Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Gerber.
Hi Danny, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up I was always involved in some sort of organized sport whether it was basketball, soccer or baseball. Back then it was such a big part of my life that it consumed almost my entire childhood. This was the case until I turned about 10 years old when we moved to a new house and I switched schools. This is where I was first introduced to skateboarding. Following my first step on that board..I was completely enthralled in the sport and culture. What I didn’t know at the time is that a huge part of the skateboarding culture involves filmmaking – recording your tricks, funny moments or gnarly slams..then compiling and editing them into montages using our favorite songs. I begged my mom to let me use an old JVC digital camcorder to start filming myself and friends while we were out and about skating the city…And my obsession began. This is when I first started learning the basics of cameras, composition and editing that ultimately laid the groundwork for the rest of my career.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Luckily starting at such a young age, I didn’t have the pressures of pursuing this as a career initially and instead was able to enjoy my first 5 years having fun experimenting creatively and developing a style. I believe this gave me a good foundation to build off of when I finally decided to peruse filmmaking is a career and let me bypass some early struggles and growing pains that some others might come across. That doesn’t mean it was easy though. There weren’t any shortcuts or handouts and I didn’t have any connections that worked in the industry. At many time it seemed like there was no way to get my foot in the door or others that were even attempting. Being a very shy and introverted skater kid…breaking into the sports world was incredibly intimidating. It can be brutal and unforgiving.. it’s an extremely competitive market with long hours, long weeks, long seasons, time away from family and friends, often understaffed, underpaid and find yourself putting in more work than you ever thought possible.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a videographer, photographer and editor mainly working in sports creating for professional teams, leagues and athletes. I’m mostly known for my creative video work shooting on the sidelines for Major League Baseball and St. Louis CITY SC. My work ranges from capturing historical moments and major plays and matches, season long documentary series, game/match recap storytelling, player/athlete feature stories, club/team hype videos, and a ton more. I’ve had the honor of capturing Pujols, Yadi, and Wainwright walking off the field as a trio in their final game, followed Pujol’s as he tracked towards 700 career home runs, the first kickoff of the revitalized XFL, Roman Burki as he stepped off his plane from Dortmund as the first player signed to CITY SC, Tim Parker as he scored the very first goal in CITY SC history…and just about every goal and save since then.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Yes, luck really does count, but you cannot count on luck. It has definitely played a big role in my life and career in more ways than one but I’m a believer that luck is the intersection between preparation and opportunity. I’ve always believed that with the best intentions and if you try to put yourself in the best position possible to push yourself personally, progress your skill creatively, and continuously step outside the comfort zone, that the rest would take care of itself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/babyxfood
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babyxfood
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-gerber-403b42157?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
Image Credits
Most photos by Joe Martinez or Nyara Williams<br>
