Brayden Figueroa is not only a video producer for the Los Angeles Lakers who shoots and cuts many of those hype videos you love – he’s a vlogger and content creation coach with a growing following across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
As a late bloomer who began pursuing video content in college (while covering the Oregon Ducks football and basketball teams), Brayden is passionate about inspiring the next generation of creators. Figueroa (or @BFiggy on social) has used the vlog space to develop extensive programs for folks looking to convert their interest in video into a career.
I spoke to Brayden about his journey, his work with the Lakers, LeBron James‘ leadership, and more. Here are a few excerpts from our conversation. (You can see an IG gallery of Brayden's story here).
Michael Corvo (MC): When you were a kid, were you all about cameras? Like when you watched a movie, were you like, ‘Spike Lee is crushing it with this lens?’
Brayden Figueroa (BF): The funniest story that I tell people about the creative stuff is in 5th grade — I vividly remember this — this teacher came in and was like, ‘We’re gonna teach you guys how to draw.’ And I was really juiced. I remember we drew something and then our teacher came over and was like, ‘You should just stick to sports’ – like don't do the creative thing, because you suck. I was like, ‘Damn.’
So from that point on, I never did the creative stuff because I remembered that moment being so life-changing. So, I was like, OK, I'm really good at baseball, I'll just try and ride with that. I think about that story a lot – how I was told how uncreative I was for 19 years of my life.
MC: It's terrible teaching that accidentally ended up being good teaching.
BF: Yeah, exactly. So, I got into it later than I probably wanted to.
Brayden joined the Lakers for the 2019-20 season.
BF: When I first got there, we had three months of normal, then Kobe passed away. That was a really hard time, but we powered through as a team. It was brutal … And then after that, COVID happened, then I was remote … such a weird time.
MC: So how much are you around the Lakers on a day-to-day basis?
BF: Before COVID, I would cover the practices. We don't really do a lot of video of practice because most of the time it’s just them running plays.
MC: Like they don’t scrimmage a lot?
BF: They scrimmage frequently, but a lot of it is running through plays. A lot of that we don't film.
Unlike in college, when he had basically free reign to shoot the Ducks, the Lakers run a tighter ship.
BF: You can't just walk up to LeBron and say something and ask to do something, There’s a very strict protocol of how all of our videos happen with players.
MC: So, something like a video of Carmelo Anthony working out, do they tell you, ‘Hey, Melo’s gonna come in, can we get some video of him?’
BF: Yeah. We’re alerted that the players are coming in and they arrange for someone to cover the practice. They’ll be like, ‘Melo is coming at noon, can somebody get this?'
MC: Do you ever shoot something and the player is like, ‘I don’t like how I look in that video’?
Brayden: No, I’ve never had a video taken down because of something like that.
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MC: Or the opposite – has Anthony Davis ever been like, ‘That All-Star compilation video was sick?’
BF: Yeah. The coolest is when they re-post my stuff. It’s awesome when Carmelo re-posts it on Twitter and the numbers go crazy.
MC: People love those workout videos. Fans go crazy.
BF: Yeah. I think the fans just want to see everything. They just want to see it all.
MC: Have you gotten to know any players personally the last few years?
BF: I have a solid relationship with Talen Horton-Tucker because he was in the G-League, and that’s what I was doing a lot of the first year.
In college, Brayden began freelancing with a friend. He was soon making videos in Bali for five-star hotels. The friends eventually started a company. He then began studying — and eventually collaborating with — Christian Guzman, a prominent fitness vlogger. Brayden “vowed that [he] would never work for somebody,” until he came across an opportunity with the Lakers. “They’re a different story.”
Guzman inspired Figueroa and led to a passion for vlogging.
BF: I was a fanboy. I was like, ‘I'm just going to be this guy. I just love this guy's videos, love what he's putting out’. So that was the way I got into vlogging, because I was like, ‘OK, obviously he's doing something right. I'm just going to mimic what the best guy’s doing.’
Figueroa’s vlogging has now “transformed into something totally different.” He’s used his platform to create a “coaching program” that enables him to personally connect with clients. During the pandemic, Brayden made a 60-video course in content creation. Initially, he had nearly 40 people in the course, “ranging from so many different skill levels and from so many different places,” — a handful of whom are now working in video content full-time. “It did really well. It was awesome.” He’s working on an updated version of the course.
BF: The biggest, most fun thing that I had no idea would ever happen is the messages I get back from people — the people you don’t even really know you’re touching. They’re like, ‘Hey, you posted this video this day, and I was going to quit, but this video inspired me to pick it up for another day.’ That’s crazy. That’s been the coolest part of the coaching: just seeing how many peoples’ lives it can impact. You have so many people who’ve been told it’s impossible to make money as a creative — ‘a starving artist’, or whatever. I enjoy being the person that’s like, ‘That’s not true. You can make as much or as little money as you want with this. You can work for the Lakers or for a high school. You can direct movies.’
There are so many different avenues you can take the camera stuff. You can be an influencer, you can be a YouTuber, TikToker, you could work for ClutchPoints, it's just growing. The kids are making more and more money…And now, with NIL, you have all these college kids that need content. So, it's another way that they can monetize their skills, which is awesome.
