Fresh from appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, comedian Graham Kay talks with WARO’s Dom Smith about bringing his show Pete and Me (A Non-Depressing Look at Autism and Family) to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe as well as about the Autastic podcast, which he created alongside fellow comedian Kirk Smith.
Exploring his relationship with his brother from childhood through today, Pete and Me is a cheerful look at growing up with a profoundly autistic brother—the titular Pete, a charismatic and hilarious individual who the audience soon falls in love with through Graham’s caring and generous point of view.
When asked about his show, Graham Kay touches on how difficult it is to find information on autism when all the resources available frame it in a pessimistic light: “If you find out your child has autism and you google autism, every resource is depressing. This is a resource that is not. It’s about love and it’s about how he’s made my life better. It’s not sugarcoating it because there are things that have been really tough.”
“Only in the past eighteen months have I started talking about this,” Graham explains. “I just don’t think I had the ability until now to find that balance. I didn’t wanna talk about it because I don’t wanna make fun of my brother. I don’t want people to laugh at my brother, and I don’t wanna come across as trying to profit from him.”
He goes on to talk about the complex relationship he has with his brother: “He is a light in my life, but there are hard things about it. There just are. And that’s life! It’s okay! It doesn’t mean his value is worth less.”
“I was probably about fifteen or sixteen. I was put on medication, and I didn’t like the way it made me feel, so I flushed it down the toilet and never took it while telling my parents I did. I kinda just ignored it.” He stutters and thinks to himself, before continuing: “I still kinda ignore it.”
He then goes on to talk about how ADHD affects his career: “Parts of it make my comedy better. Daydreaming all day is really helpful for comedy. You’re constantly cycling through ideas for bits. But also — I couldn’t work in an office. I was a house painter and I got fired…for painting the wrong house. I was a landscaper – the slowest landscaper in the world. I realised the way my brain works I can’t do some things, but I can do others really well. I became a comedian because of it.”
“You develop an armour. You become bulletproof to scenarios – I can do well in horrible scenarios. I think it would be tough to do as a newer comedian – I know I can put on a good show now. I’m prepared if something goes terribly wrong.
“I’d like people to know who my brother is and like him. I want people to know that there are not, even in the UK, enough resources. There are more people with autism now than there were before. It’s an aging population. There’s enough services for people in school, but when they pass twenty-one, there’s a huge drop off.”
Go see Pete and Me using the link here
Dates: 31st July – 25th August (not 12th)
Time: 6:20pm
Venue Gilded Balloon – The Dram
Address: 3 Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1HT
Price: £10 (previews) £11.50 – £13.50
“Filled with humor, humility, and humanity” – Paste Magazine
“Brilliantly Funny” – Huffington Post
“Clever, achingly raw” – Child Mind Institute
“A fun and beautiful experience” – Joe Pera
Check out the interview below – watch and listen:
Dom Smith sits down for an honest mental health-themed chat for WARO with Tom Talks Rubbish. Here, Tom opens up on some of the challenges he has faced in becoming more independent, living on his own, and how that has affected his journey as a content creator. That, plus so much more!!
“When I’m making art, I feel it in my stomach” says Jason Wilsher-Mills, an artist who uses iPads & Wacom tablets to create art, often relating to his memoryies and his struggles with illness and disability. More recently he’s also been creating large interactive sculptures!
Jason begins explaining how his understanding of success has changed overtime, “because it’s feast and famine the way that I work, I can do something really amazing for six months and then there’ll be nothing for the next six months. I’m always looking over the shoulder a bit and I think that’s the working class side of me. We’re always kind of concerned about paying the mortgage and all that so, success for me is that really.”
“When I was in hospital, part of the Wellcome Collection thing is me hearing Strawberry Fields Forever for the first time,” he recalls past experiences and how they relate to his thoughts on legacy, “I thought Christ, there’s somebody out there that is creative like me. I hope that I can have a similar thing whereby my kids are proud of me and think he’s a bit weird but, he’s doing an interesting job and he’s got work there.” Jason continues discussing how he wants his work to impact others, “It’s that weird kid from a council estate that sees my work as something that kind of triggers a process. Hopefully, there’s little geezer somewhere who sees my work and experiences something.”
