HOW'S IT GOING MAN! IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG! HOPE ALL IS WELL ON YOUR END. SO CATCH US UP! WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN YOUR WORLD? HOW'S THE "LIFE OF CREATIVE" BEEN?
Always enjoy catching up with the UG fam, you guys are too good to me, love you to death! I’ve been crazy busy over the past year! I’m still making Commercials and doing Photoshoots for Koss Headphones (the brand I work for full-time) but for the most part everything I’m doing creatively that’s “New” has been in the form of sharing my journey as a creative; doing tons of Podcasts, Speaking Engagements, interviews as well as my new radio show on 620 WTMJ here in Milwaukee. I’m kind of at that point in my career where I can flex a little and share my story. I feel like I’ve got a unique perspective and a valuable insight into the creative scene and for whatever reason, people want to hear my story. So I’ve just been doing a myriad of of things where I can share where I’ve been, what I’ve done and how I’ve done it in hopes that others can take away something valuable from it while they’re building their own thing.
SO WE'RE HALF WAY THROUGH THE YEAR; WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS/OBJECTIVES YOU'D LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH BEFORE THIS YEAR'S OVER?
In all honestly, I’d love to just be able to sustain what I’ve been doing, which hasn’t been easy! Had you told me a year ago that I’d be doing all these podcasts, have my own radio show and speaking to people about my hustle and my journey I’m not sure I wouldn’t have believed you. I’ve never thought that I was doing anything special or avant-garde, but for whatever reason people are interested in how I’ve gotten to where I am, and I’m happy to share that. I’d also like to Vlog more, but making/editing YouTube videos sucks every ounce of free time I have, so I try to do them as often as I can, which is basically like once or twice a month..lol
WHAT'S ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU'RE FACING RIGHT NOW? WHAT ABOUT THE "YOUTH" CHALLENGES YOU SEE EITHER IN YOUR OWN HOMETOWN OR VIA SOCIAL MEDIA STANDPOINT?
One of my biggest challenges right now is not having enough available time to match my passion. I’m sure every creative can empathize with that, but time, or lack of it, has been my biggest hurdle, particularly this year.
I think one of the biggest challenges today’s youth faces with regards to the creative scene is standing out… finding their niche. Instagram and YouTube has birthed an entire generation of copy-cat-creatives. We’ve all seen the shots of legs dangling over buildings, Sony Mirrorless slow motion, the same Premier AE transitions, the same Lr presets; I’m just really hoping that this generation of creatives can find the spaces people aren’t playing in and contribute. I think to a large degree many are, I’ve seen some amazing content from some remarkable artists, but I think this era of copy-cat-creatives is really going to hold some folks back or at a minimum slow down their creative progression.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR PURPOSE IS AS A CREATIVE?
I love this question. I think my purpose as a creative, or any creative for that matter, is to share their story. Share the way you see the world and more importantly influence it, improve it, build upon it. Create with purpose. Be fearless and above all don’t ever give af what anyone things about you, what you create or how you create it. Over the past year I’ve made a bunch of commercials with my iPhone XS Max. Not because I had to, but because I could, because I wanted to see if I could tell a story compelling enough with an iPhone where at the end, people didn’t even notice, or care. I got a lot of *hit from other Filmmakers wondering why I would waste my time making commercials with an iPhone, but I didn’t care. I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to do something nobody else was doing. What’s funny is after I released the first one I got a bunch of press from Cult of Mac, iClassified and other tech blogs. So the point is, as a creative, I’m here to do my thing, on my terms and nobody else is going to influence that but me.
AYE, YOU KNOW WE LIKE OUR CAPTIONS/QUOTES SO LEAVE US WITH ONE OF YOUR BEST QUOTES THAT'S EITHER NEAR AND DEAR TO YOU OR THAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY LIVING BY?
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” - Mae West