PHOENIX — Gabe Chavez is the man behind the lens that has helped capture the essence of the Phoenix Suns from a unique standpoint.
"[It was] late 2016 and I was taking a few pictures everywhere else. I came to a game one day and I saw a lady had her own small camera. I figured you know what? Why not give it a try and bring my camera?" Chavez said.
So, he bought a cheap ticket and snuck his way into the lower bowl, snapping pictures and tagging players on Instagram. Little did he know that one game would change his life.
"Literally the very next day, I got a DM from one of the players that used to play for us," Chavez recalled. "'Yo, we like all the pictures you're taking.' He's like, 'We want to know if you can keep taking some for us.?' And that's when he was like, 'We got a ticket for all the home games for you.'"
"As a Phoenix kid growing up, not being able to go that many games, that moment right there I was just jumping up and down. I was like, you know, a kid on Christmas."
Under the Instagram handle @savagee, Chavez has gained more than 31K followers. His relationships with the players offer a different view through his photos.
"Cam Payne likes ones that show emotion," he said. "Book's transitioned to more of, I would say, like an old soul in a sense. He likes the black and white stuff now."
"That's probably one of the coolest things to me is being able to grow a relationship with these guys," he said. "Even before I met Book, I was a fan of him for so long. And now, you know, we're good friends."
Just a kid from Maryvale who took his camera to a game one day and carved out a niche role as the Suns unofficial personal photographer.
"I still feel like it's not real sometimes," he said. "To be able to travel to away games, and getting the access I do, it's just a blessing."
If someone had told his high school self in his first photography class that he would now be doing this?
"I would have called you a liar," Chavez said.
His truth for everyone else?
"Find a dream, chase it and don't let nobody tell you, you can't."
