Shots · 2018
adidas Meets Afrofuturism, In Monty Marsh’s New Spec
Monty made Original Is Never Finished, his spec for adidas Originals, with a stipend from the Commercial Directors Diversity Program.
Read on Shots (opens in a new tab)AI can copy anyone’s face, voice, and persona in minutes.
Nothing tells the world whether that person said yes. Saying yes means signing one vendor at a time, on someone else’s terms. That is the gap.
5 min
Between deepfake attempts in 2024
Entrust, 2025 Identity Fraud Report
$893M
US losses to AI scams in 2025, the first year the FBI tracked them
FBI, 2025 Internet Crime Report
$25M
Wired by one finance employee after a video call where every other face was fake
Arup, Hong Kong, 2024
None of these are me.
Made in minutes with simple prompts.
Today, I’m building the infrastructure that makes consent non-negotiable and identity sovereign.
What I do
Cultural authenticity, financial returns, and compelling storytelling are not trade-offs. They are multipliers.
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GUAPY
Founder and CEO, GUAPY, Inc.
Property became an asset class when ownership was formalized. Music, when royalties became enforceable. Identity is next, and GUAPY is building its infrastructure.
Register. Protect. EARN.
Coming Soon -
Speaking
I speak on the evolution of identity in the age of AI and deepfakes, on filmmaking and the creator economy, storytelling and world building, technology, culture, and social impact.
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Filmmaking
I write, produce, and direct narrative-driven commercials, series, documentaries, and films.
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Photography
My next photojournalism project looks at lowrider culture and the people who celebrate it across South Los Angeles. I also teach photography at UCLA Extension.
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Social impact
I build workforce programs for Black and Brown youth in South Los Angeles, integrating culture, legacy, technology, storytelling, and live events that bring the community and the entertainment industry together.
Why Monty
Model. Photographer. Director. Founder. Social impact advocate. Same table, different seats.
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Both sides of the camera
20+ years in entertainment. Started in front of the lens, then added film finance, production, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
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Award-winning filmmaker
Industry-recognized across VR, music videos, commercials, and film.
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Community leader
Extensive work across South Los Angeles in collaboration with corporate partners, local officials, and community partners who share the same tenacity for elevating underserved communities.
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On stage and on air
Speaks and moderates on panels and podcasts about innovation, emerging technology, storytelling, culture, and social impact advocacy.
With George Lopez
Directing a Nissan commercial
Judging FIRST Robotics
Moderating at FYI, LA Tech Week
In front of the camera
I was the product.
I learned early what identity was worth, and what it meant to have no infrastructure to protect it.
Front
Back
Outside
Inside
Film
Behind the camera.
As a self-taught filmmaker, I studied David Gordon Green. I learned to let a scene breathe so an audience can settle inside it. That approach shaped NOAH, a documentary told as a narrative through visual imagery and voice-over. I studied Tom Tykwer for pacing, using music, movement, and editing to control how a story moves. I deployed those techniques across commercials and music videos. My education continued on set, across more than 1,000 commercial campaigns. I worked alongside A-list commercial directors and photographers, with a firsthand view of every facet of production.
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Watch the trailer 1:59
Visit Seattle
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adidas Originals: Original Is Never Finished
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Nissan ft. Jay Ellis
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Snapdragon Stadium
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Disney: All-In
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NOAH
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Jemele Hill for Sports Illustrated
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Ray J for Revolt TV
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Halo Home: Protect What Matters
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GUESS
At work
Lining up a shot
Directing the cast
Honda, Women at Work
Producing REVOLT Black News
Photography
People, as they are.
As a self-taught photographer, I studied Ansel Adams’ Zone System. I learned to visualize the final image before the shutter opens, controlling tonal range so that highlights and shadows land exactly as intended. I studied Richard Avedon’s hyper-realism to understand human authenticity and the power of a photograph to reveal the full weight of a person’s identity. That foundation shaped every frame that followed.
In the field
Speaking
Where is the innovation?
What are the current trends? How can we lead across the creator economy, workforce development, storytelling, and entrepreneurship? These are the questions I bring to every stage.
Creators As A Business
Courtesy of Crenshaw Chamber Foundation
Signature talks
01
The Creator Economy
Creators now run like media companies. Brands are becoming producers, and the creator economy is projected to nearly double to $480 billion by 2027. I show where the innovation lies, including AI and likeness rights, top trends, creator tools, and agentic workflows.
Best forEntertainment, creator and technology audiences
02
Who Gets Hired Next?
AI is changing creative work faster than most training programs. I share how companies, agencies, organizations, and educators can become pipeline partners while seeding the workforce and reaching their CSR goals.
Best forWorkforce development teams, education, foundations and youth programs
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From Creator to Owner
Creators drive the culture, but too few own what they build. Storytellers are becoming founders. I share how to turn a story into a business, from owning your IP to raising capital and building a team.
