433. Jason Suarez, Professional Sports Photographer @notafraid2fail

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Run, Health & Fitness, Women, Inspiration, Runner, Entrepreneur, Sports, Fitness, Health, Running

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 October 2021

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“I just turned around and it was like, oh man, I’m an Olympic photographer. With that one click.”

Jason Suarez — also known as @notafraid2fail — is one of the best, most sought-after photographers in running today. He has shot nearly every track and field event, every major marathon, and every athlete you know, love, and follow in this sport. And we recorded this conversation just a few days after Jason returned from a true dream-come-true experience: being an official photographer at the Olympic Games. He shot the track and field events inside Olympic Stadium, and dabbled in shooting new events, including gymnastics and swimming. But the Queens-born-and-raised former collegiate sprinter turned marathoner never planned for or expected this life. On this episode, Jason talks about his career trajectory — in addition to being a professional photographer, he also works for Apple — and about the importance of networking, relationships, and being a good person along the way. He talks about breaking into the industry, and shares his career highlights, including spending a week in Kenya with Eliud Kipchoge. Plus, he talks about feeling burned out and about questioning his next moves as a photographer.

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What you’ll get on this episode:

What it means to be “notafraid2fail” (3:45)
The significance of Jason’s laptop background (6:30)
How and why Jason got to go to the Tokyo Olympics (7:45)
On learning the ropes in Tokyo (12:25)
The business side of being a freelance sports photographer (22:00)
When Jason realized his dream was coming true (28:00)
Jason’s running story (30:45)
How Jason got his start in photography (37:30)
Jason’s highlight reel (45:30)
All about the Pansa Boyz! (51:00)
What’s next for Jason, on the run and behind the lens (59:35)
Why Jason loves shooting marathons (1:08:15)
Jason’s advice for taking better photos (1:15:00)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by YouCan.
0:04.2	Go to youcan.co slash alley and use code alley for 20% off your entire order.
0:11.2	Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show.
0:17.6	I'm your host Alley Feller and I am here with a bonus episode for you today.
0:22.7	Today's conversation is one that I have wanted to have since I launched the alley on the
0:28.8	run show back in 2017 and it's happening. It is finally happening.
0:34.3	Jason Suarez is the incredibly talented photographer behind the Instagram handle,
0:40.2	not afraid to fail and he's here today. Jason is a former collegiate sprinter
0:46.2	turned marathoner and when he's not on the run himself either on his own or with his crew,
0:52.0	the puns the boys, he's behind the lens. Jason has shot nearly every event, every major marathon,
1:00.1	every athlete that you know, love and follow. And we recorded this conversation right after one
1:06.6	of Jason's greatest professional dreams came true. Photographing the Olympics.
1:12.6	Jason was able to travel to the Tokyo Games this summer where he was on site capturing the
1:17.3	track and field events and dabbling in shooting new areas like swimming and gymnastics.
1:23.7	Being a photographer was never really Jason's plan, which you'll hear more about in this episode.
1:29.1	I loved learning about his career trajectory and about where he hopes to go next.
1:34.5	My greatest takeaway from this conversation was that yes, Jason has gotten where he is today
1:39.8	because of hard work and talent and a relentless pursuit of this passion. But I just
1:46.2	feel here him say a lot of it is about relationships and I can attest to that. Every time I told someone
1:53.2	I was going to be reporting an episode with Jason Suarez, they got so excited and said, I love that guy.
2:00.8	Everyone loves this guy. Jason is great at what he does, he's so professional and he's really just
2:07.2	one of the good guys in this industry. So it's an honor to have him here today. Please join me in
	...

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