90. You Only Get Judged by the People Who Aren’t Doing It | Andrew Klasnic on Leaving LA, Fatherhood, and Getting Out of His Own Way

Welcome to The Grind — a new series here on Get Messy. Nobody tells you what the middle looks like: the slow seasons, the unglamorous work, and the years it actually takes to build something that lasts. This series is for that middle, told by the people who are actually living it.

Andrew Klasnic started acting at five, moved to LA right after high school in 2011, and has since built a career across LA, Atlanta, and now Charleston, South Carolina, all while working a full-time job in hospitality, running a business, and raising two daughters. In this conversation, he talks about why leaving a national market made him a bigger fish in a smaller pond, how he landed a new TV and film agent out of hundreds of submissions, and what it looks like to get put on hold for shows like Outer Banks from a regional market.

We get into the realities of working Fi-Core (and the heated opinions that come with it), the financial and logistical juggling act of an acting career with a family, and what he’d tell his 19-year-old self about creating his own work instead of waiting to be picked. Andrew also opens up about finally climbing cringe mountain on social media, how fatherhood has become his anchor for staying present, and the story behind his mobile headshot studio, The Studio Trailer, and his children’s book, Why Not Me?

This episode is for anyone balancing a creative career with real-life responsibilities and wondering whether it’s still possible to go after it all.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Building a Career Across LA, Atlanta, and Charleston
• Why a Regional Market Can Make You a Bigger Fish in a Smaller Pond
• Working Fi-Core: What It Is and Why It’s Polarizing
• Landing New Reps Out of Hundreds of Submissions
• Getting Put on Hold for Big Shows From a Regional Market
• Running Your Own Race and Letting Go of Comparison
• Getting Out of Your Own Way on Social Media
• Staying Present Across Fatherhood, a Full-Time Job, and an Acting Career
• Why Taking Care of Yourself Is How You Show Up Prepared
• Starting The Studio Trailer: A Mobile Headshot Studio on Wheels
• Writing the Children’s Book Why Not Me? and Believing You’re Capable

RESOURCES:

• Listen to Get Messy episode with Corey Clifford
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

✨ Connect with Andrew✨

Instagram: @klazzact

Andrew’s Children's Book: Why Not Me? — children’s book written by Andrew and illustrated by his wife

Andrew’s Business: The Studio Trailer — mobile headshot and portrait studio

VOTE for Andrew in his Super Dad Competition

✨Connect with Maddie ✨

Explore Maddie's Website | @messywithmaddie