12 1/2 years
later, my cousin Jimmy Kontras has made the jump from
Columbus to Los Angeles proving once again, Ohio is a
wonderful place to leave.
So kidding.
I love Ohio. ;-)
It's been a lot
longer in the making that Jimmy cares to admit to
people as we've been in contact for well over a year
planning this moment. He wants to give Hollywood a
shot, I have a guesthouse for rent... and, well, the
rest is now history. Jimmy gets an official number, an
entry, and his video start on this crazy
road...
Now, I'm a good
deal older than Jimmy so he was only 11 when I came
out to LA. In recent years however he has been an avid
reader of The Journey and has watched the documentary
often. It's only pumped him up more. Which,
I guess was always the original point of this
when I started it: to help some kid in Ohio who had no
idea what to expect. I figured I'd tell the whole
story and maybe it would inspire someone else to jump.
And, well, it kind of did. As I said before we've been
talking quite often the past year about this, and I've
given him as much advice as possible to actually make
it out here. Downsize like crazy, save everything
penny so you have as much time out here as possible
and well, now that he's here? All I can say is
this: leave no opportunity unfollowed. Literally
anything that could be something? Do it. Don't worry
that there's no money, just do it. Favors? Do 'em.
Push everything. And of course, true to form, Jimmy is
already at an open casting call to be a tour guide at
Universal Studios. <throws hands up> He gets it.
Just push.
Now, I did
that for 6 1/2 years before a legitimate break. LOL.
That's horrendous, but hey - at least I got that
break and spent an incredible year on CBS doin' some
awesome shit. And I got that break by randomly
uploading my 4tvs video to a talent contest. Could
have EASILY let that one slip by. And the fact that
Jimmy is at an open casting call less than 24 hours
since he arrived here? Means, he gets it too. Jimmy
has that ability I've had from time to time to just
believe it will happen and make it so. I can't wait to
see his journey unfold and am happy to play a part.
I'm also happy I have a mini-golf nut living here
as we already played 81 holes. LMAO. And of course,
here's the stats:
Yeah, I'm a nerd.
What I find amazing though is that it doesn't
matter how many times I play these holes, these
are some hard freaking shots. There's no "experience"
that helps you. I mean, we played each hole 27
times and were still bogeying the hell out of 2 and 3
at the end. That's awesome. And yes, uhm, I'm just a
tiny bit competitive so I will enjoy keeping
track of this. ;-)
Alright brother,
welcome! Kick some ass at your audition today and
here's to everything that's coming your way. It's the
best journey you'll ever take.
