Karlo Gesner’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

We recently had the chance to connect with Karlo Gesner and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Karlo, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
We recently launched an EDM Night in our local city. It was not in the plans.
*EDM – Electronic Dance Music

Over a late night meal, post-video shoot for a local DJ, me and my video partner were so excited about the process and the final footage that we thought to ourselves, “we should have a Music Video Premiere!” After pining over this thought in the following days we had to establish some parameters:

1) We had to play it to a full room for maximum impact and visibility
2) We did not want to pay anything out of pocket.

The Music Video was a 1 Hour Live Performance for a local House DJ intended for him to use as promo as well as distribute on YouTube.

1 Hour…..is a long-time.

Going into analysis and problem-solving mode, it was evident that a simple Music Video Premiere from a small video company with a little-known DJ would not draw the crowd we were looking for. However….from talking to people in the scene, we knew there was a palpable demand for live EDM shows. We quickly re-labeled the event as an EDM Night *featuring* a Music Video Premiere. This move may have been seen as indirect, however in our wild conversations, we thought to ourselves “this could be the catalyst to starting an EDM scene in OUR area”.

The video was completed. I made phone calls. We locked in a date with the venue (they agreed to give us the room in exchange for a 70/30 split with ticket sales), started booking DJ’s, designed and created assets to brand and promote the show, and slowly started releasing these assets into the internet via Instagram & Facebook.

The buzz was real….but buzz doesn’t equal ticket sales.

A week before the show, I was sweating bullets. We had 2 tickets sold. I had made financial arrangements with the DJ’s involved. The last thing we wanted was a sparsely filled room. I went into guerrilla marketing mode, hitting the streets on my electric skateboard that weekend, playing EDM music from my bluetooth speaker strapped to my back, handing out flyers and interacting with anyone that expressed interest. People wanted it, expressing excitement that there was an opportunity to see and experience live EDM in their home city.

As the days progressed, we finally saw the marketing efforts take seed. Small surges in online ticket sales, online views, comments, engagements, and shares. DM’s from DJ’s wanting to be on the bill as well as active members in the regional EDM community. We watched the numbers climb across the board leading into the show date.

The show was a hit. The DJ’s played to an excited and hungry crowd, the Music Video premiere kept everyone engaged, and the room energy was felt by everyone. I acted as MC & Host. At the conclusion of the show I asked the crowd “Should we do this again?” and the question was answered by a palpable roar from the crowd.

We had accomplished what we set out to do that night at the diner. We had our Music Video Premiere, paid no money out of pocket (we actually made money), and sparked the energy to the extent that people were asking “when’s the next one?”

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I do a lot.

At my core, I am an artist. I have always struggled with “brands / labels / niches” because I find them to be very limiting when it comes to defining my endeavors. My mediums are photo, video, and subsequently audio.

I started my career as a photographer, shooting for the newspaper and moving on to weddings as many do. After weddings (and my daughter’s birth), I moved into commercial photography. I saw it as a win-win and opportunity to increase my skillset while also not robbing my family of nights and weekends together. This natural progression led me into video work as I had the necessary equipment and I love to tell stories in detail (it excites me).

Currently, I have 3 main product offerings. On-Location Headshots, Golf Industry Photo & Video, & Commercial Photography & Video. This is my outward representation to anyone that may stumble across my website. My previous employment as a commercial photographer had me photographing everything from public figures, to food, to at one point a dog riding on the back of a Vespa wearing glasses for an optometrist. My range of skill expanded and I became known as being the guy that can “pull off the shoot”. Not uncommon are email or text requests asking me to provide my services in “Emergency Situations”. i.e. “we need someone tomorrow”, “the original photographer backed out”, or “the work submitted for the initial shoot was not accepted by the client”.

In my personal world I am married to my wonderful wife (we own an Early Learning Center together, which I support behind-the-scenes). I have a wonderful 22 year old step-daughter, and a gem of a 10 year old who is a competitive gymnast.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a kid, I grew up thinking that being a professional creative was something for folks “out there”.

I grew up in a rural area in the mountains of Western, MD, small-town vibes for sure. I was always extremely creative as a kid, however it was seen by everyone, including myself, as something to be nurtured as a hobby. Singing, acting, music, photography, making small videos with friends, were all things I did with no true intentions of making any of it a career.

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
I had a client meeting yesterday morning. It was entered intended to be a discovery meeting for a friend of a friends that was interested in headshots and modeling portfolio. To this date, I have not done much if anything in the fashion world, so I thought it was an odd request.

The client had some understanding of who I was through social media and conversations with others, but we had never sat down together to share a moment in the real world. Typically, I lead these consultations by interviewing the client to understand their motivations and how I can best move them towards their goal. This one was different. She asked me about my story, my career advancement, & my experiences as a professional creative. I told her all of it, and she was engaged and connected the entire time.

Typically, you don’t share the “bad” stories with prospective clients. Everyone wants to come off as polished and professional to gain trust and ultimately do business. Her genuine curiosity and non-judgement made me feel safe leading me to share deeper stories about my family and their apprehension for my artistic nature. My physically distant relationship with my father, what it was like being singled out as “different” growing up Asian in rural America, and my relationship with spirituality and what led there. I told it all.

We walked away from that meeting feeling connected, and in turn, I wanted to connect her to the people that I hold close in the creative and professional community.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I think the biggest lie the industry tells us is that we have to be one thing in order to achieve success.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
That beliefs are not truth. Beliefs are strongly formulated opinions backed by strong emotions. These strong emotions are often generated by personal experiences that do not encompass the experience of the whole.

Truth comes from our own perception. Individual truths with individual realities. What most people don’t know, is that we have the power to reshape our perception to create our own lives and subsequently influence the world around us.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Bri Nguyen: DJ Party Crowd Shot
Josh Carrigan: Black & White “Laugh w/ Hat” Photo

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?

Coffee? Workouts? Hitting the snooze button 14 times? Everyone has their morning ritual and we

Highlighter Series
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we

Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than