Danvers Resident Zach Salsman is the Director of Photography, camerman, and editor of RISE and SHINE: The Jay Demerit Story. He traveled to three continents to film including to S. Africa for the World Cup.
The true story of a young American’s impossible journey – a journey never experienced or heard of in the soccer world. After college, Jay’s dream of playing pro soccer in Europe seemed unreachable. Sleeping in an attic, painting houses and eating beans and toast to survive, Jay took the most unlikely route to the top. After not making the professional leagues in the U.S., Jay left for Europe at the age of 21 without any professional experience – only a passport, $1500 and a backpack full of dreams. The film documents Jay’s journey from the bottom – playing in Sunday park leagues and lower level division London clubs earning 40 pounds a week – to playing in the English Premier League – to starting in the 2010 World Cup. The Jay DeMerit Story is a story of perseverance, hard work and relentless belief in a dream…
