Today we’d like to introduce you to Dat Mayne DeeWayne.
Hi Dat Mayne DeeWayne, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Having a hunger to be a filmmaker in San Antonio, TX is not ideal because historically there has been very little to point to feed that appetite for production and even fewer examples of someone achieving their dream’s from here. I began my career here against a backdrop that didn’t give me many examples to look up to that were from here and remained here.
With that in mind, I began to seek out the professionals in the city that were creating the type of productions I wanted to be a part of. In high school, I was in film and TV classes creating videos for the school. Out of high school, I worked at the local ABC affiliate as a production technician. I worked in the studio as part of the production team doing Live news.
I was also a rapper and performer from a rap group named Texabama that I had been a part of since the early 2000s. We had a great time and had successful records, with our biggest being Like A Playa. After a successful run, one of my brothers that I tapped with named Gotti Freeze passed away. With Texabama no longer making music I wanted to make my dreams of being a filmmaker seriously. I started participating in acting and writing classes to help learn my craft as well as meet people who were like-minded.
I bought my first camera and started shooting anything I could from music videos to short skits along with plenty of “for hire” work. I actually did some of my first music videos for my rap group. I started meeting people around the city that worked in film and built relationships through sweat equity by working on their sets in any capacity to learn any and every position I could from production assistant, camera, and camera assistant, to audio engineering even gripping.
I got a chance to be an Assistant Director with my mentor, Mike L. Jackson, on a few of his productions and was able to learn how to be a director what his processes were and why he ran his set the way he did. It was very eye-opening and gave me the courage to shoot my first short film entitled “Freeword: Moment of Impact” which can be found on Amazon currently and streaming on Culture Forward TV.
From there, I was recommended to participate in the NAACP and Ford Cinematic Short Film Competition which was a nationwide call. I was one of 3 finalists and ended up winning the entire competition. From that, the NAACP and Ford Executive Produced my next film entitled Policing which premiered in Hollywood in 2020 right before the pandemic happened and closed everything down.
From there, I recently released my first sitcom called The Odd Life of Shay Little which had 5 episodes in total along with the soundtrack. I still love making music so with every production I do I am very involved with the soundtrack.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road has definitely not been smooth. I think for any entrepreneur you have your ups and downs. There are no straight roads to success. I’ve learned to celebrate my victories but also to enjoy the journey of becoming what I envisioned when I started and recognize my passion so my failures are learning opportunities rather than ever being a loss.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a visionary. I am a filmmaker, director, editor, performer, and entrepreneur.
I am known for being a member of Texabama who had hit songs like Like A Playa and That Guy. Also known for writing, producing, and directing my own films from Freeword Moment of Impact, Policing, and The Odd Life of Shay Little. Along with being the most creative music video director in San Antonio.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’ve had a few mentors that have helped me such as Mason Hunsicker and Mike L. Jackson gave me my first opportunity to really learn how to be a filmmaker.
I definitely have to give my wife, Tanya Goodloe her flowers for always being there and being supportive, and taking on any role needed to help me achieve whatever wild idea I had. Also toy kids and extended family for always coming together to support me with whatever was needed.
My brothers from Texabama Tony Mayhem, Gotti Freeze, and T.O.S for always supporting me.
Shoutout to Lambo Warren, FWDProgress, Creative Circuit Studios, and VodPod Studios for rocking with us and always helping me push for greatness.
Thank you to anyone who I’ve ever worked with creatively because of you, I push to be greater each time.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Www.goodvisualz.com
- Instagram: @goodvisualz
- Facebook: GoodVisualz
- Twitter: @GoodVisualz
- Youtube: GoodVisualzTV
Image Credits
Trayzon Goodloe
