Unorthodox Blend Conversations

Born in Australia, Mina has a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts and Masters in Teaching - Secondary Visual Arts and is truly one of the OG Sneakerheads. She has worked for and with a list of brands and talent that most of us could only dream of. But it hasn’t been straightforward for Mina, being a woman in the historically male dominated cultures of skate and sneakers. Her enjoyment, passion and determination saw her through and now she is heading up partnerships at Alyx & Au Départ.—We talked a lot about the nature of nostalgia and how that shows up for different generations, and how particular items can be a catalyst for reflection and personal meaning. Mina gave us an insight into the way product collaborations are conceived with some of the many people she has worked with, and how shared values are one of the most important ingredients in these projects.We also talked about the variety of roles in the creative industry that are aspirational but relatively unknown to most people, and that following your passion will always lead to unexpected, but valuable life experiences.—This recording was a part of UB Live 2024, a series of live-streamed conversations and IRL panel discussions to celebrate Rosie Lee’s 24th birthday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Dean Evans is a seasoned veteran of the gaming industry, boasting an impressive career spanning over 25 years. He has worked on some of the industry’s most iconic franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne, Splinter Cell, Far Cry: Blood Dragon and Assassin’s Creed. Dean is the person responsible for introducing us (Mark and Russell) to each other over 20 years ago and the rest is history. (And he is also an NPC in GTA San Andreas!).—Dean didn’t disappoint - a lively conversation from the heart with some well-articulated truths about creativity, work life, culture and future technology. Dean’s passion and honesty come through in bucketloads throughout this conversation, with an unfiltered bravery to say out loud what a lot of us are feeling about certain topics.Highlights include an open share about the state of the gaming industry and how it has evolved since he joined 20+ years ago, and a deep dive into the ethics and importance of Generative AI with a great, poignant story about the evolution of stop motion in Jurassic Park.Although we haven’t been the best at staying in touch since we first met, when we started talking and, in some ways, it was like time hadn’t passed at all. If we could all be a bit more Dean then the world could be a better place - a little bit more untamed but 100% definitely better!—This recording was a part of UB Live 2024, a series of live-streamed conversations and IRL panel discussions to celebrate Rosie Lee’s 24th birthday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Mick is well seasoned Chief Creative, ECD, Head of Product, Professor of Design along with some other things. He has 20+ years design experience in our industry both client side and agency side. We worked closely with Mick in his time as VP Marketing (NA) at Samsung and he very quickly became a friend of Rosie Lee. A kindred spirit who, like us, wants to set the world on fire without hurting anyone.—Our conversation covered a lot of ground. We started with a discussion about age, experience and creative freedom and then onto the benefits of AI versus the concept of ‘The Struggle’ making things more worthwhile. Mick shared a very personal insight into how a bad experience at one of his first jobs shaped his career, and his belief in how a broad organisation-level process is important to the success and individuality of creative units.It’s always a pleasure talking with Mick, we share a lot of values and ideas about our industry but appreciate each other’s vantage points. We always learning something, and have lots to think about afterwards.—This recording was a part of UB Live 2024, a series of live-streamed conversations and IRL panel discussions to celebrate Rosie Lee’s 24th birthday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Richard Hoare is Russell’s DJ partner with Vintage Mobile Disco, a 10 year long project based on a love of 7” vinyl and eclectic music tastes. He’s the man behind Hoare Associates, a pioneering alternative legal services provider for the UK music industry that favours modern, agile ways of working in contrast to some other dusty corners of his industry. Oh, and he is also an award winning author. He can shift topics from music to discordianism, and from politics to ley lines without coming up for air.—Our conversation touches on the role of music lawyers in the industry and the evolving business models for musicians. The conversation highlights the power of music to evoke emotions and memories, as well as the potential influence of artists on social and political issues. We explore topics of artistic expression, the impact of music on memories, the challenges of balancing artistic integrity and audience expectations and the role of alcohol in social interactions (amongst other things!).We most definitely didn’t talk enough about negotiation - one of Richard’s areas of expertise and so we will definitely need to plan a part two.—This recording was a part of UB Live 2024, a series of live-streamed conversations and IRL panel discussions to celebrate Rosie Lee’s 24th birthday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