The Wellcome Collection is a museum based around health, medicine and changing the way people view these topics. Diving into some deeper ideas, Jason depicts his health challenges growing up which inspired his exhibition at the museum. “The Welcome Collection, even though it deals with some really deep issues such as mortality, it is a PG version of what happened. To a certain extent, I was in hospital in bed for a year and it was a really difficult period. The NHS is amazing, but it was still quite a difficult place to be as a kid. I was away from my family for a long time, I was really frightened.”
The exhibition Jason created involves giant callipers. He touches on his influences relating to experience with callipers, “That was a painful experience for me” he starts. “It was really weird when we had the opening because my family came to London and they experienced it. They were there, actually there when it all happened. I was suddenly really panicking. I thought, bloody hell, what if they kind of freak out about it? And they were in a lot of the work. Fortunately, it goes down really well.” Jason’s art is something that will resonate with so many people, “I’ve had people, a mother came to me she was in tears bless her and she said, my son wore those caliper boots. She said, ‘I don’t know how you knew, but we used to have to paint stars on them to make him wear them’. I said it is because I wanted to wear Doc Martens and, be like my mates and be fashionable but we were given these really horrible caliper boots. I put myself up there to be, to kind of say the things that other people might find difficult.”
On the process of creating his work, Jason comments, “well, there’s 55 years leading up to it. When I’m making art, I feel it in my stomach. It’s overwhelming. The piece of work in the Wellcome Collection show, The Hippo Scare, it wasn’t about being scared of a hippo at the zoo. It was about how you felt about this thing that was so overwhelming.” He expands, “As a kid, I remember TV just being loads of nudity, loads of violence, nothing filtered and interior design was crazy. The only art that I ever saw as a kid was at Wythenshawe at the fairground. It all goes in and then you, you, you formalize it through art education. I mean, I, I think all my work is about childhood and childhood trauma, basically. It sounds dreadful, but it isn’t. It’s a way of dealing with it that’s both joyous and that makes people actually laugh and cry at the same time.”
Next, Jason reminisces on how things have changed for him since he started making art, “If you’d have said to me in 2011 you can do this and you can be successful. I thought all I was ever going to do was, oh, I’ll sell postcards. I’ll do the odd bit. If you’d have told me that my work had been bought for the nation, it’s in the collective, I would have said you are insane. The thing I will say is, and this is a question I get asked so many times by young artists, how do you do it Jason? Well, you do it by putting the hours in.” Adding to his advice he says “I always say to young artists stick with it, be committed to the work that you make. Success is all kind of relative anyway. I honestly, in my wildest dreams, never planned for this to happen.”
Currently Jason is creating a new piece of art, “I’m designing a new inflatable sculpture for a gallery in Scarborough, Crescent Arts. It’s going to be a giant crab and it’s going to have a hot fudge sundae on its back because Scarborough’s got this amazing ice cream Parlor. On his creative process he explains, “I thought I wonder what it looked like on top of a crab. When I drew it, I thought I like that. Then It leads you onto something else so, I’ll start drawing and I’ll draw it from every angle, above, sides, underneath, in front and behind. That process takes about a hundred hours before it goes into Photoshop and a 3D file is created. If it is an inflatable sculpture, it goes off to the company and basically, it’s like making a suit. They decide where all the seams are and where the fan goes.”
Access and finance are two problems that Jason has struggled with being a disabled artist. “I have to kind of negotiate for the support that I’m going to need to do a project, because if I travel anywhere, I have to travel with someone who makes sure that I’m okay. A disabled person spends more, I’m having to use the train a lot more because I can’t drive as much as I used to.”
He continues to express some of the limitations he’s faced, “There’s really awful things about access. Going to a gallery for an opening night, imagine the most exciting thing that ever happened to me at that point and it was in a little gallery on Cork Street and they said, we’ve got a ramp for you. I’m not lying, that ramp was unusable and I just said I’m not going to use it. I did something for a TV programme where I couldn’t even get into the green room so I had to use a loo that was half a mile down the road. It’s the problems you would not even expect in a million years to be an issue for everybody else, like, can I just go to the loo?” He giggles before homing back down on the serious situation, “this is the most common thing you get, it’s accessible Jason don’t worry about it, it’s fully accessible and you get there and it’s oh I forgot about those stairs!”
