Have Courage. Strike Up a Conversation

Lesson Learned: Have the courage to strike up a conversation with a stranger. You may find that you have a lot in common, know the same people or both.

That was my experience with introducing myself to Nathan Moya (@generalricardo), the Head Roaster at Pyra Coffee Co. We share a passion for photography, travel, and learning about people - and it turns out we know some of the same folks in the San Luis Obispo Area.

In all my time in San Luis Obispo, I’ve never seen anyone using the roaster that’s on the first floor of Kreuzberg at very back of the building. I had my cameras with me after wrapping up a filming session at the SLO Museum of Art. I walked up to Nathan while he working and asked if I could film his process. He was cool enough to let me behind the counter and he explained what was going on with these coffee beans - I know nothing about roasting coffee so it was dope getting a crash course from someone who’s been doing it for over a decade.

It wasn’t all coffee talk though. We both share a passion for cameras, we document what we see around us, and we use it connect with people. And that’s honestly what fuels me and what I enjoy most about my cameras. They allow me to have interactions like this and connect with people. They’re tools to capture beautiful scenes but they act as my liaison. I was appreciative of the 15 minutes we got to connect and have conversation.

This impromptu meeting resulted in this quick 30-second piece of Nathan at work.

ABOUT PYRA COFFEE CO

Pyra Coffee Co is micro-roaster based in SLO. Since 2014 we’ve been part of the exciting transformation that has seen SLO become a mecca for coffee lovers. We're consistently pushing ourselves to learn and improve, and create roasts that are exceptional examples of balance, sweetness, acidity, and body. Cheers!