How a Palos Verdes High School student with a camera turned a passion for storytelling into a global production company.
Written by Kristin Borden 2026 | June | Issue No. 73
“Talent can open the door, but its everything else that determines how far you go.”
Long before Dilan Mistry was producing campaigns for brands like Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, Apple, Sony, Corona, Rivian, and named to Forbes 30 Under 30, he was a Peninsula student with a camera in his hand and a growing fascination with people and storytelling.
Today, Mistry is the Founder and Executive Producer of NativeFour, an award-winning commercial production company creating cinematic work for some of the world’s biggest brands. But the foundation for everything he has built traces back to the creative programs and teachers who shaped him while growing up on the Peninsula.
Discovering the Power of Storytelling
Mistry credits much of his path to Ridgecrest Intermediate and Palos Verdes High School’s Live From 205, where he discovered not only filmmaking, but also confidence, leadership, and creative purpose. “What made that experience so special was the environment our teacher, Mr. Vela, created,” Mistry says. “We were trusted to collaborate, problem solve, make mistakes, and learn by doing.” Producing a live news show twice a week taught him storytelling, teamwork, and the value of being fully invested in something you genuinely care about. Looking back, he says those experiences “painted the first picture” of the career and life he wanted to pursue.
Even as a teenager, Mistry was already creating his own opportunities. While in high school, he launched Dilan Mistry Films, PV Tutoring Company and created the Instagram account @humansofpvhs, inspired by the idea that every student and staff member at Palos Verdes High School had a story worth telling. That instinct to connect people through storytelling still sits at the center of everything he creates today.
Growing up on the Peninsula, Mistry says he always felt supported creatively, despite the perception that communities like Palos Verdes often lean toward more traditional career paths. “I think being surrounded by people who recognized that passion in me and continuously pushed me to keep going gave me the confidence to believe there was actually a path forward in the creative world,” he says. One of the biggest early risks he took came while still in middle school, when he chose to attend Palos Verdes High School specifically to participate in Live From 205, even though many of his friends were heading elsewhere. “Growing up I was naturally quiet,” Mistry admits. “It felt like a major leap to leave that comfort zone.” Looking back, he describes the decision as one of the most important choices he ever made because it completely changed the trajectory of his life. That willingness to trust instinct continued to shape his career.
Every Project Mattered
Mistry started NativeFour while still in college, long before the company had global clients or industry recognition. In those early years, the biggest challenge was building credibility from nothing. What helped him push through was a simple mindset: every project mattered.
“Even when we had small projects or smaller clients, we treated every job like it was the biggest opportunity we’d ever received,”
he says. “We obsessed over making each project the best thing we had ever created.” That mentality never changed, even as the company grew.
Today, NativeFour produces campaigns around the world, but Mistry says there are still moments that remind him of being back in Live From 205, making videos with his friends after school.
More Than Creativity
While creative careers are often romanticized from the outside, Mistry speaks honestly about the work required behind the scenes. “The reality is that I’m almost always ‘on,'” he says. “There’s always another project, another idea, another challenge to solve.” Still, his passion for storytelling continues to outweigh the pressure. For Mistry, courage, grit, consistency, and determination have mattered just as much as creativity itself. “I think I was fortunate to have a natural instinct for storytelling,” he says, “but what really carried me was the willingness to keep pushing.”
Advice for the Next Generation
Perhaps most striking is the way he talks about belief. Because he started so young, he says there was never really a Plan B. “Maybe part of the secret sauce is being just delusional enough to fully chase the dream before you know whether it’s realistic or not,” he says. For students who may feel pressure to follow a more traditional path, Mistry’s advice is simple:
“Don’t ignore the thing that excites you most.”
In many ways, Dilan Mistry’s story is not simply about filmmaking or entrepreneurship. It is about trusting creativity enough to take it seriously, even before anyone else fully understands the vision. And perhaps most importantly, it is about believing that stories, and the people behind them, matter.
