Although Alexei Acosta isn’t a Jacksonville native, he has an immense amount of love for his new home and wants to use his business to showcase the city the way he sees it.
“I very much, unapologetically, try to be as much of a local as I can,” he said. “I really do just love Jacksonville. I’ve loved every place I’ve lived, and I never dreamed I’d be saying this, but I think this is my forever home.”
He moved to Jacksonville with his wife, Noelle, in 2021 and started Here Boy Productions, a full-service videography company. He focuses mainly on creating visual content for local events and small businesses around Jacksonville.
“I work really hard to push the client to see what their creative limits might be, and then find where my creative limits might be and try to push them both,” Acosta said. “I just want to engage with people and be able to tell their stories.”
Acosta didn’t start with the intention of being a creative videographer. After growing up in Mexico and graduating from Boston University, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. While there, he started a few businesses, including a valet company. His work as a wedding videographer “rekindled” his passion for film and videography – until the pandemic shut down events…and business.
At that time, Acosta, his wife and all his large camera equipment were stuck in a 600-square-foot apartment. Not being “the kind of guy to just sit around and twiddle [his] fingers,” he and his wife decided it was time for a move. They chose Jacksonville because Noelle had grown up here, near Miramar.
They bought a house in San Marco because they loved the small-town feel. Acosta said it often reminds him of where he grew up in Mexico: The city of San Juan Teotihuacan is home to one of the four major archaeological sites in Mexico, with pyramids that are more than 2,000 years old.
“I could go up to my roof and see these enormous pyramids – in so many ways, it was such a magical upbringing,” he said. “That was probably one of the reasons I was so drawn to San Marco. When I walked down to the corner store I was greeted by the vendor by my name. They knew me. And that’s the feel that you have here in San Marco. It really brings me back to my childhood and is definitely not something we could have had in L.A.”
Upon arriving in Jacksonville, Acosta felt the best way to learn about the area was simply to drive around. He was instantly “wowed” by the city.
“I loved the murals. I loved the statues. I loved the beach, the atmosphere. I don’t know if the locals see this city with as much love as I do, but I want to portray the city the way I see it.”
Acosta put together a 90-second video that showcased the city in a new light and blasted it out to everyone he could find. He attended events post-pandemic and networked with other members of the community to build business.
Since then, he and Noelle have had two sons: Avery, 2, and newborn Jameson.
“It was so hard with Avery because, obviously, no one prepares you for the insanity,” he said. “And with Jameson, I definitely felt so much more prepared. I feel a lot more laid back. And with Avery, it’s almost as if I have a little sidekick to kind of help me smooth things over.”
While his business allows him to make his own schedule and be there for all the little moments, Acosta still worries about balancing work with family time.
“It’s a super tricky balance,” he said. “I’m of the mindset that these boys are going to fly from the nest eventually. They’ll probably want nothing to do with their parents soon enough. So, what’s 18 years of full attention? I’m a father first and then a business owner.”
Acosta’s love of nature and the outdoors was reignited when he moved to the area. The family likes to take long walks, and Acosta recently discovered the now-favorite Hanna Park, where he hopes eventually to take the boys camping.
“With my first boy, I quickly figured out that he was drawn to our walks and drawn to adventures in nature,” he said.
Acosta also loves to play the guitar, calling it a “driving influence” in his creativity and identity.
In the future, Acosta hopes to find more of the Mexican community in Jacksonville and expose his children to that culture. Around Halloween, he puts up an altar at the front of his house to honor loved ones who have passed, and he has a dream to start a festive Day of the Dead event to share his culture with others.
“Growing up, it really shaped my sense of background, my sense of my appreciation for life, my appreciation for death,” he said. “It would be another way to not only make myself a part of the community but also make the community a part of me as well.”
