DEFEND ANIMALS


LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND
AFTER LEAVING THE GANG LIFE BEHIND FOLLOWING AN AWAKENING I HAD DURING A 6 MONTH STINT IN PRISON, I BEGAN MY JOURNEY OF SOBRIETY AND VEGANISM AND I WANTED TO GIVE BACK.
I MADE MY FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO IN APRIL 2015 WITH THE INTENTION OF INSPIRING PEOPLE WITH MY JOURNEY TO CHANGE AS I HAD. EARLY ON DURING MY VEGAN JOURNEY I FOUND AN ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLED GARY YOUROFSKY, WHO WAS VERY INFLUENTIAL TO ME IN TERMS OF ANIMAL RIGHTS IN MY EARLIER YEARS

A NEW ERA
I BEGAN MAKING CONSISTENT VIDEO CONTENT EVERY DAY (MOST OF MY EARLIER CONTENT I’VE MADE PRIVATE) BUT MY EARLIEST INFLUENTIAL VIDEO SERIES BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER 2015. I COLLABORATED WITH A YOUTUBER NAMED MARTIN AND I MADE MY FIRST EVER STREET INTERVIEW VIDEO. EXCUSE THE LANGUAGE IN THIS ONE, BUT AFTER THIS VIDEO I REALLY FELT LIKE I’D FOUND SOMETHING THAT I WAS GOOD AT - TALKING TO PEOPLE ON THE STREETS ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS AND VEGANISM.
THIS BIRTHED A SERIES CALLED JOEY VS THE PUBLIC WHICH WAS THE FIRST ANIMAL RIGHTS FOCUSED STREET OUTREACH SERIES THAT WAS FILMED AND POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA. MARTIN HAD A VEGAN STREET INTERVIEW CALLED DRUNK OPINIONS BEFORE THIS SERIES IN JULY 2015, AND IT REALLY INSPIRED ME TO TAKE THIS CONCEPT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. SO THANK YOU MARTIN!
HERE’S SOME COOL PIECES OF MY HISTORY
AND MY FIRST EVER SLAUGHTERHOUSE VIGIL WHICH I ORGANISED MYSELF IN ADELAIDE JUNE 2017
MY EARLIEST RECORDED ANIMAL RIGHTS STREET DEBATE IN 2015
JOEY VS THE PUBLIC PLAYLIST

IN FEBRUARY 2016 ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH IN MY ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISM BEGAN WHEN AN ADELAIDE VEGAN NAMED NICOLE MITSIGEORGIS ORGANISED AN EARTHLINGS EXPERIENCE EVENT. THIS WAS A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN THAT WAS FOUNDED IN LONDON SOMETIME BEFORE BY TWO UK SISTERS. AFTER PULLING ONE OF THESE EVENTS OFF IN ADELAIDE, IT RECEIVED A LOT OF POSITIVE ONLINE ATTENTION, PARTICULARLY AFTER A WELL KNOWN VEGAN YOUTUBER NAMED FREELEE UPLOADED MY VIDEO TO HER CHANNEL GETTING HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND OF VIEWS.
ANOTHER COOL PART OF MY HISTORY INVOLVES SOMEONE WHO I CONSIDER ONE OF THE GREATS, EARTHLING ED. WHO UPLOADED HIS FIRST STREET INTERVIEW VIDEO IN MAY 2016. ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLIMENTS I’VE RECEIVED WAS WHEN ED CREDITED ME AS BEING ONE OF THE INSPIRATIONS FOR HIM TO START HIS OWN YOUTUBE CHANNEL, YOU CAN SEE THE CLIP HERE. THE MOST AMAZING PART OF THIS STORY FOR ME, IS THAT EARTHLING ED HAS GONE LEAPS AND BOUNDS EVER SINCE AND HAS CONTINUED TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS TO ME!


TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
AFTER MY FIRST OVERSEAS TOUR OF THE UK AND ISRAEL IN 2017, I REALISED I NEEDED TO DO MY ACTIVISM FULL TIME. I HAD AMASSED THOUSANDS OF VIEWS FROM MY ACTIONS OVERSEAS RANGING FROM STREET DEBATES, TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE AND DAIRY FARM VISITS. I KNEW AFTER THIS TOUR THAT I HAD TO QUIT MY JOB AS A TRAFFIC CONTROLLER IN ADELAIDE AND DO MY ACTIVISM FULL TIME TO GIVE THE ANIMALS 100% OF MY FOCUS.
SO IN JULY 2017 I RELEASED A VIDEO ASKING FOR SUPPORT ON PATREON, WHICH IS AN ONLINE PLATFORM WHERE CONTENT CREATORS CAN BE DONATED TO MONTHLY. THIS WAS WHEN I WAS ABLE TO TAKE MY ACTIVISM AND MY IMPACT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. SINCE THAT TIME, WITH THE HELP OF SO MANY AMAZING ORGANISERS AROUND THE WORLD, I HAVE TRAVELLED ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND THE WORLD REACHING TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

