We recently had the chance to connect with Luke Roberts and have shared our conversation below.
Luke, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
My days change a lot because I like to do a lot, but I like to start off the day making a homemade latte, doing a 6-7 mile trail run, and staying on top of emailing clients and scheduling shoots. Outside of that I’m usually editing videos or working on producing a new song
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
While I grew up in the tech world pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering working on robotic birds at the University of Maryland, I 180ed to a career as a creative. Now I’m a musician and filmmaker in the DC/MD area. I run a company called LJR Creative where we make professional live video content available to artists at a fraction of the normal cost. We also shoot live concerts and the occasional corporate video. I also write and produce my own music and perform live under the artist name LJR. I just released my debut solo album in June called When the Sky Began to Fall, which is available on all streaming platforms.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was just a kid enjoying making things, playing music, loving learning, and playing outside constantly.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I grew up in the evangelical church and was fully committed to saving the world for 20 years. This shaped my entire identity and foundation for meaning and purpose. Losing that as I sought after truth was incredibly difficult to recover from. While it’s far too long to answer here, I found healing in creating my own sense of power in the world and rewriting my story. Eventually I was able to integrate some aspects of my older beliefs but in healthier ways that feel entirely different to me than what I grew up with.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That you need to build a team in order to be successful. It’s not a direct lie, but few (if any) will come onto your team until you have enough momentum on your own. Otherwise you have enough money to pay them. This can be worth it but often isn’t sustainable as a small artist. Having a team is one of the best things you can find, but I think it’s far more important to make sure you focus on being the best version of yourself and be making real and significant progress on that first. The right people will come along at the right time.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I’d stop neglecting my joints and work out every day. Which is my plan, but I’m not great at executing it daily yet.
Contact Info:
- Website: HTTPS://ljrcreative.com
- Instagram: Https://instagram.com/ljrcreative
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ljrcreative
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ljr
Image Credits
Liz Peterson, Luke Roberts, Stephanie Cincinnati, Eric Brown
