kidPHOTOSHOP
Sam Mestas
Sam Mestas is a post production video editor and award-winning digital fine artist who specializes in architectural fine art and renders.
He spent seven years working at the network level as a news and documentary editor for Mark Cuban’s HDNET/AXSTV. There, he was a member of the six-time Emmy Award-winning news team for the news magazine show, “Dan Rather Reports.” Sam also had the opportunity to edit concerts for such notable musical artists as Crosby Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, The Zac Brown Band, KISS, and others.
Between projects, Sam became immersed in the world of Photoshop. So much so that he won the 2008 national Photoshop World Guru award for excellence in illustration and design. Five years later, Sam repeated his win at Photoshop World 2013, making him the first person to have ever won the Guru Award twice.
After AXSTV closed up their Denver operations in 2013, Sam launched his own graphics business, Valentine Imaging Warehouse, which later became 720 Designs. Soon after, 720 Designs joined forces with Thrasos Media for several years, developing lighting designs for full scale concerts and high-end corporate events.
Currently, Sam teaches Advanced Photoshop at Front Range Community College and manages a prestigious list of clients, including Nike, Eddie Bauer, Port Authority Clothing, and Ogio Bags & Apparel.