Isaiah May is a senior at Prep, a top tier linebacker on the football team, and a filmmaker.

May has always been a prolific football player but film making wasn’t always one of his passions. His film making began freshman year when he started producing mixtapes for friend and teammate Braeden Smith’22. One of the first Zay Films was a short mixtape of Braeden, with a reference to the newly released Avenger’s End Game, promoting Braeden’s football talent and implying that he was taking over as Prep’s varsity quarterback over Jake Sype.  

 At first May didn’t really think much of his videos. He started film making just casually and he was reluctant to continue when he had the opportunity to take film classes sophomore year. He didn’t believe it was a serious interest, but Smith thought otherwise. Smith loved the Zay films edits and saw an opportunity, because the northwest receives little representation for sports compared to other regions of the country, he thought May’s content was in high demand. Smith believed May could become a serious film maker like Slam or Overtime and pushed him to pursue film making.

Originally, he was filming with his iPhone and using iMovie to edit video into short clips, he then started using his mom’s camera and using more advanced techniques. Now after taking Prep film making classes, he has improved his film making process and made larger productions such as his recent YouTube documentary on Braeden Smith.

As a senior, May now hopes to take advanced film classes in college while continuing his football career. Because of his experience with film making, May wants to encourage people, especially young students, to go out and try everything and make the most of opportunities. May reflects on how he initially didn’t considered things outside of football, like film, to possibly be a legit part of his future, saying “I never thought be the person behind the camera, I thought I would be in front”. 

You can find Zay Films on Instagram @_isaiahmay_ and on YouTube.