Sam Tompkins: The Road to L.A.

By Gabby Alfveby

Photo: Rosie Mathson

In the current age of the 20th century, the process of becoming ‘famous’ has changed because of the fast-growing digital world. There are more opportunities to pursue careers in acting or singing because of social media platforms. So, even if you’re poor, you can get noticed by the public through free, social platforms such as YouTube or TikTok.

Sam Tompkins is a singer/songwriter from Brighton, London. Tomkins’ brand-new EP, ‘who do you pray to?,’ dropped on March 18th and embodies his emotions and family-oriented identity. Tompkins is a shy person but loves to express himself through fashion. He has become a guy that everyone can relate to. He has enjoyed music since he was younger, starting off by busking because of a dare he received on his 16th birthday. With opportunities and wealth somewhat limited, Tompkins never really had the chance to take his talent to a career level. It was only when a fan touched his heart that he was granted those opportunities.

Tompkins was noticed by a fan for his talent, who later flew him out to L.A. The fan wanted Tompkins to be able to live out his dreams, so he provided him with this opportunity out of love. Tompkins was never able to afford to fly himself to create these same opportunities for himself. He spent time staying on the fan’s couch during his trip and was shocked, but appreciated the kindness the fan showed towards him.

“Even though I was traveling the world, I was still like on someone’s sofa having to make, I was having to do the business stuff myself in terms of sort out studio sessions and studio time. Also, being like totally broken at the time it was a very humbling situation,” Tompkins said.

Sam Tompkins remains close with this fan and calls him one of his closest friends. This fan also made Tompkins’s adjustment of spending more and more time in the United States smooth. When he showed up, he was hanging with ordinary people: his fan and his friends. He still hangs out with these friends rather than celebrities when traveling to L.A. This fan and his fan’s friends acted as mentors and tour guides when he first visited.

“I was broke like I couldn’t afford Ubers and stuff so I had to get my mates to drive me places and they’d show me around properly, and yeah, it’s cool. I do like the transition,” Tompkins said.

Tompkins is family-oriented and loves to express himself with his fashion style.

The new EP, ‘who do you pray to?,’ contains multiple songs about his family. Some songs among these are ‘Bloodline’ and ‘Hero.’ Tompkins family is valuable to him, leading to find inspiration to write songs like ‘Hero.’

“They're all really, like they're about my family and they're really important. They're sort of the crux of the whole projects sort of about family and coping mechanisms that get you through things like tough times and stuff,” he said.

Tompkins’s fashion style is colorful and includes monochrome characteristics. He grew up in a more conservative neighborhood and wasn’t allowed to express himself the way he wanted to. He even was shamed when he tried to dress “cool” and “different” at a younger age.

“Now I live in Brighton. I like just dressing however I want to. if I wanna go paint my nails and do some like crazy nail art one day I'll go do that or I wanna shave my beard off and have a mustache for a bit I'll do that as well. And the same goes for my clothing and stuff and expressing myself visually and aesthetically it's like really important to me I think,” He said.

Tompkins has been grateful for his journey and experiences so far. He has enjoyed traveling while being able to do what he loves and will continue to make bigger strides as he becomes more successful as an artist.

“It’s been really cool just in general like being able to travel the world and sort of do what like people do my age but also being able to be super productive and stuff. Cause a lot of people get to travel and stuff in between like college,” he said. “I was always worried I wouldn’t be able to do that [travel] properly.”