We’ve known Ben since we begun working closely with StockX. He is always willing to make time for us to just check in and talk and holds his ground in just about any topic, particularly if it relates to culture, art or creativity in general design. We always leave our conversations refreshed and inspired and feeling more at ease that there are other people like us in the world!—Ben combines his understanding and enthusiasm for Culture, Community, and Collaboration to create award-winning, impactful, memorable moments and campaigns that push brands forward, drive growth and create conversation.He has a varied experience, from running his own clothing brand to working at unicorn startups like StockX. Ben has had the pleasure of working with various collaborators including Revlon and Megan Thee Stallion, Daniel Arsham, Sarah Andelman, Lewis Hamilton, Nothing and 100T amongst others.—Our conversation with ben focussed on the culture and psychology of collecting, organic creativity and the need for us all to just put ourt work out there to see what happens.—We’ve announced all of our speakers now for UB Live 2024, which is taking place next week. UB Live 24 is a series of live-streamed conversations and IRL panel discussions for 3 days around Rosie Lee’s 24th birthday. Head on over to the Substack page or find us on LinkedIn to learn more and to attend the sessions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Our relationship with Joseph has had many different phases but he has always been a friend. It’s hard to sit in a room with Joseph without getting into some deep conversations about the nature of creativity. And once we hit the record button he became even more animated than usual! I thought I had a clear handle on what we might talk about in this conversation but we really got into our personal opinions about creativity, vulnerability and what it means to be an architect.—Joseph is a cultural architect, designer, amplifier and creative problem solver who has a knack for details. He is constantly curious about built environments, design, story telling and making things; he often couples these with using running and cycling as a vehicle to explore the world.He believes that a culture of physically crafting and making things should be nurtured and not forgotten. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA, BArch and Tsinghua University with a MArch.—This conversation was an absolute pleasure and I can’t wait to do this again with Joseph. His curiosity shines through, as does his humility and sense of direction. We truly lost track of time and could have carried on for a lot longer.Enjoy this one, and please do get in touch if you want to know more.We’ve started releasing information about UB Live 2024, where we’ll be live streaming a series of conversations for 3 days around Rosie Lee’s 24th birthday. There is more to share over the coming days so please do subscribe below to stay in the loop. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Nikky is one of our go to people when Rosie Lee needs to find employees and freelancers. Her network of talent is awesome and aligns with our work ethos, but that isn’t why we wanted to talk with her at Unorthodox Blend. Talking with Nikky is always like a breath of fresh air - her positivity, energy and lateral thinking are truly contagious. We didn’t know exactly where our conversation would go when we started but we knew we’d learn something.—Nikky Lyle is best known as being a 'creative recruiter with conscience' and has 12+ years of experience placing top talent within a mixture of branding and creative agencies.She is also a huge fan of side hustles and has a number herself, including Shepway Social Club, Damp Disco and Post Quarantine.On top of this Nikky has delivered a TEDx talk, has been a D&AD President Judge, a Domestika Teacher and has been named on The Dots 100+ rising stars. Nikky is dedicated to helping clients and under-represented groups navigate an industry that can sometimes be tough, making sure the best talent finds a home where they can thrive. —We’re still thinking through some of the topics we discussed and hopefully you’ll find some food for thought too. It really felt like there was more to talk about so hopefully this is just the first in a series of conversations with Nikky.Take a listen and get in touch if you want to know more. Keep your ear to the ground, we have a big announcement coming soon about Unorthodox Blend later this week.P.S. We’ve just announced UB Live 2024, our series of live conversations happening in early April. Subscribe or follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Our relationship with Ibby started during his 15 year employment at Nike. He for many years working in different functions. We were working more directly on campaigns, but more recently Ibby worked with some of the world’s leading athletes, connecting brands with their purposes holistically for mutual benefit. With our human-centric approach to creativity we wanted to pick his brains about what goes into this type of work.When talking to Ibby, I was struck by his human-centric, considered approach. In his work with brands he of course wants to benefit the brand but not at the expense of the people he is collaborating with. He is prepared to stand up for his collaborators, and by doing so everyone wins.We managed to catch him a few days before he makes life-changing more to Jakarta, with him taking a break from packing to talk with us. And so we were fortunate to connect with him at a time where he is thinking very broadly about work, life, people and experiences.—Take some time to listen to the podcast  - if you’re anything like us you’ll enjoy his holistic, warm, considered approach and maybe learn a thing or two about how to think differently about talent strategy.As ever, please get in touch if you are interested in taking part. And please do subscribe, we have an exciting announcement coming soon… This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

