The building at 320 Santa Fe Drive sold for $1.45 million in September. (Courtesy Guerilla Capturing)
Blake Rubenstein has found his landing zone.
The media entrepreneur, who has specialized in drone photography, bought a building along Santa Fe Drive in Baker in September, part of an effort to expand his business, Guerilla Capturing.
Blake Rubenstein (Courtesy Guerilla Capturing)
Rubenstein paid $1.45 million for the two-story, 1,600-square-foot building at 320 Santa Fe Drive, where a professional sound stage on the first floor has been used by figures like ESPN’s Joe Buck and Stephen A. Smith, as well as CNBC anchor Morgan Brennan.
“Essentially, what happens is people come in here and they jump on any network across the world,” Rubenstein said of the space.
The space was previously owned and used by MFG Studios, which Rubenstein purchased at the same time.
The upstairs now houses the headquarters of Guerilla Capturing, the media company Rubenstein founded 15 years ago to create just about any type of content imaginable, from sports videos on Tik Tok to drone footage for commercial real estate listings.
“We’ve done work for Amazon, AWS, Microsoft, Apple, Lincoln Automotive, GMC … When you have brands like that telling each other, then that’s when you can start building a business that’s capable of getting a loan to buy something like this,” he said.
Though many of his clients are global brands, Rubenstein’s local roots run deep. He grew up in Highlands Ranch and was in the second class to graduate from Thunder Ridge High School. The past four generations of his family owned a variety of different car dealerships in Denver. His great-great-grandfather sold Studebakers, and his great-grandfather operated five used car lots on Denver’s west side. The last of his family’s car-related enterprises ended in 2008, when Rubenstein’s father closed the doors of his used car dealership because of the ongoing financial crisis.
Rubenstein, 40, has always preferred the video camera to the socket wrench. His great-grandfather used to work as a “projectionist” in Denver, helping to bring movies to life on the big screen decades ago.
“I knew from an early age I wanted to make movies. And I ended up going to college for it,” he said.
After completing his degree at the Art Institute of Colorado, Rubenstein spent some time on the road making promotional content for UFC fighters sponsored by the supplement company MusclePharm.
“That was actually a lot of fun,” Rubenstein said. “I got to go one-man band, and it was pretty fun as a mid-20s kid going and traveling the country.”
Rubenstein started Guerilla Capturing in June 2008. At first, the work was freelance. Rubenstein shot a few weddings in the early years, traveling to places such as Portugal and Costa Rica, or staying home in Denver to capture the events for the bride and groom.
“I didn’t love doing that … I love going to weddings. And so once you start mixing – it’s a job. You don’t really love going to weddings.”
Eventually, he got the idea to take to the sky and shoot projects using drones.
“I embraced it,” Rubenstein said.
He said his initial drone work has led to thousands of real estate jobs, taking videos and pictures for property listings across the city. Just about every one of the city’s large real estate firms has hired him, he said, with Guerilla’s work spreading outside of the region.
Today, his company also produces corporate marketing materials and lifestyle branding, which showcases products being used in their natural environment. The business also provides traditional and digital marketing services to clients.
Rubenstein now has between 15 and 20 contractors working for him at any given time. As that number grew, office space became a pressing need.
“Eventually, it’s impossible to get all your work done in your basement,” Rubenstein said.
Around the end of 2020 and into 2021, the upstairs of the Santa Fe Drive building hit the market for lease. At that time, the entire building was owned by MFG, which bought the building in April 2019 for $1.3 million.
Inside the studio at 320 Santa Fe Drive.
Now, with the assets and space of MFG Studios under his control, Rubenstein’s next project is Guerilla Sports.
“It’s where the individual creator meets broadcast capability,” he said. “Getting ahead of the curve of how people consume media. And it’s in high-quality video production.”
The plan is starting small, with Guerilla Sports focusing solely on hockey. It received credentials from the Colorado Avalanche to cover games and get press access into the team’s locker room and post-game meetings. Over time, the amount of content will scale up, the number of credentials and teams the business covers will increase – but the main objective will be to grow the project sustainably.
“It comes down to studying other stuff and using your creative thinking cap to make your own versions of anything. How can we take anything and just make it better? It’s always been what we strive to do,” Rubenstein said.
