If you didn’t know any better, you might say that the last few years have been exceptionally kind to Colin Tilley. When Max and I meet Colin at his Silverlake pad, he pulls up in the benz, all-black everything with tints, and hops out, greeting us with a grin. Freshly inked, the “skate and destroy” tat across his forearm is still wrapped in plastic. When we take a seat in the living room, Colin takes to breaking down some trees on the coffee table in front of us. Across the room, on the mantelpiece sits Colin’s moon man, a glistening reminder of the VMA he helped win for Justin Bieber’s 2010 smash “U Smile”.
Aside from that, it’s a reminder of just how far he’s come. Over the past few years, Colin’s trajectory is one we’ve been able to watch pretty closely, from humble beginnings with hometown heroes like The Cataracs and Lil’ B to his place now, as one of the industry’s premier, in-demand directors in hip-hop and beyond. A brief glance at the names on his resume reads something like the guest list at an award show afterparty: Wayne, Chris Brown, Wiz, Rozay, even Diddy himself. It’s all the more impressive considering the fact that Colin was celebrating his twenty-fourth birthday just a few weeks ago. And yet in talking with him, he seems comfortable, but not satisfied. When he talks about his work, he talks about immersing himself, about being in the moment, and rarely finding the time to reflect. When he talks about the future, his eyes widen. He’s engaged, ambitious, ready to pursue new ideas, and yet still grounded– by home and family, but also by perspective and a relentless work ethic. A few minutes into our conversation, it becomes pretty clear that the past few years haven’t just been kind to Colin. More accurately, you might say he’s made the most of them.
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Read our full interview with Los Angeles-based director Colin Tilley here.
July 12, 2012 BY Will Bundy
