3 minute read
Josh Santiago | The Creative
BY KATIE MAHONEY | VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Josh Santiago, CEO of C&P Media, grew up in York City, graduated William Penn High School and York College of Pennsylvania, and continues to love York City. family, the next generation. This is bigger than me,” shares. “Someone from the neighborhood can do other things. We don’t have to be the stereotype.”
Josh started C&P Media in 2011 with his cousin Anthony Collier, with Josh creating videos and Anthony audio. used to watch music videos, and then started creating the . was a wa s interested in the e d starting with my mentor Cal Weary in high school, but I hate performing in front of people,” he explains with a laugh. In the past decade, Josh and Anthony have transformed C&P into a full production company, engaging their network.
Josh wrote and directed “Anything 4 U,” with the main character overcoming addiction to get his life back. This was produced by close friend, the late Ryan Rossum
“Ryan and I always helped each other. We learned from each other,” shares Josh. This connection and sense of community is what Josh hopes to carry on through his work. “I want to be a resource to people who need it. My inbox is always open. They don’t know the resources people have,” he shares about the next generation. helps them keep out of trouble, I know it did for me. I was so focused on this I couldn’t do anything else.”
And his actions speak to that goal. Josh works closely with Creative York to engage elementary students in video work. Understanding the trends of online content creation, he has developed curriculum around monetizing reels and YouTube, to help youth turn their passion into a paid profession.
In addition, Josh has a dream to bring an International Film Festival to York. “Our work has been shown in film festivals all over the world. People in the UK have seen York City landmarks like York College, Farquhar Park, Rail Trail. I want people all over the world to see what I’ve seen my whole life,” he adds. Currently, Josh is part of Filmopolis – a group that meets quarterly to review each other’s work.
“I’m still chasing the dreams, the best part is enjoying the journey,” Josh shares. “I love everything that’s going on, even the failures, you gotta fail. The journey’s beautiful.”
