Meet Judah Brown

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Judah Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Judah, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I grew up knowing that nothing would ever be handed to me and that I will have to work for any and everything I really want. Growing up it was mainly me, my younger brother Jonah, and my mom. There was never really a father figure for us growing up. But people like my uncles, my grandfather, and even coaches and men in the barbershop would be who I looked up to. My work ethic, drive, determination, and resilience are the values that have gotten me to this point in life and they will carry me for the rest of my life.
In life, some events make you who you are. I’ve experienced numerous setbacks and letdowns in my life that had me down and discouraged for a while. But like my football coach always reminded me, life is 10 percent what happens to you, and 90 percent how you respond. Throughout my life, like everyone, I’ve had my low moments where I saw no hope. But I just put it in God’s hands and controlled what I could control. I’m an extremely hardworking and dedicated individual and my main goal is to always outdo myself. One of my favorite artists, kevin Gates, has a line that says “anything lost can be found again except for time wasted. A vision without action is merely a dream. Whenever I feel like giving up, that quote along with others is what keeps me going.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I was born on April 6, 2002, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on the military base. I’ve lived in different parts of North Carolina like Concord, Albemarle, Raleigh, and Washington. Growing up, my younger brother and I were always involved in different extracurricular activities including tee-ball, football, track, and basketball. My mom always put me and my brother into different programs to keep us busy and occupied. I was never really a big problem kid but being a young boy, it was pretty much impossible to never get in trouble. But sports helped limit the amount I got into by taking up the majority of my time outside of school. Music has always been a big part of my life and the people that know me, know that I am usually always able to tell what a song is within the first few seconds. I am the friend that always puts others before me and looks out for those that might not do the same for me. Being genuine is always a good trait to have, but you have to learn when to look out for others and when to look out for yourself. Having the backs of people I care about will always be one of my traits that gets shown no matter the situation my life, there have been many phrases that have been used to describe me and my personality. Let my friends tell it, and I am a “crazy person disguised as a shy person”. Let my mother tell it, and I am a “ creative young man that likes to keep to himself”. If you ask my old high school football coach, I am “ a selfless hard worker that will play background for the success of the overall group”. And honestly, all of these statements describe me in a nutshell. People say the opinions of others don’t matter, and I tend to live by that. However, when it comes to how you make people feel and the impact you leave on them, that in my opinion does indeed matter. I am a small-town boy so the country will always be a part of me. People say they don’t like things before ever really giving it a try, and country music is definitely on the list of things people give up on before truly giving it a shot. Art has also always been a big part of my life. Growing up, I would always walk around with a sketchbook and just draw things that came into my head, at one point even having my art in the NC State Fair when I was in middle school. Since I started videography, I have shot well over 150 music videos including some for well known artists such as Baby Kia. I have received multiple interviews for my work and I am truly thankful to be able to be a creative. I always say creativity is king, and innovation makes people scared. When you are creating something new and unique, it might not always catch on to everybody at first, and that is fine. Stay the course, stay true to you, and trust your vision and it will work out. There is no time table for success nor is there a guaranteed route to success. If there were, everyone would chase their dreams and be successful.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would say the three most important qualities I have held on to to get where I am at and to continue growing is being hard-working, being innovative/creative, and being genuine. I feel like all of these qualities tie in to one another. There are a lot of people who are hardworking and succeed, but they are not genuine and treat others poorly and no one wants to be around someone like that. I believe it is very important for everyone to look out for others. Looking out doesn’t necessarily mean giving people money. It can be lending a helping hand or something as simple as just being someone people can talk to in their time of need. I help my community whenever I can and you can’t buy that type of feeling! So being a hard-worker while also being genuine is what I believe will get me far along with continuing to be creative and making content that people will not only enjoy a song that I shoot, but also the video.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The most impactful thing my mom did for me was simply believe in me. Growing up my mom was a single parent raising me and my brother. We moved a lot throughout my childhood and I never knew what it was like to get anything I wanted or even things that some of the other kids were able to get, but she always made it happen. That also played into my work ethic. I am not in the business of comparing struggles, but there is something about people who watched their single parent work extra hard to provide for them and or their siblings that makes you grind harder. To 1, never have to go back to times like those, and 2, to give your parent a chance at a comfortable life since they spent your early years making sure your life was as comfortable as it can be. I believe times like this built my character along with my work ethic. When you have a parent that might not always be able to tell you “yes, I can buy you this”, but will always tell you “yes, I know you will be great one day”, means more than getting to do or receive whatever. There are people out there with all the money in the world but still feel like an imposter because they never had to work for anything. I believe when your back is against the wall and the only way is up, that brings the best out of you. Are you willing to sprint when the distance is unknown?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://judahb1835.wixsite.com/mysite
• Instagram: @_shotbysmoove
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/