This is our second official podcast with Unorthodox Blend and we’re having a blast. This time we feel very fortunate to be speaking with Rob Scotland, a long time friend of Rosie Lee, and someone who effortlessly gifts us his insights about culture, history and brands.—Rob is a modern cultural anthropologist and ethnographer - observing, analysing and understanding audiences for business purposes. He is currently Head of Brand Communications at the sports tech scale-up Veo. He has previously worked at McCann London, PANDORA Jewellery, Leo Burnett, and is Co-Founder of the boutique cultural strategy firm BANDIT.Outside of work, Rob is proud to be Guest Faculty at the Hyper Island School of Marketing and the Berghs School of Communications and is a D&AD Masterclass contributor.To see more content from Rob, check out his 2016 TED Talk: "How Do We Raise A Generation To Save The World?"'—Rob has definitely given me a lot to think about, and hopefully has done for you as well. His generosity and finely-tuned balance of calmness and excitement is a genuine pleasure to be around.Take a listen - if you feel inspired, or if you fancy joining us in the studio then get in touch. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

After some great feedback from our Test Recording with Tom Sebright-King we have decided to launch our first ‘official’ Unorthodox Blend Conversation.—Richard is a product and brand strategist working mostly with sportswear and sneakers. He has recently worked with Camper in Mallorca as men’s footwear lead, and before that worked at Adidas HQ on a diverse mix of innovative lifestyle and performance product as their Running Product Manager.In our conversation we talk about how he transitioned from working as a store manager in Liverpool and Manchester to working at the head office of some of the most prestigious footwear brands in the world.From the outside, it looks so effortless but the reality is that he created his own luck. Staying open and receptive to new opportunities and following his passion are (some of) the keys to his success. Richard was one of the founders of Still Waters Run Deep, a running crew based in Manchester, and quotes this as one of the most formative decisions he has made in his career…despite the fact that it wasn’t a career move!—Recording this was a real pleasure. Richard offered us lots of inspiration and things for us to reflect on, and we are constantly reminded of how fortunate we are to know the people that we do.Take a listen to the podcast and if you’d like to take part in one of our future conversations then please get in touch with us. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com

Our Substack is 5 months old now and we’ve enjoyed the process of organising our thoughts to get them written down and shared with other people and we’ve had a really positive response……so last week we decided to record a conversation between ourselves and Tom Sebright-King as a technical test to see if we have it in us to start sharing our thoughts in a podcast format. After a little bit of editing, we’ve decided to be brave and release this to the outside world.In this test episode, we discuss topics such as the lingering impacts of the pandemic on work culture, the challenges faced in human resources roles and the changing dynamics between employers and employees. The conversation delves into reflections on life and work prompted by the pandemic with a particular emphasis on the evolving perspectives of different generations in the workforce.—We are really thankful for the diverse range of people we get to talk to on a daily basis. Whether it’s clients, employees, freelancers, artists, entrepreneurs we always glean something from those conversations that sticks with us, evolves our worldview.If you like what you hear on this test, or have any feedback then please do let us know. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unorthodoxblend.substack.com