The teaching thing's been sick because it started on TikTok during the pandemic. And I had a funny TikTok account, a comedy one that was making fun of frat guys. But then it started to take off. So I made a completely new account … I needed to reach video people. That's who I needed to reach. That's who I'm going to impact. That's what I want to be connected with.
MC: Do you feel like posting on TikTok has made you better at editing?
BF: Oh yeah. I've gotten so fast at editing. During the pandemic, that’s all I was doing. TikToking and editing Lakers videos all day long.
MC: So, what’s next for you with the Lakers?
BF: Oh man, big season. Huge season. The whole office is just really excited. That's the mindset that I'm getting from everybody. I think we're a little nervous and there's this anticipation of what's to come because none of us got to experience the confetti being dropped. We all wanted that. We all wanted to be in the arena. I wanted to be shooting the last seconds of the game, not editing it from my couch.
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Brayden may not have been with the team for the 2020 title celebration, but he did get a championship ring, which he unboxed and showed me (leading me to make a crack about the Lakers affording historically expensive rings and not Alex Caruso. Brayden uncomfortably laughed.)
BF: [Caruso] was so nice, he was the nicest guy. All of them are really nice. I’ve never had a bad interaction with the team or with any player. Everyone's really nice. I just think about Russ, specifically, and how the media paints him, like he's mean or something. Just to be around him at Dodger Stadium — that was the first time I met him. He was just so nice, like one of my buddies.
@bfiggy Dodger stadium vlog! #bfiggy #lakers #dodgers #dodgergame #vlog #bfiggyvlog #losangeles #la #filmmaker #filmmaking #camera
Brayden has found geniality to be a theme for all the athletes he’s worked with, including MMA fighter A.J McKee, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, whom he called “the nicest guy in the world.”
MC: Is there anything you think is possibly misunderstood about the Lakers from being behind the scenes a little bit, something fans would love to know goes on?
BF: Yeah. This is my first day ever. I'm walking down the halls, have no idea what's going on. I look up from my phone and it’s Rondo. He’s like, ‘What’s up man, I’m Rajon’. He’s like, ‘Oh it's your first day? That’s awesome, welcome to the team.’ Just chatting it up, super nice. I think people don't realize all these players are just normal people like you and I. They’re just living their lives. They come there to work.
MC: What about Dwight?
BF: Oh, Dwight. I made a really cool video for Dwight for All-Star last year and he reposted it. Dwight's bringing so much energy. Every practice, every lift. Dwight is so strong, it’s actually insane. One time I was in the weight room while he was working out and he's just casually picking up 100-pound dumbbells. He's a tank. Whenever I go to practice, he's always laughing and smiling.
The coolest part about when we were back in the office was that I could go to practice and just watch. You get 30 minutes to sit and watch the best athletes of our generation work out. Like, ‘OK, we're just going to watch LeBron practice right now.' It's so awesome.
Brayden said the “coolest thing” is his backstage pass to witness “what a leader LeBron is.”
BF: I obviously wasn't with the team for the bubble, but it was really cool to see that he's not just a leader when he's out on the court. This guy is just a straight-up leader all-around, and he’s always working the hardest. He elevates everybody. Everybody's elevated because LeBron’s there. Same with AD, obviously. My view on sports is you just respect greatness, no matter what team. The guy’s great and he’s a leader and it’s really cool to see it first-person. He’s on it, man. He’s working out all the time. When no one’s watching, he’s just always working.
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I had to ask Brayden about riding the Lakers team plane, an experience he documented on TikTok.
BF: Oh my God. The team airplane is the coolest thing in the world. The very front of the plane, first-class, is where the players sit — biggest seats I’ve ever seen in my life, like private plane seats. And then they have a cool place where they can play cards and stuff. And they have a really cool snack section that you can just take anything you want, which was unreal – like every flavor of everything you could possibly imagine. So much weird sh*t. Peanut butter and jellys, chocolates. Then when you sit down, they bring you a special Lakers’ menu. And it's not like a regular plane where you pick one thing. You say, ‘I want this and this and this.’ And the leg room: unmatched.
https://www.tiktok.com/@bfiggy/video/6994988000555928838?_d=secCgYIASAHKAESPgo8nhbWtndparTBxWOX0rliRFoKjfUX11E7HGJatR2TqbydWpSpvjckhqmYBRHXa2ieM3p3s8DMoLRktDszGgA%3D&checksum=96be8bf8fd6391380bb86263497ef2b4844ac64757e52200b2821ef7183de99d&language=en&preview_pb=0&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAfj_FxKw-jOfyXJHF8P10ErEh3rXiZzcG70P924c_6b66sp5q1wb4Gm5dqC8i4J4W&share_app_id=1233&share_item_id=6994988000555928838&share_link_id=32B16391-7387-4E6A-9A3C-5B8C3EEF6705&source=h5_m×tamp=1634198005&tt_from=copy&u_code=da3cba3abidj41&user_id=6774995104462554118&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=copy&_r=1
Brayden hopes to join the Lakers for a few road trips this season. Beyond the video access, being able to travel with the Ducks allowed him to form personal relationships with players, such as Payton Pritchard.
Before we wrapped, I had to ask him the most important question of all.
MC: Finally, what’s the best flavor of Monster? That’s a motif of your vlogging.
BF: White by far, not even a question. I only drink one a day…For the most part.
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