Today we’d like to introduce you to Dalton Smith.
Hi Dalton, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
NPI Productions just hit 10 years in 2022, and the growth has been surreal. Over this decade of hard work so many people have helped shape who we are. Looking back, it’s truly a wild journey from a 21-year-old kid with a dream to a full-scale production company with almost 10 employees. Long story short, I am a high school dropout turned entrepreneur – but that transition took some time.
Phase 1 was getting my life on track and staying out of trouble, ultimately leading me back to a camera. I say “back” because I have been interested in film since I was a kid watching Rocket Power and daydreaming about filming epic surf/skate videos. On my 20th birthday I got a GoPro from my older brother and this was within that first year of really focusing on finding myself and whatever the hell I was going to do with my life. I ran around with my high school buddy Tyler Rago every day following a nasty breakup with my then-girlfriend, and we spent all day filming with that first GoPro. Keep in mind this is late 2011 / early 2012, so the first generation GoPro was brand new, and people were tripping on the entire concept of filming the way we were. It started with surf, skate, and stunt videos, and once I turned 21, we started incorporating some parties along the way. The glory days were being 21 years old, going viral on still-young YouTube, and getting invited to all the parties so we could film and make epic videos for everyone to see the next day. Things were turning around for me, and everyone was stoked I was doing good with no trouble in my life.
Fast forward to mid-2012, and I’m introduced to our local surf shop Spectrum Surfboards (RIP), which was one of the most iconic East Coast shops for decades. I was filming for hats and surf wax, but the stoke was at an all-time high, and I was convinced we had already made it to the top. Early into working with the shop, I got a feature in Eastern Surf Magazine with a surf photo from the shop’s team rider Travis Shawhan and that little 2×2 inch black and white photo might as well have been a billboard in time square with how insanely fired up we all were. This meant we were onto something, and there was no turning back.
The shop ended up introducing me to a young 16-year-old kid named Corey Howell, and they said I needed to get connected because he shreds and can help me get out there. On day 1 we go straight into filming at our local beach, and 10 years later, the rest is history. This friendship bridged NPI Productions with the world-famous Ron Jon Surf Shop, and we still work closely with them to this day as we prepare for a Hawaii surf trip in January 2023. This relationship was monumental for financial support, travel opportunities, and overall clout for showing we could do things on this scale.
Our story is long, inspiring, and wild at times which is precisely what makes our team so special – the pure grit and desire to grow allowed us to evolve and elevate year after year. We have expanded into multiple branches of production including commercial, product, event, aviation, studio, wedding and much more.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
The road has been full of lots of highs, but we had our fair share of lows. Something to keep in mind: “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” Perfection is not an option, but we can always strive to improve and overcome the obstacles that life throws at us. Business is tough, especially when you balance it correctly with your personal life and other passions. Finding the healthy rhythm that works best for you is a long, daunting task, but the rewards are beyond measure.
Life’s lessons through trials and tribulations are as important (if not more) as the good times in our lives. The ability to fall and rise time after time without defeat is what makes us who we are. I have been through impossible situations that deterred my ability to focus on my business, but that is exactly what pushes us to grow and step up to that next level. In 2014 I was a young entrepreneur living at home and abruptly had to find my first place to live when my stepfather was laid off. Fast forward to the end of 2017, my fiancé suddenly walked out on me just before the holidays, and I nearly threw everything away. This was going to be make or break providing for myself full time… but that pushed me to turn this thing into an actual business. The details of how interwoven things were between my business and personal life are more than I can explain – but the important part is that I was faced with overcoming my worst fears. Through that process I became a better & stronger person and ultimately met my now dream wife, who has transformed everything I am.
Last but not least was covid in March of 2020, where we lost half of our work for the year in a week with an unknown future for the entire world. These extremely tough times pushed me to get creative like never before. I had an explosion of new ideas and creativity that generated a huge new push of social media interest for us. I was able to slow down for the first time and this creative spark helped me reboot. That creative juice and internal boost led to a growing phase that brought us out of covid with an even bigger and stronger NPI.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are best known for doing epic things to keep it short and sweet. We always have people saying how they saw a video we made or a photo we took and how it hit differently, like there’s some secret sauce on top. I don’t know how to explain it, but the way we have chiseled this style of filmmaking and photography people have attached to it, and we call it NPI Style. Whether it’s an epic surf trip in Mexico with the Hobgood’s or the local coffee shop, our goal is to create the most engaging and stoke-filled content possible. We take pride in having a team that is so versatile and ready to execute varieties of video/photo services that no other company has all in-house like NPI Productions does.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Pure grit and determination. Straight up, anyone can get to that next level and achieve what they want. It just has to be at the core of everything you do. I am 100% addicted to the hustle and chasing this dream, and it’s been that way for 10 years since I got my first taste of what this entrepreneur lifestyle could be. There are people with bigger cameras, more staff, college degrees, etc. – but there is not one person who can be me, even if they had a map. I say this because that is precisely how you need to look at yourself – and then you must go out there and hustle through the hardest of times to find that success and keep achieving it.
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal.”
Pricing:
- Small Business | $500-$1,500+
- Commercial | $2,500-$5,000+
- Wedding | $1,000-$5,000+
Contact Info:
- Website: www.npiproductions.tv
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/npiproductions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/npiproductions
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/npi13productions
Image Credits
@NPI Productions
