know, I started stealing my dad’s VHS camera late at night when he was asleep, and I’d run into the basement, and my friends and I would mess around and create. Parody films, we’d make short promo videos, scary short films, action films, we did jackass stunt videos, all these different types of videos, and so, you know, for me, that’s really where my journey began. It’s just that I didn’t realize it at the time. You see, it’s just something I enjoyed.
I love to do it as a hobby and for fun. To give some more context, social media and Instagram first popped up. In the 8th grade, it started to get big when I was a sophomore or junior in high school. And so, all I ever knew about filmmaking, photography, and content creation was Hollywood. Right, like all I ever thought of was Hollywood, and then obviously knew I took photos to be on covers of magazines and different things. But I never envisioned the endless possibilities, all the career paths, all the other people you can serve, the communities you can help, and the missions you can push. I never created content before the rise of social media. As social media increased and I began filming more and more content in high school, I started shooting music videos with my perfect friend Halim Abdullah. My passion and that transformed what was a hobby at the time into a desire to turn into a side career. And so, I went to college, did photography and video on the side, and was passionate about it. I loved it. However, I still needed confidence to make this a full-time career. However, as I was still undecided in college, I continued to invest more and more time into filmmaking and photography, so much so that I started skipping class and going out to do more and more of these projects. I stayed up super late at night, avoiding going out with my friends often to work on video production again. And so that quickly got me through a conversation with my mother. To say, you know what, screw it, I’m already investing all this time and effort into it, why don’t I go for it. So, that’s what I did. I changed my major to screenwriting and producing and graduated in 2016. I applied and interned with the Orlando Magic as a videographer and editor. That brought me down to Orlando, Florida, from Cincinnati, Ohio. I attended Ohio University and studied at the Communications College Scripps College of Communication. And I worked for the Magic for about seven months.
I enjoyed it but quickly learned that the corporate setting was different from my place. You know, I’m not a nine-to-five guy. I’m not sitting in an office or a cubicle type of person. And so I quickly learned that I’m genuinely meant to be an entrepreneur. I’m meant to work for myself and run my own business. And so that’s what I did. I left the Magic and left that internship after seven months. I started my own business, and I’ve been doing that ever since. Fast forward about six years from then, I transformed from just running my creative agency to now doing coaching and courses. So what’s cool is now I’m able to give back to a community that’s given me so much, and by the community, I mean the creative community, the arts community, the filmmaking community, and so I love coaching and offering courses and providing workshops and helping other filmmakers create the life of their dreams, you know, do that lifestyle design process and attract and work with their dream clients.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Yeah, it definitely could have been a smoother road. There are plenty of struggles, general life struggles, as well as natural business struggles. The biggest was moving to Orlando, Florida, to outline some of those. I didn’t know a single person. I needed more resources and connections. I received an internship where I would be paid seven dollars an hour. And so, to give context, this job was like a 9 to 5 job. So I’m in the office Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. But then, when Magic at home games, because I’m a videographer, I also have to stay for the game and cover the game. Not only do I have to stay and cover the game, but because the game is televised, we have to wait until they get that televised reel wholly done. Then, we need to gather that footage to make edits the next day to promote upcoming games and highlight the previous game.
Long story short, on game nights, I would go into the office at 9 am, and I wouldn’t get home until about midnight. And when there are three games a week at home, we’re looking at a 100-hour plus work week, getting $7 an hour. Right? So when I first moved down to Florida, I lived for the first 6 or 7 months on a giant bean bag in someone else’s apartment. I didn’t even have my room or space, and I was barely skating by. I had to ride my bike everywhere to save enough money to pay rent again and have a roof over my head. So those were some of my biggest first struggles. Once I left the magic, I struggled to learn how to run a business, understanding that I’m not just a cool guy with a camera doing cool stuff like I have to run a business. I have to make money. I have to understand profit margins. I have to know how to sell myself. I have to know how to generate leads for these various things. And so it was a long struggle and journey of learning and mastering all that.