“Bloody transport, as well” he declares. “In London, I have to use taxis, there is no way I would use the underground. I had some work at the Balloon Museum and I went to the opening earlier this year, it was late at night and they sent a huge van as a taxi to pick me up. Because it was dark I couldn’t see the entrance very well so I zoom up the ramp, smack my head on it and honestly it took me a couple of days. You kind of think, no one else has to experience that other than us and we’re not only experiencing it, we’re having to pay extra to do it.”
Speaking on people wanting to do art in areas that aren’t known for their culture Jason has advice, “The Arts Council has these areas that are low arts engagement so most of Lincolnshire was in that area. They’ve just suddenly got a huge investment on the East Coast which actually goes in your favour sometimes. My advice is to get involved with those groups because together you’re stronger. Funding is difficult and it’s been a trial and error but the Arts Council are trying to make it simpler for people to apply and get funding. I say to young people, don’t let that chip on your shoulder or get in the way. Use the energy because I think northern grumpiness is a superpower.”
With no hesitation, Jason admits The Smiths have always been a big inspiration of his, “I was absolutely obsessed with them because they were the musical equivalent of stuff that I’m trying to do.” He continues, “I love the Fall and New Order and I suppose the foundation stone of everything has been The Beatles. I find Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) a lunatic but incredible. He filled his studio with sand because he wanted to bring the beach inside. I love that. William Blake I’ve only just discovered him but all the things he’s talking about like the levels of creativity and the states of mind are really fascinating.” As for other non-musical inspirations Jason mentions Charles Dickens, “I really relate to Great Expectations. In fact, it’s referred to in the Welcome Collection show, the selling graphic novels of Great Expectations because I identified with Pip.”
Some exciting projects are on the horizon for Jason, “I’m going to be doing stuff in the homeland again and there’s an announcement. By the homeland I mean Wakefield, there’s going to be an announcement in August about that. Then we’ve got the Wellcome Collection shows until January.”
In early March, Kien Nguyen – a young Vietnamese creative living and working in the US – suddenly became viral on LinkedIn and other social media platforms because of his creative response to a job rejection. Having a chat with Kien about the whole story before and after this event, I couldn’t help admiring his positive attitude and constant effort to prove his talent in such a competitive market.
Source: Kien Nguyen
Kien’s journey to the advertising world started in 2020 as an intern at TBWA\Group Vietnam. Following advice from his Creative Director, he aimed at different creative agencies worldwide to learn and grow more in the industry. However, things didn’t end up nicely when his “dream agency” showed up just because of the tricky legal process he had to go through to prove his right to work in the US as an international student.
He recalled: “I have tried my best to make a portfolio that fits the agency style. Last year, I even created a proactive idea to get their Creative Directors to notice. It worked and I got to talk to them in a kind of a first-round interview to get there. They really liked my idea, but because they had already figured out their summer intern roster, we just kept in touch. I contacted them again on Christmas and talked to an interview board at that time, including their HR manager. And everyone said they loved me and my teammate. Unfortunately, regarding the legal process, I heard bad news from the HR Manager. After discussing it with the Head of Talent, she called me and said the company had to turn me down as they couldn’t support me in getting a working visa.”
Despite knowing that many international students struggle with landing a job because of visa issues, Kien still felt a bit shocked. It took him a while to deal with this last-minute rejection. And what he did later on was turn this experience into something more positive and beneficial to his career.
“I tried not to get bumped down because the recruitment season has just started, which means I still have plenty of time to adjust my application plan and other things,” Kien continued. “Another motivation that keeps me moving forward is that creatives like us always find different ways to deal with problems. Last year, I made a passion project called ‘Lunar Deckwarming – Xa Nhà Xông Deck’ on Google Slides with my friend to celebrate the Tet holiday more culturally and interactively from afar. So, this time, I decided to do something out of this unexpected situation as well.”
