Today we’d like to introduce you to John Warner.
Hi John, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My creative journey in photography/content creation began when I was a freshman in high school. I began my foundation in the modeling world with the help of John Casablancas, a school for careers in the entertainment industry. From there, I began taking the photos that I believed were “editorial,” however, now I know they were just the early footprints that are a learning experience for my portfolio.
After my freshman year, I decided to pursue fashion shows hosted by WalkFashionShow and other small gigs to build my name. Unfortunately, I fell off after a sophomore year because of some mental declines I was experiencing. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop my creative journey. I decided to channel more of my efforts behind the scenes instead of trying to be the main attraction. I applied to hold multiple officer positions in organizations around my alma mater, Stephenson high school and became good at creating content for all the clubs. For those final two years of my high school career, I was being praised as the guy that wore suits every day and on his way to being a huge success. Possibly even being the next Governor after graduation. With those handclaps I received, I took it as a sign to put down my creative career and pursue a career in politics at Alabama A&M University. My freshman year there was amazing, I networked with a lot of people, ran for student government positions, and even helped start a few clubs. Unfortunately, life took another hard turn when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I had to re-adjust what I wanted to do for financial reasons.
Over the summer during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, I took the time out to sit outside instead of being in the house all day long. Assuming the sunlight provided some spiritual intellect, I impulsively purchased a Canon 70D with a 50 mm, 1.8 lens. I started taking professional photos and my Instagram audience was more than happy to see my work. I thought to myself how important being creative is in the current state the world is in now. With that, I stumbled upon the #Voguechallenge and began to make my mark with post-editing. I started to clone myself in the frame, edit myself to levitate and even place objects in the scene to evoke visual interest. Once my work started to pick up steam, I knew that I needed to be in a creative environment.
The next thing I know, I’m applying to be a student at SCAD Atlanta with over $45,000 in scholarships coming my way every single year. Ever since I’ve been at this school, I believe my creative abilities have grown immensely. I’m no longer the person that puts the praise or the will of others ahead of what I want to do for myself and because of that, I’m a journalist for the school, a creative icon for those here and wanting to come here, and a fashion inspiration. Let alone being a digital media intern for The Hype Lab and a journalist for Hype Land Tv. But of course, even with these achievements, I’m not even close to where I want to be. My end goal is to have a household name in every industry, starting with photography and ending in advertising. I want to bring in as much wealth as I provide for those on the same path as me or even just wanting to go to college in general.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The struggles that I’ve endured are due to some mental hardships I face. Over the years of me being creative, I’ve had my work shut down in my face by close friends and being rejected by opportunities that I pursued because I didn’t “fit the narrative.” Essentially me not being 6’2″ or having fair skin does not travel as well for me. But that’s never stopped me from showing my work to the world.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am pursuing a career in advertising and branding, which is my major at SCAD Atlanta. My minor is film and television production. I’m a photographer, filmmaker, marketing strategist and editor. I’m widely known for my levitation and clone photography. Aside from that, I’m also known as the guy that overdresses to ride around Atlanta on electric scooters with shades on and music blasting. Plus I have some great friends with me that sort of do the same, but we travel across the city together. We’re an extremely well-known group of people on our campus. However, I’m most proud of the friends that I’ve been able to attain. They, aside from my family, push me to be greater every day with the work they produce and they also help me grow as an artist with their support and drive for wanting to be wealthy. I think it’s a healthy balance of love and annoyance, but I love them a lot. Finally, the aspect that sets me apart is my unwillingness to quit and be quiet. There is never a moment in which I am not working and if there is, it’s because I’m taking a shower or sleeping. It’s hard for me to lie down without doing something creative every day.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5-10 years, I believe my industry would be more geared towards complete diversity in amplifying minority voices, aside from capitalizing off of the culture of minority groups. I also believe the advertising industry will break off from having millions of departments to having a set amount of skillful leaders to lead a team for creative projects ranging in different industries, such as voice-artistry, acting, photography, digital campaign creation, etc.
Contact Info:
- Email: JohnWModeling@gmail.com
- Website: My articles: https://scadconnector.com/author/john-warner/.
My short adult novel: https://my.w.tt/sgTmlE87Kcb - Instagram: Instagram.com/IamJohnWarner/
- Twitter: Twitter.com/IamJohnWarner/
- Other: TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeF36to5/.
