11 years ago, I took one of the biggest risks of my life.
I spent every single penny I had—and went all in on a RED.
Dave was the first person I spoke to about investing in the camera. After a year of conversations, analyzing my career growth, and figuring out if my eye was truly ready, he became a key part of giving me the confidence to pull the trigger.
Imagine being 20 years old and spending tens of thousands on a camera, not knowing where the future is heading.
I remember having just €300 left in my bank account. I had to fly to England to pick up the equipment—Italy was one of the main RED providers at the time, but I chose to get mine from CVP in England.
Writing this now, I’ve realized something about myself…
You can take away everything I have—but my life experience, and everything I’ve learned about this career and about myself, is locked in.
And wherever I go, I’ll build again.
Thanks, Dave. You’re one of the few people who played a key role in my life.
When I was 17 I had €25 in my bank account and had finally landed a €400 job filming for two days.
I took a €14 cab to an office in Imrieħel. When I arrived, the entire floor was empty. I went upstairs and asked another office if I had the right place.
They told me the company had moved out a week earlier.
I called the client and they said they forgot to tell me and asked to reschedule next month.
I sat outside the industrial estate crying, convinced this career might be too tough for me.
All of a sudden a car tyre came bouncing down the road and someone shouted “grab it!”. I ran, caught it, and fell flat on my face.
The man thanked me and invited me for coffee in his garage. We talked about life and the recent loss of his wife. He said he wished he had more photos of their happy moments.
I told him I was a photographer.
So I spent the next few hours taking photos of him and his son in there shop.
At the end of the day he told me
“Don’t give up Andrew, you have the ability to make people see life differently, that’s priceless, understand? If you gave up today, you would not have gotten me to tomorrow.”
That was 14 years ago. And I still remember that day.
The reality is, even when you’re living your dream, you need to keep working hard.
When I set out on this journey I underestimated what I was in for.
Challenges in all aspects presented themselves before me at every corner, but one sentence kept ringing in my head.
Just do it yourself.