C-VISA – Kien’s recent viral creative work (Source: Kien Nguyen)
Kien’s C-VISA was inspired by his mentor Thành Ngô’s Passumé (Passport + Resumé). With the addition of his past experiences and awards showcased as “visa stamps”, he believed this was an effective way to redirect recruitment’s attention from his visa status to his work and talent. Regarding the creative process and how his work went viral, Kien found them funny and surprising at the same:
“It took me and my friend two days to create the C-VISA. When finished, I wrote a nice caption to share this new work on LinkedIn and scheduled a post at 9 a.m. the next morning. But because I was staying up late that night, the next morning when I woke up, it was already 10:30 a.m. and my post had already got 240 likes (more engagements than all the posts that I’ve been publishing thus far). And many were from the people that I really respected in the industry, so I really felt like I was daydreaming. And I still feel like living in that dream right now. After a week, the post has got about 93,000 impressions and 1,600 reactions already. I’m so happy to see how people could relate to my story.”
The chat between Kien and I went on with more and more positive energy. There’s no doubt that he is a talented individual, but it is his sense of humour and his humbleness that impressed me the most. He used to admire his high school senior friends, then felt kind of disappointed when many Vietnamese talents struggled with making their marks abroad. To change that reality, he has always wanted to make projects that inspire other Viet-abroaders to stand out. He also gave other Vietnamese creatives credit for their inspiring works from which he could learn and improve himself, then explained why people could resonate with his C-VISA:
“We are in the middle of a recession, especially in the US. If you opened LinkedIn, the everyday posts would be about waves of laying off in many companies. It is tough. People know it, and I think they are kind of depressed. That’s why I’m convinced that they need some light or some hope to keep moving forward. I received people’s texts saying that my story empowered them. And for me, that’s the best thing ever! I appreciate this opportunity which allowed me to make an impact on other people.”
Source: Kien Nguyen
For most people, getting rejected is painful. But for Kien, it’s the nature of his job. And working in advertising requires one to get used to rejection.
“Your ideas will be rejected many times before they appear on the deck that you’re going to present to your clients,” he confirmed. “You will always kill your own ideas, then your Creative Director will do his cut. Then your clients will reject 90% of them as well. So only 10% of your work will make it to production, which can also be rejected by the Director.” However, his stubbornness doesn’t usually let him down easily. Having been doing the job for long enough, he has learned to not get too attached with his own ideas and developed a “shipping mindset” to come up with an idea, make and publish/ ship it, then move onto the next one.
Commenting on the tendency for global talents to compare themselves with local talents and imagine competing with local ones, Kien showed his empathy for their situations and also thought it’s sensible for recruiters to prioritise native candidates:
“For sure natives have more advantages than us because they understand the culture and the market. So, the challenge is: Can you prove that you are worth it? What do you have to offer, so employers would value you enough to sponsor you? In my case, my confidence grew from my outsider perspective as an international creative in the US and my past experiences of creating commercial works for brands like Biti’s in Vietnam, which many graduates from college/ portfolio schools here wouldn’t have experienced. With the mission of self-exporting myself to the US and trying to learn the best advertising practices in the most competitive market with the most talented people here before coming back to elevate advertising in Vietnam, I am fully aware that I would have to go against all of the advertising ‘beasts’ here and take on multiple other challenges to keep going. That’s the name of the game. That’s the only way.”
Vietnam Rising, one of Kien’s works for Biti’s Hunter – the “National Shoes Brand” in Vietnam (Source: Kien Nguyen)
Believing that “every culture or region will have its own time to shine,” Kien also expressed hope for Asians to find their voices in advertising.
“In many agencies in the US, the Chief Creative Directors are Latino Americans,” he said. “And I think now is the rise of Asians. In Music, we have K-Pop. In Chess, the current world champion, Ding Liren, is Chinese. In Movies, we will have to mention ‘Parasite’ (2019) and ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (2023). In Advertising, I have been following the footsteps of my mentors and many other excellent Vietnamese individuals as they have been shining in their own way. All these things inspire me and encourage me to work harder. ”
I couldn’t agree with him more on how looking up to successful examples would instil everyone with a sense of motivation. There’s no point clinging to self-doubt or any negative comments that drag you down. You can always surround yourself with people who went through the same battles you’re going through to keep faith in yourself and keep holding on. “You’re not alone,” Kien emphasised. “And with a strong purpose, you can move forward and do the next things.”
Source: Kien Nguyen
Nearly two months after the interview, Kien proudly announced that he would start working as an intern at GUT – an independent ad agency for brave clients and bold brands in Miami, US in this summer. I’m happy for him and looking forward to chatting with him more about upcoming projects.
Follow Kien Nguyen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kienklaynguyen/
Writer, and creative.
