Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Yaj.
Hi Dan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I love telling stories. It’s always been like that, ever since I was young. I loved reading, watching movies, acting, and listening to stories my grandma told me. That’s really how my journey started. It started organically; I never thought it would be a profession. Sure, it was always a hobby, but I never thought it could be a job or career. But after attending two years of college as an economics major, I always found myself drawn back to telling stories. After carefully thinking about my future, I decided to transfer schools and pursue filmmaking. Fast forward 10 years, and I’m doing what I love most: telling stories. There will always be a story to be told, which inspires me to continue doing what I love.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No artist/entrepreneur had a smooth road. The two biggest obstacles for me were finding my voice and learning how to run a business. When I started, I just made whatever came to mind, regardless of how well it fit me. If I thought it was a good script, I filmed it. But after years of experimenting, I learned that some of those stories weren’t being told with my authentic voice. I never personally connected with the project; I just did it cause I thought it would be cool/fun. But now, as I create videos for Across The Mountain, I have a deep personal connection to the projects, and I find myself invested in the videos. This has brought a new sense of joy into my work, which shows. Audience members who watch my videos can see the level of work and commitment I put into my videos. I’ll be honest: I still need to crack the second obstacle. This is learning to run a business; since I create media, it’s different from your business. Not only do I have to market my videos, but I also have to market my platform and myself. That’s been challenging, but I celebrate all my small wins.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the creative director for an online media outlet called Across The Mountains. We specialize in telling Hmong-American stories with video. We aim to share and preserve Hmong-American stories across the web. I’m super proud that in just over a year, we’ve amassed over 10 thousand followers and have been viewed more than 1 million minutes. Those have always been a goal of mine; I didn’t think I would’ve reached it this quickly across The Mountains. It is special because we are telling the stories that no one else is willing or able to tell. Stories that traditional news stations would never cover. We’re tackling issues and topics even traditional Hmong media would not cover. We are using our voices as Hmong Americans to tell stories that matter to Hmong Americans; that’s what makes us special.
Please talk to us about happiness and what makes you happy.
I read the comments whenever we post a new video on our channels. Not all of them are nice comments; not everyone will agree with the video, but when I come across comments that express their appreciation for our content. I can’t help but smile. It’s nice to know that there are people who appreciate my work. So that makes me happy.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcrossTheMountainsMedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcrossTheMountains
