Meet Mandalynn Myers | Film Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mandalynn Myers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mandalynn, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I feel very strongly that all dreams come with a little risk or sometimes a lot of risk and a ton of courage. I know for a fact I would not be where I am today in my career had I not taken a giant leap of faith in myself and my ability to take a risk and make things happen for myself. Some time ago I was pretty fresh out of high school sitting at my desk in what I thought at the time was my dream job. I was only 19 and had worked my way up the corporate ladder of a major retail store company. Freshly graduated from high school and working in a nice decent paying corporate job in Human Resources I thought I had made it already however that job made me miserable. There’s nothing quite as “fun” as having a job where the only reason people call you is because they’re having a bad day or there’s an issue. I thought I had to stay there because I’d worked so hard to get where I was at such a young age but I knew my passions and my dreams were pulling me another direction. One day the pull of that dream felt like jumping ship was the only option. So the next day I walked into the office put in my two weeks and booked a flight to Pennsylvania to tour my dream school and pursue my real passions. I ended up applying and got accepted only a week after my trip, I even won the schools scholarship. And at that point I knew the risk of quitting my then job and moving across country was the only way I’d get close to my dream, and I was absolutely correct. Dreams aren’t easy and I’d they were they wouldn’t be worth the risk!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a film maker and specifically within film I work as a Property Master and a Makeup artist. My journey into film was not the conventional way that most get in. I quit my career, uprooted my whole life, spent my entire savings and moved to a very small town in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania to attend Tom Savini’s special makeup effects school. I told everyone growing up I was going to do makeup on Johnny Depp one day and in my mind this was how I got to do it. It’s not easy leaving a very set in stone career or your family or your loved ones but I did it and I’m damn proud that I made it through. After graduating I moved back home to Texas and immediately starting applying to any makeup or FX job I could find and that lead me to moving my whole life again from Fort Worth to San Antonio to work for sea world as a scenic theatrical technician and makeup artist. This is where I fell in love with building props and sets for their stage shows and parades. After that job I received a message from a local film production designer who was working on a feature with a famous pro wrestler and asked me if I could make a replica of one of his fingers that get cuts off in the movie. This was really specific because he had a lot of hand tattoos. So as if not weird at all there I am at the post office sending a bloody tattooed finger to this production designer in hopes he likes my work. Well a few weeks later he invited me to work on his next film and the rest is history. I’ve been doing makeup and props/art in film and Theater for years now and I absolutely love it. I even have had a little full circle moment recently where I was asked to teach theater makeups to students at my old high school. My story isn’t over yet as I have some very big plans for my brand and my company that I’m cooking up soon!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the Montgomery Street antique mall. I always find some old oddity or piece of art that really inspires me and the food in the tea room is delicious! Bass Hall is always putting on some sort of show and if I’m not working on them I do love to attend.
You can’t come to Texas and not eat BBQ and that’s why I always take my friends to Hard Eight.
The Ft Worth Zoo is one of the best zoos I’ve ever been to and I love the theming they have in their old west town!
Speaking of old west towns, the stockyards! The first time I visited the stockyards I was enthralled. It was cowboy Disneyland Main Street and I’m all for it!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother! All of my chosen family. I had this wacky idea to throw my career and life out to window and start a new path where my heart was taking me and I had nothing but support from my loved ones. Which surprisingly is not always the case when you decide to follow your dream journey. There were also many haters along the way. I lost friends and relationships because they didn’t believe in what I was doing. Also my high school cosmetology teacher Mrs. Macklemore. I told everyone I was going to run away to Hollywood and make movies and all the other girls kind of blew me off but she was one of my biggest supporters and made sure I held onto that passion.

Website: Mandalynnmyers.com

Image Credits
Rick Szymanski