Every day for two years we have been waking up and checking the news for the latest on the war in Ukraine.
(Almost) every day for two years, Martin Belam has been waking up, opening his laptop, and providing us this news from his flat in Walthamstow.
“It’s a weird, strange tightrope to be publishing some of the most contentious news stories that are going on for a popular news website.”
Martin Belam has been working at The Guardian for close to ten years, starting out as head of social media, before gradually working his way into the newsroom.
Probably best known for his Thursday Quiz, he also writes about Doctor Who, and live blogs Eurovision, politics, and of course, war.
“[My job] is really difficult, it’s really pressured.
“Occasionally you catch yourself looking at some photos and trying to work out whether this is too close-up on a dead body, and you think “wow this is a really weird thing to be doing for a living.””
Mental health is a long-discussed topic in journalism, which is even more poignant now with widespread use of social media and the internet.
“I do think there is something about the way that 24 hour news channels and the rise of the internet have worsened that and made it more difficult over the last 20 years.”
“It is a very demanding profession, and the people that succeed in it often end up giving up a lot in their personal lives and don’t have a lot of outside interests.”
Looking after your mental health is especially important when covering heavy and distressing issues, such as war, which can take a toll when you’re constantly exposed to it.
“It has affected me constantly doing wars over the last couple of years. I’ve been exposed to a lot of imagery that we won’t have published because it’s too graphic.”
He pauses for a moment, sighing deeply, then detailed how a picture of a wounded dog was the thing to tip him over the edge on a particularly rough day of work.
“The people in the situation at least know there’s a war going on. The dog doesn’t know.”
How does one navigate a situation like this? When you need to take a break, but the news won’t stop for anything?
When a breaking news story can come and go in the time it takes for you to go to the bathroom?
Belam takes his time to answer and was clearly struggling to muster a conclusive response.
“Say you’re covering [Ukraine war] 4/5 days a week, on the 2 days you’re not covering it I want to really try and avoid all news, which is difficult because I’m a journalist news-junkie type person, but also you don’t want to go back to work on Monday morning, you’ve got to be aware of what’s happened over the weekend. So very much trying to create a space between work and life.”
Halfway through the workday, you may see Martin Belam on a walk through London, live blogging from a café, or in the pub with a beer to close out his shift.
As he’s listing them off, he laughs while realising they don’t sound much like healthy coping mechanisms, but they seem to be working for now and he “loves” his job.
“It is a really depressing thing to be doing every day.” He admits.
“Sometimes I would wake up and look at my phone to see what’s been happening overnight and you’ll see your shift is about to be lots of people being pulled out from rubble and lots of really horrifying photos. Your heart sinks, this is going to be a really difficult and not enjoyable day to work.”
Underneath the weight of the job, it’s clear he still has uninhibited passion for his job.
Although it can be “difficult” and “stressful”, Martin wants to keep live blogging for some time to come.
“It really fits my set of skills, it sounds weird, but I enjoy doing it.”
Writing these blogs allows him to keep the world informed on the most serious and pervasive issues, and from time to time, he’s able to inject his dry humour into the doom and gloom.
Belam enjoys and respects the importance of his job and reveals that it’s the readers who keep him coming back.
“When you get the people emailing you about how much they appreciate the work, I find that very rewarding.”
“I love being on a live blog.”
Finding a balance between rest and productivity can often feel like a challenge, particularly when faced with illness from a chronic condition. I’m a lone parent, so life doesn’t hit pause, and bed rest isn’t an option when there’s a child to care for and a household to run.
Managing essential chores while prioritising personal health can sometimes feel overwhelmingly stressful. Fortunately, the versatility of ChatGPT means that it can be a useful tool in overcoming these challenges.
Recently, a severe flare-up of pompholyx eczema left me in constant pain, disrupting my ability to handle day-to-day tasks like cooking, cleaning and driving. The aftermath left my house looking like there had been a home invasion, and my mental health suffered as exhaustion and disappointment set in.
To confront the challenges of the day, I turned to ChatGPT, an AI powered chatbot, for assistance. Despite my physical limitations, I explained my situation, detailing fixed appointments I had that day such as a doctor’s visit and picking up my child from school. I even mentioned the need to prepare dinner and accommodate my son’s fencing club in the evening. ChatGPT swiftly responded with a well-balanced schedule, incorporating rest periods and achievable tasks to help me reach my goal of cleaning and tidying the house.
