On this week's episode, I have choreographer Phil Wright. We talk about the huge risk he took moving out to Los Angeles from a successful career in Miami. He dives into some of the famous people he has worked with as well as what his most viral video is. There is so much more so make sure you tune in.

Show Notes

Phil Wright on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phil_wright_/

Phil Wright on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@philwright_

Phil Wright on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PhilWright

Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/course

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Autogenerated Transcript

Phil Wright:

And it's hard because we're working when we're not working, there's no punching and punch out clock with

Michael Jamin:

Us.

Phil Wright:

So it's tough. So getting the brain to relax and just actually sit down and watch a movie and not worry about camera angles, or how did he save his line to make him funny?

Michael Jamin:

Really?

Phil Wright:

I've lost, and which I'm trying to get back to. I've lost the concept of just being a consumer.

Michael Jamin:

You're listening to. What the hell is Michael Jamin talking about? I'll tell you what I'm talking about. I'm talking about creativity. I'm talking about writing, and I'm talking about reinventing yourself through the arts.

Hey everyone, it's Michael Jamin, another episode of, what the Hell is Michael Jamin talking about? I'll tell you what I'm talking about, guys. So as you know, I'm really into talking to creative people who've just done interesting things and have invented themselves in ways. And so ordinarily I talk to screenwriters and authors and actors and directors, people like that, but I just discovered this guy I want to introduce you to. His name is Phil Wright, and he's the first dancer choreographer I'm talking to, which I think is so, I don't know. I got a lot of questions for you. Phil. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for doing this,

Phil Wright:

Dude. Thank you for having me. I'm such a fan, man. You don't realize I'm such a good fan. I watch your page all the time. I'm always interested in what you're getting into. Ah,

Michael Jamin:

That's very kind. I'm a fan of you. I have to know doing something, which is really interesting. Not a lot of people can make a living as a dancer and even a choreographer that's even fewer people. And yet this is, so where did this all begin then?

Phil Wright:

Okay, so originally from Miami, Florida. I moved to LA about 10 years ago. I had stepped into the dance world accidentally, I guess because I wasn't really technically trained per se. I didn't start at a young age. I started dancing on the streets. That's when we had crews, and if you weren't part of a crew, then you were a nerd. And I wasn't a nerd by any means. I wasn't book smart, so you had to be a part of a crew, and that's what it was. So it sort of kept me off of the street, out of trouble and fast forward, moved to LA about 10 years ago and just rebranded myself in what I was trying to do with my career. I actually started teaching children to start things off. Kind of got like, you know what? I think I could do better. I think I could, when you

Michael Jamin:

Say teaching children, you were teaching at schools at where? Yeah,

Phil Wright:

Teaching at local dance studios around the neighborhood. And honestly, it just started off like, Hey, I need some extra money, man. So I'm serving tables at Applebee's, serving two for twenties and three o'clock rolls around. I go teach a class and do my double shift, go right back to Applebee's and do the same thing all over again. And we won't talk about poker nights. But anyway.

Michael Jamin:

So you were starting at the bottom, but when you moved to la, did you hope to get in music videos? What was your aspiration?

Phil Wright:

Well, I mean, first off, I had sort of established myself in Miami. I started teaching for the Miami Heat Dance Team. Oh, really? Miami Billboard Awards, the Latin Billboard awards. And I had sort of caught fire in Miami, and I had an apartment in BIS Camp Boulevard. So I was fine. I didn't really need to move.

Michael Jamin:

So that must have been hard. You're going to leave all that behind.

Phil Wright:

Yeah. Yeah.

Michael Jamin:

You wanted a bigger pool or what? It was

Phil Wright:

Huge. It was a huge sacrifice. And then at that time, my girlfriend, well, now wife, I just came home and I just sort of got motivated by my friends who had moved from Miami to la.

Michael Jamin:

And how old were you at this point when you decided to leave it behind?

Phil Wright:

Dude, I told my kids this all the time. It's never too late. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 26 years old.

Michael Jamin:

Right. Okay. Well, you're still young, but, but yeah,

Phil Wright:

But in artistry world, especially if you're in front of the camera, not behind the camera writing or

Michael Jamin:

Directly,

Phil Wright:

If you're in front of the camera and you have eyes on the camera, you have to be, I don't know, fresh, I guess. I don't know.

Michael Jamin:

Well, especially dancing, because it takes a wear and tear on your body. I mean, it really does. Definitely.

Phil Wright:

So during that time, you would consider that, woo, that's kind of late in the game. So I moved to LA and started all over, man. I had gave up everything and I had dreams, and I gave it all up and moved to LA to sleep on the floor in my friend's apartment, one bedroom apartment with roaches crawling on me, just,

Michael Jamin:

And then where did you start from? I should mention, because I haven't said this before. You're huge on YouTube. You've got well over a million followers. That's a big deal, man. That's a very big deal. Thank you. So I mean a household name, but you are making quite a name for yourself. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

Phil Wright:

I like to say this broke, gets creative really quick.

Michael Jamin:

Yes. Tell me how

Phil Wright:

The motivation to, it's not money per se, it's sort of just being productive. You know what I mean? If I can stay productive, the money will follow. But when you don't necessarily have opportunities knocking at the door every single day, you have to sort of create those opportunities.

Michael Jamin:

So how were you doing that? What were you doing?

Phil Wright:

This was the time when Instagram was around and we had our 15 second videos. These were 15 second videos. And I would go out on the street, gorilla style, no permits. I hope they won't catch me now, but no permits, no nothing. And I would get the most popular song that would drop at midnight, photograph something, get two or three friends, and record a dance routine in the middle of the street.

Michael Jamin:

And this, was it Vine or Instagram?

Phil Wright:

This was Instagram during the time. This is after Vine.

Michael Jamin:

Okay.

Phil Wright:

Now, strategically, what I would do is get the teachers that were already teaching in the classrooms, but I wasn't teaching during that time. No one knew who I was. I knew who those people were because I took those people's classes. So they knew I was a great dancer. They knew I was good people. So they would say, sure, yeah, Phil, we'll dance with you. And no one really, at that time, videos were not big. They weren't a big deal. So I would get them and they would just, Hey, look. And my pitch was like, I only need 15 seconds your time. That's it. 15 seconds, we'll do two eight counts. That's it. And you'll make a new appearance and then you bounce out. But

Michael Jamin:

What was your expectation when you were putting these videos up?

Phil Wright:

My expectations were to get into classrooms, to teach classes.

Michael Jamin:

Oh, okay. Why? Because you need a following to get to teach in a classroom.

Phil Wright:

Absolutely.

Michael Jamin:

Really?

Phil Wright:

Absolutely. See

Michael Jamin:

That I did not know, even in a small little private studio, you need a following.

Phil Wright:

You need a following. If people don't know who you are, they're not coming to take class.

Michael Jamin:

But I would think that my daughters went to take dance class and there was a studio in the neighborhood, and we went there.

Phil Wright:

Yeah, I mean, well, I'm thinking, I'm talking more of entertainment, not your residential.

Michael Jamin:

So these classes are more,

Phil Wright:

These are professional

Michael Jamin:

Dance classes, classes,

Phil Wright:

Debbie Reynolds Dance Complex. These are where the pros go to

Michael Jamin:

Try. Okay.

Phil Wright:

And my hope was is to grab these teachers and let them be a part of my video, and I produce it. Well, I cut it. I get on my little editing app, cut it up really quick. And my hope was is if they were ever absent, the studio