Doug Truppe is a creative talent agent specializing in the representation, marketing, and management of award-winning commercial Photographers and Directors. Gabriel Most is a licensed social worker and registered nurse who is interested in how our minds work and helps clients restore balance in their lives and move forward mindfully. Together, they've created the blog series Leading Life to empower, elevate and foster a sense of community for those employed in the advertising industry.

On this episode, I talk to the duo about how they came up with Leading Life, what they've learned from the process, and what they have planned for the project in the future.

Content warning: We discuss the subject of suicide in this interview.

Discover the Leading Life blog here.

About our guests:

Doug Truppe Represents is a creative talent agency specializing in the representation, marketing, and management of award-winning commercial Photographers and Directors domestically and internationally in a variety of categories.

Doug's mission is that we provide the best services to ensure our client's goals are achieved with the greatest success. We devote a high level of attention to every project and handle all aspects of negotiations, management and production services. It is our commitment to excellence that has culminated in many years of service to our loyal clients.

Doug's website.

Gabriel Most LCSW, RN has always been interested in how our minds work and what motivates us. He has worked as an LCSW in Hospital, Hospice, and Outpatient settings for over twenty years with adults, couples, and families. For the last ten years, he has also worked as a Registered nurse (RN) as an adjunct to his Therapeutic practice, incorporating wellness techniques and practices for daily life. He has also taught Mental Health Care to RN students.

"As someone who was born outside of the U.S., whose first language was not English, and as a gay person, I suffered from low self-esteem and the challenges of identifying with a marginalized sexual orientation. It was only when I went to college and volunteered as a peer counselor working with those challenged by addiction, depression, grief, and PTSD that I began the journey of being comfortable in my skin. Through my mental health journey, I embarked on the work of finding my voice, feeling relaxed and proud of my own identity, and then advocating for those who also felt marginalized, unseen, or stereotyped. This process also allowed me to fine-tune my skills when it came to questions of self-identity. I took this passion and went to Hunter College School of Social Work to obtain my LCSW and then later my RN at Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing so that I could help people explore the connections between caring for the mind and body as a partnership to ensure maximum success and life balance."

Gabriel's website.

On this episode, we talk with photographer, videographer, and filmmaker, Heather Eidson, about going from photojournalism to higher educational marketing, her love of filmmaking, and how she incorporates balance and mindfulness in her career and everyday life.

About Heather...

Hello! I am a photographer, videographer and filmmaker with a passion for creating stories that bring awareness and spark change. My camera has since taken me on adventures in the higher education and corporate sectors where I worked at Loyola University Chicago as a multimedia producer, and later at Walker Sands, a B2B integrated PR and marketing agency, as the video lead.

As an entrepreneur, I continue to photograph, film and produce a variety of projects in the non-profit, education and corporate sectors locally and beyond. Whether capturing still imagery, working as DP, producer or editor for client video projects, or producing/editing a documentary film, I seek to produce work with client goals in mind that inspire others to connect, contemplate and act.

Heather's Workbook portfolio.

Heather's website.

During the Pandemic, commercial and fine art photographer Beth Galton created an art piece that eventually turned into an art book she titled, Covid Diary. Now she has started a Kickstarter to help her fully realize the scope of this passion project.

On this episode, we're talking about the Covid Diary, which is on its final fundraising stretch. We discuss the origin of the project, its evolution, and how this experience has helped Beth grow.

Click here to learn more about the kickstarter!

About Beth:

A born and bred New Yorker, Beth is continually inspired by the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city she calls home. The path to a prolific career as an award-winning New York City photographer began in a childhood animated with Marvel Comics, choral music, a natural science education, flute lessons, and the chaotic and composed meals she had at home and abroad. Photography became her method to synthesize life.

Drawn to the organic classicism of Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen, Beth's work is informed by her sensitivity to how light falls and shapes the subject. Her work is exceptional in its ability to invest her images with emotion. Whether making a photo look so compelling you want to pick it up off the page, or conceptually exploring an idea, she applies her deep knowledge and love of craft to each photograph she creates.

Beth's personal warmth and generosity infuse her working and shooting environment. She enjoys creative and collaborative relationships with stylists and Art Directors many of whom she works with again and again. Her images and short films tell stories – the story of memories, of what and how we eat together, a love of nature, and the pleasure of shared experiences.

Visit Beth's website.

On this episode we talk to corporate and commercial photography duo, David and Greta Fox, about their ongoing breast cancer survivors personal project, their work with the folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame, and more.

About David and Greta:

Corporate Event Conference Headshot Photographer David Fox has been making professional images since his early teens. From his start as a photojournalist, he earned a BFA in filmmaking at Emerson College in 1982. In 1983, he opened a video production company. He has built a reputation for excellence in photography and videography, and growing his client base in the corporate and consumer arenas, offering corporate event photography, professional headshots, commercial photography, videography.

Greta is David's wife/business partner who manages daily operations as well as photo post production editing, digital artwork, and custom album design. Greta also has a background in management and the arts, and is a board-certified nurse practitioner with a background in family, community, and women's health. Her clinical experience lends in-depth familiarity with the needs of our healthcare industry clients.

David and Greta Fox website.

Check out their Breast Cancer Survivors Project.

