Navy Veteran Andrew Bliss always wanted to work in the video production industry, but his journey wasn't straightforward. Before serving in the military, Bliss was an accomplished professional martial artist with over 10 years of experience coaching and mentoring students. Working as a martial artist eventually led him to the military.

In the interview, Bliss talks about serving six years as a Navy broadcast journalist in Combat Camera at the Pentagon and his time directing and producing a feature film while on active duty in Italy before leaving the service.

After creating a comfortable life for himself as a civilian, Bliss made the uncomfortable decision to sell all of his belongings, buy a motorcycle and make the long journey across America to the west coast. Bliss talks about why he chose not to take a differnet path to pursue his dream of working in the entertainment industry.

Bliss discusses how he leapt from doing freelance and independent work to fulfilling his dream of working for a major entertainment company like Bad Robot Productions. He also talks about content creation, his current position, and how the framework he learned in the military helps him stay focused and grounded while working in Hollywood.

Finally, he explains how important it is for Veterans to get involved with Veteran networking organizations, such as Veterans in Media & Entertainment, if they are interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.

In this episode, Bliss also talks about:

• What he learned from his experiences in the military.
• Earning a degree in Interactive Design at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
• The principles that have guided him during his military career and throughout civilian life.
• The fundamentals to being a part of any industry.
• Why it’s important for Veterans to have insatiable curiosity and the courage to pursue their dreams.
• His view of NFTs and the future of cryptocurrency.

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