James Hsu spent years watching talented designers get ignored while less talented people moved ahead simply because they understood visibility, influence, and business.

In this episode, the Dark UX Academy founder breaks down the hidden side of design leadership: office politics, business acumen, negotiation, AI, and why “good work speaks for itself” is one of the biggest lies creatives believe.

This isn’t just a design conversation. It’s about power, communication, survival, and learning how to actually get a seat at the table.

⁠https://www.darkuxacademy.com

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Dan Mall built SuperFriendly into a successful agency, working with brands like Google and scaling a network of 700+ freelancers. Then he walked away, not because it failed, but because it no longer aligned with the life he wanted.
This episode goes deeper than business. Dan opens up about leadership mistakes, letting people down, navigating tough decisions, identity, and what it really means to build and walk away from something meaningful.

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Jonathan Stark didn’t start as a pricing expert—he started as a musician chasing a dream, then pivoted into software, and eventually rebuilt his entire career around one idea: hourly billing is broken.
In this episode, he shares the real journey behind that transformation—identity shifts, failed projects, career pivots, and the moment he realized businesses reward value, not effort. This is a conversation about unlearning, reinvention, and building a career that actually works.

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Maestro Stevens, founder of Iconic Expressions, shares how he went from failed ventures to building a scalable business. This episode breaks down branding vs marketing, using AI to automate workflows, choosing the right clients, and the real sacrifices behind entrepreneurship.

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Melody Beuzelin joins Swurl Radio to talk about building a career from scratch storytelling, startup lessons, burnout, and when a side hustle deserves your full attention. We get into identity, resilience, client boundaries, and why “failure” is just data.

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What actually separates good from great when titles, resumes, and LinkedIn profiles disappear?

In this episode of Swurl Radio, Eric and Ayka sit down with Amit, a visionary educator who has shaped the careers of over 3,000 tech professionals, trained teams at Spotify, the United Nations, PwC, and built one of London’s most respected design schools from a side project into a global consultancy.

Together, they explore the intangibles that don’t show up on a resume: discipline, curiosity, presence, coachability, and the willingness to put in the reps when no one is watching. Drawing from sports, design, education, and Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality, Amit breaks down why hard work consistently outpaces raw talent, how great coaches create growth environments, and why “learning by doing” is the only path to real mastery.

This conversation is for anyone navigating a career pivot, building a company, mentoring others, or trying to stand out in a crowded, AI-driven job market — without losing their humanity.

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Eric and Ayka sit down with multimedia artist, researcher, and storyteller Husna Abubakar to talk about what it really means to be Swahili in a world that keeps getting it wrong.

Husna shares her experience as a third culture Swahili woman from Mombasa, Kenya, growing up between the Swahili coast and the U.S., and how that tension pushed her to question Western ideas of success, identity, and “the right way” to live. She breaks down Occidental vs. Orientalist frameworks, talks honestly about being a woman of color at RISD in a deeply colonial city, and why she set out to decolonize her own design practice.

They get into her shift from graphic design into film, textiles, and installation, her powerful work around Swahili homes, motherhood, and matrifocal culture, and the responsibility she feels as the first in her family to earn a graduate degree. Husna closes with a message for creatives caught between cultures: your indigeneity isn’t a problem to fix—it’s your power.

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Eric and Ayka sit down with Edmund Earle, a veteran 3D animator and motion designer whose work spans PBS, National Geographic, Hulu, and John Oliver. Edmund breaks down what it really takes to survive today’s animation industry — from pricing and client management to choosing between being a generalist or specialist. They also talk AI, short-form content, and the hard lessons new animators need to hear.

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In this episode of Swurl Radio, Eric and Ayka sit down with Emmy Award–winning designer and educator Chris Do. Chris opens up about reinventing yourself after failure, growing up between cultures, battling introversion, and the mentors who shaped his life.

We talk about unlearning old rules, overcoming fear, rebuilding identity, and why discomfort is the real path to growth. Chris shares powerful insights on navigating mistakes, finding confidence, and discovering who you are after everything falls apart.

If you’re in a season of reinvention, self-doubt, or rebuilding your story — this episode is for you.

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 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

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In this engaging conversation, Ayka Williams and Tealeda explore the artistic journey of Asya Palatova, who transitioned from graphic design to ceramics and ultimately to coaching. Asya shares her experiences navigating career changes, the importance of creative processes, and how coaching can help individuals in transition. The discussion delves into common questions faced by clients, the fear of being a 'starving artist,' and the significance of embracing uncertainty while pursuing one's passions. Asya emphasizes the interconnectedness of her various creative pursuits and offers valuable insights for those seeking guidance during times of change.

Support Swurl
 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

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