A few people and things I think about often.
To name off every single person, thing, piece of music, turn of phrase, or great meal that has inspired me up to this point in life isn’t possible. My brain pulls in stimuli from everywhere, all the time. But, if you want a quick snapshot of some things that have helped shape how I currently tick, the list below will work.
John Waters
The most refined taste for irreverence there’s ever been and likely ever will be.
Es Devlin
A genius who chooses space and form to create narratives that endlessly draw you in. We also share a birthday.
Luis Bunuel
A master at making the strange look normal, and the normal sublimely strange.
Madlib / J Dilla
Two sides of the same artistic coin. Beatmakers who make art out of cutting up time and always digging for new connections.
Stephen Sondheim
Unafraid to try what wasn’t done before in his art form and elevated generations that followed without resting on laurels.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The best way to learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and keep going.
David Bowie
Proved everything in your life and work can be a creative act if you allow it to be.
Pro Wrestling
Just like advertising. People say it’s dumb but still watch. Plays on emotions, not logic. Develops storylines to draw out emotion for-profit and then moves on.
Sohla El-Waylly
What she can do with food when she puts her mind to it is true art, by any subjective measure.
Howard Gossage
If I’m ever asked “Ogilvy or Bernbach?”, I’ll probably answer “Gossage”. He’s the one I relate to the most. Probably who’d I get along with best.