Cortez G West behind the lens

Despite living the ultimate high life in luxury, you would be surprised how many of your favorite celebrities find tranquility in the simplest things. With Cortez G West being one of the most loved producers and creative directors in LA, it requires him to be on call for the majority of his time. But on a normal day when he’s not working or bringing life to the stories of others, he’s kicked back with his feet up. ” On a normal day I wake up to music, it’s like my personal therapy. Selecting a song that matches my mood. I make my bed and I get my fitness going. I don’t eat breakfast because it’s not that important to me and then I like to catch up on my favorite movies and shows that I admire and inspire me.”

“My friends are my family”

With an upbringing of not celebrating birthdays, family reunions or holiday’s, Cortez grew up missing out on the experience of having a loving family to hold him up. With his mom passing away at the age fourteen and not having a tight knit relationship with her family, Cortez ran away and sought love elsewhere. Forming deep, connected friendships with those in his life who therefore turned to his family. “The love that I receive from them is profound. My friends are my family.”

2021 was a tough year for those who felt heavily confined in their homes due to the covid quarantine. 2021 was also a breakthrough year for some of us because we could only be in the comfort of our own home and the company of our own minds. Cortez is described by his friends and peers as the person to bring out the best in you while around him. Those same friends and peers took the time to wish him a happy 35th birthday through video text and Instagram videos in the quarantine year. “That was the best birthday I’ve had. Because emotions were so high at the time. I felt so much gratitude and it revealed to me what God and the universe had done and is still doing in my life.”

“As a black man it’s important for me to be emotionally mature”

The stereotypes for black men are at the tip of everyone’s tongue. How black men should act, how black men should care for others and how black men should work. But no one talks about black men and their mental state, especially with the world on their shoulders. “I’m so inclined into my own spirit and my own emotions. And if you don’t have that discernment about yourself, I feel you have to ask the Universe for it or yearn for it.” Cortez believes the best way to thrive in your true essence is to have emotional maturity about yourself. Because it’s a helpful guide through life.

The function of a man is to live, not exist

“When I decided to do something that I loved, it opened up something in me that I didn’t know I could have.” That awakening came for Cortez the day he decided to take control of his life. Saying no to the old used and abused identity and stepping into his new identity. Cortez’s newfound reassurance in himself led him to becoming a multi purposeful creator. His start in producing alongside actress and journalist Maria Menounos and producer Keven Undergaro, introduced him to the multiple avenues of entertainment of producing and directing. From there he’s tapped into commercials, music videos, movies, television shows and more. But he knows there’s more work to be done to acquire himself as a household name. And he’s determined.

I was in my bed for four to five months.

Depression can be your worst enemy if you don’t handle it carefully with spiritual discernment. Cortez fought through his depression for six months. Due to lack of call backs early on in his career, he went through this phase selfishly. Not allowing those he called family to help him out of it. “When I came out of that, I realized that the people who were there trying to help, they mattered to me.” Cortez also found a deeper gratitude in that moment. Having the people around him to pull him out of his trial of depression. People like Warren and Erica Campbell. Since then, Cortez takes that lesson with him through his walk of life.