Meet Ryan Bell | Video Director, Editor and Animator at ORYANS BELLT TV

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Bell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

I was born with Pectus excavatum, otherwise known as a sunken chest, and at the age of 15 I had surgery to relieve the pressure it was applying to my heart and lungs. I had a titanium rod inserted under my sternum, through one side and out the other that reshaped my chest and was wired to my rib cage. Two years later I had another operation to have it removed. I was a competitive snowboarder on the Winter Park Snowboarding Team at the time but this surgery meant no contact sports for two years. Not wanting to miss out on the fun and through the love and support of my parents who bought me my first camera and computer I began filming my snowboarding team and put together a short documentary at the end of each season as well as sponsor videos for my teammates. I was very blessed to have found this passion through the adversity I was going through at the time and I’ve really been editing and working with video ever since.

I started my video production company ORYANS BELLT TV in 2011 while living out in Los Angeles and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.  I never wanted to feel trapped in a job or a salary, or expected to work a number of hours for the sake of working a number of hours.  Having my own business has given me the freedom and flexibility to work with a wide-range of clients on topics I’d never dreamed of being a part of.  A good friend of mine likes to say “Variety is the spice of life,”  and I’ve found that to be very true.  It’s not always easy and it’s certainly a grind, but that’s the fun of it.  I’d encourage anyone thinking of starting their own business to take the leap and have faith that the universe will catch you.  I’ve experienced this countless times in my life and career.  As the great Joseph Campbell said “Follow your bliss!”

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

My first big break was with AwesomenessTV where I shot and edited behind-the-scenes videos for teenage pop stars out on tour. I spent two years traveling the U.S, Europe and Japan with Austin Mahone opening for acts like Taylor Swift and another two years living on a tour bus with the girl group Fifth Harmony where we toured with Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes and just about every other teeny-bopper pop band out at the time. I joke that for many years I was living a fourteen-year-old girl’s wildest dream!  I went on to direct a handful of road trip shows with other YouTube stars as well as shooting and directing music videos and documentaries. I spent the next 10 years bouncing between New York and Los Angeles and have worked with clients on everything from space travel to deep-sea exploration, fashion, food, finance, sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, skateboarding, golf, a presidential campaign, a puppet show, philanthropy, and even motherhood with the great and talented Snooki & JWoww from the Jersey Shore.

One of my proudest projects is a web-series called “Evan’s World” that I made with the great creative genius Evan Elberson.  We went to 4th grade together in Highlands Ranch and I hadn’t seen him since around that time until we had a chance encounter in Brooklyn in 2016.  “Evan’s World” is a one-man show with many characters, all played by Evan, and once a week for 36 consecutive weeks we put out an episode.  It was here that I really started to harness my skills and passion of working with green screen and animation.

You can check out Evan’s World here: 

https://www.oryansbellt.com/evans-world

In 2019, my wife Virginia and I relocated to Colorado to raise our family and I’ve been fortunate to set up shop in a home studio here at the base of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

In August of 2021 we took our two sons to the Great Wolf Lodge here in Colorado Springs for 7 nights.  It’s an indoor waterpark hotel for kids and I think we were the first people on Planet Earth to spend that many nights in a row there, but we had the absolute best time.  We had a balcony room that looked over the Air Force Academy and were able to watch the pilots in training fly all day long, right over our heads which was totally awesome.

Each day we’d take a trip out to explore Colorado Springs.  Some of these highlights were:

• WWII Aviation Museum
• Manitou Springs Penny Arcade
• Cave of the Winds
• Pikes Peak
• Royal Gorge
• Ghost Town Museum
• The Broadmoor
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
• Shrine of the Sun
• Garden of the Gods
• U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum

For food, you can’t go wrong at White Pie and once you’ve had your fill of pizza you can head next door to Bar-K for ping pong, darts and a magical vending machine that just might tell your fortune.  Colorado Springs is heaven on Earth.  We were living near Denver at the time of our Great Wolf Lodge trip and had such a great time that as soon as we returned home we put our house up for sale and moved down here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife Virginia. She has elevated my life beyond my wildest dreams and I could not ask for a better friend, partner and mother to our two sons. We met while she was an acting student at Juilliard in NYC and watching her work on stage and in television has been so inspiring. It is through her grace and sacrifice that I have found success and have been able to pursue my creative passions.

Website: www.oryansbellt.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC57IY4NBjcrmg0IgB8c_GVg