Rarely do creatives start their careers with a particular defined path. It requires a few bumps and bruises, and wrong turns to find the right path. Decatur Dan, otherwise known as Daniel Hall, has come up through the ranks in a way that’s almost a requisite for success… your own way. His initial start creating content began as the streetwear boutique in Atlanta known as Standard. Regular meetings with Atlanta’s vibrant hip-hop scene allowed a new chapter to emerge as a music video director for the likes of 2Chains, Future, and more.

Script & Narration by Eugene Kan

Transcript by Alek Rose

Audio by Elphick Wo

Video by Daniel Hall

Photos by Alex Maeland

See the full story here: https://www.maekan.com/article/there-is-no-handbook-chapter-by-chapter-with-director-decatur-dan

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

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Researcher and photographer Behzod Sirjani has dedicated his career towards the understanding of culture. It has come through the lens of both social media, at Facebook and more recently with remote and digital work at Slack. The interactions we’ve engaged in online have changed significantly from our face-to-face communications of the past, and as such, we now see our peers much differently. Our access to their interests, their views, and how they interact is on full display. These cultural nuances, through Sirjani’s role as Senior Researcher at Slack, present themselves as key determinants of how digital work culture moves forward. The inclusion of photography has also given him an added tool to force him to observe and be present as things play out around him.

Interview by Eugene Kan

Transcript & Text by Alek Rose

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Behzod Sirjani

See the full story here: https://www.maekan.com/article/product-research-through-culture-behzod-sirjani-and-how-slack-humanizes-work

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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Hey, everyone. My name is Umar Issa. I’m from Los Angeles, California and recently I took a trip to Egypt for a few weeks.

Egypt is a place I’ve wanted to visit for so long. It’s known in Arabic as Umm al-Dunya which means “mother of the world”. And I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to spend some time this summer exploring the land of our ancestors.

Narrated and text by Umar Issa

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Umar Issa

See the full story here: https://www.maekan.com/article/maekan-travel-diary-conversing-through-football-in-egypt

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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Avery Trufelman is a producer at 99% Invisible, an extremely popular podcast created by Roman Mars. She crafts stories about things overlooked and believes anything can be a good story when told correctly. “If you go far enough away and zoom out and look at larger pictures everything is fascinating; if you zoom in and in and in closer and closer and deep into histories and linguistics of anything everything is fascinating. Like everything has a context, everything has a person behind it, everything has some sort of conflict.” Listen to Avery and Charis untangle what it means to be a podcaster/producer and delve deep into the possibilities of storytelling.

Hosted, narrated, and text by Charis Poon

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Stanley Cheng

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/anything-can-be-fascinating-avery-trufelman-of-99-invisible-on-telling-stories-well

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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Chris da Canha is a skateboarder and photographer who hails from Durban, South Africa, but currently calls South Korea home.

A regular contributing photographer for MAEKAN, he has shot many of our stories in Seoul, where he is currently based. These include our stories on RYSE, Cody Hudson and most recently Kang Seunghyuk of WORKSOUT.

Photos by Chris da Canha

Audio by Elphick Wo

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/sights-sounds-chris-da-canha

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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Weed. Marijuana. Bud. Pot. Reefer. Dope. Herb. Mary Jane. Chronic. Broccoli.

Every region, person, and demographic seemingly have their own preferred definition for cannabis. Mind you, the short list above only spans the English language. The universal nature of cannabis has made it a particular interesting part of popular culture fabric. The fact that so many differing perspectives exist mean that the resulting experiences we create for them also have the likehood to change and adapt whether it be a user, grower, storyteller, or in the case of Ariel Stark-Benz, the retailer.

Hosted by Alex Maeland

Transcript by Alek Rose

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Carmen Chan

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/building-a-true-cannabis-lifestyle-brand-ariel-stark-benz-of-mister-green

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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In this first story to come out of Saigon, Elphick recalls his chat with film producer Jenni Trang Le. A near 10-year veteran of the Vietnamese film industry, her work has continued to push the envelope of cinema in Vietnam overcoming obstacles that include tight budgets, fickle box offices and government censorship.

Script by Nate Kan

Transcript by Charis Poon

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Christopher Lim

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/straight-outta-saigon-jenni-trang-le-talks-vietnams-film-industry

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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Jonnie Hallman has dedicated the past four years to building an app called Cushion to help ease the minds of freelancers. A long time freelancer himself, he meets the needs of freelancers with useful, smart features and also through giving a digital tool personality and warmth.

Interview by Eugene Kan

Text, Narration & Illustrations by Charis Poon

Audio by Elphick Wo

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/calming-the-freelance-rollercoaster-jonnie-hallmans-cushion-app

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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In this Building the Brand, Eugene and Charis sit down with Alek Rose, MAEKAN's second full-time apprentice who we had the pleasure of working with these past 28 days. Half debriefing, half feedback session, this episode examines some of the insights the soon-to-be graduate Alek has gained, as well as challenges he faced in his short few weeks in Hong Kong.

Hosted by Eugene Kan, Charis Poon & Alek Rose

Text by Nate Kan

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Christopher Lim & Nate Kan

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/building-the-brand-alek-rose

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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Charis Poon interviewed Adem Niazi and Drewbyrd from 40s and Shorties during their short trip to Hong Kong. Listen as the two co-founders speak about building the brand and how it has enabled them to share their own story of being rooted deep in California's culture.

Text, Interview & Narration by Charis Poon

Audio by Elphick Wo

Photos by Christopher Lim

See the whole story: https://www.maekan.com/article/rooted-in-californian-nostalgia-40s-and-shorties-grows-up

What is MAEKAN?

MAEKAN is a membership-based publication and community focused on the sights and sounds of creative culture. We're about learning, participating, and connecting with a global community on a deeper level that social media just doesn't provide. We’re defining the future of creative culture.

We don't have all the answers, but our curiosity ensures we never stop looking.

Sign-Up Today

If you've enjoyed this story from the archives and want to see what else MAEKAN has to offer, sign-up for your membership at MAEKAN.com. You'll unlock all of our stories, be given exclusive member-only-access to our Slack community, and have the opportunity to participate in our monthly digital panel discussions.

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