Born on November 1, 1991 in Cleveland, OH, MJ Furillo began his filmmaking journey at the age of 15 years old when he was invited to a childhood friend's home to make an independent home movie. Unsure of what to expect, it was this day that MJ discovered "ketchup" could be used to imitate blood. MJ found this so fascinating that he began experimenting with his own home videos and within a year led him to enroll in Media Technology at the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center (CVCC) in Brecksville, OH where he began studying video production while still in high school. Upon graduation at CVCC, Furillo moved to Chicago where he would ultimately receive his B.A. in film and television production at Columbia College Chicago.