Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andy Morales. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Andy, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
One risk, I took was when I began doing Unraveled Influence, originally in 2020, under the Jam Them Down platform banner, it was turning my podcast into a platform and building a team. It was a risk because I wasn’t sure what I was doing. I was inspired by Voice in Power, Bowery Poetry, and Button Poetry. I thought to myself, what a way to bring that into existence and do this in Bayonne, New Jersey one day, since there isn’t any type of art there whatsoever.
The conclusion to this is how challenging it was to maintain a platform aka a business, how to create things to have your page running, seeing who your audience is, and even though they say the numbers don’t matter. In a way it does, because it tells you where you are doing, and what isn’t working. I had no way to see that whenever I went live on Instagram because pulling numbers is hard, especially when the algorithm isn’t always nice.
Recently, I announced that the Unraveled Influence Platform was no more, and the decision to turn it back into a podcast was a very difficult one because I know I have lost time I will never get back, but I know for mental health sake, it was the better decision because I am going to use this time, to reconfigure myself and see what is next for me as I am finishing up the Season 10 project I am working on with Raw Earth Ink. This was a great risk though because it taught me a lot about myself I couldn’t even imagine, and it humbled me.
Andy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am from the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York. I live in Bayonne, New Jersey, and I write poetry, or in my case, I say I am a guy who loves to write, but I don’t consider myself a writer LOL. For the most part, Writing was always in my blood, creating was always in my blood, and how to get to my fullest potential is difficult at times. I currently have a podcast called Unraveled Influence, which features writers and creators of all kinds and it gives them a voice, and brings a spotlight on people who normally wouldn’t have one. I am proud of that. I recently announced that the platform portion will be no more but the Podcast will remain.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I would say, learn, learn, and learn. Study, study, study. Do your research, be ready for challenges, and most importantly, stay the course because it is easy to get caught up in the clout. Stay true to yourself, and that is sometimes hard.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Recently, I decided to turn Unraveled Influence from a platform space back into a podcast. When I first began this back in 2020, I had a platform space called Jam Them Down which had a podcast called Jam Them Sessions Live. It was turned into a podcast once the original Platform ended. It brought it back into a podcast back in 2023 and it was turned into a platform once again but this time called Unraveled Influence.
It’s a podcast once again because it’s easier for my mental health to maintain it, and I don’t have to worry about getting on the same page with a team to share the vision I have for this project. Nothing wrong with what I had because I am grateful for it but it was very challenging, and being a leader, getting things moving considering that many of us lived in different states, and not wanting to feel some type of way about the challenges around me anymore was some of the many reasons I decided to make this change because friendship and community means more than anything else to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: theeandymorales