LocKDin with Idris Din

Today's episode dives into behind the scenes as an Author, the role of a publishing house, how your surroundings  can influence your creativity and why discipline is important when things get rough. 

Nadia works as an Employment Lawyer and balances her time as an Author. In fact, her first novel won the Waterstones Children Book Prize in 2023!! 

We’ve met a few times over the years but really recently got to properly connect, and this episode has been so cool to dive into an understand how Nadia balances her time and draws inspiration for her novels.  

We discussed various things from how she starting getting into writing, the transferable learnings between Employment Law and being an Author, how in her case a smaller publishing house allowed her to have a really good relationship where she can be more hands on with the vision of her novels. 

What I love about chatting to Nadia is that you can really tell she love what she’s doing, both her job and writing, and that shines through in the episode. 
 
 I also love how her first book  “The Cats We Meet Along the Way” and her second book “A Flood of Memories” (released this year actually) is set in Malaysia, which we dived into that as well. 

Here are some of the interesting things that Nadia mentioned: “If you want to write, consume sources that inspire you to write. Then place yourself in an environment where you’re more empowered to write. Lastly, stay disciplined and have an accountability system/partner to make sure you get through your own deadline.”

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in being an Author, Dissecting Creativity, and how to start building a system that gets you closer to your goal as well!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, learn the blueprint from my guests, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Nadia’s links:
 

1. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/snsknene/?hl=en 
2. The Cats We Meet Along the Way - https://guppybooks.co.uk/book/the-cats-we-meet-along-the-way/ 
3. A Flood of Memories  - https://guppybooks.co.uk/book/a-flood-of-memories/ 

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/idrisdinproductions/ 
2. Idris Personal - https://www.instagram.com/idrisdinxiii/  
3. Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCPTsVLvmuySpDTT3LTmMAA  
4. TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@idrisdinxiii  

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

 Today's episode is a SPECIAL one because it’s my One Year Anniversary where I looked back on the past year of growing and doing this podcast. 

This episode is hella unfiltered, pure brain dump of my reflections, learnings and what’s next. 

Big thing for me were my takeaways from podcasting for a year, and I think it’ll be helpful for anyone else to hear about them, regardless of whatever venture you want to get into. 

All I have to say is thank you so much to all my guests for being on this journey with me, all of the people in my life for supporting me and to all of my audiences who have tuned in. 

I’m SOOO excited for what’s to come, and how I’m going to take the podcast to the next level!! 

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in learning from how people have balanced both their work life with their creative side hustle, and the realities of podcasting!! 🔥 

Enjoy the episode, learn the blueprint from my guests and me, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

Today's episode dives into Social Media marketing, the importance of knowing your why behind your side hustles and the value of leveraging analytics to test, learn and iterate on your content.

Jane works as a Social Media + KOL (Influencer) Marketer by day and balances her time with Personal Growth content. 

We met at an event hosted by Malaysian Diaspora in May, and we've been hanging out with other people we met from the event ever since!! Also discovered that we both enjoy making content and I love that she's been focusing on growing her Personal Growth content page.

We discussed various things from how she starting getting into Marketing and Content, the transferable learnings between the two and why Personal Growth is very important to her. I also learned the difference between your Higher Self and Lower Self and how touched base on how someone can get to their Higher Self.

Halfway through there was even a mini audit of my personal content that I posted recently and it was SOOO COOL to see her Social Media brain work in action!! 

Here are some of the interesting things that Jane mentioned: “If someone wants to start creating content, firstly you have to know your why. From there, you need to create a system that is sustainable for you to maintain. If your schedule allows you to post once a week, start from there and once you get used to your workflow, then increase it. Lastly, testing and iterating on what works well through the analytics of each content is super important.

