Local showgoer helps others chase dreams

by Cindy Chen, freshman contributing reporter

Leonel Salcedo, local showgoer, started CrossHeart Industry in pursuit of connecting fans with their favorite bands, as well as bringing fans together at shows. CrossHeart also seeks to help out struggling local artists, from photographers to graphic designers to local bands and many others.

Cross Heart Industry originally started off as an idea, where did you get the idea from? What made you want to pursue it, and why?

The idea just randomly came from me being manic.  The idea of pursuing it was just that. I wanted to have something to keep my mind focused on and not juggling off. Due to the fact I’m bipolar, it’s hard to keep my mind intact with one task.

What was the process for assembling the CH team? How did you approach people with the idea of getting CH started?

The team ended up forming by me finding friendly faces that are highly skilled and that won’t mind using their time to helps start off the company. I approached them by offering a networking/ branching their name, so they could expand their own work.

When you first created CH, what was your main goal at the time, and your main goal now, whether it’s in a few months or several years?

I didn’t really have any [main goals]. I didn’t think of what direction I was heading or anything. I was just focusing on shooting show and uploading pictures. But now, I’m focus on launching the beta of the website by summer. Having a full design website out by 2016.

How would you describe your experiences at shows, from the band to the fans and vice versa? Do you think there has been a change of atmosphere since CH was started?

Well, since I started Cross Heart, I’ve seen a lot of the shady parts of bands and I’ve seen the great impact bands have towards the kids of today. Fan wise, I see them so happy to win tickets to shows and much more. I see how the music scene helps a lot of kids that are considered an outcast/loser and that’ll usually get bullied, fit in with a crowd and even get a second family. I have seen a lot of local bands and people waiting for the website to launch. The true beauty of Cross Heart is going to shine at the Stick to Your Guns show. We are planning to showcase the idea of being a family at a show.

Despite all the support you have gotten from the very start to now, there must have been people who tried to discourage you and bring you down. How did you move past the negativity?

Well, I’m not schooled in the art of business, so I made a lot of mistakes running Cross Heart. One of them was depending too much on myself, and it almost ended up driving the whole team away. I’ve learn from that mistake. But one thing everyone who runs a business must learn [is that], the more your business grows, the more people want to keep their eye on it and try to give you “criticism” for it. They tend to envy the success and even try to attack everything you do. I encountered this multiple times. I overcame it by just thinking “if people are hating and attacking me for it, I must be doing something right.” Also just that, I’m happy enough to be doing something, than nothing like they are.

Do you have any motivations/inspirations? If so, what are they?

The only thing that keeps me going is the idea of this company being a gateway of a better life. I strive one day to have the good things in life, mostly happiness.

Beside CH, do you have any other kind of company/business/projects that you want to start?

I want to start my suicidal project, which is basically focusing on how people are rejected and why people still want to die, even after they’re finally accepted in life.

For information on Leonel Salcedo, visit HXC Magazine to see another interview.