Alumni Achiever – Ryan Flake, Fairview High Class of 2008

Published March 9, 2016

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Ryan Flake is a co-owner of a video production company called King Bob Videos. Ryan graduated from Fairview High School in 2008 before attending LDS Business College in Utah.

In 2014, Ryan and his brother created a YouTube Channel named King Bob Videos, which they named after Bob King, their TV & Film teacher at Fairview High.

Recently, the brothers collaborated with another YouTube Channel to produce a Super Mario Brothers Parkour video, which has received more than 275,000 views to date.

What is King Bob Videos and where did the idea come from?

My brother and I both had a passion for filmmaking. We both fell in love with the idea of combining some of our childhood nostalgia and mixing it with the real world. We also wanted to do videos that all had some sort of a positive message. Mr. King, our teacher, taught us to really stretch ourselves and put ourselves out there. While we were trying to pick a name for our channel, we thought that it would be criminal to not name it after him.

How did the Super Mario Brothers Parkour 2 video come about?

After we worked on a fake movie trailer for a game called Super Smash Brothers, we got in contact with another channel called Dark Pixel. After meeting up with them, we decided to work on what would be a sequel to their already popular Mario Parkour video.

What led you to want to pursue a career in video production?

One of my favorite movies of all time was the Lord of the Rings. It was the first thing that really peaked my interest in film. I never thought for a second that being part of something like that would be remotely possible. Mr. King was always encouraging me to enter into film festivals. I quickly became obsessed with doing visual effects, but Mr. King would always remind me how story was the most critical. His enthusiasm for film and broadcast made me want to get into the same field. He then gave me an application to apply for a job at our local news network, WC-TV. I made great friends who had the same interests and awesome mentors who really made me want to pursue it as a career.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I was once told that if you love what you do, it is not a job. I’ve had really amazing opportunities to work with Pizza Hut, The Discovery Channel, and other amazing people.

What did you enjoy most about your high school experience?

I love that it was a smaller school. It felt like the staff and teachers tried to get to know you better. I remember that outside of my media class other faculty and staff would get involved with some of my videos. Even my principal would stop me in the hall just to see how my media projects were going.

What WCS teacher made a difference in your life and how?

Mr. King made a big difference with my life. I had no idea what I wanted to pursue as a career until I took his class.

Do you have any advice for current WCS students?

If you know what you want to do, start now! My biggest regret is that I wish I started earlier. If you have a teacher that has knowledge of the field you want to enter, pick their brain as much as possible. I’ve still gone back and asked Mr. King for advice, and like all of the teachers that I’ve met, his primary goal is for successful students.