For most of us, living in India, the only wells that we were long familiar with were the ones in Grandma’s backyard, which provided water 24x7. But, in the 19th century, wells oozing oil were struck, forever becoming game-changers.
The first ‘offshore’ oil well started in 15 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico in 1947, by a drilling unit, owned by Kerr-McGee. The discovery of the Ekofisk Field in 1969 marked the beginning of a new era in the oil industry. The first offshore oil rig in India was set up by 1970 in the Gulf of Cambay.
Goa-based Ryan Lobo is among those who worked on rigs, and later diversified to video gigs.
Living in India, Qatar and Russia, he studied in 8 different educational institutions. He attained a BE degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2013 from Karunya University, Coimbatore, then worked at a call center in Mumbai for about 3 months, before getting a job with Halliburton, in Saudi Arabia, where his father was working.
THE RIG LIFE
His American boss positioned him as a service operator in the completions department. Working on a 60 days (on rigs)- 30 days (off) rotation, he trained in various programs, viz versatile with safety, hazard recognition and underwater helicopter escape, on assembly and break down of equipment sent to operators/engineers on off- and on-shore rigs, operated the Weatherford torque machine, pressure testing bay, coordinated with service coordinators for delivery of equipment, and coordinated with the head of operations.
A year later, he trained for field operations, installing safety valves and packers for the extraction of hydrocarbons. Before the plan of the management to give him charge of workshop operations was implemented, he fell in love, decided he didn’t want to be away from family, and quit the job.
BACK IN GOA
After quitting, he came to Goa, and lived with his grandmother. Later, he attended an interview at an engineering company in Margao. Of course, after having earned Rs 3 to 4 lakh per month, the current remuneration was deplorable.
“As a student, I had no interest in cameras or video. However, a near-death experience, while in Saudi Arabia, prompted me to share my story, which opened my mind to the power of communication through video.”
Once, Ryan was asked to record a video with a handicam, and while editing it, ended up being introduced to Gasper D’Souza, a brilliant journalist, and now a documentary editor, who inspired him into video production. He watched hours of content on YouTube, did a couple of courses and, thus, started his journey as a videographer.
After his marriage in 2015, he now lives in Bastora. “My wife, Eustacia was, and still is, a big support,” he states.
Ryan’s first paid job in 2016 was as a drone pilot for a company in Panjim on a retainer of Rs 11k. He would go on shoots when there was work, giving him the freedom to handle social media marketing for his in-laws’ music school called Taught to Teach Music School, and also travelled to its various branches (in Mapusa, Bastora, Porvorim and Margao), recording students as they perform and uploading online.
With his grandmother’s help (“she was a huge support”), he bought video equipment, and started freelancing for weddings and parties – which he didn’t quite enjoy. “Once, I faced a huge setback, when the data for one of the destination weddings I shot was corrupted due to a hard disk issue. I gave the photographs, and regretted that they lost the memories of their special day. He ended up paying them Rs one lakh and also faced a lot of threats.”
A NEW BEGINNING
He started his own company, Winfluence Media, in 2018, working exclusively with business owners, and affirms, “To capture the viewers’ interest, the primary skill of any photographer/videographer is to create and capture beauty, despite the unsightliness, in a new perspective.”
Drones are quite risky, and he has crashed them multiple times. Most of his assignments have been Goa-based. He shoots for real estate and more, and is currently shooting the new road to Mopa airport from the National highway.
Ryan released a new podcast called The Creative Genesis less than a month ago, where he interviews creatives and entrepreneurs of Goa and gets to know them in a candid and unscripted manner, replete with bloopers and off-the-cuff statements!
What sets him apart from the competition is focusing on businesses and entrepreneurs as their social media/content creation partner, a sound-treated green screen studio with an array of lights, audio and cameras for post-production, providing clients cutting edge content, using tools like Canva to create graphical posts.
Currently, he is assisted by two editors in post-production, one permanent staff, and one intern (who will be absorbed), enabling him to focus on business development, client relations and aspects of operations. He also coaches clients to script and speak confidently using a tele-prompter, works with big thinkers and world changing visionaries, inspires GenZ to take risks to create their own path, enables recognition and awareness to these entrepreneurs and creative people to achieve their goals.
Read more about Ryan Lobo's work at:
https://www.facebook.com/winfluencemedia/
Also, check out 'The Creative Genesis' Podcast on spotify (video version):
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQf16ePYkUL2TCtS5-lhjwMbX5g8fU9yb