Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to MP Rabie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
MP, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
In life you’re faced with many choices & opportunities, sometimes they lead to great outcomes and other times they lead to great learning experiences. Although not all learning moments are fun, you tend to always end up being in a better place than you were before. So in actual fact all negative things I faced in my life turned into very valuable lessons that guide my decision making moving forward.
So, whenever I know something bad is on the horizon I know I can get through it. It will be hard but I know it won’t be the end of the world. Right now we’re going through a very hard time as VFX artists due to the writers strike. It put a pause over the whole industry leading to all writers and everyone involved in big projects to be without work. Although this feels incredibly negative, in the long run it may be positive for a lot of people involved, I hope so at least. The lesson I learned here is that perhaps I should start planning on other ways to obtain income as a side hustle outside of the industry, just incase something like this happens again in the future.
Being happy is contagious, so smile!
Eventually, if given enough time everything bad will come to an end.
This too shall pass, stay positive!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I grew up in a small place in South Africa called Sasolburg located in the Freestate, a town that formed around Sasol, a chemical & energy company that was founded there. Through primary and highschool, all everyone talked about was being an engineer at Sasol one day and it was kind of welded into their minds. Mine too, infact.
As I grew older I really fell inlove with games, I would play non stop all the time to the point of it being pretty unhealthy. I found this really big clan on Youtube in 2011 called FaZe Clan and they uploaded montages of their Call of Duty trickshots. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Eventually my interests drifted from playing the games, and started moving towards editing montages. I would start to edit gameplay from myself and my friends, it was absolutely unwatchable at first. I was determined though, I watched countless videos and tutorials about after effects until I eventually became pretty good several years later, by 2015-2016 I was actually editing for FaZe Clan. Which was absolutely mind-blowing, I was the first South African to achieve something like this and really shocked a lot of people.
I got a bit too caught up in the editing world at this point and was starting to make some money. I started getting ideas of dropping out of school to pursue this thing full time, but luckily after many principal office meetings and a family intervention, I decided to put editing aside and to focus on school. I graduated from highschool and was told I can now pursue my dreams.
I went to a film school in South Africa that I will not name here. Where I learned very little about my actual interests, I learned some cool stuff that were pretty interesting but less than 20% of that was helpful. To put the cherry ontop of that we faced frequent violent & threatening strikes. One morning I wanted to go to campus and I was told by a masked individual with a knife in his pants “You better get away from here fast”. So, needless to say I accepted my day off and went home.
Just several weeks after that I decided to drop out in my second year.
My next game plan was to seek a proper uninterrupted education, so I got a loan to go study in the US, for privacy reasons I will not say who. But I will be forever grateful because it dramatically changed my life forever.
I swore on everything I had I would give my absolute everything at the college in the US, I did. Ended my program with a 4.0 GPA and a really good demo reel thanks to amazing teachers.
About a month out of university I landed my first job in the US in the field of previsualization at The Third Floor. After working there for about 10 months I decided to move to a new studio, Day For Nite. I just heard so many great things about the company and the people, I had to experience it before I had to return to South Africa.
Being at this new company was an absolutely amazing experience, I paid $80 for uber rides to make sure I get to meet the Owners in person at one of the meetups, that was very important to me. I made a point to give my everything at Day For Nite and to show I’ll work hard for the company and that I would prefer to stay here and help it grow.
The owners and I talked for a long time and decided to start a South African branch of Day For Nite, called Day For Nite SA, and things are going great! I feel so incredibly lucky and fortunate every day. I get to wake up and give my all to this amazing company.
Glenn & Chop are some of the most modest & kind people I have ever met, and being business partners with them is just an absolute pleasure beyond words.
This is where I’m at today, I’m happy, healthy & still very ambitious.
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?
Speaking to people is an incredibly important skill to learn. I am an introvert and like to isolate as I feel most comfortable when I’m alone in most cases. I had to learn to overcome this to some extent for the betterment of myself and my career. If you can’t talk to people you can’t network, if you can’t network your odds of finding work and jobs decrease dramatically. Speaking is also a very important skill when communicating with clients to secure projects and deals, you have to sell yourself, and if you can’t do that, then things will be a bit more challenging.
Having a great attitude is a recipe to get people to like you. Would you rather talk to someone who is positive and has a great outlook on tomorrow, someone who says “We can do it” when encountering difficult team challenges? Or would you rather talk to someone who is negative about everything, saying things will be too hard to do, and looking for ways to get out of it. I think the answer here is pretty clear. Change the attitude!
Never giving up, you’ve probably heard this a billion times but persistence is absolutely key. If you walk around the streets of NYC asking strangers for a dollar. Chances are the first person you encounter won’t even acknowledge your existence. It’s pretty easy to just call it there and quit. However I will bet all that I have that if you ask hard and long enough someone will say yes eventually and give you that dollar. Quitting is not a result of something being impossible it’s a result you stopping to try. Be positive, stay persistent and keep trying, see how many no’s you can handle!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Without a shadow of a doubt my Mother. I grew up with one parent, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My mom is my hero, she showed me what hard work can do, she showed me why you can’t stop trying, she showed me the good, the bad and the ugly.
As a single mom in her 20’s after just going through a divorce, she had to suddenly step up to take care of us. That amount of weight on her shoulders was something no one should ever have to endure, she gave absolutely everything to keep us above the water and for that I will give her my life If I needed to.
My mom is cool. She grew completely independent from pretty much anything. Water pipes broken? No problem she fixes it. House electrical wiring issue? No problemo for my mom. Heck she even runs marathons and participates in Warrior races. She’s an absolute unit of a person.
My mom raised me to be very tough mentally, however I don’t think I’ll ever be as tough as she is. She is and will always be my hero.
Ek is lief vir jou mamma <3
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mp.rabie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travis.meek.581
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-p-rabie-66a6821a1/
Image Credits
Kaede Rabie Victor Liedbeck
