Aisha McAdams

Luke O'Shea

Sitting up on the ski hill, above the Palisades Tahoe Village, Luke and I found some very nice rocks to sit on while we discussed everything from the creativity to the business of being a freelancer. Luke hails from Australia and comes from a Brand background, most recently working at Rapha [https://www.rapha.cc/us/en]. With this background, he has a different view on photography and creativity. I love this conversation not just because Luke is an easy guy to talk to and endlessly interesting, but also because he takes the time to think deeply about his work and how he presents it. So much of our modern social media consumption is quick hits. Luke takes a different approach by using time to pause and think about what he’s saying to tell a deeper, more meaningful story. P.S. Sorry for the wind noise. In this episode, we talk about: * Luke’s journey from 20+ years of sport brand building to freelancing creative himself. * How working at Rapha changed how he viewed working with athletes and Brands. * How he grew up with sport as part of his DNA. * How he’s excited by the never-ending evolution of media in sport. * How he uses every aspect of social media to tell stories. * How he takes a moment to think about and tell a better story instead of just posting immediately. * Judging his creative against all creative, not just within his sport. * His love of shadows. * How spending more time with his work brings out more creativity. * How constraints add and grow to your creativity. * How brands and creatives can work better together. * The importance of brands using creatives that are already doing cool things in the sport. * How photography and storytelling changed him. * His creative process and how he works with brands. * His thoughts on social media and how it changes creativity. * The importance of building different skills. * Staying true to your viewpoint. * How getting to know a creative on a personal level tells you so much about their work. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I do! You can find Luke and his work on his Instagram @theother12hours [https://www.instagram.com/theother12hours/]. He also referenced some of the people he gets inspiration from: Ben Clement [https://www.instagram.com/benclement_/] & Mark Clinton [https://www.instagram.com/markclinton/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonywithasony.substack.com [https://tonywithasony.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Emily Cameron

Build your career from the life you want to live. Emily Cameron sits down with me to talk about the creative life she’s built for herself by following her passion and having fun. Emily was once a committed athlete, and one day picked up a camera to photograph her sport and fell in love. A story that many of us media folks can relate to. In fact, every person on this podcast so far has had this beginning. Maybe there is a theme here I didn’t see coming. Emily has been joining our media crew at the Broken Arrow Skyrace for the past two years, and it’s becoming a bit of a tight community. Thanks, Scott! When she’s around, we’re always laughing and having a good time. Good energy for long, stressful shoot days. I really enjoyed learning more about Emily’s journey to picking up a camera and falling in love with photography, as well as the way she thinks about her business and creativity. We also talked about: * How people are her real creative inspiration. * Her background as a swimmer and triathlete, going for pro status. * How COVID changed her whole trajectory. * How she interviewed 60 people in her town to decide if she wanted to stay. * How she fell in love with photography. * How she’s always “finding the hole.” * On taking chances and big swings on personal projects. * The struggles of social media and running a business. * And how mentors and her support network help her steer the ship. Enjoy the conversation! Check out Emily on IG! [https://www.instagram.com/ecam44/] *Cover photo by Will Saunders. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonywithasony.substack.com [https://tonywithasony.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Molly Cameron

Want to change the world you live in? Be like Molly. Following her passion for biking, Molly ended up in Portland and saw a need to create a community where anyone felt welcome. She started a bike shop, assembled a legit all-women’s biking team, and created a community where non-binary, non-gendered, trans, and queer folx could be supported on their biking journey. Molly was a major part of the movement that led Portland to become the thriving, diverse biking community it is today. I had the privilege of working with Molly at the GU Energy athlete camp in Tucson earlier this year. We immediately hit it off, and so I asked if we could record a podcast. The discussion ended up being fascinating. Molly has a depth of experience in community building that kept me asking more. As a community builder myself with the November Project, I really enjoyed hearing about her experience. We covered a lot in this 2-hour conversation, and yet there was so much more I wanted to talk about. I would definitely do this again with Molly. We talked about: * Her journey from a punk-rock skater in SF, to building much-needed bike communities and professional teams in Portland, to picking up a camera and telling the overlooked stories. * The artistry behind athletics and moving through a space via a bike or your feet. * Her creative process, involving instinct and experience, and always starting the day with a clean slate. * How she’s trying to create a process that gives her more time to be with family and friends. * The importance of considering BIPOC folx and their skin tones in your photography. * Access in the sport and our responsibility as media people. * The power of relationship building over decades. * Inspiration through movement. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Follow Molly on IG! [https://www.instagram.com/themollycameron/] If you missed episode 1 with Zach Litoff, check it out. I just received his book in the mail from the Olympic Trials last year, and it is stunning! I’m taken by the sheer amount of work that went into this book. Not just the creation of the book itself, but the body of work that he put in here. It’s visually stunning, beautiful, creative, and even funny at times. Highly recommend purchasing a copy [https://www.litoffstudios.com/shop/p/last-olympic-trails-art-book] and supporting his work! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonywithasony.substack.com [https://tonywithasony.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Aisha McAdams

In today’s episode, I sat down with Aisha McAdams on the eve of her Boston Marathon run. She was nice enough to meet up with me last minute after what I’m sure was a long weekend of work. I walked into her Airbnb as she was destroying a sandwich, carbo-loading for Boston no doubt, along with three sweet potatoes roasting in the oven. Aisha is very talented and I was stoked to chat with her. The conversation turned out insightful beyond what I could have imagined. Seriously, every moment of this is packed full of wisdom. Conversations like this are why I started this podcast and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. We covered: * Her relationship with running and how she got into photography. * How she follows her gut when deciding what stories to tell. * How focusing on your own community and the people within it is the best place to start. * Finding child-like joy and awe when picking projects. * Her journey through burnout and finding ways to a sustainable career. * Clients as booty calls vs relationships. * Her thoughts on Social Media and comparison. * Why she started Rhoam Creative Studio. * How she’s thinking about her future in this career. Links: * Aisha’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/ai.shoots [https://instagram.com/ai.shoots] * Rhoam: https://www.rhoamcreativestudio.com/ [https://www.rhoamcreativestudio.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonywithasony.substack.com [https://tonywithasony.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Run of Show Ep1: Zach Litoff

In the first episode of Run of Show, I talk with Zach Litoff, a runner and artist. We discuss his journey from focusing on running to embracing art and transitioning from a physics major to a studio art major in college, influenced by a professor's advice to post art on social media. Zach's art, often blending running themes with different creative styles, has gained traction in our local running community and has even gone viral on Instagram. We talk about: * The importance of mentorship and the evolving role of social media in promoting art. * The value of physical art over digital, emphasizing the importance of tangible creations for galleries and meaningful art. * The benefits of digital tools like Procreate for experimentation. * The challenges of running a creative business like managing finances and client relationships. * The concerns about AI's impact on art and building a personal brand to differentiate from AI-generated work. * Zach's inspirations and his recent work on a book about the changing landscape of track and field. Enjoy! If you prefer video, check out the YouTube channel [https://youtu.be/I-AWF8wO6fY]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonywithasony.substack.com [https://tonywithasony.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]