Rising Stars: Meet Anthony Derington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Derington. 

Anthony, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up I absolutely fell in love with film, me and my closest friends would watch whatever movies we could get our hands-on. As I grew up and began college, I wanted to create my own way of expressing my appreciation for film visually. It was then I created Ghoulish, a three-year venture that spanned in-depth articles, video essays, and podcasts that covered all things related to horror films. 

Throughout this journey, one of the people I was fortunate enough to meet was Aaron Iara. He taught me everything I needed to know about web development. I helped him with designing things while he helped me with my own site. Soon it just made sense for us to join forces rather than work so hard on our own separate projects. From there, PHASR was born. 

PHASR is a collision of culture and a celebration of what we love. Created by myself and Aaron Iara, both alumni of our respective music scenes with a deep love of punk, hip-hop, film, food, and art; we partnered to create a true sense of community online. PHASR covers entertainment that spans from the underground to what’s happening in pop culture. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Everything comes with challenges when you’re starting your own business. One of the biggest challenges right away was letting go of Ghoulish, this dream project I had worked so tirelessly on for three years. In that period, we fostered a true community and impacted people with our content in this way I didn’t think possible. 

After creating PHASR the next challenge was getting a website together that genuinely reflected our values and how we could express that to an entirely new audience of people. Then of course came the five months of building a website, migrating content, brand development, and setting up long-term goals. 

It’s a lot of work but if it’s something you’re passionate about, it’s worth doing. PHASR would not have been possible without my co-found Aaron Iara. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In my personal life, I’m a freelance video editor for television and film. I’m completely self-taught and I’ve been using that to push myself further into the world of entertainment. It truly is remarkable how many opportunities arise when you go looking. As much as I enjoy writing about films, I’m making a path now in my life to direct them myself. Whether that becomes my new career, who knows? But directing is one of the very few important things in my life that I have to give a fair shot. 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me means feeling fulfilled in my artistic expression. It means accomplishing what I envisioned and learning something from that experience. 

Contact Info:

• Email: contact@phasrmedia.com
• Website: www.phasrmedia.com
• Instagram: @phasrmedia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phasrmedia
• Twitter: @phasrmedia