I was born in Miami, Florida but grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I always knew that I would someday attend university in the US. Now, when I was in elementary, middle school, and even high school, I was the class . So for me acting was a natural progression. Upon graduating from high school I went to the University of San Diego where I majored in Theatre Arts. And after I graduated from there, I made the necessary move to Hollywood to follow my dream. My first year out in LA I worked retail at Best Buy and also DJ’ed for an event company. I eventually quit both those jobs to work full time for an event photography company. I primarily now make my income from production work.
My Roommate The – 17 Tough Questions
Michael Jackson • July 26, 2019
Meet Lu Louis...
Lu Louis is on the way up. With a successful YouTube series under his belt and a partnership with Google, he's got the moxie and street cred to call his shots. Here are 17 questions for Lu about how he got started and how he sees the future.
Enter Lu...
What brought you to LA?
Honestly? The image of gorgeous girls rollerblading down the beach boardwalk in denim cut-offs and a bikini top, lol! Actually, that’s what brought me to San Diego. What brought me to LA was Hollywood. Los Angeles is home of thee most successful film industry in the world. So like everyone else, I figured that the best place to pursue the Entertainment Industry was in it’s birthplace.
How did you get involved with Roommate?
The idea for roommate came about from my desire to do something while I waited for things to happen with my acting career. I always wanted to be involved with something that encapsulated my Los Angeles living experience, but I didn’t want it to be another story about what it was like being an actor in LA. I had seen too many of those. At the time, I had just moved in with Owens (co-producer of “my roommate the”), and he would do a hilarious impersonation of the emo kids he had seen and were familiar with.
I thought it would be hilarious to shoot something where I had to live with that character. So I put together a script, a crew, ne developed his character, and also wrote the insanely funny yet poignant poem that is in the sketch. We shot the sketch with a few friends and I called it “my roommate the Emo”. At the time it was only meant to be a one off sketch. But then I started thinking about my past living situations and so many more ideas came to mind.
I thought about, when I first moved to LA, was very interested in doing stand up. I had written some material that I always wanted to perform. One of the bits I had come up with was about my first real life LA roommate. She was a girl and was sweet as could be, but I would always joke that she was a racist and would do super racist things to me like leave cotton balls on the apartment floor for me to pick up.
With that joke in mind, I started working on the next script, “my roommate the Racist”. Unlike the first script I wrote, this time I gave my character a name. And because of sheer laziness and also my love for Jackie Chan, I decided to use my own name (Jackie Chan used his real name as his character name in his first couple of US movies). And I’m glad I did because “Lu” turned out to be the perfect name for this character.
We shot the new sketch and it had a beginning bit and a middle bit. After we wrapped shooting later on that night, I got one more idea for a bit that I wanted to add to the sketch. So we called Chris Mollica back (the actor playing the Racist roommate) and we tagged on an ending bit after the credits. And that format of a beginning bit, middle bit, and ending bit, became the format for the show and hence “my roommate the” was created.
What made you decide to “go for it” and use Roommate as your claim to fame?
What made me decide to go for it was the fact that I noticed how much fun we all had filming those first couple episodes. I had never laughed harder or had more fun filming anything else like when we were doing the show. And the episodes just kept pouring right out of me, out of us. Since day one picked up the idea of the show and ran with it. I really liked what he was writing, so I decided to executive produce his episodes as well as mine. Which I am glad that I did because since then, he has helped me develop the tone of the show to what it is today. And once we saw how people responded so positively to the idea, we decided to keep it going.
Is Roommate profitable?
Yes and no. Since its conception, “my roommate the” has been immensely educationally profitable but never been monetarily profitable. The reason that I make the distinction educationally profitable and monetarily profitable is because while the experiences and knowledge we’ve gained from producing the show are invaluable, we have yet to make any money from the show. Matter of fact, the show has cost me a lot of money to produce. How much you ask? Well, a gentleman never tells, but let’s just say more than one year’s tuition at any private southern California university. But like I said before, the wisdom, new found skill set, and business savvy I’ve gained from producing the show totally make it worth it.
