Unfiltered | Hosted by John Knopf

Episode #22 - Kim Feast

My next guest is Kim Feast, former world number one ranked professional drop-knee bodyboarder, ocean photographer, and multidisciplinary artist, whose career spans elite competition, visual storytelling, and creative reinvention. Raised on the Australian coast, Feast reached the top of his sport while competing in one of its most technically demanding disciplines, often without sponsorship or institutional backing. Alongside professional competition, he earned a degree in architecture and quietly built a parallel life behind the camera, developing a distinctive visual language shaped by years inside heavy water and remote landscapes. In this episode, Feast walks through the realities of life after elite sport and the search for purpose when adrenaline fades. He reflects on spinal injuries, the collapse of professional bodyboarding, and how photography became both therapy and craft. The conversation moves through his transition into ocean photography, the parallels between wave riding and image-making, and his eventual entry into NFTs during the pandemic. Throughout, Feast speaks candidly about burnout, integrity, decentralization, and why solitude, nature, and intention now guide his work and life.

Episode #21 - Tad Smith

My next guest is Tad Smith, American business leader, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby’s, and seasoned media and entertainment executive. Tad Smith is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar and Horace W. Goldsmith Fellow, and has spent decades leading major companies in media, entertainment, and global commerce. His executive career includes serving as CEO of Reed Business Information, President of Local Media at Cablevision, and President and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company before being tapped to lead Sotheby’s in 2015. During his tenure at Sotheby’s, he repositioned the 18th-century auction house and ultimately oversaw its sale in 2019. Smith also serves as an adjunct professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. In this episode, Smith joins a wide-ranging, urgent conversation about artificial intelligence, creative work, and what happens when machines begin talking to each other at scale. He unpacks the implications of autonomous AI agents, emergent behavior, and the shrinking gap between persuasion and consciousness. The discussion moves through art, NFTs, human intention, and value in a world of machine-generated abundance, touching on religion, narrative, and purpose as anchors of humanity. Smith offers a sober but optimistic framework for thinking about the future, arguing that human-created meaning, experience, and connection may become more valuable, not less, as intelligence accelerates.

Episode #20 - Reuben Wu

My next guest is Reuben Wu, a National Geographic photographer and visual artist known for using drone mounted lights to turn real landscapes into surreal night scenes. He shot the August 2022 National Geographic cover story on Stonehenge, a project that went on to win Online Storytelling Project of the Year in the Pictures of the Year International competition, and he has created imagery for major clients including Apple, Mercedes Benz and Google. Before that, he spent a decade touring the world as a founding member of the electronic band Ladytron, co writing and producing songs that led to global tours and platinum pop collaborations. In this conversation, Reuben talks about stage fright and public speaking, the strange freedom of being the “invisible” guy in a successful band, and the night in the California desert that sparked his drone lighting experiments. He walks through the long road to the Stonehenge assignment, the technical and political hurdles of lighting a world heritage site, and how that work opened doors into NFTs, AR activated prints, and projection mapped installations. He also speaks frankly about creative burnout, AI as a tool rather than a threat, and how raising three kids has changed his sense of risk, time, and legacy as an artist.

Episode #19 - Brandon "Ruff Draft" Ruffin

In this episode, John sits down with Leica ambassador photographer and storyteller Brandon “Ruff Draft” Ruffin, whose journey spans from working in law enforcement to becoming a leading voice in the world of photography and digital art. Together, they explore how Brandon’s background in law enforcement and sociology degree shaped his understanding of people, ethics, and narrative — and how those experiences now inform his artistic philosophy. They discuss the evolution of photography in the age of AI and NFTs, the importance of sovereignty and ownership, and the difference between creating for attention versus creating from curiosity and truth. Brandon shares how discipline, observation, and presence form the foundation of his work, and how photography became his way of exploring identity, culture, and the human experience. This episode is a deep exploration of art, philosophy, transformation and image-making as a tool for understanding the world.

Episode #18 - Frankie Moreno

In this episode, John sits down with musician and performer Frankie Moreno, a six-time Las Vegas Headliner of the Year winner who has spent his entire life on stage and built his career independently through relentless dedication to his craft. From early fame as a prodigy to performing on some of the most iconic stages in the world — including the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall — Frankie’s journey is one of reinvention, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to music on his own terms. John and Frankie explore the true cost of pursuing a creative life — the highs of performing for thousands, the lows of industry disappointment, the emotional toll of fame, and why social media metrics don’t translate to real connection or success. They discuss authenticity, ownership, and the importance of building a career based on genuine audience connection rather than algorithmic validation. This episode offers an unfiltered look at the realities of the music world from someone who has lived every side of it — not just as an artist, but as a survivor of an industry that has changed dramatically over the past two decades.