Today we’d like to introduce you to David Wright.
David, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born the son of a Pastor and raised in Atlanta in the West End area. I matriculated through Atlanta Public Schools and tried to find my place following in the footsteps of my father by attending Morehouse College. While I loved being immersed in an HBCU experience, something about it didn’t fit for me. While I was a decent student, I felt like the traditional “go to school everyday” method just wasn’t working for me, so I dropped out.
I started working what I call “weird hour jobs”. I did commissioned cellphone sales at the mall, paper routes at night, and tons of fast food jobs. I enjoyed being around and interacting with people. I just didn’t enjoy the money! Along the way, I eloped, had a few kids and moved to Paulding County… I was in my early 20’s and no one could tell me anything. But there was still something missing.
On my 27th birthday, my wife bought me a camera… that was the spark that started it all. While I was still volunteering, I lost my job as a manager from Checkers right as my youngest son was born and had no idea what would come next. I was beginning to think that maybe I could earn money using the skills Id learned and work for myself. I had no idea what it would take to get there… but I took the first step: I started my company. And thus, Allwright Media was born.
I always felt like I didn’t fit everyone else mold but never knew how to find my authenticity. Funny thing about life is every day is a step closer to finding out what your purpose is. If you put all those steps together, you get an amazing story!
Has it been a smooth road?
At this point, I was also very active within my church, helping in whatever area there was a need. Somehow, I got plugged into the Production ministry. I came in as a volunteer and “worked” my way up to a Leadership position. I learned the mechanics of how to create impactful services that would ultimately change peoples lives. That was major for me. I learned how to put visual systems together and how to fix them when they fell apart. Cameras, lights, audio, graphics… I learned it all in ministry. The biggest thing that I learned was how to tell the story of what happened in every service.
Over the next few years, I would bounce between being employed and building my business. During this time, I experienced troubles in my marriage. It was hard man! Unfortunately, my marriage ended. I was crippled. I had 3 children and I had no idea how to navigate the next steps. I had family and friends and even a church family that I know were supportive, but there are some things that you have no choice but to walk through.
It was during the divorce process that I realized what my personal story was. I wasn’t perfect. I had and still have issues (insert side eye emoji). This process taught me to embrace both the good and the bad because both aspects made me authentic. I learned that all the details of my story made me both unique and gifted. And that gift has a purpose in this world.
Fast forward 2 years and after relocating back to Atlanta, I started to focus solely on building my company. I would take gigs on craigslist just to build my portfolio… it was laughable. I don’t have enough time to tell you about the shady people I met, all to make a video for $50 to $100 after almost slaving or driving too far to justify that price. But I was determined there was no such thing as a parachute and I had no choice but to be successful.
I kept plugging away and continued to be active in ministry. One of my friends was apart of a campaign for mayor. In the early parts of the campaign, I noticed every video I saw them post was cell phone footage (Not the good kind either… the shaky bootleg video kind). To a professional shooter, thats sacrilegious! Because I know she’s super excellent in what she does, I didn’t want her to be left with the crappy footage. So, I asked her if I could help, not knowing anything about the candidate except that my friend believes in her and that was good enough for me. I reached out and that turned into the opportunity for a life time to become the Principal Videographer for the Keisha Lance Bottoms 2017 Mayoral Campaign.
While I continued to grow as a creative, this was the spark I needed to solidify what had been missing… it was a telling a story! My love for storytelling began when I first started volunteering at church and has carried me all these years. Through my own troubles and triumphs, it has been the reoccurring theme of my life. Since then, I’ve encountered hundred of people, worked with small business, churches and even been a part of a winning Mayoral Campaign… I’ve learned that in every story we all have something that makes us all more alike than we are different.
And as I look into my future, I embrace the possibility that love does exist again and that every story has a happy ending… and even then, the more rewarding idea is that the journey is more rewarding than the destination.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Allwright Media is an all purposed video production company. We specialize in narrative based concepts that focus on creating a singular focus and uniting its viewership. We create visuals for small businesses, corporations, ministry, and creatives that are looking to grow their brand awareness. We create commercials, short films, documentaries, as well as wedding cinematography. We are most proud of being versatile. We can cover any client, any background; ANY STORY! What sets us apart is how we engage our clients. We immerse ourselves in their brand story and find innovative ways to help their story resonate with others. Often times, we walk away feeling like family.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is a melting pot for people with various backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, and pedigrees. It’s diverse richness is perfect for Allwright Media. Someone just starting here has every opportunity to create a profitable and enjoyable career for themselves in whatever they choose. There’s no excuse!
Contact Info:
- Website: allwrightmedia.com
- Phone: 720-507-4668
- Email: capture@allwrightmedia.com
- Instagram: @allwrightmedia
- Facebook: facebook.com/allwrightmedia
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
