On the RISE: AAPI media production company among recipients of $1 million Small Business Grants from Comcast
“My history definitely did not dictate my future. I am an artist now, and I am inspired by my past. It’s definitely not about sympathy. For me it’s about being in motion and going forward. And my aspiration is to be happy”.
Those are the closing words from the award-winning documentary, Maikaru. The title is the name of the man whose story of survival became a driving force that made him into who he is today.
“It’s been 34 years of me grinding and trying,” said Maikaru, who is part Native American and Japanese. “I am used to trying and trying and trying my hardest and with this recognition from a company like Comcast, it feels like a validation. It’s saying that ‘we see value in you.’”
In November, Maikaru’s Seattle-based media production company, Mainasty, became one of 100 small businesses in King and Pierce Counties