Beyond the Lens: Follower Edition
Thank you for checking out this edition of Death of a Cameraman's Beyond the Lens: Follower Edition! I like to spotlight people following @DeathofaCameraman on Instagram. Welcome to the website if this is your first time.
The genesis behind this community is the Death of a Cameraman ebook and limited series podcast. In the podcast we explore my journey of reinvention as a Hollywood Entertainment professional to a Financial Professional after losing everything and living out of my car during COVID19. The podcast is competing in this years Signal Awards!
Here's a quick sample clip from the limited podcast series as well as a link to the episodes. Please Like, Share, and Subscribe! I'm also hosting online webinars, or speaking at live events. Check out the EVENTS page for more detail to register for any upcoming events. Thanks for being here now, and feel free to look around the website!
Audio Podcast sample below on YouTube.
Full episodes link - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF1iRslk3DBc0jgDPll7uXcAJuq4e0-1V
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What does the phrase “Beyond the Lens” mean to you?
To me it means looking deeper than what the camera captures. Everyone has a story and real emotions that you can’t always see on the surface.
Have you ever had a “Death of a Cameraman” moment?
Yeah. I reached a point where I realized I was chasing what other people expected instead of what I actually wanted. Once I committed to acting and creating content that felt true to me I felt like I found myself again.
Tell us about someone that really stepped up to help you when you were at your lowest point.
My family. They’ve always believed in me even when I doubted myself. Having people who reminded me to keep going made a huge difference during the toughest times.
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Tell us about someone that really stepped up to help you, when you were at your lowest point.
There was a time I questioned, but I stayed focused. My family and a few mentors supported me and encouraged me to keep pursuing my goal.
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What does the phrase, "Beyond the Lens" mean to you?
Beyond the lens to me means beyond the perspectives and judgments we have on something based on our own perceptions and belief systems
Have you ever had a "Death of a Cameraman" moment?
Yes!! to be honest I feel like I have them like every month lol. I became super aware of this idea of who I was when I was about 18. I remember I had lost my group of friends in high school and I was ready to take a gap year and really figure out my life before stepping into college and learn more about myself. I remember I kept seeing this book called becoming supernatural and it really woke me up to a new reality. I realized I had been attaching myself to other people or things outside of me. I had a lot of fears limiting beliefs, and honestly a lot of anger/sadness from just past experiences. I became super engrossed in spirituality and metaphysics and just always becoming a better version of myself trying to get better every day mentally spiritually and physically. I realized we are really all mirrors of each other. We are all connected. No one is better or worse than someone else.
Tell us about someone that really stepped up to help you, when you were at your lowest point.
My best friend Claire, I’ve known her since we were 12 years old. We’ve been through all parts of our life and she’s always picked me back up when I’m low. We call each other almost everyday to go on a walk and just talk. She’s moved a lot over the past years and we’ve still stayed each other‘s best friends forever, even just a call, or when she would visit from Ohio to my house in Jupiter it always felt like a reset. I didn’t need much other than one person who truly understood me without judgement and could just be present.
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Have you ever had a “Death of a Cameraman” moment?
I’ve gone through moments where injuries, financial setbacks, and unexpected life challenges made me question who I was. When so much of your identity is tied to your career and your ability to keep moving forward, losing that can feel like losing yourself. But rebuilding taught me that my identity isn’t defined by one chapter—it’s defined by how I respond when everything changes.
Tell us about someone that really stepped up to help you when you were at your lowest point.
The people who stood by me were my family, especially my son. Knowing he was watching me gave me a reason to keep pushing through some of the hardest moments of my life. Their support reminded me that even when life feels overwhelming, you’re never completely alone if you have people who believe in you.
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My story starts long before the lens... I grew up in foster care and poverty, learning early what it meant to survive without stability, without a clear sense of belonging, and without a roadmap. I became a mother as a teenager and raised a large family while still trying to figure out who I was myself. Responsibility came before identity, and survival came before dreams.
I lost my first husband when I was very young, left widowed with babies to raise. That kind of loss changes you at your core. It forced me to become stronger than I ever thought I could be, but it also shaped a version of me that learned to carry everything alone. Still, I kept going.
I went back to school and earned a degree in design and art, chasing creativity and expression. Then life shifted again, and I returned to school to earn a degree in accounting, building stability for my family. Reinvention was never a choice for me, it was a necessity. Over the years, I have experienced more loss and devastation than most people see in a lifetime. I have lost much of my family. I have rebuilt again and again.
In 2022, I made one of the most defining choices of my life. I sold everything I owned and moved into a tiny home, stripping my life down to the essentials and choosing freedom, simplicity, and intentional living over comfort and excess. That decision created space not just in my life, but in who I was becoming.
Today, I have the freedom and the courage to travel the world, something I once never believed was possible for me. Each chapter required me to let go of another version of myself. The girl who thought love would last forever. The woman who believed security meant safety. The version of me who stayed quiet to keep the peace.
The hardest lesson my journey has taught me is that you cannot hold on to who you were and still become who you are meant to be. Growth requires letting go, even when it hurts. Beyond the lens, for me, means stepping out of survival mode and into truth. It means no longer performing strength, but actually owning my story. It is about showing the depth behind the image, the lived experience behind the beauty, and the resilience behind the smile.
Today, I am a model, creator, and entrepreneur building a life rooted in authenticity, visibility, and transformation. I show up not as someone who has it all figured out, but as someone who refuses to stop evolving.
To anyone trying to reinvent their life, I would say this you are allowed to begin again, no matter how many times life has broken you. Your past is not disqualifying, it is the foundation of your strength. You do not need permission to become someone new. You just need the courage to take the first step, and then keep choosing yourself every day after that. I bring strong visuals, a compelling presence, and a story that reflects survival, reinvention, and the courage to start over again and again.
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Please check out my EVENTS page for upcoming events.
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Aaron Cox
Creator, Death of a Cameraman podcast
Today, I help people think ahead financially—so when life changes the plan, they have options. Sometimes the people who need a strategy most are the ones still building. You don't have to be wealthy to start building a financial future. You just have to start.
I work with creatives and professionals who want to make smarter financial decisions—even if their income isn't perfect, predictable, or where they want it to be yet.
Let's start with a conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
[Schedule a Financial Strategy Conversation] - https://calendly.com/iulaccount/30min
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