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in Marketing, Content Creation, Personal Growth and how to start Content Creation as well!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, learn the blueprint from my guests, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Jane's links: 

1. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/janexchin/

Some other links mentioned that you guys can check out: 

1. Simon Sinek: Start With Why - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/0241958229 

2. Nuria Ma - https://www.youtube.com/@Nuriamaa 

3. On the Go with Manav - https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheGoWithManav // https://open.spotify.com/show/39W2TLRtRWdSG0hsL70Ck1?si=473945f87dd04618 

4. Not On My CV - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZdC0bAmvW0R3hpxl0g3Tz?si=9c6b7a5a56bc4d67 

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

Today's episode is filled with some MUSIC, deep discussion on the Malaysian music scene, and Sales as a career.

Kane and I met at a house party where he was performing and I was sooo excited that I literally just stood next to him most of the time to watch how he did his thing. Luckily he liked me LOL and we kicked it off ever since, and we realised we had mutual friends which was CRAZY!! 

Kane is living an interesting where he's balancing a Sales career at a FinTech while with DJ.  

We talked a lot in this episode. From his dedication to ensuring everyone has a good time, to his journey on how he got to where he is today, professionally and creatively, we got to learn a lot about how Kane views the world and how he approaches life. 

We also unearthed on the importance of finding a community of like-minded people who are starting or are already on the same journey as you, as that accountability factor can set you on an exponential growth when you're getting feedback on your creative output, vs doing it alone. The key is to put yourself out there, and eventually you'll start meeting your people who fuck with what you're doing too. 

Here's one interesting thing Kane mentioned: “Sales and DJ is all about how you present yourself, and ensuring you provide the customer/audience with a good experience. In Sales you want to make sure your product is delivering value for the customer's specific use case. In DJ it's all about manipulating the pitch and rhythm to alter your audience's emotions and ensuring they have a good time, while also taking the time to thank the audience for coming along on the journey with you. 

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in Sales, DJ, if you're interested in the progression of the Malaysian music scene, and how to start DJ'ing as well!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, learn the blueprint from my guests, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Kane links: 

1. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kanelit_7/ 

2. Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/kane-tong-lit-vern/aristo-mix?ref=clipboard&p=a&c=1&si=75cf5ff37de240e8ac50e39f73bf6061&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnCgJrANesFM8_Wmwfchohl3ZB9JlHFY7mxzOMYWlP6OD8-RrhCM8WQ3FpxL4_aem_PvpieoBTHrtUbdBjGoKq0g&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3 

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

Today's episode is filled with MAGIC, storytelling, and philosophy.

I met Vicente very recently at a chess event, he showed my friend and I some fucking cool magic tricks, and after talking to him more I was like you gotta be on my pod. And I'm so thankful that Vicente joins me today, who's a full-time high school teacher, runs his own education tuition business ANDa also is a Magician too. IKR!?  From his love of learning, seeking and understanding knowledge to how he started out getting into magic, his transition from his previous tech job to now working as a teacher that allows his flexibility to do his businesses and magic, and the importance of finding the right mentor. Vicente also adopts a 997 lifestyle, yet he lives by the code of work-life integration. 

Here's one interesting thing Vicente mentioned: “There's an art and science to Magic, science is the mechanics of doing things, the art is how play with your audience's attention. The cool thing is, he's also weaved in his learnings from Magic onto his full-time job as well!  

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in magic, if you're looking for a mentor, how Vicente handles a 997 lifestyle balancing teaching and magic!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Vicente III links: 

1. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vicente_iii/

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

Can’t ya’ll believe 2 more months and we’ll be halfway through 2026?? JHEEZE 

Anyway, Kyle Odefey is in the house with me today. Kyle’s an awesome dude, when he’s not producing/directing/leading all things video at Synthesia, he’ll be working on his short films as that’s been his passion for a long time. Kyle went to film school and has since been working full time in a role that marries both worlds. We talked about a lot! From the nitty gritty of what is really involved in film production, to Kyle’s experiences working at one of the world’s leading AI scaleups, and of course how he balances his time amidst all this!! Did I mention Kyle’s been travelling a lot for work too? Or that he’s worked with Jensen Huang of NVIDIA as well?

Here's one interesting thing Kyle mentioned: “When things are getting overwhelming, the important thing is to just take a break. Take a step back and evaluate everything and prioritise the most important things that will influence the chain of events on the other tasks. 

