My name is Josue Mateo, A professional Freelance Camera Operator with credits ranging from Local TV to ESPN and CBS, a Professional Freelance Videographer with credits ranging from local high schools to Universities and Colleges, and a Professional Wedding Filmmaker, based out of Greenville, South Carolina.
My story begins back in High School when I was kicked off of our football team due to my lack of showing up to school my Junior year of High School ! I wanted to stay close to my teammates, so I offered myself to record our team's film for game days and practices. It was then that I realized how great being behind a camera was, but still, that didn't convince me to pursue that career.
I ended up graduating High School with ZERO scholarships and ZERO plans to continue my education. I was lost and undetermined in life at that point. I was determined that I wasn't going to be able to follow up on a huge job with a nice degree that would be make me tons of money, but then came North Greenville University. I had the privilege of being taught by Professor Dr. Andrew Stevens. I am a man of faith, and with that being said, I believe that God put Dr. Stevens in my life for a reason, and that reason was to lead me to the path that I'm on today. One morning, Dr. Stevens offered me to work as a utility, a cable puller, for one of the local MY40 high school games. I immediately said yes and showed up for the experience. It was then that I came to a realization that I had a passion for broadcast work. I pushed myself to be the best and came down with the opportunity to run a camera for one of the games. The rest is history. I locked down the following seasons with the crew and began to connect with bigger names in the industry. I started picking up ESPN games, I made a connection with Three Point Oh! which is the company that runs the In-House production operations at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, I started traveling out of state to do sporting events, concerts, etc. I began to realize how much this job meant to me ...
BUT THEN CAME COVID-19
As you know, COVID-19 changed many people's lives. Many people lost their jobs, their homes ... even loved ones. I lost my job. Sports were shut down and arenas were locked down as well. It was impossible to get any work during the peak of the pandemic, but thankfully, I had a great support around me. I was encouraged to INVEST into camera gear and was forced to use my creative mindset. My first ever project was with Furman University, A D-1 school here in Greenville. I was able to do good enough work for the football team, that it ended up exposing my work to folks around the community. I began to receive messages of people wanting to work with me, so it was then that MateoProductions officially became a company. Being willing to learn and put myself through new things is HUGE. I still have lots and lots of learning that I need to do, but I am willing to take on whatever comes my way.
If you've made it this far, I appreciate you taking the time to read about my story. This may be your form of getting to know who I am, but this story could also help people that used to be like me, lost and undetermined in life. Sometimes getting to read about other people's success can start a spark in other's lives, and I hope that I can do that for the beautiful people that will read this moving forward! Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoy the rest of my page!
- Josue Mateo
SPECIAL THANKS TO DR. ANDREW STEVENS, CLAY MAZZA AND THE ENTIRE FURMAN ORGANIZATION, BYRON ABT - PALADIN PRODUCTIONS, ADEKUNLE OLUSANYA, TOMAS BONA AND THE ENTIRE BEATLETE FAMILY, JACK AND RUSSELL MARKS - THREE POINT OH!, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, DAN AND BONNIE BURGESS - OHANA SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
LOVE
