Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Chan
Hi Vanessa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I was famously known for carrying multiple cameras on me, always being at a concert, and having a huge interest in journalism. I have to admit, I believe most of my interests were passed down to me by my parents. My father was a musician himself, and every single camera I own was previously his. My mother collected CDs and gifted me her Panasonic stereo. To this day, it sits in my bedroom and I keep the collection growing. I honestly didn’t even consider combining all of my interests until I entered my freshman year at San Diego State University.
Born and raised in San Diego, when it came down to deciding on a college, I decided to stay close to family. However, my first semester of college didn’t seem as glorious as people made it seem to be. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was still living at home and familiar with the city, but I didn’t feel like I was “colleging” right. When my second semester came around, my mother, an SDSU alumni herself, told me I had to put myself out there and get more involved. The following week, as I was walking to class, I stumbled across a booth promoting SDSU’s student-run radio station, KCR College Radio. Little did I know how much my life would change.
During my first month at the radio station, I had the opportunity to cover a local show. Being extremely familiar with the Southern California music scene, I was excited to write about music I genuinely listened to in my free time. Since I never left the house without having cameras on me, I had my Sony RX100 and Sony TG1 with me. When I arrived at the venue, the lady at the box office noticed my cameras and asked if I needed a photo pass. I was in shock and didn’t know how to respond because I had no clue what a photo pass was. I said yes without much thought. Within minutes, I was backstage with the bands and shooting content while on the stage with them. I had to act like I belonged, but on the inside, I had no clue what was happening. I will never forget that out-of-body feeling looking out at the crowd while on the stage – I was witnessing a concert from a different perspective from what I was used to.
Fast forward to a year later, I am a blog contributor and playlist curator for Fashionably Early, the Director of Social Media for KCR College Radio, interviewed 12 artists, shot for over 25 artists, and worked with festivals Camp Flog Gnaw, Rolling Loud, Wonderfront Festival, and M3F Festival. On top of this, I work a part-time server job at a restaurant and am set to graduate this spring as a third-year at SDSU, at age 20.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been far from a smooth road – I mean, nothing is easy. There are pros and cons to everything in life, but when I first started this journey, people doubted my potential. I genuinely think it’s because I’m 19 and I’m a woman. There have been times when I’m the only woman in the photo pit. There have been times when I’m the only teenager on a crew. It’s such a male-dominated field and the amount of times I have been asked if I even knew how to work a camera still shocks me. I know I’m nowhere near a pro since I’ve only been doing this for a little over a year, but I feel like people didn’t take me seriously until I was invited out to cover the return of Camp Flog Gnaw last year. After that, a lot more opportunities came pouring in, which I am so grateful for. I’ve been a hard-driven person and very job/detail-orientated my whole life. Success has no age limit.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think I get this from my dad, but I like to dip my toes into a lot of different areas of interests. I am a full-time student at San Diego State University studying psychology and marketing. I would say I specialize in digital marketing and am most known for content creation, concert photography/videography, artist interviews, and playlist curation. I’m proud of everything I have done and worked on. I think something that sets me apart from others is the fact that I see the beauty in everything and don’t take things for granted. I fall under the pipeline of being a fan girl to wanting to work in the music industry, but this is what gives me leverage when it comes to audience engagement. I represent and understand the audience. I’m extremely humble as well. I’ve worked with some big names but at the end of the day, we are all people. We are all human. We are all on the same level.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Even though there were people who doubted me when I first started my journey, I’ve had so many people who never doubted me for a second. I owe my everything to Fashionably Early and KCR College Radio for taking a chance on me. My parents, Roger and Veneeta Chan, and big brother, Ryan Chan, have been nothing but supportive of me and all of my accomplishments. My best friends Crystal Gomez Zavala, Layla Belle Ng, Giselle Flores, and Giavanna Russo have been my cheerleaders since day 1. I take them as my crew to all of the cool events I’ve been invited to as a token of my appreciation. When I played a small part working alongside Bleached Festival, I met Carli Cirillo of Fngrs Crssd, who I would consider a mentor-like figure. She sparked my curiosity about working in the music industry, and hearing about her journey was so inspiring to me. Chloe Johnston was the first fellow photographer friend I made. The first show I ever covered back in March 2023, I noticed there was only one other woman backstage. We went from working in a tiny venue together last year to working together for Wonderfront Festival this May. Lastly, I have to shout out a fellow creative, Kayli Sandavol, I just think she is so dope and her mind is unlike no other. Her talent is beyond insane and I think I speak for everyone who has seen her work. Every single person who has followed, commented, liked, or shared my work has made a huge impact on me. So many people have pushed me to keep going. Now, I’m currently working on starting my own public relations and digital marketing agency!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vanessakchan.myportfolio.com/work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessakchan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554158979283
- Twitter: https://x.com/vanessakchan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIHB6VYvDj9riCIAnp4uAyg
Image Credits
Image 1 – Vanessa Chan
Image 2 – Chloe Johnston
Image 3 – Vanessa Chan
Image 4 – Vanessa Chan
Image 5 – Vanessa Chan
Image 6 – KCR College Radio
Image 7 – Vanessa Chan
Image 8 – Vanessa Chan