Did you partner with anyone to grow the show?
Since the beginning I’ve been partnered with Byrne. He shares in the writing, directing, acting, and editing aspects in the show. He writes half of the episodes and produces all the episodes that he writes. Our styles are able to blend and co-exist in the “my roommate the” world and he’s helped me expand the universe of the show beyond what I could have ever imagined on my own.
The 3rd season of the show is sponsored by a production company and they’ve helped us reach a new audience. They also gave us a loan to produce the episodes for season 3.
When you started, did you have the vision in mind of where you are now?
I had never really put pressure on the show to be more than what it always has been; a creative outlet. Sure it would be nice to see it make the leap from the web onto TV and Film but I’m very proud of how far it’s already come. At the end of this season we will have done 57 episodes. 57. That’s more than most TV shows. I’ve been blessed to have had something so sustainable fall into my lap and I can’t wait to see how much more it will continue to grow.
How much does social media play in your business?
As of now, social media doesn’t play too big of a part in my business. Sure it helps spread the word about the show, but I don’t yet have the social media following that it takes to really make a difference. We are kind of flying under the radar right now which is good because it’s giving us a chance to hone our skills so that when we do get a big opportunity, we’ll be ready.
How will you continue to grow the show?
We have plans to continue growing the show by reaching out to subscribers and seeing if they’ll support us in a Kickstarter campaign to fund two more super epic episodes. And from there, hopefully also find funding for the feature length script Byrne has written of the show for a movie. In conjunction to all that, we’ll also be packaging the other 57 episodes we’ve already completed and shopping those around to see if we can spark any interest in any other sponsors.New Paragraph
What’s your best advice for anyone who is pursuing their dreams?
Never lose sight of who you are and what it is you originally wanted. If your pursuit is something in the realm of the Entertainment Industry, then get ready because dark days are ahead. Every thing you think you know about yourself and what you believe is going to be put to the test in ways you can’t even begin to imagine. My experience is specific to LA, so I can only speak on that; This city will come after not your weaknesses, but your strengths. It will attack you in the areas you are most sure of and confident about so that once it takes them from you, you’ll have nothing but your weaknesses to fall back on. And that’s when the real mindf*ck will begin.
Unfortunately there in no avoiding this, and you can’t really prepare for it. All you can do is trust in yourself. Trust that no matter what is thrown at you, you’ll adapt and evolve so as to survive. You can’t have a back up plan because it’ll prevent you from being present. And from being bold. You can’t hold back. If you want to catch up to your dream then you have to chase it with all you’ve got. And when you’re done and feel like you have nothing left to give, that’s when you’ll have to dig even deeper and reach into the depths of your soul to find the strength to pick yourself up and keep fighting.
What is the very best advice you would give anyone who wants to “make it”?
To anyone who wants to make it I would advise that you actually “make it”. Meaning that an idea is only an idea until there is action put behind it. If you have a great idea or any idea for that matter that you want to see come to life, then you’ll actually have to take steps towards accomplishing it. Active steps. A lot of people talk about what they’d like to do, but until you actually start taking initiative and putting your money where your mouth is, then that’s all it’ll ever be. Talk.
If you were to start again, with all of the experience you have now, what would you do differently and why? What would be “The Steps”
There isn’t any series of things that I’ve learned that I can simplify into steps. But I will say that the most important thing that I’ve learned throughout this entire experience is, “Know your worth”. Know-what-you-are-worth. I’ve rushed into a lot of things in life and have made bad decisions because I was scared and didn’t know what I was worth. For me specifically, I’ve said yes to things that my gut told me to think twice about, but I never listen to my gut (it’s actually something I’m working on currently and will probably struggle with for a long time).
There is a very difficult juggling act that takes place between staying motivated while simultaneously not rushing in and making careless decisions. Where the show is presently is a perfect example. Season 3 is about to wrap and already people are asking us about season 4. Now, there’s a part of me that is embarrassed and even afraid to admit that I have no idea when season 4 will happen. Particularly because I don’t want to see that look on people’s faces or hear their tone change when THEY come to THEIR own conclusion that my uncertainty on a specific date for season 4 means that I’ve given up.
