Tristan Leyco was born in Lucena City in the Philippines, and moved to New York City when he was just over 3 years old. From an early age, he has been involved in a number of different creative outlets. At the age of 8, he played the piano, clarinet, joined the school band and sang in the church choir. In 2006, he decided to try his luck at playing the guitar.
As of 2020, Leyco is able to adequately produce, write, mix and master music to a high level. He calls himself a ‘multipotentialite’, meaning he doesn’t ever limit himself to a specific interest or creative pursuit. His wide array of interests are a direct reflection of this, becoming involved with a limitless amount of creative outlets to fall back on in order to “maintain a sound mind.”
So why did he turn to photography? After getting a camera as a gift from his parents almost 10 years ago now, he used it to gather footage for his skateboard sponsors by filming himself. He decided to try his luck at taking photos of others, and ended up winning a social media contest hosted by Dan Bilzerian. He used this social media promotion to launch his creative career, and hasn’t looked back since, a prime example of how you should take every opportunity sent your way.
Seize Every Opportunity
Due to this promotion, he has worked with numerous notable companies. He landed his first huge client of American luxury department store chain Nordstrom and also Cole Haan, photographing their release event of the new Zerogrand shoe. He was then introduced into the world of glamour, implied and nude photography through professional photographer, Angel Isidoro, better known by his alias Shoot2iLL. Leyco has now made a name for himself in this photography niche, and has built a reputation while working with the most renowned models in the US. As of September 2020, Leyco has amassed a social media following of over 150,000.
Invest In Yourself
Despite all of his success, Leyco preaches to see everything as a learning opportunity, “Things can go away in an instant, but the gifts and knowledge you possess stay with you forever.” He believes that, if you love something or are passionate about it, that you should devote the entirety of your soul into it. He believes the key to success is turning within, to not focus on everyone else, what they are doing, or what trends are happening, but to stay true to yourself and use your passion to motivate you and drive you forward.
Despite the fact that he’s worked with so many notable brands, companies and people (even Victoria Justice herself), he names his biggest success as waking up every day and knowing he gets to do what he loves. He stands by being selflessly selfish. Focus on yourself, not on the external factors, as to focus on everyone else is pointless and only makes your own life more difficult. He has previously stated “It’s in our constant attempt to try to control these things that we end up suffering. The only control we have are our thoughts and actions. Knowing this, you’re not entitled to be true to anyone else but you must be true to yourself. There are endless paths and roads in this life that’ll take you where you need to go.”
To follow Tristan’s journey and incredible aesthetic, visit his Instagram: @tristanleyco
