Interview: Jahlil White

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More work from Jahlil:

By Ben Banks

I sat down with a local high school videographer, photographer, and model, Jahlil White to discuss what it’s like to be a young business owner and how he handles everything between life and his career. With over 11.5k followers on Instagram, he’s definitely a trendsetter in this area. I met Jahlil back over the summer because we both work at Breakout Games. He’s very creative and has an eye for fashion


How do you define yourself?
Jahlil: Multimedia entrepreneur. Videography, photography and graphic design

What/Who got you into the creative arts?
Jahlil: In middle school science class we had iPads that we filmed skits/videos on. After that, I kept working on making videos. Then I upgraded to an iPhone, then got a camera, Canon Powershot, and made $20 doing a video shoot. Now I have Canon 60D and I’ve worked on several high profile photo/video shoots.

Who are some of your inspirations?
Jahlil: Photographers Peter McKinnon and Brandon Woelfel. Also, Devin Graham, aka Devinsupertramp on Instagram.

What pressure do you feel, if any, with such a large following?
Jahlil: Yes, lots. Mistakes won’t go away because it reaches such a large group. I have to be very careful with opinions. Sometimes feels like I have to please everyone. I’m learning to make my own decisions based on personal beliefs rather than opinion of a crowd.

What message do you want to send to your audience?
Jahlil: It seems like everything in the news and in culture is guns, gangs, and violence. I want my audience to see more than that. I want them to go against grain and stand out in the crowd. I want to create leaders in my younger followers. To show them there’s an alternative to selling drugs or committing crimes.

Have there been any obstacles that you’ve overcome to pursue your career?
Jahlil: Absolutely. There’ve been times I’ve almost been banned on social media, which is my main outlet for promoting myself. I’ve almost died or been injured in doing dangerous stunts or shots. I’ve missed out on several sponsorship deals and I’ve lost friendships in pursuing my career.

Being in highschool, how do you balance life/career?
Jahlil: Honestly, I’ve had to move past some friendships and socialization to push forward in career. Lately, I’ve been solely focused on school, networking and working.

What’s the next step in your career?
Jahlil: I’ve recently been working on a sponsorship deal with both MTV and Sony. I’m really trying to get my foot in the door at those companies.

How would you best describe your brand/style?
Jahlil: I’d say modern Bohemian, modern hippie style.

What are some other forms of media that inspire you? (Movies, TV, etc)
Jahlil: I get inspired by movie directors, especially Steven Spielberg. He initially failed out of film school and went on to make some incredible films. I want to dedicate myself to move towards victory.

Where can people find your work?
Jahlil: On either my Instagram or Snapchat. I post the finished pictures on insta: @insertjubhere and the behind the scenes process to my snapchat: @fabio_white