Deevon “Wes” La Rue, Creative Director
Deevon “Wes” La Rue is a skilled multimedia creator with extensive experience, creative vision, and artistic flair. Versed in the latest trends and designs, Wes brings a unique and modern flavor to visual storytelling, leveraging sound design and creative transitions for high-impact messaging. Wes joined Silleck Consulting Services as Creative Director in 2024 to offer robust visual storytelling tools and products to clients seeking to advance equitable conservation and inclusive outdoor recreation, as well as promotional content for mission-driven social entrepreneurs. To jump ahead to his work samples, go to Visual Storytelling.
Background.
Creative & Production Experience
Originally from Newport News, Virginia, Wes found an early knack for video editing on a 2006 Mac desktop computer and iMovie while working at his local church at the age of 16. Video editing was merely a gateway into the full arena of media production, as he began to produce videos for local Christian rap artists, filling a void in an unexplored arena. He quickly became the department head of media at his local church at age 18, overseeing full media production ranging from set design, lighting, camera, sound, and visual components, to graphic design, product duplication, and more.
For over 15 years, Wes produced a broad variety of media content across disciplines including music videos, political ads, and promotional content for clients across wellness, education, sports, and arts sectors on a freelance basis. He launched his production company, 20|20 Productionz, in October 2021 after leaving his job in corporate America. Since turning his attention to full-time creative work, Wes has increasingly focused on amplifying the work of nonprofit organizations and others working to advance equitable conservation, and explored themes of racial justice and inclusivity in outdoor recreation. In 2022, Wes moved to Mexico and launched a digital nomad travel blog/vlog “Waves and Wifi: Seeking Peace Through Emigration” with his wife Elizabeth Silleck La Rue.
Racial Justice & Ocean Conservation
In late 2022 he was commissioned by a renowned ocean equity advocate, Hermina Glass-Hill, to create a short film addressing the issues of the North Atlantic Right Whale, on the brink of extinction due to overfishing and collisions with water vessels. In this piece, Wes and Hermina drew parallels between the abuse, exploitation, and plight of African-Americans and the overfishing and near-extermination of the Right Whale. Since its private release the film has been shown to representatives in Congress including Rep. Raphael Warnock and was sponsored by Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute and Ecology Center, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, SANKOFA Preservation Committee - East Liberty County, Creation Justice Ministries and Nuclear Watch South.
While working as a post-production editor on multiple projects, Wes co-founded the Caring for Corals campaign and launched a successful YouTube channel called “Waves and Wi-Fi,” creatively documenting their weekly volunteer coral restoration work with the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program.
He has quickly become a skilled underwater videographer, and produces a variety of visual creative content including casual short-form videos using humor and marine wildlife anthropomorphization, long-form ASMR videos highlighting biodiversity and animal behavior, and a mini-documentary series called “Fins in the Water” to amplify the work of coral restoration volunteers from numerous countries throughout the world.
Inclusivity in the Outdoors
Some highlights of his work include serving as sole editor for the award-winning documentary Inward, a biographical piece highlighting the work and style of enviro-conscious artist Michi Meko, and sole editor on a privately screened film Roots, both produced by renowned activist Chad Brown and covering themes of racial inclusivity in outdoor spaces. He also served as assistant editor on award-winning documentary Blackwaters: Brotherhood in the Wild, also produced by Chad Brown and amplifying the stories of five accomplished Black leaders in outdoor recreation traveling to the Arctic Circle and supporting efforts of the Gwich’in nation to protect their native land from extractive industries.
Wes continues to leverage his creative strategy and design skills to produce and edit high-impact visual content in support of racial, gender, and class equity, environmental justice, and inclusivity in outdoor recreation and art spaces.