With quick movements, Cleveland State University journalism and promotional communications sophomore Gabriel Delgado frantically adjusted his camera settings while awaiting Machine Gun Kelly’s arrival at Lago East Bank in Cleveland, August, 2024. 

Echoing through his mind in the midst of blaring rap music was his mentor Calo Shiban’s words of concern earlier that day. Shiban warned Delgado that he was nervous about Delgado’s shooting, mentioning that he wasn’t sure Delgado was ready for a videography job of this tenor.

The shrill ring of Delgado’s cell phone brought him back to the moment. Machine Gun Kelly was coming in, a static-scarred voice whispered to Delgado from the phone, and Delgado was on the other side of the venue.

Delgado sprinted down the shadowed hallway of Lago East Bank, hurdled across the small patio yard and came face to face with Machine Gun Kelly, who then pointed directly at Delgado’s camera. Through the viewfinder, Delgado knew that he had taken the perfect shot.

“When (Shiban) told me that, I was like, oh, I’m gonna kill this video now. I’m going to make sure I kill it,” Delgado, 20, said regarding his mentor’s concerns. “I was super nervous the first time trying to do all of this stuff, but the video turned out pretty freaking good. Lago said that this was one of the best videos they’ve gotten back from a videographer.” 

It was Delgado’s first videography gig with Team Duddcash, a digital content creation collective in Cleveland, shooting a promotional event of Machine Gun Kelly visiting at Lago East Bank. That was one year ago.

Since then, he’s worked shoots for the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix 2024, The Las Vegas Sphere, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers and several of his NBA team mates. 

Delgado filmed cocktails at Sora in Cleveland on Oct. 10, 2024. (credit: Anden George)

Despite the star power of his growing portfolio, Delgado's roots in videography and photography are humble. He first picked up a camera in seventh grade, after hearing his classmates boast about the number of followers they had on YouTube. 

“I wanted to fit in, so we were in seventh grade lunch and everyone was going around, ‘oh man, I have 50 subscribers,’ ‘I have 100,’ ‘I have 150.’ I said, ‘yeah I used to have 500,’” Delgado said.  

“I didn’t know what any of that meant," Delgado laughed. "They said they wanted to see the channel and I said, ‘Oh, the channel got taken down anyways.’ I made up this whole thing.” 

“That honestly sparked everything,” Delgado said, chagrined. “I grabbed my dad’s little Sony digital camera, and just started making videos.”

It wasn’t until eighth grade that Delgado began to learn how to edit his videos, which were previously uploaded uncut and 10 minutes long. 

Delgado's passion flourished in high school, at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The school began a broadcast club where Delgado felt like he was opened up to a world of opportunity. 

“I loved that club. I lived and breathed that club,” Delgado said. “I helped push it to where the program got funding, got a teacher, brand new laptops,  a brand new camera for that program, a whole bunch of stuff.”

The broadcasting club, which evolved into a full program at the high school, is still functioning to this day. Delgado feels it was his stamp on the small Akron school. 

Delgado began his journey at CSU in 2023 as a film major. He attributes part of his success to the Weston Ideation Lab at CSU, which gave him a micro-grant for his business. With the grant, he purchased his first camera. 

“They helped me get into Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ last year, and they also helped me get into FutureLAND this past fall,” Delgado said. “They’ve really helped me with networking in the city and introducing me to a lot of other students who have businesses or are entrepreneurs.” 

Gabriel Delgado at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit in Cleveland in Oct. 2023. (credit: Forbes Staff)

In the film school, he met the founders of Tean Duddcash and his now mentors, Shiban and Anthony Arutyunov. 

“Going into that college, I was like, man, I’m gonna be really good. I’ll be better than everyone else, you know?” Delgado laughed. “This is my thing, I know what I’m doing. Then I met these guys, Calo and Anthony. These guys were way better than me, and they humbled me really quick.” 

Delgado was in awe, and Shiban and Arutyunov quickly took Delgado under their wings. At the time, all three men were freshmen but Delgado recalls Shiban and Arutyunov making major strides in the content production community in Cleveland. 

“They were traveling a whole bunch, going from city to city. They were the best in Cleveland, all that.” Delgado said. “About this time last year, they had called me to go, ‘Hey, Gabe, we’re thinking about moving to Chicago, don’t know if we’re going to do it yet, but we know we need help.’” 

From that moment on, Shiban and Arutyunov taught Delgado everything they knew. Whether it was helping him get jobs or the best equipment, the duo supported Delgado through it all. 

Delgado continues to work with the founders, who now live in Chicago, and has a major lineup of jobs to add to his already impressive portfolio. 

DJ Audien at FWD Day and Nightclub in Cleveland on Aug. 9, 2024. (credit: Gabriel Delgado) 

Beginning in early April, Delgado will be traveling with the Tacos and Tequila music festival company to Houston, San Antonio, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Washington, Milwaukee, Chicago and Cleveland. 

Delgado is also mentoring Nate Stuck, the newest member of Team Duddcash.

For this CSU sophomore, it's just the beginning.