We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Desenberg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I spent more than 20 years working for other people – which is fine for many folks – but it was never what I should have been doing. I think that I always knew that I wanted to run my own business and that I wanted to do things “my way” – but the countless fears that come along with that always held me back. I should have taken that leap a LONG time ago.

There was one very defining moment when I realized I wasn’t being honest with myself in my work. My wife had a new baby at home (our second) – and we were in the middle of one of “those nights”. I was up at some ungodly hour with him, hanging out and talking (since he had no desire to be asleep), and “we” got into a serious talk about life. As a lot of parents tell their kids, I let him know that there was a lot ahead of him, both good and bad. Life was going to be a long journey, and not always an easy one to navigate. I let him know, though, that no matter what path he wanted to take in life… it was there, it was a path. You might have to find your own way… but you can do whatever you want to do.

The realization hit me, that here I am as a parent telling my kids to do something that I wasn’t doing myself. I was on someone else’s path and had been for decades. I stopped myself, confessed, and then promised him that I’d show him that it’s possible by example. I set a deadline, I started planning, and a year after that moment – I quit my job to start my life.

I should have done it a LONG time before that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always been a photographer since my first job in a portrait studio in high school. I went hard and fast with it… landing a job in Real Estate photography right at the end of college. I love the art of photography, the technology that makes it possible, and the way people can connect with it from a deep level that doesn’t depend on language.

In my spare time, I started a beer blog, called ‘The Gnarly Gnome’ – and started diving deep into the local beer and nightlife industries. It was only a matter of time before the two sides of my life came together face to face. I started working for myself full-time, specializing in food and drink photography (and videography) which allowed my passions to all come together and fulfill me in a way that I didn’t know was possible with your work.

I use my love for an industry that almost everyone is familiar with, to showcase the stories that connect us with what we’re consuming. I love telling stories, and I do it with photos, videos, podcasts, and the written word. The passion for the people and the places I work with is real – and I think it 100% comes across in my work.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media was hard for me. When I started as a beer blogger, people weren’t always nice. There were some established cliques and friend groups within the local community that sometimes weren’t friendly to newcomers. I struggled. I doubted if there was value in what I had to say, or in the things that I was sharing.

It took a while for me to get comfortable enough with myself to stop caring about everyone else. The realization that traffic numbers, or likes, or shares… that none of it could ever affect my work was freeing. Once you let go, and you are really able to be honest, people will connect with you – and I started to see that. There are still times when doubt creeps in, or you start thinking too much about algorithms or the desires of different platforms for what you “should” be doing… when that happens, you have to quiet yourself down and listen to the inner voice, that little Gnarly voice in your head that tells you what you need to hear.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’m not working towards some big ‘goal’ or endgame. I love what I do. The idea that I can share the people, places, and things that give me joy is what pushes me every day. My mission is just to get better, keep learning, and maybe most importantly to help the people around me do it too.

There is a way that every person can actually live a fulfilled life – work doesn’t have to be a departure from yourself and from the “good parts” of your life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GnomeCreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_gnarly_gnome/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GnomeCreative
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thegnarlygnome