The lights slowly rise.
The stage is illuminated.
The anticipation is tangible.
As the opening notes reverberate through the speakers, the crowd’s cheers erupt into a symphony of chants; reaching a crescendo that echoes through the venue.
Backstage, with each click of his camera, El Camino College student Justin Rash preserves the captivating moment as his brother performs live on stage in front of hundreds of fans.
The 19-year-old, 6 foot 3 photographer is also a swimmer. Known for his speed and agility in the pool, Rash has earned his position as top 10 and top 20 in numerous events.
Among his athletic achievements in the sports, Rash was part of the El Camino College Men’s Swimming and Diving Team that finished third in the 200 free relay category at the 2023 South Coast Conference Championships.
His time of 1:27.89 is the third fastest in the college’s history.
Rash, a philosophy major, didn’t plan to become a swimmer until he suffered a serious back injury.
“I was running on the beach and felt a little click in my back, and I fell over,” Rash said. “I couldn’t move my lower body.”
After x-rays and MRIs, Rash found he had fractured his L4 L5 vertebrae.
The injury forced him to choose a non-impact sport, leading him to discover swimming. He quickly developed a passion.
“I just fell in love with it,” Rash explained, “There’s no distractions. You put your head in the water, and you can’t really hear anything. It’s really calming.”
Outside the water, Rash takes on a different role: lending his creative talents to his brother’s rising music career.
His brother, Sammy Rash, 20, has opened for well-known bands such as Fitz and the Tantrums and has 1.5 million monthly listeners on several streaming platforms.
More recently, Sammy Rash headlined his own tour, “Let’s Be Friends,” from Sept. 13 to Oct. 3.
The South Bay brothers toured the country putting on eight shows, with Sammy Rash performing live and Justin Rash taking videos of the concerts and selling the merch they designed together.
“It’s so cool to be able to experience the whole thing with [Justin],” Sammy Rash said.
The brothers travel with the rest of the crew consisting of Soowan An, Will Perryman, Emily DeKoster, Menelik Goodwill and Halley Stover.
DeKoster, 24, was the photographer for the fall tour. She discovered Sammy Rash in June of 2021 through his song “summer&cigarettes,” and he quickly became her favorite artist.
When given the chance to photograph his February 2023 New York show, she jumped at the opportunity.
“Having him want me to take photos was such a huge honor, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity,” DeKoster said.
Dekoster said it’s rare to have your family member on tour with you, so seeing Sammy Rash and Justin Rash doing this together was incredibly special.
Perryman, 29, is the DJ and keyboardist for Sammy Rash. Perryman has been with the brothers since the initial stages of Sammy Rash’s career.
Having performed alongside Sammy Rash since May 2022, Perryman noted how amazing it has been to see the progression of Sammy Rash’s career and talent, and how impactful that must be for his brother, Justin Rash.
“I think for Justin, it’s kind of gotta be this crazy feeling from seeing his brother be this kid who barely sang at all to being on stage in front of sometimes thousands of people,” Perryman said. “Justin truly believes in Sammy, which I think is really cool to see.”
The crew enjoys each experience together, whether they’re exploring new cities, cold plunging in nature’s waters before shows, or indulging in acai bowls at each stop. They treat each other like family.
Even with all the fun, being a college student on tour had its challenges.
“There were many days where we’d have a show on the tour, and I have to head to the airport after because I have a class at 9:45 that I have to get to,” Justin Rash said.
His schedule is hectic but he enjoys what he does.
“I don’t really have time to breathe outside of working, athletics and what I do for Sammy but it’s all about priorities and values you have in your life and that’s just what I choose to prioritize,” Justin Rash said.
To this, Sammy Rash has words of advice for his brother.
“People are gonna judge you in whatever you do, it just matters what you’re [going to] do [will] make yourself happy with your decisions,” he said. “Just follow your dreams.”
