Who is Joe Young?

Who is Joe Young? We took out the time to find out who is the man behind the magic. We sat down with Joe Young to find what he is all about, what he is doing and what his plans are.

Where were you born?
I was born in Hartford, CT. I lived there for about 4 years and then moved to Bloomfield where I was raised.

Where and when did you go to school?
I went to St. Gabriel’s school, Northwest Catholic and then Southern Connecticut State University but I dropped out as a sophomore to raise my son Kyle.

What inspired you to create Young! Studios and Young! Studios World?
Well, I always liked to serve others and what I’m good at is art and business. Combining the two while trying to figure out a way to encourage youth development seemed to make the most sense. As far as Young! Studios I’ve always wanted to own some sort of arts company that does commercial work.

What is Diamond Ruff about?
Diamond Ruff is the main character who is a con artist and he meets this preacher Rev. Trek Woods and they change the world. There are assassination plots, bombings and romance but Diamond Ruff is more than characters and fiction. It is a project where I want people to believe in themselves and go after their dreams. I feel like people have given up and through Diamond Ruff I want to tell a story but the way we market it, it’s going to help dreamers achieve their dreams.

So what are your dreams?
My dreams? My dream is do this movie and pull off what seems like the impossible to inspire people. My dream is to get my work out because a lot people know me as a cartoonist but I’m also a writer. I was motivated to write this book because I have always been fascinated by the human spirit and how powerful it is. Overcoming odds is very spiritual and Diamond Ruff shows this.

So writing is your passion but how are you capable of pulling such a big project together?
Well, anyone who wants to express themselves is qualified but if you’re talking technical I’ve done some things with some help from people in the past. I’ve had a Guinness World Record, I’ve been to the White House and on the flip side I have a 5000 square foot studio in down town Hartford, I’ve got my family behind me and I’ve got good friends behind me. So with all of that and with technology and the way it is the common person can write their own book and they can self publish it themselves. Anyone can do an independent film and learn from people who have gone before them. So that’s what my experience is and that’s what my validation is.

So you say you have a studio in Hartford. Speaking of Hartford I heard that you want to have the movie in Hartford. How do think that will affect the people in Connecticut?
Connecticut has this thing where they’re trying to bring movies into Connecticut to provide jobs. I think Connecticut is going to embrace it. Hartford ’s my home away from home and that’s where I got my start and it’s just a great place. Even though we’re doing it in Hartford this could be anywhere in the USA . This could be Chicago , LA , Atlanta , where ever. Hartford is just the place where it’s going to happen and Hartford Connecticut is supporting people who want to break into the film industry.

So how can people get involved with the movie?
The main thing is to join the Diamond Ruff Club which is free of charge and then if you want to get into t-shirts and you want to invest in the book and the movie you can only be a member to do that and we put together a great point system where it’s going to be a lot of fun, It’s going to be social marketing and it’s going to be something that anybody can join. Many people and I are looking forward to making a difference within the club and any money that comes through here will go towards diabetes. So not only are we doing a movie but we are contributing to the cure of diabetes.

What’s going to come next after the membership?
Well the membership will be on-going as this Diamond Ruff Project lives and reinvents itself in different forms. Currently speaking we have to get the book printed. We are going to sell the book, brand the book and once we get hundreds and thousands of copies then we get to the movie. Now this isn’t going to be easy. This is going to be the hardest thing that I’ve ever done in my life. People around me are going to have to sacrifice but it can be done because it’s been done before. One thing that I can attest to is that every project that we set out to do, with God’s blessings, we knocked it out. It was a struggle but we did do it.

Take a look at what else Joe is doing:

YOUNG! FILMS 942 MAIN STREET, HARTFORD, CT 06103
860.560.1122 - DIAMONDRUFFPROJECT@YAHOO.COM