Best forFounders, accelerators, creative industry and leadership audiences
Watch and listen
Culture FYI’RS Podcast
A Creative Conversation about the award-winning film NOAH
Dawn Richard Talks About Her Music Video with Monty Marsh
NTS Radio’s Jonlee Drive with Monty Marsh
Recent stages
The Power of Generations: Building Tomorrow’s Creative Workforce
Speaker · Industry roundtable at UTA, presented by MPTF and EIF
State of the Entertainment Industry
Moderator · UCLA Extension
SoLa Scholars Fish Bowl
Panelist · SoLa Foundation
AI, Learning and Creative Futures
Courtesy of FYI
Press
The work, in the press.
From a $5,000 spec to a national Nissan spot, the press has covered Monty’s work since 2016.
Selected press
Reel 360 · 2023
New Nissan Spot Empowers Black Music Creators
Monty directed Get Ready, Nissan’s Black History Month spot with Jay Ellis.
Read on Reel 360 (opens in a new tab)Adweek
2018
Read on Adweek (opens in a new tab)This Director Turned $5,000 Into an Outstanding Adidas Spec Ad
The story ties the spec to the African heritage in Monty’s work.
SHOOT
2018
Read on SHOOT (opens in a new tab)The Best Work You May Never See: Monty Marsh Directs adidas Spec Spot
The piece looks at how Monty wrote and directed the spec.
WIRED
2016
Read on WIRED (opens in a new tab)At Last: A VR Music Video That Brings Slow Jams to Space
Monty directed Not Above That, a virtual reality music video for Dawn Richard.
On the red carpet
Cannes
HollyShorts Film Festival
TRAFFIK premiere
Awards and festivals
NOAH
Short film
His hybrid short film NOAH, shot during the pandemic, explores the identity and mental health of young Black men during the Black Lives Matter movement.
- Best Screenwriting · Diversity in Cannes showcase, 2021
- Spirit Award for Best Short Documentary · Brooklyn Film Festival
- Official selections · HollyShorts, Santa Monica International Film Festival, Toronto Black Film Festival, Atlanta Docufest, American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and Pan African Film Festival
Original Is Never Finished
Spec for adidas Originals
- Top 5 Creative Ideas of the Week · Ad Age, 2018
- Commercial Directors Diversity Program · One of six directors chosen from nearly 400 applicants, 2018 · Read on LBB (opens in a new tab)
- Industry showcase · Screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- SHOOT New Directors Showcase · One of 32 directors, presented at the Directors Guild of America in New York, 2019 · See his profile on SHOOT (opens in a new tab)
Not Above That
VR music video for Dawn Richard
- Essential VR music videos of 2016 · VRScout
- Three best VR music videos · VR Days Europe
- Nominee, Best Interactive Music Video · Austin Music Video Festival
- Songs We Love · NPR featured its 2D companion
YouTube
Live 360-degree performance
- The first live 360-degree performance on YouTube · Director and co-producer, 2016
Song of the Mutant Super Boars
Poetry film for Motionpoems
- Selected by Motionpoems · To adapt Lee Ann Roripaugh’s poem
- Official selection · ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival, Berlin
Bios and press kit
I am Monty Marsh.
Monty Marsh is a director, producer, photojournalist, executive, and social impact advocate with over two decades of experience in the entertainment industry. He founded GUAPY, the consent and licensing infrastructure for your face, voice, and persona in the age of AI and deepfakes. He builds workforce programs for Black and Brown youth in South Los Angeles, including Creators As A Business with the Crenshaw Chamber Foundation.
About 65 words
Contact
Pull up a seat.
Send Monty a message. Tell him what you have in mind.
Social impact
Stories that build careers.
I design programs that connect the creator economy, storytelling, production, entrepreneurship, and distribution. My two current programs are based in Crenshaw, and the next one can start wherever a partner is ready.
Courtesy of Crenshaw Chamber Foundation
Project 1
Creators As A Business
Funding does not fund classes. It funds careers. Filmmakers create the Crenshaw Chamber Foundation’s video campaigns, business features and outreach. Photographers shoot the corridor, then show and sell their work at Kinfolk & Co. The creator event drew 1,400 registrations across two successful pilots at SoLa Foundation.
*Totals through Year 5 assume one pipeline partner in Year 1, two in Year 2 and three a year after that. Each partner runs the full Year 1 program, so the totals are 12 times the Year 1 targets. The dollar total is rounded down.
Crenshaw ForwardCrenshaw’s past, present and future, told by the people who live there.
Project 2
Crenshaw Forward
Crenshaw Forward pairs young filmmakers with neighborhood elders. The elders bring the history. The filmmakers bring the cameras and AI. Each elder watches the future the filmmakers imagined, then gets the last word on camera.
*Totals through Year 5 assume one cohort in Year 1, two in Year 2 and three a year after that, for 12 cohorts. Each cohort has 12 paid filmmakers making six films with six elders.