We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Patrick Murphy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael Patrick, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The thought of owning my own business didn’t occur to me until I realized that my “day job” was making me miserable. Until that point, I defined success on how well I was fulfilling other people’s expectations for me and not necessarily what was best for me. I spent approximately a decade as a CPA. Each second I spent sitting in that cubicle, it felt like more of my soul was dying. Near the time I was at my lowest point, Instagram was becoming popular. One day I decided to take a 15 minute break from my misery and walk around the city to take some photos on my phone. In that moment, it hit me. I was smiling! I wasn’t miserable! It became clear that this was something I needed to explore. After that, my free time changed from feeling hopeless to working towards a goal with fierce determination. Nothing was going to stop me from being a photographer. The story of my life depended on it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I tell people that I shoot athletes being athletes. I find each genre of fitness is its own art form and each athlete is an artist themselves. It would be inappropriate of me to tell and experienced yogi how to get into a yoga pose as it would telling a competitive olyimpic weightlifter how to perform a lift. I put them in their environment and let them do their thing. In my opinion, that’s the only way to get authentic results from people who are athletes first and models second. This puts them at ease and lets down their guard. All they have to do is be the athlete they’ve trained to be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m based out of Columbus, Ohio. I’d take them through a workout at CrossFit Grandview. Afterwards, we’ll swing by Dublin, Ohio to get some post workout BCAAs from my client, Propello Life.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shortly after I found my passion for photography, I found a similar interest in my own physical fitness. I just happened to move down the street from CrossFit Grandview and joined the gym simply for being the closest one to me. It didn’t take long for me to bring my camera into the gym. As I started doing more work for them, I developed a strong working relationship with the owner, Brandon Couden. I found him to be similarly business minded and we’ve mutually been able to benefit greatly off of each other. Looking back, I can’t think of a better place to practice and sharpen the core skills I developed that my business now relies on.

Website: www.michaelpatrickstudio.com

Instagram: michaelpatrickstudio

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