Rychael: Hi Rob. How are you?
Rob Marshall: Hi. I'm fine thank you. How are you?
Rychael: I'm fine thank you for asking. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I had a few questions for you. We could start with you telling me a little bit about yourself and go from there. So give me some background about you?
Rob Marshall: Well I was born and raised in Dallas, TX. I went to under grad school at Montana State where I played football. I lived in Montana for about five years. I then trained for professional football at the Michael Johnson Performance Center. Life got stressful and I lost my hunger and passion for the game. We had back to back deaths in my family right around the holidays and I reached one of the lowest points in my life.
I struggled with who I was and lost a ton of weight just suffering from depression. I started a fitness business with kickboxing and personal training to help myself get up each day and motivate me to do something with my life. It took me to have a conversation with my mom one day to help encourage me to go back to school. One of my clients invited me to a Zumba class and I later took a dance workshop taught by Kass Martin and got certified to teach dance. Kass invited me to attend her master class which is where I met Trent Price who became one of my mentors.
"Dance became something for me that made me forget my problems. And it made me happy and saved my life."
I got hired at a studio and enrolled at UNT (University of North Texas) to get my Masters degree. I taught dance at UNT Rec and got hired at Hear My Anthem Studio, just so happen by my former youth Pastor whom I reconnected with. He prophesied over me. I started teaching cardio dance and later taught beginner hip hop.
Rychael: That is an amazing story Rob. Tell me, what inspired you to pursue a career in entertainment?
Rob Marshall: I took a workshop taught by Jesse Santos and he actually gave me a scholarship to go to LA and attend Millennium Dance Complex last summer. I was really nervous but I figured obviously he wouldn't have given it to me if he didn't think I could do it. I trained and trained and took six classes a day. "I realized I'm capable of doing this. Like this is what I wanna do." I met another one of my mentor's Bobby Dacones and took on an apprenticeship with him as a Creative Director. People kept telling me "I have the look" so then I began modeling.
Rychael: Wow, such an inspiration. You've done a lot. Where do you see yourself within your career in about five years?
Rob Marshall: I see myself dancing in shows consistently whether it be in Vegas or around the world. I also see myself being a Creative Director. I'm passionate about training and helping people. Being able to share my testimony so that others are able to express themselves through movement as well. I want to travel and teach dance.
Rychael: Awesome. Is there any advice you would like to give to others who are aspiring to get to where you're at?
Rob Marshall: Enjoy the process. I'm not where I want to be yet but I'm taking the proper steps. I was willing to let myself go and put in the work. As soon as I did that, things started happening for me, like getting signed with Go2Talent. Focus on your own growth. If it's God's will then things are going to happen.
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