Joel Cruz, CEO of Cruz Productions and a business administration major at Longwood, has always had a passion for audio and video production, but with the help of two friends, turned that hobby into a profitable business and brand recognizable not only across this campus, but throughout central Virginia.
He first became interested in production in middle school while working sound and lighting design for small bands and events at his church. He discovered being a DJ towards the end of high school and with nothing more than a pair of headphones and an entry level mixer, he taught himself how to DJ and even performed at several small parties before graduating.
Cruz began college at VMI after graduation, but dropped out during his first semester knowing the military was not his desired career path. After working as a life guard for several months, he applied to Longwood University.
His first year at Longwood, Cruz lived in the Cunninghams, which had no air conditioning in the bedrooms. At this time, he was still being a DJ and would try to practice at least several hours a day. “I was practicing in my room one day and the rooms got really hot, but the lounges did have air-conditioning, so I took my laptop and my little mixer in there to practice,” Cruz recalled, “that’s where I met Brent King, he was doing homework in there.”
Brent King, a business major with a concentration in information security and now CFO of Cruz Productions, noticed Cruz practicing and decided to introduce himself. After talking about Cruz’s equipment and their mutual love for electronic music, King suggested to Cruz to DJ at a friend’s party during Oktoberfest weekend. This was Cruz’s first official show in college.
“There I found my love for putting on shows and DJing.” Cruz said.
Unknown to these two individuals at the time, that night would eventually create an entertainment business that would take Farmville by storm.
King now heads the finances of Cruz Productions, dealing with payroll and other costs, continuing to be involved with Cruz’s shows and local productions.
Almost a year later, while working as a Resident Advisor (RA) in Frazer, he met fellow RA Patrick Zurn, a business marketing major and now COO of Cruz Productions, who wanted to get involved with the group and offered whatever he could from carrying equipment to setting up and tearing down shows. Cruz took him under his wing, teaching him about audio setup and lighting production, and eventually how to DJ.
Zurn soon became an important piece in developing the brand.
“I legitimized the business essentially, getting us a lot of local gigs, and just getting us out there.” Cruz said.
During the next year, Cruz, King and Zurn continued to develop their brand and their production skills, promoting the group through the local community doing both public venues and private events. They now have 12 members, each bringing their own styles and unique set of production skills to the table.
Today, Cruz Productions covers more than just DJing, offering photography and videography packages at most of their venues. Including these live shows, they also record and produce wedding and promotional videos for clients. Most recently, the group performed at Longwood’s Oktoberfest Concert, opening for the headliner, AER.
To its members, Cruz Productions it is more than a business, “We have a GroupMe that we use, but it’s not always business. We hang out, and go to dhall,” King said, “We’re all really close friends inside of it, and we’d pretty much do anything for each other.
Cruz’s biggest inspiration throughout this journey came in the form of a quote by his favorite YouTube star, Olan Rogers, who said, “There will be people that will say you can’t make a living out of something that you love to do. But are you really living by not doing it?” From a hobby to a fully functioning business, this has helped Cruz stay focused without letting himself fall off track.
Although Cruz will graduate this May, he stated, “I can see it [Cruz Productions] still being here without me, we are in the process of setting up an LLC, which means Brent, King nor I have to be here for it to run.” Becoming an LLC will make them an official business in the state of Virginia. He continued, “We also have promoters that not only help spread our brand and sell our products but are also learning the overall production and business so that they can continue Cruz Productions in the future.”
Within the next five years Cruz hopes to expand Cruz Productions to other colleges and universities, using what he has learned from his experiences with this business here at Longwood, a fairly smaller school in Virginia, and launching production teams elsewhere, such as James Madison University or Virginia Tech.
Cruz plans to utilize his business degree to find a job in business in Virginia Beach after graduating, but hopes to remain closely connected with Cruz Productions, stating he would try to visit once a month to check on operations. He also stated that if Cruz Productions ever got to the point that he can only focus on that then he will, and leave whatever other job he has at that time. For now, Cruz is focused on graduating and maintaining this business locally but will continue to push and advance Cruz Productions to its own pinnacle of greatness.
(top) Brent King, Nick Costa
(Bottom) Jason Ware, Patrick Zurn, Joel Cruz
