In this podcast episode, we talked with Will Russell about From Hackathons to Developer Advocacy.

About the Speaker:

Will Russell is a Developer Advocate at Kestra, known for his videos on workflow orchestration. Previously, Will built open source education programs to help up and coming developers make their first contributions in open source. With a passion for developer education, Will creates technical video content and documentation that makes technologies more approachable for developers.

In this episode, we sit down with Will—developer advocate, content creator, and passionate community builder. We’ll hear about his unique path through tech, the lessons he’s learned, and his approach to making complex topics accessible and engaging. Whether you’re curious about open source, hackathons, or what it’s like to bridge the gap between developers and the broader tech community, this conversation is full of insights and inspiration.

🕒 TIMECODES

0:00 Introduction, career journeys, and video setup and workflow

10:41 From hackathons to open source: Early experiences and learning

16:04 Becoming a hackathon organizer and the value of soft skills

23:18 How to organize a hackathon, memorable projects, and creativity

33:39 Major League Hacking: Building community and scaling student programs

41:16 Mentorship, development environments, and onboarding in open source

49:14 Developer advocacy, content strategy, and video tips

57:16 Will’s current projects and future plans for content creation

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🔗 CONNECT WITH WILL

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrussell1999/

Twitter - https://x.com/wrussell1999

GitHub - https://github.com/wrussell1999

Website - https://wrussell.co.uk/