Detention - TheGrindShow (Full Skit)

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns to look at things in a different way.

Gabriel Smith developed and nurtured a strong interest in music and arts early in life. In high school, he started out as a socially awkward teen that loved to write poetry and draw Disney characters. It was then he met a group of students that helped transform his poetry to hip hop. He and his friends frequently stayed after school and payed to record hip hop albums and sell them to all the schools in the area. He quickly realized that music was much bigger then hip hop. So, he purchased an electric guitar and taught himself how to play. The guitar gave him a broader perspective of music, and it encouraged his healthy appetite to be creative.

Music was a major part of his life, but he always saved room in his heart for art. It was watching the making of Pixar’s Toy Story 2 that piqued his interest in Animation. Soon after, Gabriel enrolled in The School of Communication Arts (The Living Arts College) where he began his journey as a character animator. He graduated at the top of his class and was even hired at a video game company before he received his Associates Degree. Six months later, he was promoted to the head of the animation department.

Gabriel has worked as an Animator for over 11 years. He has worked on Holograms, Commercials, Music Videos, Corporate visualizations, Video Games and more! Some of the games he helped create were Cartoon Network’s Ben 10 Omniverse, Pacman and the Ghostly Adventures 1 & 2, Borgias Social Facebook Game, and many more. He has worked with the DreamWorks directors and animation team for “Kung Fu Panda 3”. As the Lead on the “Kung Fu Panda 3” video game, he and the Dream Works team ensured the animation styles looked and felt the same. He worked on Disney Princess characters, and even hi-tech robots for Intel. He utilizes all aspects of animation from 2D to Motion Capture. For the Showtime hit Series “Dexter,” Gabriel acted and performed all cut scenes and action sequences using motion capture. He was not only the main actor, but also the motion capture director and animation lead. We worked with and directed Richard Ryan, a Hollywood fight/stunt coordinator known for his work in titles like TROY, Vikings, Sherlock Holmes and many more. Together they produced all the motions for the game Infinite Warrior. Throughout his career, he picked up additional skills in Audio Engineering, Video Editing, Brand development, Web/Graphic design and more.

Even though he was an animator by trade, his love and passion for music never veered very far. Whenever Gabriel wasn’t animating, he was on stage with his guitar performing his unique version of R&B Soul music. Gabriel’s sound and ambition helped him share the stage with major recording artists like Joe, Kem Kemistry, Anthony Hamilton, Robin Thicke, Tank and more. He has even recorded electric guitar for R&B stars Trey Songz and Kevin Ross, and recieved a Gold Plaque for his work. He continues to sharpen his skills and knowledge of the music and animation industries by keeping up with current trends and technology.

Creating “The Grind Show” is the collision of his parallel passions for music and art! He hopes to finally merge together his two loves and create something that all walks of life can relate to. With the show, Gabriel wants to inspire people to be a part of “The Grind” and stop at nothing to follow through on their passions! Because we all know, your success is a result of your GRIND!