Here’s a glimpse of how my morning looked after asking ChatGPT for advice:
9:00 am – 9:30 am: Start the day with a 30-minute rest period to conserve energy.
9:30 am – 10:30 am: Begin by clearing out the fridge. Take breaks as needed to manage pain.
10:30 am – 11:00 am: Rest and relax.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Check on the laundry, fold, and put away clothes. Take short breaks during this task.
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm: Rest period.
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm: Prepare a simple lunch for yourself, ensuring it’s easy on your hands.
Decision fatigue, especially during chronic condition flare-ups, can be draining, so knowing that this tool is available proves invaluable to me. ChatGPT not only considered my timing and physical constraints but also offered practical advice, like communicating the severity of my pain to the doctor and taking regular breaks while managing household chores.
To access ChatGPT, simply visit the ChatGPT website and follow the sign-up process for the free version.
Ask for a personalised schedule by using the ChatGPT text-box, detailing any appointments, goals or essential tasks you need to do that day. If the schedule presented doesn’t quite meet your expectations, reply with any amendments and it will produce a more nuanced version for you.
This tool has made a significant difference for me, giving me valuable guidance on some difficult days, and I share my experience in the hope that it may do the same for you.
“Putting on my music is like finding shelter in the storm.” – exploring the relationship between music & neurodivergence.
Dan Meakin
Dan Meakin is 20, and he has both autism and ADHD.
Music is a very important part of his life, which he uses to identify and understand his emotions, and find consistency in an ever-changing world.
“Being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world is hard.
“The world is loud, and music blocks that out for me.”
Music and music therapy are widely used to help neurodivergent people with self-expression, and to support them during shutdowns.
Great Ormond Street Hospital found that 100% of respondents to their survey thought music therapy to be extremely helpful in reducing anxiety.
Studies have also shown that music increases dopamine levels; people with ADHD tend to have lower levels of dopamine.
Dan listens to music every day, for as often as he can, and describes it as being a ‘shelter’ in moments of heightened anxiety.
They said: “In the midst of overload, my entire mind becomes a storm, and my body is full of lightning.
“Putting on my music is like finding shelter in the storm.”
Having ADHD and autism, Dan particularly struggles in unpredictable environments, such as shopping centres, and he also has difficulties in performing daily tasks.
“Even when I’m washing the dishes, or tidying my room, music is a must.”
He experiences times of extreme meltdowns, which makes him feel like his nervous system is firing.
To combat this, they have created their own ‘toolbox’ of music for every situation, to help navigate their way through.
Dan listens to a variety of music genres, but generally finds himself gravitating towards alt-pop and rock, R&B, and in his words: “just about anything with cool sounds and a good rhythm.”
His current favourite artists are Hans Zimmer, Hozier, and Lana Del Rey.
Dan also has synaesthesia, which is when the brain causes you to experience more than one sense simultaneously, such as being able to see what you are listening to.
He says that when he listens to music, he has powerful visuals that correspond to the sound.
“At times, music feels like floating on clouds, or flying through space.
“There’s a world inside each song, and I love putting my headphones on and getting lost in them.”
Linh Do’s story is such an inspiring story of how constant effort makes her creative dream come true. In this interview, let’s look back on her journey and explore the production process of her highlighted projects.
Source: Linh Do
Q: What motivated you to choose your current career path?
It’s a long story. I’ve shared this story a few times about how I loved K-pop. Childish as it may sound, I just found that market to be genuinely inspiring. They have done tons of creative things that went viral globally. Nowadays, K-pop is such a big phenomenon in the creative scene, not only because of the music but also because of things like promotional campaigns coming along with it. Even the technology they use there, such as AI and CGI, is quite spectacular.
Growing up listening to K-pop and knowing how many things they can do within just one music video or promotional campaign, from social media and websites to other interactive forms like reality shows and such, I feel so inspired. Thus, I was motivated to immerse myself in the creative industry, which has endless possibilities with those mediums and how people convey messages. That brought me further to learn about what they have done, like their overall communication and marketing strategies, focusing on visual communication because that might be the fastest way to reach the audience. That’s how everything started.
