A picture is worth a thousand words, with so many natural wonders and magnificent works of art created by humans that there are times when words are superfluous. Vladislav Shurigin (Zuumy) is a photographer, content creator, and entrepreneur specializing in automotive and lifestyle photography.
Vlad currently lives in New York City, and he came to the United States when he was 4 years old from Ukraine. He has a degree in Graphic Design and has been taking photos for the last five years.
“I first started taking photos of my own car, slowly progressing to shooting my friends’ cars. The more cars I shot the more people wanted photos from me, and the more I shot the better I got. Photography has taken me all over the world, and it helped me make connections I couldn’t Imagine. I went from dreaming about exotic cars to shooting them, I went from looking at companies like Lamborghini and Ferrari, to shooting for them. Photography was my gateway into the life I dreamed about. It opened doors that I didn’t even know existed. It allowed me to become an influencer in the automotive industry and buy the car of my dreams.” Vlad shares.
Currently, Vlad runs two businesses. First, his photography/influencer business through which he takes photos for major brands. Secondly, he created Black 11, a vehicle care product.
“I take photos for many major brands, from Pirelli and Can-Am to Lamborghini and Maserati. Photography is my main source of income. If it has anything to do with high-end exotic vehicles, I’m usually hired for the job.” Vlad adds. “I also created Black 11, a high-end car care product that offers customers an aesthetically pleasing car cleaning experience.
Vlad designed all the branding and packaging of Black 11. The brand is aimed at the high-end of the automotive industry. He spared no expense when creating the company–everything is super-premium and only the highest quality products have been used to manufacture the product in the United States.
To get into the photography industry, Vlad used his love and passion for cars as a source of motivation. In particular, he was motivated to photograph automobiles due to his passion for the construction and make of cars.
“I loved the feeling that cars gave me and I wanted to see how I could help people experience that feeling more. The solution was photography. When I captured a photograph of someone’s car, I would freeze that image in time for them to enjoy forever. I loved the feeling of giving someone a photo of their car and seeing the happiness they experienced. There is a lot of passion that goes into building a car and I wanted to give people a reward that they could have forever.” Vlad explains.
In the same way, it was this love and passion for vehicles that drove him to create his car care product.
“Nowadays, all the products on the market are just a kind of cookie-cutter of each other. Nobody has anything different, nothing high-end or aimed at the exotic car market. I wanted to create an aesthetic product that would look good with any car.” Vlad says.
At this point, Vlad wants people to look at him and see that he came from nothing. That he simply had a dream and never gave up and that’s how he got to where he is today.
“I want to motivate people and give them hope to become the best person they can be, to pursue their dreams, and to say yes to opportunities that normally wouldn’t be given.” Vlad states.
In addition, Vlad would like his story and experience to motivate others to believe in themselves and launch their own projects.
“Make sure that you believe in your business, make sure that you have zero doubt. Make sure that your business solves a problem or has unique characteristics to it. You want to stand out from the competition and you want to be different enough for everyone around you. You need to have a strong foundation because a business is only as good as its foundation. Make sure that you spend a lot of time planning and doing research and design. Study the competition and see what you can improve on. See what problems they are not solving that you can. But most importantly believe in yourself, stay positive and only attract the energy you want.” Vlad advises.
Vlad’s next projects include the official launch of Black 11 and working to get it to be one of the most reliable car care product companies in the United States.
“I believe in what Black 11 can achieve and I want everyone to give it a chance to prove itself. The product is amazing and I will strive to give it as much exposure as possible. I will not rest until Black 11 is one of the largest car care product companies in the world. I will continue to come up with new and innovative ideas.” He says.
To learn more about Vlad, click here.