Andy from Metro on the Move

This is Andy! I met Andy at my first job when I moved to Atlanta. Andy is awesome, and the conversations we had really helped me keep my sanity as I made the transition from college life into the actual workforce.

Andy was born in Newport Beach, California. When he was very young, Andy moved with his parents to Hong Kong. As Americans, Andy and his family were extreme minorites in China. His dad was a missionary, and part of his job was to smuggle bibles into communist China. Andy remembers walking the streets of Chinese food markets when he was like 4 years old. His family lived in a tiny apartment in a bad neighborhood. At age 7 Andy and his family moved back to the United States to Stone Mountain, GA.

Once again, Andy felt like an outsider. He lived in a bad neighborhood and he remembers one day hearing his neighbor get shot dead in the driveway after a drug deal gone bad. Andy grew up in a very strict household. His favorite music was forbidden in his household, there was no cable TV, and he remembers having to do push ups and jog around the house whenever he got in trouble.

Andy moved once more during middle school to North GA. Once more, he was an outsider. After growing up near Atlanta, Andy was perceived as a “city kid.” He sold candy in school to make money, which eventually evolved into beer + cigarettes. Andy got heavily involved in his school’s art program and won several art scholarships, eventually deciding to attend Kennesaw State University.

In 1996 Andy formed his band The Superbz. They won the town’s battle of the bands competition and began to play in local clubs. They put out a few original albums and began to receive local and national recognition. Andy remembers opening up for some of his favorite groups, Bad Religion, Unwritten Law, AFI, Less Than Jake, Undead, Link 80. Andy moved to Hollywood and began working with Capitol Records, before ultimately deciding to quit the band and focus on school & his career.

A few years ago Andy remembers hanging out with a close friend one evening, when his friend’s face went limp and he bagan gasping for air. Andy administered CPR, and watched his friend pass away in front of him, just as paramedics arrived. That event changed Andy’s life forever. Realizing that his friend’s death was connected to his lifestyle, and that he was also out of shape, Andy quit singing in bars and going out drinking. He also quit painting, and instead wanted to take a new path in life.

After returning to Hong Kong and hiking Lion Rock, Andy decided to change his lifestyle and create his online persona, Metro On The Move. He lives in the metro city of Atlanta, but each weekend he goes out and explores Georiga’s hiking trails. When I met Andy, we connected over YouTube. I (somewhat rudely) gave him a giant list of ideas of ways he could improve his channel. After implementing a fdw of the changes, Andy began to see his channel grow. Today he has over 1100 subscribers and over 160,000 views.

Andy says his greatest strength in life is that he’s able to see past the immediate moment and focus on the bigger picture. His advice to me and my audience is to “be kind to your future self.” Don’t make reckless decisions today that you’re going to have to pay for 10 years from now.

Andy is awesome. Go check out his YouTube channel.