From breaking point to Limit Break

Dan LaRussa hopes that the popularity of his ventures will take off “in a domino effect.”

Mary Malloy/Herald

“Sage: Gate of Vengeance” is the first in a trilogy that LaRussa started writing in his teens.

Courtesy Dan LaRussa

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Although writer and entrepreneur Dan LaRussa, 29, of East Rockaway, wouldn’t come right out and advise others to spend their entire life savings by chasing their dreams, that’s just what he did in 2010 when he reinvented himself. Not that he really had a choice.

“I was living the dream,” he said. “I was getting married, had a great job, an apartment — and then something happened. My fiancée moved to Chicago, I lost my job, and I was forced to move back home where I grew up. I had to start my life over.”

An only child and a graduate of East Rockaway High School class of 2004, LaRussa decided to take those life savings and invest in a brand, “Limit Break Studios” in 2011. “I always wanted to write and create comedy, so I rolled the dice,” he said. “I invested in this company, and I hired artists and assembled a team to help me create “Life After Pride” in early 2012.

The mature-themed, animated series is described as such: “Dave returns to his grandparents basement at 30, after being independent for the last five years. He finds his friends haven’t changed and are just as ridiculous as they were in high school.” LaRussa has pitched the series to HBO (they turned it down) and travels to Comic-Con festivals to promote it. So far he’s been to New York, Chicago, Boston, Orlando, and Rhode Island with posters, DVDs and books to network with other animators and actors in the business.

Why online dating sucks

In November of 2013, LaRussa decided that he wanted to do a YouTube comedy blog about the pitfalls of some of the online dating sites. “It was really accidental,” he said. “And it took off … people liked it.” Garnering 1,000 hits a week, the series of videos touts “the top five dumbest profiles,” along with the sometimes ridiculous requirements that some women seek in a potential mate. “Apparently, only tall people have great sex lives,” LaRussa deadpans.

Ironically, he did eventually meet his girlfriend, Donna Wall, online last November. “She’s really been supportive while I’ve been making these videos,” he said.

Sage: Gate Of Vengeance

LaRussa’s real passion, though, lies in writing sci-fi. He recently held a local book signing for the 290-page “Sage: Gate of Vengeance,” the first in a trilogy that he penned between the ages of 14 and 17.