‘Kindness Is Cool’ Video Award First Winner - Sam Coggin At NYC’s Times Square

Can you tell us about the video? Well, I basically made, when I looked at the Kindness is Cool article, I read a lot of the words and a lot of the adjectives that was describing the competition I thought resonated with what the Adaptive Training Foundation does. So I knew that I needed to do a video for the Adaptive Training Foundation. And this is a foundation you already knew about? Yes, I did. So my dad is friends with David Vobora, who is the person who started it. Yeah, the guy in the video, exactly. So we already did know about it, yeah. Because it's funny, when they showed it to me, when they showed me the video, they said it's a 14-year-old. He won. And I saw the guy in the video. I said, this guy's not 14, right? Yeah, that's funny. But then I realized, I guess the filmmaker. I was worried that people would be confused about that. I thought it was kind of amusing. But it was really cool. And I loved a lot of the slow motion B-roll and stuff that you had. It made it look really moving, because you see the guys training and working hard. Was there anything kind of moving in the process, emotional, like in the video? Yeah, for sure. I think whenever I kind of got it all together and I put David's voice behind all of the B-roll that I had, that's when I kind of knew, like, oh, this is going to be a really, really inspirational video. Because what David was saying was going really, really well with the B-roll that I had. So, yeah. What did he think of it, David? He loved it. He was blown away by how good it was. I think his expectations were as high as I got it, yeah. Yeah, that's really cool. And so he's probably going to use it to promote his video? Yes, I think they have used it. I think they have already used it. Have they used it? They have used it, yeah. And so how much experience have you got in making videos? Did you just start this? So I think I started whenever I was about 12 or 11, or 12 or 11 around that time. And I basically started off doing photography. And then somewhere along that process, I was like, oh, I like making videos more. I like making little short films and stuff. But even whenever I was like six or seven, I would make little iMovie things with me and my cousins. And is this what you want to do for your career? This is what I want to do for the time being until the near future, for sure. Nice. And you got any ideas for a next project? Yeah, so I've basically been starting this business called Legacy Media, where I basically, it's an interviewing business, where I basically interview elderly people. And they talk about their lives and their life story. And then they basically send me lots of photos from their childhood and stuff like that. Yeah, that's what my next venture is going to be. That's super cool. And then just lastly, how does it feel to win a prize for your hard work? It feels amazing. I was pretty surprised that I won, because I saw a lot of other really, really good entries. But me winning just means the world to me, for sure, yeah. And then can I thank some people? Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, so I want to thank Elaine Witt. She was the one who kind of got me into the competition at the beginning. I wouldn't have gotten into it without her. And then obviously, Dave Vivora. He did a really, really, really good job of interviewing. His whole organization that he has started is just amazing. And then I'll thank all my family members, my sister, my brother, and my grandparents who all came with me to this. That's awesome, man. Well, thank you so much. Of course. And it's cool to meet you and your father and everything. And I wish you guys a safe trip back home as well. Thank you. Cool.