Meet Aman

We were lucky to catch up with Aman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Aman, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Growing up, I was incredibly shy and awkward. I was super introverted – I would literally bring a portable DVD player or a book with me to restaurants and parties so I could just sit in a corner and keep to myself. I loved escaping into movies or fantasy novels and, looking back, I think it was because I never had the skills to make my life as entertaining as these worlds.

In high school, I started reading a ton of personal development books and watching YouTube videos on topics ranging from how to dress better, how to carry conversations forward, the importance of empathy, public speaking, meditation, etc. I developed a genuine love for learning about these areas. The idea that confidence and charisma were skills I could work on and develop, not just something you’re born with, was very exciting to me. I really worked hard to build habits around what I was learning. I’d force myself to start conversations with strangers and find ways to express my personality to others, be it through fashion or talking about my love for movies and magic.

I went to Magic Camp over the summer for 8 years while growing up and that also played a huge factor in getting me out of my shell. It let me form quick connections with people of different ages and in various social circles. Learning about audience management and how to pique someone’s attention and play with it were such valuable skills that help me now in the content world too.

While a lot of what I was learning was focused on how to create better outcomes in my social life, I’d say I developed confidence by repeatedly putting myself out there and patting myself on the back for doing so, regardless of the outcome. I believe deep self-esteem stems from the reputation you build with yourself – if you’re able to pat yourself on the back when you executed on a goal and hold yourself accountable when you don’t.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Now, I get to live my dream life: I’m an actor and content creator based in Los Angeles.

One of the most exciting and special parts about this job for me is that I get to collaborate with some incredibly talented people across a variety of industries. Depending on the video, I work with dancers, comedians, actors, models, singers, magicians, etc. I’m lucky enough to have an audience that is willing to see me in different contexts and experiment, so I try to mix my content up between skits, vlogs, mini-music videos, dances, Bollywood vignettes, etc.

I think a lot of the would-be filmmakers of my generation were shaped by the on-the-go YouTuber / creator culture. I loved watching creators like Casey Neistat create their own videos, handling the production, direction, editing, and acting. And now, I get to fuse my love for the larger-than-life Bollywood set pieces I grew up on with that culture.

One of my favorite types of content to create is around Bollywood songs. I love taking a Bollywood song and recontextualizing it into a new format. I’ll work with dancers to choreograph a new routine and add some kind of narrative / story element to create an arc over 60 seconds. It’s kind of a combination of a skit and a music video? I never really know how to describe it.

These are two recent videos I was particularly proud of:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDjMirMRl-o/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MWhsYjVmbWJmOXE3aw==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHsbt47R36Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MXI5ZW5vdndvcTI4dQ==

Because of all the support on social media, I’ve been lucky enough to begin exploring the world of acting too. I’ve done a couple short films over the last year and acted in a play called Pyar Aur Coffee at the Long Beach Shakespeare Company. Pyar Aur Coffee is a Bollywood-inspired interracial romantic comedy, written by Rena Patel, following four quick-witted and coffee-addicted friends as they navigate espresso machines, dating apps, and South Asian societal expectations as they figure out what or who makes them happy. You can find out more about the play here: https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Rena-Patels-PYAR-AUR-COFFEE-Sells-Out-Initial-Run-Extra-Performance-Added-20240608

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

First and foremost, I’d say a love for, and command of, editing has helped me a ton throughout my career. Before I fell in love with performing in front of the camera, I was obsessed with visual effects. After taking a photoshop class in middle school, I started learning video editing. I watched countless tutorials on YouTube for Premiere Pro and After Effects and started trying to create my own visual effects. While it started off quite silly (videos with cloning, fire, teleportation, etc.), this background laid the groundwork for my content now actually. The first video I had that went viral in 2020 was of me green-screening myself into a Bollywood movie (https://www.tiktok.com/@a.magic.man/video/6817190100573752582?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7364909021100492319). While I think everyone’s savviness when it comes to editing has improved as a result of social media, at the time, the editing in this video was a differentiating factor that I think helped it go viral. After the success of that video, I created a series around that concept called Living My Bollywood Dreams which helped me build a consistent following. And, even though my videos don’t involve much green-screen work anymore, I still try to utilize creative editing to make my content stand out. There’s always going to be someone with access to more resources and can create videos with higher production quality. But, a video with higher production quality doesn’t necessarily mean a higher quality video – with some creative editing, you can compete with anyone.

Secondly, consistency has been key for me. Not stopping even when it feels like no one is watching is the reason I am where I am now. I posted consistently for five years on YouTube to almost no success, amassing less than 200 subscribers. But today, after creating over 1,000 short-form videos, and posting daily for almost 3 years, I can proudly say I have over 600,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million followers across social media platforms.

Finally, collaborating with different artists has been incredibly impactful to my journey. Almost every one of my videos over the last couple years is a collaboration with another creator, dancer, actor, comedian, singer, or magician. There are so many benefits to collaborating. In addition to the obvious benefit of being exposed to a new audience, constantly working with new people helps reduce the burnout that comes with posting so consistently and helps keep your content fresh. Eventually, your taste evolves as you work with people with different styles and you get to learn all the different tips and tricks other creators have that you can apply to your own content.

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

I think the one of the most impactful things my parents did for me was instill a genuine love for art. They appreciated cinema, music, dance, and poetry. We constantly went to the theater and watched films at home, and they also loved hosting poetry nights with their friends.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.magic.man/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amagicman
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@a.magic.man

Image Credits

Joanna DeGeneres

Justin Yiu

Astraea Tay