Meet Matthew Santiago | Aspiring Videographer & Video Editor

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

Hi Matthew, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
As any entrepreneur knows, or people who have started their own company, it’s a scary move to make. Before starting Matt’s Media 94, I started a training company called, Athletic Beings Training & Apparel. I was doing all my own media and marketing material for my coaching company and began to realize that I truly loved the filming, post production, reactions of people who watch, and the entire story telling aspect of it all. I started my coaching company October 31, 2017, about 90 days after getting out of the Army. Building that company put me in debt, not being able to pay rent, endless days that just kept getting worse it seemed. Until one day all my work was being recognized and clients began to flood in. Income started to raise and I felt okay, comfortable, and stable. I’m telling you this back story because one of the most important decisions I’ve ever made that contributed to my success was to truly believe in what I was capable of. Knowing all the struggles I went through with starting my coaching company, I had to be willing to go through it again to start Matt’s Media 94. When I started Matt’s Media 94, I pushed so hard and worked 10x harder than I did starting my coaching company because this time I truly believed in my abilities to grow something I was passionate about. My coaching company took five years to grow. Matt’s Media 94 took One year to grow. Believe in your dreams because you just might exceed them.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Ironically, Matt’s Media 94 started with photography. Photography was one thing I wanted to master because I thought I wasn’t skilled or talented enough for video. Until one day I was asked to do a video promo for a new sponsorship an athlete had, and the entire process, I fell in love with. The journey after that day was more exciting and fun than scary and challenging. Yes I had plenty of challenges along the way, but my drive and force I had for perfecting my craft was way stronger. The success I have today is from never being scared to ask for anything: help, an opportunity, advice, etc. Another big piece is waking up at 4am to train my clients, train myself, going out to film, creating connections, coming home to edit, sending out emails, responding to emails, responding to DMs, and then going to bed at 11pm or sometimes 12:30am and doing it all again the next day. This is also another huge aspect of me personally that I believe sets me apart from others is that I will never be outworked. I enjoy the hustle, the grind, the feeling of putting everything you have, failing, learning, reassessing, then doing it again to then finally succeed. Anyone can learn a cool edit, effect, or be a master at color grading, but one thing you have to pull out of yourself is work ethic and how far you’re willing to go.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Funny enough, I don’t really go around Houston a ton to do things aside from work, but this is how a day with Matt would look like. Gym in the morning at one of my favorite gyms: Reign Athletics, Freedom Gym, Believe, or my personal home gym. There is a local breakfast place near me called Craft Grill Breakfast Club which is an incredible breakfast place. I live right outside the Woodlands which has the Woodlands Water Way where you can rent paddle boards, kayaks, and more. There are also a lot of nice places near the waterway for lunch after. I’ve never been skydiving here in Houston yet, but I was a paratrooper in the Army and would love to skydive here. To end the day perhaps dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, Grimaldi’s, or Texas Roadhouse.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I messaged about 50 – 100 people locally in Houston asking to let me practice on my craft. A good amount of people responded because let’s be honest, who doesn’t like free content. But only a handful truly believed in where I was going and the heights I was pushing to reach. I want to thank everyone who put their time into me and allowed me to practice a new passion that was evolving inside me. A huge shout out to Reign Athletics for letting me shoot at their gym the first week they opened. They have always been so kind to me and has helped me with opportunities I never thought I would get. A huge shout out to my family that never once doubted me, but pushed me when I wanted to quit. All my success couldn’t have been created without god by my side along with my grandma right by his. I’ve always strived to make her proud and I hope she is. I can thank more and more, but we’d be here all day, so to everyone who’s shown endless amounts of love and support, you know who you are, truly thank you.

Website: https://www.mattsmedia94.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattsmedia94/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mattsmedia94

Image Credits       
All Images shot by Matt’s Media 94.