On this episode, multidisciplinary artist Orit Bergman talks about how she takes on so many creative disciplines, her latest projects (one which won a 2023 World Illustration Award), and what she's looking forward to creating.

About Orit:

Orit Bergman was born in Jerusalem and lives and works in Kerem Maharal, Israel. She writes and illustrates children's books, adapts her stories to the theater and frequently meets children across the country. Her books were published in Israel, USA, France, and China.

Orit is a senior lecturer at Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design Jerusalem, where she headed the Illustration Studies program in 2018-2023.

She won the World Illustration Award in 2023 in the site-specific category, as well as the overall professional winner, for the work she created With Anat Warshawshky for their exhibition What is More Yellow or an Elephant.

She seeks new locations for this work, and novel ways to develop both this and future concepts.

www.oritbergman.com

https://www.facebook.com/orit.bergman

https://www.instagram.com/oritbergman/

After a career 13 years in the making, Mari (pronounced Mary) Amor is finally stepping into her true name. On this episode, we talk to Mari about her decision, the steps taken for this evolution, and what she's looking forward to on her journey and the industry as a whole.

About Mari: Mari (pronounced Mary, spelled with an i) is a people oriented commercial photographer and director of photography with a big heart. While she calls Nashville, Tennessee home, she has told stories for an impressive client list all over the world. Her commercial career has spanned a huge variety of corporate clients and advertising agencies.

Mari has traveled solo & with production crews throughout the world in some of the globe's most remote locations. Her commercial work for lifestyle brands tells genuine stories with heart. Mari also travels internationally working with NGOs from Iraq to Romania.

Visit Website Visit Instagram Visit LinkedIn

Dennis Welsh is a commercial photographer and director, working with clients to help share their brand stories through authentic stills and motion. On this episode Dennis talks about starting 2024 with a personal project, what past projects have taught him, and how his experiences on them have shaped his commercial work. About Dennis:

Dennis Welsh has been a commercial photographer and director since 1990 working with clients to help share their brand stories through authentic stills and motion. With an emphasis on environmental portraiture, Dennis' work has earned numerous awards in the industry, but ultimately at the end of the day, it's the people that he gets to meet and work with that inspire him to tell these stories.

He lives in Maine with his wife and three children.

Dennis Portfolio

Dennis Website

Dennis Instagram

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Mike Popowski is CEO at Atlanta based agency Dagger and has led them from a three-person shop to a 2020 Ad Age Small Agency of the Year winner and one of Adweek's Top 100 Fastest-Growing Agencies consecutively (2019, 2020, & 2021) in under five years.

On this episode, Mike and I chat about Dagger's start, what advertising opportunity the city of Atlanta holds, and how innovation is driving Dagger in 2024.

Mike Popowski, CEO | Mike drives Dagger's vision, culture, and growth. A proven client partner and team leader, Mike has led Dagger from a three-person shop to a 2020 Ad Age Small Agency of the Year winner and one of Adweek's Top 100 Fastest-Growing Agencies consecutively (2019, 2020, & 2021) in under five years. He brings over 20 years of digital, social, and brand-building experience with the world's biggest brands across a variety of industries. He joined Dagger in 2015 from TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, where he led the global repositioning for GSK's global smoker's health business, Nicoderm CQ (US). Mike was previously SVP, Client Partner at Moxie (formerly Engauge), where he architected the agency's first content marketing practices for Cisco Systems, UPS and Wells Fargo. He was an early pioneer of social marketing as a consultant for AARP from 2008 to 2011, and implemented their early digital content practices. As a native New Englander, Mike appreciates springtime in Atlanta. Dagger IG | Dagger LinkedIn | Dagger Website

Matt Garbutt is a Creative Director at Brave Bison, a digital agency in the UK. He has been very vocal about the use of AI (specifically generative AI) in advertising, with published articles and interviews on his application of the technology with client campaigns.

On this episode, Matt discusses his start with AI, how it has become a part of Brave Bison's strategy, and touches on the possible threat it presents to the creative community as well as offering resources for others to better familiarize themselves with this evolving medium.

Check out Matt's piece in The Drum.

His piece on the state of AI in 2023.

About Matt (via LinkedIn Bio):

I'm a creative director at Brave Bison, a digital agency that grows brands and makes them famous through performance and organic channels. With over 20 years of experience in the creative industry, I have a diverse portfolio of skills and achievements across copy, art direction, brand, design, and film. I lead a team of talented creatives, designers, producers, and directors, who collaborate with the agency's pillars of performance, social & influencer, commerce, and media network. We deliver effective and innovative digital creative campaigns, UX/UI design, film & video, content, and copy for a range of clients and sectors. Outside of my role, I'm also an AI artist and a crypto enthusiast, with a keen and active interest in the web3, plant-based, and sustainability domains. I'm passionate about exploring the possibilities of AI and blockchain for creative expression and social impact.

And per podcast, you can reach out to Matt with any AI questions via his Linkedin Profile.

Rise Against Suicide is a nonprofit whose mission is to help young people at risk of suicide by removing the financial and social barriers to treatment. Their first awarness campaign launched last week, helmed by board member and ECD/Partner at TDA_Boulder, Jonathan Schoenberg. On This episode, Jonathan talks to us about Rise, his personal connection to this non profit, and how the campaign came together. Check out AdAge's latest write up on the campaign.