GREG MURRAY

I make people smile for a living through my photography. I was born and raised here in Cleveland. Then went to college in Chicago and lived in Atlanta and in New Mexico for a while. But I love the Midwest. I'm a Midwesterner, through and through, and in 2007, moved back. Cleveland is an amazing city. We're underdogs. We take care of each other. We work hard and are passionate about what we do. I'm extremely passionate about all dogs, but especially pit bulls. 

In my first 10 years out of college, I worked in human resources but got fed up with corporate life and sitting in a windowless office. I was doing photography on the side and wanted to combine my love for art, photography, and animals to be a full-time animal photographer. With the support of my now wife, we decided to give it 6 months. Seven years later, I’m a published author working on my fourth book. I work for huge companies around the world doing marketing and photography. People hire me to photograph their animals as well. I'm running a successful business and I don't see an end in sight. Making people smile for a living is a gift. It's been the greatest experience and I hope to do it for the rest of my life.

During the pandemic, I just shut down for two months. But the uncertainty, I think, has impacted me the most. I've always been the type of person that wants to be better and better at what I do. The pandemic has made me just want to work even harder, learn new things, try new things, and just be the best I can be.

When it comes to the BS I see in the world, there are a whole lot of people that just lack empathy. Maybe they've never been taught it. Maybe they never experienced it in their lives, which is sad. But we need to be empathetic. Yeah.

My advice to other makers and entrepreneurs is to never be content with the work you're doing. Try to be the best at what you do. And even when you think you're the best, continue to try harder. 

“Being a Clevelander, it's in our blood. To be hard workers, to have each other's backs, to want to be the best at what we do, and to overcome adversity. It's an underdog city and I think we show that in our work and how we take care of each other.”