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A creative kid from Memphis taught himself to record raps in a closet, signed an indie deal in high school, and then made a decision everyone told him was unlikely: he joined the Navy to buy time, structure, and a ticket to the wider world. We sit down with Marteverick “Shears” to trace how standing watch in a windowless CIC in Japan sharpened his grit, why leadership choices like barracks access change morale, and how a rough start in San Diego—complete with an early DUI—forced a reset that ultimately saved his creative life.
The pivot came with a camera. He started shooting free to build a portfolio, priced modestly, reinvested in gear, and learned the business of saying yes to small gigs. Film school followed, where cinematography gave him the technical fluency to see a story in light and lenses, and directing unlocked something deeper: alignment. He found his voice not in bravado, but in nuance—masculinity, faith, fear, and the quiet ways trauma travels through families. That voice powers his first feature, Within Strength, set during the 2008 recession and rooted in Memphis neighborhoods that shaped him. It asks a hard question: what happens when men don’t heal? The South isn’t just cheaper than LA—it’s truer for this story, with textures you can’t fake on a backlot.
We talk funding strategy, from investor outreach to table reads and documenting the entire journey so the audience joins early. We swap lessons from the watchfloor and the film set: perseverance beats perfection, adaptability prevents endless “bounce backs,” and timing meets preparation in rooms where someone who knows you speaks your name. Along the way, we hit fatherhood, faith without clichés, and the practical blueprint for building a career after service without losing your soul to the hustle.
If you felt this conversation, follow, rate, and share it with someone who’s balancing duty and a dream. Subscribe for more real talk at the intersection of military grit and creative work, and tell us: what city should back Within Strength first?

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