FLASHGATE PHOTOGRAPHY
IULIAN MARINOV
We're pretty crazy, but that's what makes us UNIQUE!
Being an immigrant in a small northern town in Spain, Julian Marinov started the first educational photography YouTube channel in Spanish. More than a decade ago, YouTube was an overlooked platform from a marketing point of view, but thanks to being one of the pioneers, it has grown its business by offering marketing services to brands in the niche it has focused on. In less than 4 years he grew up and decided to move to Barcelona to expand his opportunities. He started working with world leaders such as Sony Mobile, Wix.com, Fujifilm, Pentax, Vueling airline, Football players from F.K. Barcelona and designers such as Modesto Lomba, Agatha Ruiz De La Prada, artists such as Chick Corea and many other artists. His content is used for educational purposes at universities in South America and Spain, and his interviews have been published on Spanish national television. He has lectured on personal development and content marketing at the Mobile World Center in Barcelona and has a YouTube following of over 220,000 people. After all this, Julian decided to return to his homeland to start a family with his wife Tanya Marinova. At this time he also founded Flashgate Ltd. – Digital agency for business development, whose main service is the creation and management of YouTube channels for business clients. Starting with BGN 2 capital and investing BGN 0 in advertising, Flashgate Ltd. has grown to be the leader in YouTube content creation for small and medium businesses, and has only been around for 3 years.
I'm Julian and here I'll tell you a little about myself
How did I get into photography? It was a crazy idea... After I lost my job during the economic crisis in Spain, I decided to embark on an adventure that completely changed my life and outlook. With the last of my money, I bought a low-end camera and started learning from the industry trendsetters. With camera in hand and computer screen in front of me, I started learning from "scratch". At the same time, I decided to periodically share everything I learn in my language on YouTube, which even helped me understand everything better myself.
Just a few months later, in 2011, I photographed my first wedding. I won't show you pictures (it was a shame), but it was a big improvement for me at that point. Wedding after wedding, client after client, I had no choice but to do better and better. At the time I was living in the city of Burgos (northern Spain) with my family.
Out of the comfort zone
Two years later, I decided to jump off the bridge of security and comfort, leaving to seek my fortune in Barcelona alone. There, the only sure thing I had was uncertainty. After three or four years of effort and persistence, an endless amount of work, clients from different social and class strata, and constant adversity, I finally reached the self-defined "success" I had been chasing for years. I have fulfilled many dreams. I have pleased many couples with wonderful memories of their weddings, many businesses - with marketing material, artists - with the image they always wanted to show to their fans. From ordinary people to FC Barcelona footballers, fashion designers like Modesto Lomba, Agatha Ruiz De La Prada, world famous artists, top national level chefs, YouTube stars with millions of followers and many more are the people I gave a lot of myself to si, but also from whom I received much more in return.
How far did we get her?
Speaking of YouTube, I can't help but share that I received a Silver Button award for reaching 100,000 subscribers, which officially made my channel the biggest photography channel not only in Spain, but in all of Latin America. There, specifically in Mexico, I started doing workshops and participating as a jury in international photography festivals.
Just five years after starting my photography business, I met Sal Cincotta and Jared Platt (the world's top photographers from whom I learned in the beginning) in person. We sat on a bench on a bridge in Stockholm (Sweden) and talked for a long time about life and business. They even helped me record some videos together for my YouTube channel. My corporate clients have reached the level of companies such as WIX and SONY Mobile, and I have also become the face of top photography brands such as Pentax, Sigma, Fujifilm, Profoto and others.
I started a few side businesses and helped start other people's businesses. My passion for creating, developing and positioning ideas and businesses has brought me to the point where I want more. Something that is scarier from the point of view of the standard Bulgarian, but which I am ready to prove is possible!
And now where?
After this "crazy idea" it's time for the next one - to return to Bulgaria and start everything I'm familiar with abroad, literally from "zero". The market in our country needs new, higher standards to be covered. This is exactly what we have aimed at with Tanya - my companion in a personal and professional plan. We and you together will write the next lines of this story!