Disrupt Magazine interviews Content Creator and Entrepreneur Rey Rey Rodriguez.
Who is Rey Paul Rodriguez?
Rey Paul Rodriguez, better known as Rey Rey Rodriguez, the founder of The Mind of Rey Rey ®, began his rise in the first decade of the 2000s. Staying up-to-date reading the top tech magazines kept him informed of the newest gadgets being released. And as technology improved, he wanted to be the first to use it to his advantage. Here’s the timeline that lead to the birth of his business.
2003 was the year of MySpace, The platform that made social networking popular. The Metro PCS cellular phone service had just started serving South Florida, and the first phone they released had a small camera. With that camera, Rey Rey began posting a combination of dark, horror and comedic photos on his MySpace page. The resolution of the photos were low, but the photos were creative and social media was in its’ infancy, so his page not only got attention, but was also one of the first to receive a verification badge, which was only given to celebrities at the time.
YouTube popped up in 2005, Giving video creators a platform to display their work. Using a cheap camcorder and his roommate’s iMac for editing, he began making random videos. His video, “How to Pierce Yourself,” where he pierces his labret on camera, almost reached a million views before being removed due to copyright violation for using the Kanye West song, “Stronger” as the score.
In 2008, Nikon released the D90, The first DSLR camera with video capabilities, allowing filmmakers to finally have the “film look” on a small budget. His roommates’ iMac was no longer available, so Rey Rey bought a MacBook Pro (allowing him to edit on the go), and a D90 as well. The visual quality of his short films quickly got attention from local acting and filmmaking communities who were eager to collaborate on projects.
By 2009, Facebook was at an all time high, connecting people from all over the world. While most photographers and other artists were concerned with their work being stolen, Rey Rey took advantage of the platform by sharing his work as he created it with everyone.
Facebook “Groups” was launched in 2010, Allowing anyone to create and find a group of any genre or interest, allowing users to connect with like-minded individuals. He took full advantage of it upon its release, by marketing himself in every group he could find.
Permission to use his images was given to anyone that asked, at no cost. Soon his work began popping up in different groups, random accounts, blogs, as profile portraits, and other places. The artist name, “Rey Rey Rodriguez” began to spread.
In 2011, Final Cut Pro X was released, While many video editors disliked it, the new background-rendering feature allowed him to save hours on each project in post-production. Giving him more time to work on other projects.
Rey Rey pre-ordered the Nikon D800 which was released in 2012, the first full-frame DSLR with High-Definition video. This allowed him to shoot billboard-sized images, and to create HD commercials and short films using cheap and lightweight equipment.
In 2013, professional website prices started at $3k and up, which was more than he was willing to spend. Luckily, Wix began promoting their “free website building” platform, and although its’ editing system was limited at that time, with the right arrangements of photos, colors and fonts, Rey Rey built his own website, that would receive lots of attention.
In 2014, he founded his company The Mind of Rey Rey ®.
Today, Rey Rey Rodriguez continues to use the same principle. He believes that keeping track of all the new technological devices, software, and trends is the key to success in marketing.
In his words,
“When you have the opportunity to be the first to use something that others don’t have access to, allowing you to create or do something that others can’t, jump on it. Being the first to do anything can get you more notoriety instantly, than you would get by putting in years of work after others have done it. From there, as long as you continue to release good content, you just have to ride the momentum.”
The Mind of Rey Rey ® Official Website
Rey Rey Rodriguez on Social Media:
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