Source: Linh Do
Q: How did you overcome all the difficulties to land a job in the Creative industry in the US?
On the way to finding out the strategy of how I could overcome difficulties, I believe it’s essential to focus on self-reflection and prioritization. To me, 70% is about mentality, and 30% is about determination and execution.
Actually, it was not until recently that I kind of settled on that “mind battle” of like: “Do I want a glamorous life or an easy life per se?” “Should I return to Vietnam, enter the industry or have a stable job?” I feel like, ultimately, for a person like me who has experienced a lot, written many reflections on all that stuff, learned to understand myself and come up with my own prioritization, it’s okay to have a good or easy life if I end up with a STEM-based job, which is quite trendy in the US, or even doing something I like in Vietnam or other Asian markets, but that won’t keep me moving or excited to wake up every day.
There were three things that motivated me to move forward. Firstly, I found the creative world instilled a sense of curiosity. It has been a constant journey of me reaching out to that world, talking about it, internalizing it, and reflecting on it. So, I feel like it’s a place for me.
Source: Linh Do
Secondly, I had a good understanding of myself and a determination to move forward. I know that I have several skills that can contribute to the creative world. I’m good at writing, which can be used to make strategies or concept directions in that world. I know that many people in this field come from an artistic background, who were born with such talents and grew up with art as a hobby, which I might not have, but I can contribute to the creative world with my project management, organizational and stakeholder-coordinating skills.
So, by understanding myself and going back to why I started this journey – not only because of my passion but also because the world might need my talent, I know that I’m on the right track. It might indeed be easier for me to return to Vietnam or any Asian country to work because I’m more familiar with the culture. Still, given that I have some work experience here in the US, two years of studying in India for high school and many other opportunities to travel around the world, I feel like staying in the US is the best option for me. Emerging in a diverse environment would help me learn about organizational structure and work methodology, adding to my creative expertise.
Finally, it’s all about the execution, which usually leads back to what successful people have done, like creating a habit or discipline to manage their lives. I’ve always been a determined person who puts 100% to whatever I do because I don’t want to regret not trying my best. On the one hand, I may feel shameless if I have to reach out to people to ask for help or learn something from them. On the other hand, when I’m desperate enough, I will find all possible ways to do what I want.
Source: Linh Do
Q: Can you share more about the production of some highlighted projects you have participated in? What do you find the most meaningful about those projects, and how do you feel about being a part of those projects?
The best part of all my projects is that I can contribute my creative vision and convey my original messages to the audience through those productions.
I have played many roles in those projects, such as Creative Project Manager, Creative Director, etc. Looking back, I’m still very proud of myself when I was still doing “underpaid” or “free” projects. My first project was a music video production in 2020 for a young Vietnamese artist – Hannah Hoang, who used to study in the UK and has known me since high school. She started her career as a YouTuber and content creator with many song covers, including one with more than 12 million views – a cover of a Korean hit titled “Way Back Home.”
One day, when she wanted to debut as a singer and knew that I had been working in the creative field with some experience, she asked me to help her make a music video. I had dreamed about doing something similar in 5 or 10 years when I would have more experience, but at that time, upon realizing that my dream job literally came from someone just around me, I knew that Hannah’s request was like a “once in a lifetime” chance for me, so I grabbed the opportunity. I did some research and came along to tell Hannah that we would work together and figure out how to do the branding, strategies, sponsorship, etc. She didn’t have money to pay me then, and I didn’t let her do so because I was just as new as her in making music videos. So, as no monetary value was involved, I had the creative freedom to do and say what I wanted in that production. That’s how everything started, but the highlight was really about the demo song I got from Hannah back then.
Hannah Hoang – ĂN (TAKE YOUR TIME) ft. KrisD (Official Music Video)
The song is a story of a person who is recovering from a break-up. With not too much of love experience, I found another meaning of the song: encouraging people to care for themselves during tough times through small things like eating, going home, and chilling. That’s why the English name of the song is “Take Your Time,” but the Vietnamese name is “Ăn,” meaning “Eat,” which is so symbolic. It’s like a reminder for people to keep up with that habit and move on. Listening to the song during COVID-19 time, when I also had a lot of things going on in my life, I immediately knew that it could heal many people. So, I came up with a creative vision of talking about mentality and symbolizing it by a “splitted personality” of one being really sad, seemingly unable to overcome difficulties, and the other being responsible and consistently trying to protect oneself. That’s how we made the storyline with two opposite characters you can see in the music video.