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in film, what it is like to work at a leading AI scaleup, how Kyle handles the creative demands from both his work and film and how he balances his life!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Kyle Odefey's links: 

1. Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@kyleodefey 

2. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kyleodefey/ 

3. LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleodefey/ 

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

LocKDin dives into the journeys of those who balance a 9-5 while pursuing creative side hustles. 

We are ending March with a BANG brothers and sisters!! 

Joining me today is my fellow March baby David, who I've known since uni and he's always been an amazing person and friend. He started out in recruitment and most recently has launched his own startup, but along the journey has also launched his Youtube Career as well!! 

This episode has brought the vibes, the energy, the wholesomeness between two friends but also sheds light on how David started out his Youtube journey, balancing his work along with it but interestingly enough what he did to prepare for his Youtube journey. Now that's a really interesting one that I got to learn this episode and we went IN on that. 

Here's one interesting thing David mentioned: "Authenticity is the real brand. If you're making content and you're being a character that you're not, it's going to be hard to sustain long-term". 

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested on becoming a Youtuber, food, travel, how a startup founder balances his life and if you're just down to witness some 5 star chemistry!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

David's links: 

• David's Instagram
• David's Youtube

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

LocKDin dives into the journeys of those who work a 9-5 while pursuing creative side hustles. 

YO YO!! We’ve COOKED up another LocKDin episode and it’s with Ved Luhana! 

My man Ved’s a freaking smart and cool guy - he works as a Product Manager and hosts his own podcast focusing on the deeptech space. 

I was INTERNALLY geeking out for this episode as I love staying close to the AI development and tech space, especially as I worked in a tech startup for 3 years, so this was another side of me that I’ve been yearning to have a conversation with someone so shoutout to Ved for hopping on, and MAN we couldn’t help with some of the jargons that we used. 

 
Fret not gang, as we touched on topics on the future of Product Management, what even is it and how to get into it, how and why he started out podcasting and the importance of building a system to starting out your own creative side hustle.  

I’ll leave you with one thing Ved said: "The easiest thing is to start, the hardest thing is to maintain it, so the system you build around it is super important." 

And **SPOILER ALERT** =, that’s the transferable learning of this episode, but do watch to the end as well guys, it helps out :))  

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in product management, AI and Tech, podcasting and how to build a system that works with your goals!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Ved Luhana links: 

• Ved Luhana Instagram
• Thinkers Table (Ved’s Podcast) Youtube
• Thinkers Table (Ved’s Podcast) Spotify 
• Ved’s email (If you’re interested to speak more deeply about tech) - [email protected]

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

Welcome back to Episode 6 of LocKDin!

Sheena Lee is in the house yo!! Not only is she an awesome chiropractor who's recently launched her own practice in under a year (I can vouch for how good she CRACKS me up - get it? XD) , she also creates really engaging content relating to her work, her life, and her family business.

We talked about a lot of things. From diving in to the importance of authenticity and storytelling, to shedding light on how her content blew up, to breaking down the key ingredients of what it takes to get closer to your goals. 

These learnings are honestly super transferable so I CANNOT wait for you guys to tune in!! 

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in content creation and entrepreneurship!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Sheena Lee links: 

1. Sheena's Main - Instagram
2. Sheena's Business - Instagram
3. Sheena's Business - Website

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]

We are back with Episode 5 of LocKDin!

 We’re joined by Lewis Matthew who balances a full time Media career with a music side hustle. 

What does it mean to express yourself creatively in life? That underpins the core theme of this episode along with some takeaways of how that can apply to life.

🎧 This episode is for you if you’re interested in music/or are a musician and want to hear from other musicians on what creativity means to them!! 🔥

Enjoy the episode, hope this inspires you to just start, and do let me know what you think!!

Lewis Matthew links: 

1. Spotify
2. Instagram
3. Youtube

My links: 

1. Idris Creative Instagram
2. Idris Personal
3. Youtube
4. TikTok 

Interested in being a guest? Hit me up at - [email protected]