Justin Ervin

Justin Ervin was born on December 31, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Louis Ervin and Katie Griffy Ervin. He has a brother Louis and a sister Kia. He first graduated ‘Magna Cum Laude’ in Time-based Media/Video production and then completed an MFA degree in Social Documentary Filmmaking from the ‘School of Visual Arts’, New York City in 2012. Justin then went on to do a Master Class in Cinematography from the ‘American Society of Cinematographers’ in Los Angeles. Ervin met Ashley Graham in 2009. The couple got engaged after a year of dating and they were married on August 14, 2010.

After studying video production, Justin Ervin went on to complete his first documentary ‘As In A Mirror’. It documented the lives of Senegalese merchants, living in Florence, Italy. He had also worked as a production assistant on ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2’ in 2005 and in the series ‘Paranormal State’ between 2007 and 2008. In 2007, he worked in the documentary ‘Derby In Black’ which focused on the impact of black jockeys on horse racing. His next project was the episode of ‘Barack and Michelle’ in the TV series ‘12 Short Steps To Recovery’ (2011).

Having honed his skills, Justin Ervin began working on his directorial project; a full-length documentary movie entitled, ‘Elephant In The Room’, in 2012. The documentary drama revolving around the story of a former boxing champion mentoring two teenage girls was officially selected for ‘San Diego Black Film Festival’ and the ‘Vail Film Festival’ in 2013. The same year it won the ‘Best Documentary Short’ at the ‘Garden State Film Festival’, establishing Justin as one of the best upcoming filmmakers.

In 2013, Justin created ‘Element Films Inc.’ and also wrote and directed the short ‘Six Months Later’ (2013). It was the official selection for seven film festivals including, the ‘Martha's Vineyard African American Film’, ‘Maryland International Film Festival’, and ‘New York International Film Festival’. His next cinematographic outing was in the comedy short ‘Tunnel Of Love’. His follow-up production ‘Leap’ (2015) won the audience award at ‘New Filmmakers LA’ where it was screened.

In 2016, Justin worked as a cinematographer in the shorts ‘Peach Fuzz’ and ‘Essence Black Girl Magic: A'Dorian Thomas’. In addition to these, he continues to create campaigns for top brands like ‘Guess’, ‘CNN’, and ‘The Gap Inc’ to name a few.

It is impossible to talk about Justin Ervin without mentioning his relationship with his wife, supermodel Ashley Graham because their story continues to inspire people. Justin ran into Ashley in an elevator during a charity event in a New York City church. Nudged by his friend, he asked Ashley out and the two went out on a date. He paid only half the bill and expected her to pay the rest. It took Ashley by surprise, but he later honestly explained that he had been used by models before for his money.

They dated for four months before Ervin asked Graham to be his girlfriend. The couple then started recording a cam show entitled ‘The Justin and Ashley Show’. It was during one of these shows, that Justin asked her to marry him. She said ‘yes’. However, her Caucasian family in Nebraska, especially, her grandparents were not very accepting of her African-American boyfriend. Her grandmother was cold to him and Justin later told Ashley, “Racism is never surprising but always disappointing”. But Justin eventually won everyone over, including her grandmother by calling her on her 60th wedding anniversary. The couple was married in August 2010. Even though he lives in Los Angeles and she in New York City because of work, they never go more than two weeks without seeing each other.