16. Why You Don't Need An Expensive Camera (w/ Chris Rogers)

**Chris Rogers** (0:00)
I don't make videos to make money, I make money so I can make videos. So it's super relatable, because it's just so raw and authentic. And there's like, Will Smith behind me.
And it's like, here I am, filming this, in essence, a big campaign, a high-budget campaign, with a GoPro.

**Christian LeBlanc** (0:21)
Are you ready?
Today, we're gonna be talking about how this camera right here, a GoPro, not only changed our lives, but maybe saved them. Is that a stretch?

**Chris Rogers** (0:34)
No, I don't think so.

**Christian LeBlanc** (0:35)
For me, it's not.
So we'll talk about that in a little bit, because this camera right here, and pretty much any action camera on the market, could very well develop your career. So don't for a second think that this is not serious enough to get started. Today with me, we have an incredible guest, a friend of mine for a long time now, but it's all been done through social media. And today, I literally met him in person. I was like, have we not met before? And surely enough, this is our first time meeting.
Welcome, Chris Rogers.

**Chris Rogers** (1:03)
Thanks for having me, man. I think this is like eight years in the making. It's crazy.

**Christian LeBlanc** (1:07)
It really is, yeah. No, I've been watching your stuff for a long, long time.
I started off with the GoPro. You started off with the GoPro, and you've stuck with the GoPro.

**Chris Rogers** (1:18)
You're still using a GoPro. I mean, I think we both kind of found each other's social media when we were both in the Philippines at the same time. And this was like 2014, 2015
And they just released like that little session camera. I think we both got sent one.

**Christian LeBlanc** (1:33)
Yes.

**Chris Rogers** (1:33)
And then I remember there was like a list of all the people, and then I saw your name, and I was like, wait. And you'd had that selfie with the elephant go viral.

**Christian LeBlanc** (1:41)
Yes.

**Chris Rogers** (1:42)
And I think that's where I picked it up, and then we followed each other, and we just always missed each other.

**Christian LeBlanc** (1:47)
Yeah.

**Chris Rogers** (1:48)
When traveling, like I would be in Bali, you would be here, and then it never happened until now.

**Christian LeBlanc** (1:53)
Yeah, and if you hear it in the accent, I mean, you're from South Africa, is that right?

**Chris Rogers** (1:57)
I'm from Cape Town, born and bred.
It's still home for me for a decent portion of the year. Yeah. Yeah, you gotta come visit, man. You'll love it.

**Christian LeBlanc** (2:04)
I can all wait. Yeah, seriously, it's one of the places I dream of doing one month and just completely planting up my life there, just to try it out and see how it feels.

**Chris Rogers** (2:12)
Yeah, it's becoming a hub for creators. I mean, Nicholas is spending a decent time there and Sam Calder is there. There's a decent hub of creators, and it's as cheap as Bali. It's got a California vibe to it, Hawaii's landscape, but really affordable.

**Christian LeBlanc** (2:27)
Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and ask you, Chris, for the sake of the audience, tell me a little bit about you in 30 seconds. What is it that you do? Who are you? Go for it.

**Chris Rogers** (2:37)
Chris Rogers, I am a travel and action sports filmmaker. Yeah, I travel the world working with some of the best action sports athletes on the planet, and I try to have as much fun as possible while doing that.

**Christian LeBlanc** (2:49)
Hell yeah.

**Chris Rogers** (2:49)
Put up on my YouTube channel every now and again.

**Christian LeBlanc** (2:51)
And you're an entrepreneur, too.

**Chris Rogers** (2:53)
Yeah, I have quite a few side businesses, I guess.
As a co-founder of G-Dome, which we make dome ports and housings for. Originally, we started with just a GoPro because there was one company making it, and it costed the same price as a GoPro. And we're like, this is ridiculous. It's such a cool accessory. Surely there's a way to make it more affordable, and that's what we did. And it was really awesome.

**Christian LeBlanc** (3:16)
And that's how you get the overwater, underwater shot, right?

**Chris Rogers** (3:19)
Exactly, overwater, underwater shots. And then, you know, it was great doing it for GoPro. I'm like, wait, what if we could make this for a smartphone? So we made the first, and I still think it is the only universal dome port for every smartphone on the market at an affordable price.