It’s like they can’t wait for me to throw in the towel and join them on the sidelines, because after all, we know that misery enjoys company. But as I said earlier, I now know what I’m worth. Whether it takes me 5 days, 5 weeks, or 5 years…as long as I’m alive I’ll always be producing. So there is no end in sight for me. The world is stuck with me 🙂
With that being said, there is no rush for me to jump into the next thing. I’ve earned the right to take my time and weigh out all my options before making a decision.
Today, I want to talk about fear in those things that hold us back. I'm afraid of snakes and I'm going to tell you all about it here in this episode and we're going to relate it to our lives and business and everything else and see if we can't get past that fear. Let's listen.
Hey guys, this is Michael Jackson. I'm going to take you on a journey with me. I decided to start doing this because as I start building ChileJam, I want you to see where it goes from the beginning of this journey to the end. Over the years I've done lots and lots of businesses. I've had software companies, I've had photography businesses, I've helped people in the gym. I've done karaoke...
Meet Minquell Ramone... Where did you grow up? I was born in Amsterdam, spent the first 4 years of my life in London with my God parents. Then went back to Amsterdam where me and my 5 siblings were raised by my Mom.
Meet Bryne Owens... Byrne Owens is one of the Producers, Actors, and often times Director of the popular YouTube series "My Roommate The..." I suggest you meet him for coffee some day and really get to know him. Byrne always has excellent advice and has been an inspiration to me and others.Byrne and I were talking at a gig a while back and his depth of insight into the Hollywood mindset had me intrigued. I kept asking questions and he kept giving more. I thought I'd let Byrne share some of his insights with you. Enter Byrne Owens...
Meetin Evelyn Taft... Meteorologist Evelyn Taft grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area—Palo Alto to be exact. She moved Los Angeles to attend USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. While she was working at the campus news station she was offered a position as Weather Anchor. She was hesitant at first but as soon as she took a stab at it she fell in love. Upon graduation Evelyn immediately pursued a degree in Meteorology while working at a local station as a weather anchor and news reporter. Her career is very different than most—She spent several years moving from city to city to make it to where she is now. Evelyn says, “In order to make it to a large market like Los Angeles you have to start small and that’s exactly what I did. I took my first job as a weather anchor and news reporter on California’s Central Coast in Santa Maria, California. I spent time working in Salinas, San Francisco and now Los Angeles.” There are a lot of people who would love to have her job or just “be on TV”. There are very few positions. Actually, there a fewer positions for Television Meteorologists than there are positions for actors, musicians, photographers, and a lot of other jobs. Given that only a handful of people will ever make it to superstar, local, national, or worldwide fame, what happens to everyone else? I ask Evelyn if people should just settle or should they continue to strive for the dream? “You should NEVER settle,” she says, “If you put your mind to it you will achieve it. I am an eternal optimist. Never say never…always strive for your dreams!” What have you learned in your field that you could easily apply to any other profession? If you are passionate about what you do it will come through in your work no matter what you do. A can-do attitude will take you a long way as well. When you started, did you have the vision in mind of where you are now? I sure did. I always wanted to return to LA one day. I think having a vision helped me achieve my goals and dreams. How much does social media play in your career? Social media is a huge part of what I do. I tweet my forecast on a daily basis—I think it’s an important way to get information to viewers when you’re not on the air. If we have a big weather event going on here at home or across the country it’s important to get people up to the minute information on it whether it be a Santa Ana wind event here at home or a hurricane in the Gulf. 9 Steps To Living Your Dream First and foremost, follow your dream. Set big goals. Set small goals. Be true to yourself. Make sacrifices. Take time to yourself. Be true to yourself. Achieve balance. Stay positive. CONCLUSION Never give up…envision your goal and GO FOR IT! I wouldn’t change a thing. I believe everything happens the way it is supposed to so I wouldn’t want to interfere with that.