OWC's Leaders & Game Changers

"There are a lot of things that I had to learn the hard way but if there is one thing that you cannot do is sing well while being shy." – Ilan Rubin

Ilan Rubin (@ilanrubin) is a musical maverick. The depth of his interests and knowledge of music is truly astounding.

He was the youngest drummer to play the Woodstock stage at 11 years old, is now the youngest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a revered drummer and multi-instrumentalist, and a member of Nine Inch Nails, Angels and Airwaves, and The New Regime. He also once drummed for Lostprophets and Paramore. Ilan’s inner drive to create music and perform on stage is awe-inspiring. He can play a full set opening for a headliner and then immediately perform a vigorous full set with the headlining band right after. In late 2008, Trent Reznor invited Ilan to join Nine Inch Nails and said that Ilan had “blown him away.” Ilan has explained that he finds playing with Nine Inch Nails very satisfying because there are many instruments to play.

Setorii Pond co-hosts this wide-ranging conversation. Ilan Rubin joins Setorii to talk about NIN, Elton John, David Bowe, sharing tips from his setups and performances, CyberPunk2077, being an investor, and more. Ilan has been featured on and in NBC, ABC, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Reverb, Vice, American Songwriter, SPIN, Architectural Digest, Fast Company, Loudwire, PC Gamer, Hypebeast, New York Times, Alternative Press, and too many more to list. Accomplishing all this by 31 years old and Ilan being in the industry working for over 20 years makes us thrilled to see what he will achieve in the years to come.

Ilan Rubin and Setorii have a conversation about his experience as a musician, drummer, his love for music, and the lessons he's learned working with the best in the business, including Trent Reznor, Tom Delonge, and many others. Setorii begins by asking about some of his greatest influences as a drummer, and Ilan speaks to the impact of the Beatles, Queen, and Led Zeppelin. The Beatles were particularly meaningful to Ilan's family, so when he got to play with Paul McCartney, it was a big moment for both Ilan and his father.

They discuss what makes Led Zeppelin such a legendary band. Ilan talks about them with star-struck confidence, and their synergy was unmatchable. A self-declared "Bonham fanatic," Ilan talks about how Bonham's playing style inspired his own, from the early days to now.

Ilan dives deeper, speaking about being an on-stage musician, negative pressures, expectations, and the need to write new material. Ilan seems to advocate for the idea of "just do it," as overthinking can often hinder your ability to act when you need to. Ilan also discusses his songwriting process, lyrics, and musical content.

Ilan and Setorii talk at length about his time working with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Tom DeLonge of blink-182, and Angels and Airwaves. Ilan has learned many positive lessons thus far, but he treasures his time with Reznor the most. He elaborated on how lucky he was to join NIN as a drummer when he was only 20 years old. Joining Nine Inch Nails immediately made him feel like he found the collaborative professionalism he had been yearning to experience his whole life. It's been 11 years since he first joined NIN, and Ilan was just awarded the youngest inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. With so many life experiences to share, Setorii interviewed Ilan for a second interview, available in two weeks.

“You always want to exceed the guest’s experience, client’s expectations and take it a step further.” – David Valdez

Presidential photographer, the man responsible for helping Disney move from film photography to Digital, Vice President for business development for Blue Pixel working with Nikon and Microsoft with many more titles and achievements amassed. Through the years, David Valdez (@davidvaldezusa) has become a respected talent who captured some of the most important moments in history and helped preserve the stories that will last lifetimes.

What was it like to photograph Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Princess Diana, Presidents and prime ministers from around the world, the Queen of England, and a President as he hang-glided? What was it like to have a US Postage Stamp with one of your photos? What was it like to be thrown out of Buckingham Palace?

David Valdez has undoubtedly lived an adventurous life thus far. When it comes to success, David explains that real success is giving back and sharing with people to help make somebody else successful. “It’s not so much about me, but what I can do for others”. Valdez dives deep into the stories behind his journeys.

When you cross the bridge, you need to burn the bridge because there is no going back. As long at the bridge is intact you will always have the tendency to go back. There is nothing to go back to, keep going forward.” – Naveen Jain

Billionaire and renowned entrepreneur, Naveen Jain (@naveenjainceo) is driven to solving the world’s biggest challenges through innovations, dreaming big, and disruptions. He is the founder of Moon Express, World Innovation Institute, Viome, Intelius, InfoSpace, TalentWise, and iNome to name a few. Can we make chronic illness an option? Is living on the moon a near possibility? Moon Express might be the most exciting and well-known project Naveen created where he believes we are heading towards becoming a multi-planetary society. Before we venture into space, we need to strengthen and heal ourselves. Naveen’s obsession for helping people heal from inside out is his true driving force called, Viome. He founded his wellness company in hopes that chronic disease and illness would become optional and merely a choice. His drive to pave new roads in health, space, and mindsets is truly inspiring.

Naveen shares in this episode how he believes that we all have the power to fundamentally change our lives, make our lives successful and to do so he always asks himself personally a three-step process: why this, why now and why me? Naveen dives into the depths of limitations of the human mind. If you think of problems in the same way as others, then you will solve it the same way and you become the commodity. What is the question you are asking that is different than everyone else? Asking the right questions without having the right answer. Naveen explains that entrepreneurs do not start companies, they solve problems.