I also participated in the project as an art director and created a lot of symbolic scenes in the music video, such as flowers on the dishes, which symbolize overcoming sadness. Hannah’s name is a flower’s name as well. We did a lot of research to develop those ideas to convey positive and meaningful messages in every scene, so I was very happy.
Source: Facebook Hannah Hoang Official
Recently, there was another production that made me incredibly proud. It’s my Winning Award of ASIANetwork’s Student Video Challenge 2022, hosted for the first time by ASIANetwork, a prestigious organization in the US that focuses on promoting Asian studies and other cultural knowledge. I’m the Director-Producer of this project, in which I own everything from the creative concept and scripting to the production and post-production. This project is such a big step for me, starting from only helping to deliver creative assets at the beginning of my journey to having more experience and being able to own my assets. With this award, I feel more confident that I actually have a talent in this creative world.
In this challenge, we were trying to respond to a prompt: “Drawing on the challenges and successes of your countries’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, prepare a video presentation to the World Health Organization (WHO) with a recommendation for future pandemic preparedness.” I remember it was such a busy time for me because I had to prepare for my internship and grad school applications. Still, my advisor reached out and encouraged me to participate, and eventually, he also became the advisor for my team in this challenge. At that time, I took it “lightly” because I thought the challenge was just an extra thing to do with no pressure, like a hobby, so indeed, when writing a proposal for the challenge, I felt like my creative vision expanded, and things came easy.
The Flashback of Covid-19: A Story from a Vietnamese Mother to Her COVID Baby
I planned to spend about an hour a week gathering my teammates, making a proposal, etc. I worked internationally with my team because people were in different time zones – one in the US and two others from Vietnam whom I used to work with. We did some research independently, and it took us only 30 minutes to brainstorm ideas for the challenge together. From a producer standpoint, if you can create a comfortable environment for people to thrive, the working process will be 100% efficient. That’s what I’ve done for the team so they can raise their voice and contribute effectively to the challenge.
At first, we wanted to interview people because that was the easiest way to make the video. But when we did some research, something came up from all the statistics and materials. We found a documentary from the Vietnamese National Television channel (VTV), which told a story of mothers giving birth to their children during Covid time. I thought maybe we could choose a more particular perspective to tell our story just like that. Then we ended up with a storyline of a mother giving birth during COVID-19 and giving suggestions on how we could brace ourselves for the future by sending wishes to her child. That’s perfect! We have a concept, a storyline, and a great team in which everyone works well together. I couldn’t be more grateful, and we totally deserve the prize. Although the video was created for a competition, which is quite academic, my hope for the future is to create productions that resonate with the mass audience.
Interview with Winners of the 2022 Student Video Challenge: Luther College & Vietnamese Team Members
Q: Do you have any advice for young creatives struggling to follow their dreams? What should they do to be courageous, determined, and resilient enough to “survive” and “thrive” in the Creative industry?
Everyone has their own priority in life. I agree that a person must do manual jobs to make ends meet at some point, but they can still take a small step to follow their dream every day. For example, they can develop the habit of watching music videos (just like me) and sharing their appreciation or criticism on Facebook. That could be a way to nurture creativity.
I used to be in a place where I didn’t know which would be the right direction for me. It seemed like it took me forever to get to my dream destination. However, I started the journey as a digital marketing intern, then switched to a media production intern, and later worked on music videos and eventually earned an award. Currently, I work on web production and brand management. So, you can see that it took all those small steps to get me to where I am now. My mentor told me that if I didn’t come from an artistic background or wasn’t surrounded by a creative environment that could push me to go fast, I could go the “detour” way – going round and round but still making progress. Today, you may learn one thing, but one day, you will realize you have learned so many things along the way.
I usually don’t advise anything because I’m not in someone else’s shoes, but what I would like to share from my experience is to return to the “mind battle” of prioritization. Use your resources to move forward on this track. Ask people around. And at the same time, protect yourself, love yourself, and motivate yourself by celebrating even just a small achievement. And reflect more often.
Follow Linh Do here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blinhblinh/
Writer, and creative.
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