John Serrano's Biography

John Serrano grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. With most of his childhood spent in front of a screen, John was practically raised by cartoons, video games, and anime. His babysitters were named Pinky, The Brain, Mario, and Goku! He idolized voice actors such as Rob Paulsen, Sean Schemmel, Mark Hamill, Tom Kenny, John DiMaggio, and Nolan North among many others. He would spend most of his childhood watching cartoons and anime and playing video games while voicing all the characters for fun! It was his favorite pastime. 

Life had different things in mind. Due to unforeseen circumstances, John and his family had to move back to his family's home country: The Philippines. Along with becoming fluent in the Tagalog dialect, there he went to high school and college where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication with a Major in Media Production. It was during that time that he discovered his love of radio, TV, and film production. And it was during his Speech class and acting classes that he discovered he had a natural talent in his voice and acting skills. 

Unfortunately, life got in the way again. When he moved back to San Francisco as a college graduate, he struggled to find work in his field with a degree from a foreign country. So, he made ends meet in any way he could. 

John's first job was working for a third-party inventory company where he quickly rose through the ranks with his hard work and determination to become an Area Manager for the entire district of San Francisco within one year. In this position, he perfected his client communication skills and team management skills, often having to direct and manage nearly 100 employees at a given time.  

John soon realized the corporate life wasn't for him and looked for a more rewarding and meaningful profession. Through a friend, he discovered caregiver work and decided he wanted to help people who needed it most to make a real difference in the world. He began to work with adults with developmental disabilities as well as the elderly who suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This work made him into the calm, caring, and loving person he is today.  

Unfortunately, these positions didn't pay well. He was spiritually fulfilled, but financially burdened. He decided to get back to his roots and get back into production. That was when he started working for I.A.T.S.E. Local 16, the stagehand union of San Francisco. There he would go on to work for five years as an A/V technician and general stagehand for a wide variety of productions including concerts, conferences, and theatre productions. He felt at home, but the work was grueling and extremely demanding on his body and mind. 

John still wanted more. He had so much talent inside, but still wasn't expressing it. It was then that he discovered his talent for music. John immersed himself in the local music scene in San Francisco and soon met his future bandmates, including the love of his life.  

He would go on to perform in a heavy metal band and a punk rock band in venues all over the city, playing nearly 50 shows over the course of 6 years. At first, he was only a guitarist, having learned to play in high school. And at that point, only played guitar for fun and self-expression. But he knew he had something to say, and he had to let it out. Despite all his apprehensions, he became a vocalist in his bands as well as playing guitar.  

For the first time in his life, John was able to get out of his shell and freely express himself. John soon found he loved people hearing his voice and it propelled him to be the confident, talented, and determined artist he now embodies. However, as most people know, it's very difficult to make a living as a musician.  

Yet again, life had other plans. Complications with his bandmates one day found him with no bands to play in any longer. With no outlet for artistic expression, John felt lost and hopeless. 

Things would get even worse when he would get into a road accident on an electric unicycle and break his right ankle. Unable to walk for five months, John felt defeated, depressed, and alone. Being stuck at home in front of his computer, one day he decided to stop feeling sorry for himself and try to find the passion-filled spiritually fulfilling career he had been searching for his whole life.  

One day while playing the video game Disco Elysium, John began to remember what he used to do as a kid and began to voice all the characters in the game for fun. Then it clicked.  

"Wait... Can I get paid for this? Could this be my new career?" he asked himself. 

And he did. And it was.  

John soon became a member of A VO's Journey Elite Academy run by Anthony Pica. And the rest will go down in history.  

John Serrano will be a name associated with the greatest voice actors of this generation. He will go on to entertain, inspire, and empower countless others to pursue their dreams and never be afraid to be true to themselves and to go after what they really want in life. Life's short, but it's also beautiful in that way. You never know who you really are until you become that person. You never know what you really want until you get it. 

And John Serrano's got it.