Uhm, you know, those were some of the more immense struggles. I think other struggles were just mental hurdles. You know, self-doubt, uhm, questioning myself, questioning if it’s worth all the effort and time to put in. You see other people making all this money, living a simple life, corporate 9 to 5. Sometimes, you’re envious. You’re like, I want the easy money. I like the fast cash. I like the guaranteed money. Uhm, and so working through that mental process, overcoming that, seeing other people being so successful and feeling like you should have that, but you’re not there. So, uhm, getting through and overcoming those mental hurdles was one of the biggest obstacles. And that, uhm, imposter syndrome is something I think you constantly battle when you’re in the creative arts and when you’re an entrepreneur. And something more recently is last year, a drunk driver hit me. They totaled my car. And so that was a very unexpected thing that happened to me, my business, and my personal life. So, I had to deal with a neck injury. This was arguably the biggest, busiest time of my life. I had three of the biggest projects I’ve ever had. One particular was a huge TV. And all of this happened literally within days. And so it was a ton of stress, uncertainty; I didn’t have a car, I didn’t know what was going to be going on with transportation, I had to now worry about how was I going to transport all this gear and these rentals and get to all these various things. So those were a lot of my struggles along the way. So, okay, what do we do? Well, we provide a variety of services. Again, we are a full-service creative agency. So we specialize in videography and photography, but we also serve in creativity and content strategy development. Again, execution should be that production, pre-, and post. We predominantly service health and wellness brands or fashion brands, and we do so by providing strategic video and photo content that is optimized to get them a loyal brand following, clearly communicate their brand message, and attract their dream clients.
What am I most proud of? I’m most proud of being a man of integrity, standing by my values as a human, and applying that to my business. So, I only work with people I genuinely want to work with. I only work with businesses and companies I value, and you are doing good or bringing good to the world. And so I’m proud that I stand by that, and I haven’t let money, uhm, you know, impact that. I haven’t let money cause me to be the wrong person or make bad decisions or screw anyone over. I always prioritize my team above myself. I always want to ensure everyone is happy and satisfied and feels heard and welcomed on set. And so, I’m proud to say that all my relationships with clients and contractors are horizontal, not vertical. So, everyone is seen as equal. We all have importance. We all matter and play a pivotal role in our success.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar with what you do, what can you tell them about what you do?
What sets me apart from others? Well, there’s a lot of things. Number one, I’m an extremely open-minded person. I’m constantly learning, and I’m continually growing. So, for example, there’s no need per se; I don’t have to, but I took it upon myself to start learning Spanish, and I’m fluent essentially at this point. I’ve been practicing for about three years, and I continue to practice every single day.
Additionally, I practice Jiu-Jitsu; I’m currently a blue belt, so being extremely fit and knowing how to do this martial art allows me to bring more to the table while filming narratives. If we need an action sequence scene, or if my client prefers speaking in Spanish, or there’s a scene in a documentary where we need to interview someone who only speaks Spanish, or maybe there’s a project in Puerto Rico covering a concert, I can do all these things, again, because I speak Spanish. After all, I’ve learned Jiu-Jitsu and have been practicing martial arts, right? And so again, I’m not just growing in these capacities, but I’m growing as a human. I’m constantly reading, right, business books and personal development books. And so, it’s something that sets me apart. Again, I’m always learning, constantly evolving, and continually growing. Many people get satisfied with where they’re at in life, become content, and, in my opinion, they start to wither away and die because, if you’re not growing, you’re dying, right?
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share? Have you learned any exciting or essential lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
The biggest thing I learned from the COVID-19 crisis was you have to take full accountability for the good and the bad in your life. Uhm, there’s only so much we can control in life; arguably, the two main ones are our attitude and effort. Right? So you can’t control if the world shuts down in a way and COVID goes on, but you can control how you react to that and what you do. Right? So you could complain, and you could say, well, I’m screwed. What am I going to do? This is so unfair. Just sit around your room, or this is exceptionally challenging. How can I still find clients? How can I work around this? Is there a way to reposition myself? I’ve lost my business as a result of COVID. And so, something else I’m proud of is the year COVID hit. That was the best year my business had done up to that point. That was our best year financially. We brought in the most money we had ever done. I had the best profit margin I’ve ever had. So, I’m proud of how I adapted and adjusted. And so that’s a vital lesson, especially with the rise of AI. As a business owner, you must constantly evolve and adapt to the industry, especially in the creative space. And you must continually have your ears and eyes open. And you have to be looking. You have to be listening. And if you’re not, you could quickly fall behind the competition.
Is there any pricing information that is relevant to our readers?
Umm. No, we like to price and build everything out as it relates to the client. It’s just like shopping for a car, right? There’s no be all end all solution. Umm, once you fit all kinds of things. So, just like shopping for a car, you can visit Joe’s used car lot. You get a car that will take you from point A to point B for $2,000, right? But it might have a crack in the window. The alignment might be off, and the AC might not work. And if you go just a couple blocks down the road, you can get a car that will take you from point A to point B with beautiful craftsmanship, all the bells and whistles, and Bluetooth connection, but this Mercedes 80s will cost you $50,000, right? It’s really about how much you believe in your brand, your business, or this idea and what kind of investment strategy you feel confident putting forward. That’s how we like to approach our projects and pricing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kyleloftusstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyleloftusstudios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyleloftusstudios
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/79471351/admin/feed/posts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyleloftusfilms
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kyleloftusstudios
Image Credits
@kyleloftusstudios
