Meet Davis DeWitt

We recently connected with Davis DeWitt and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Davis, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

Honestly, I would say the only thing that allows me to be successful is the very fact that I’m the only one in the room who looks like me. And it wasn’t until I started structuring my career around that very principle that I began to see real growth.

I realized that by becoming the only person who could do what I do, I no longer had to compete for the ability to do what I loved. By focusing on building up my reputation as the only “Mad Scientist” everyone knew, I was able to become the first recommendation when something unusual needed to be built.

This is especially true in the world of entertainment, and since moving to LA I’ve met hundreds of writers, directors, actors, and cinematographers. Each of which incredibly talented in their own right. But when it comes time to put a crew together, there’s a huge benefit to being the only person who does what I do.

Now that’s not to say a niche career nobody’s heard of is the only clear path to success. Such a choice has its own set of unique challenges, and having to re-explain what you do for a living every Thanksgiving is just the tip of the iceberg. But even if a niche career isn’t for everyone, the idea behind it remains the same. Regardless of where you want to go, and who you want to be, success comes from being the only one who does it the way you do.

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

The title of “Mad Scientist” started as an inside joke, but over time I’ve found it to become an apt descriptor of my work. And while the term “Creative Engineer” is far more professional sounding, I find it doesn’t quite paint the same picture in people’s minds as the former.

My work in that world first started when I was cast to be on the Mythbusters reboot back in 2021. It was there I learned how to blow up cars, build robots, and talk about every step of the process on camera. Working on that show was some of the most fun I’d ever had, so when that adventure eventually came to an end, I decided to take the leap and open a workshop of my own.

Since then, I have tackled projects ranging from on-screen robots and special effect blood canons, to prototypes for companies and my own line of custom-built camera parts. There’s nothing I love more than creating something that’s never existed before, and the world of film and TV has allowed me the platform to do so.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

While everyone’s journey is always so different, and no advice is ever universal, I have found a few things to be helpful in reframing the challenges I’ve come across.

Number 1: In order to achieve, you must first attempt.

There’s so much dialog around failure and how it’s okay to fail. But it’s one thing to regurgitate the sentiment, and quite another to routinely exemplify it. Learning to fail comfortably is absolutely a skill, and with any project, only after you get the first failure out of the way can the real work begin. It’s failure that pushes us to learn new skills and ask for help; two equally essential ingredients in growth.

Number 2: People won’t know what to hire you for if they don’t see you do it.

Think of the career you wish you had. Now ask yourself, do the people around me know that’s the career I want? If not, there’s likely a gap in how you put yourself and your work out there. Regardless of whether you want to use social media to share what you do or not, continually finding opportunities to put what you do in front of other people will increase the chances you get to do it more often.

Number 3: Become a resource.

One of the best ways to break into any community is by becoming a resource. Isolation serves very little purpose in the creative world, and by using what you have learned to help others, you will find most people are happy to reciprocate. Your peers are there to collaborate and grow with, not compete against.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m always looking for new creatives to collaborate with! One of the greatest parts of my job is getting to bring to life the ideas of my peers across a wide range of industries. The most common if which fall within the realm of film and TV, where each project varies wildly from the last, and the rules for what’s possible are limited only by the creative team behind it. I’m always looking for directors and production designers to work with in bringing their scripts to life.

Outside of film work, I also enjoy working with companies to develop new prototypes. Unlike film, these projects provide a whole new set of creative constraints to work under, and I enjoy being able to pull from my unique background to develop solutions.

I’m a firm believer that nothing happens in a vacuum, and it’s from these collaborations that I have grown as both an artist and an engineer. For those looking to get in touch, feel free to reach out via my website, or on Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://backhaul.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsdavisdewitt/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@backhaul-studios