Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Hampton.
Hi Jeff, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hey there, thanks for having me. My name is Jeff Hampton and I have a strong passion for getting to know people and their stories. Highlighting unique personalities in the form of film is a craft I’ve turned into a career. Traits, talents, habits, obsessions, are all things that fascinate me. In another life, I believe I might have pursued a career in sociology or psychology.
But instead, I’m a traveling filmmaker, dancer, and content creator. Based in Texas, I was born and raised in Fort Worth and have yet to move from the lone star state.
I’ve always had a love for art in its various forms. When I was younger, I drew portraits and sketches constantly. In middle school, I was skateboarding. Not until my senior year of high school did I discover dance.
At 23 I started backup dancing for a pop artist. I toured for 6 years before I made a career move into freelance videography – something I picked up in the middle of my dance career. I’ve now been working in the video industry for 8 years and 5 years full-time. I still travel for work often, but it’s nice to feel planted in Texas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think any true entrepreneur will say the road is easy. Working for yourself requires a lot of discipline. It takes more than pure motivation to work and provide a service that others are willing to pay for.
So, I would say for any self-employed entrepreneur, one of the greatest struggles will be consistency and discipline. Staying consistently disciplined to do the things you might not always want to do, but know that you need to do, is key.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Ha, this feels like a loaded question. I say that because I was definitely one of those people who had more talents than they knew what to do with.
I was born into a basketball family, so I grew up playing basketball and a few other sports. Physical activity and active hobbies are still a major proponent of my life today. As mentioned before, I also had a love for artistic hobbies, so managing both of those aspects in my world was interesting. Many athletes know that if a sport is serious, that sport takes up a majority of your free time. My Mom had me stop skateboarding when I was in high school because we had a state championship contending basketball team and she didn’t want me risking injury.
So, I had to find a new hobby. I didn’t start dancing until senior year of high school. All that was needed to pique my interest was the movie ‘You Got Served.’ I watched that movie and it was a wrap after that. I officially became the black version of Troy Bolton from High School Musical. I was homecoming king, my team won the basketball state championship, but instead of pursuing college basketball…I graduated high school and chose dance.
It didn’t take long before I joined my first dance crew. We performed at various city events while I attended college. I got my bachelor’s in marketing (mostly for my parents) and immediately hit the road with an opportunity to become a backup dancer.
Dancing on the road for 6 years was a blast. I still book events, tours, and shows here and there, but my main focus today is building my videography business. Most of my work began in the music entertainment industry, and most of it still resides there. Music videos, tour visuals, social media content, promotional material, and motion graphics serve as the bulk of what I do.
The thing I’m most proud of is the fact that I stepped out and chose to pursue something I love for a living. Being self-employed isn’t always easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
One key aspect that sets me apart from my competitors is the relationship I nurture with my clients. I’m a very interpersonal individual and have clients who have chosen me over equally talented competitors simply because of that.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
If there’s nothing else readers take away from my story, I want to emphasize the importance of relationships. The posture in which you treat others can sometimes be crucial to opportunity. We never know how certain individuals will play their part in our lives – and that goes for complete strangers as well. People may not always remember what you did, but they’ll remember how you made them feel.
Contact Info:
- Website: Jhamp.tv
- Instagram: 22jhamp