The building at 320 Santa Fe Drive sold for $1.45 million in September. (Courtesy Guerilla Capturing)
Blake Rubenstein has found his landing zone.
The media entrepreneur, who has specialized in drone photography, bought a building along Santa Fe Drive in Baker in September, part of an effort to expand his business, Guerilla Capturing.
Blake Rubenstein (Courtesy Guerilla Capturing)
Rubenstein paid $1.45 million for the two-story, 1,600-square-foot building at 320 Santa Fe Drive, where a professional sound stage on the first floor has been used by figures like ESPN’s Joe Buck and Stephen A. Smith, as well as CNBC anchor Morgan Brennan.
“Essentially, what happens is people come in here and they jump on any network across the world,” Rubenstein said of the space.
The space was previously owned and used by MFG Studios, which Rubenstein purchased at the same time.
The upstairs now houses the headquarters of Guerilla Capturing, the media company Rubenstein founded 15 years ago to create just about any type of content imaginable, from sports videos on Tik Tok to drone footage for commercial real estate listings.
“We’ve done work for Amazon, AWS, Microsoft, Apple, Lincoln Automotive, GMC … When you have brands like that telling each other, then that’s when you can start building a business that’s capable of getting a loan to buy something like this,” he said.
Though many of his clients are global brands, Rubenstein’s local roots run deep. He grew up in Highlands Ranch and was in the second class to graduate from Thunder Ridge High School. The past four generations of his family owned a variety of different car dealerships in Denver. His great-great-grandfather sold Studebakers, and his great-grandfather operated five used car lots on Denver’s west side. The last of his family’s car-related enterprises ended in 2008, when Rubenstein’s father closed the doors of his used car dealership because of the ongoing financial crisis.
Rubenstein, 40, has always preferred the video camera to the socket wrench. His great-grandfather used to work as a “projectionist” in Denver, helping to bring movies to life on the big screen decades ago.
“I knew from an early age I wanted to make movies. And I ended up going to college for it,” he said.
After completing his degree at the Art Institute of Colorado, Rubenstein spent some time on the road making promotional content for UFC fighters sponsored by the supplement company MusclePharm.
“That was actually a lot of fun,” Rubenstein said. “I got to go one-man band, and it was pretty fun as a mid-20s kid going and traveling the country.”
Rubenstein started Guerilla Capturing in June 2008. At first, the work was freelance. Rubenstein shot a few weddings in the early years, traveling to places such as Portugal and Costa Rica, or staying home in Denver to capture the events for the bride and groom.
“I didn’t love doing that … I love going to weddings. And so once you start mixing – it’s a job. You don’t really love going to weddings.”
Eventually, he got the idea to take to the sky and shoot projects using drones.
“I embraced it,” Rubenstein said.
He said his initial drone work has led to thousands of real estate jobs, taking videos and pictures for property listings across the city. Just about every one of the city’s large real estate firms has hired him, he said, with Guerilla’s work spreading outside of the region.
Today, his company also produces corporate marketing materials and lifestyle branding, which showcases products being used in their natural environment. The business also provides traditional and digital marketing services to clients.
Rubenstein now has between 15 and 20 contractors working for him at any given time. As that number grew, office space became a pressing need.
“Eventually, it’s impossible to get all your work done in your basement,” Rubenstein said.
Around the end of 2020 and into 2021, the upstairs of the Santa Fe Drive building hit the market for lease. At that time, the entire building was owned by MFG, which bought the building in April 2019 for $1.3 million.
Inside the studio at 320 Santa Fe Drive.
Now, with the assets and space of MFG Studios under his control, Rubenstein’s next project is Guerilla Sports.
“It’s where the individual creator meets broadcast capability,” he said. “Getting ahead of the curve of how people consume media. And it’s in high-quality video production.”
The plan is starting small, with Guerilla Sports focusing solely on hockey. It received credentials from the Colorado Avalanche to cover games and get press access into the team’s locker room and post-game meetings. Over time, the amount of content will scale up, the number of credentials and teams the business covers will increase – but the main objective will be to grow the project sustainably.
“It comes down to studying other stuff and using your creative thinking cap to make your own versions of anything. How can we take anything and just make it better? It’s always been what we strive to do,” Rubenstein said.
