We were lucky to catch up with Benji Selby recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Benji, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I was in college, I went through a heavy era of listening to the Fugees and wore a lot of tie dye, you know living the art student life. So my Twitter handle use to be Groovy Fugee, then as I started making commissions and signing my art work, I dropped the gees and claimed The name Groovy Fu like Kung Fu because I love Kung Fu panda haha. The Groovy side of it comes from my friends always telling I’m always in my own vibe or groove.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Benji and my creative studio is called GroovyFu Studios. I provide full services for media production from brand kits and marketing assets to pre and post production for video services.

Everyone has a vision, but don’t know how to bring it to life, especially in the social media space. That’s where I come in, I help people and brands tell their story on social media. No matter the platform, me and my team can help at every stage of content creation from ideation to final delivery. I’ve worked with clients in the copywriting industry, health and wellness, and nuclear energy education. Now I’ve been shifting more towards travel, creator lifestyle, tech, sports and fashion as these are industries that are a big part of my life.

I started out assisting my older brother when he started his freelance design company making logos and clothing designs while he was in college and I was in high school and selling his clothing brand out the trunk of my car.

Then when my brother moved more into the web development space, I took over the design work when I was about 17. But it was always a side hustle because my main focus was playing football in college.

The dream of playing pro football fell apart after I failed out of my Nutrition and Kinesiology program and got kicked out of school… so I thought… then my councilor suggested I apply for reinstatement through the Art department and that’s when my affinity for art was rekindled because it felt natural. Even though my major was in Kinesiology, I took fine arts classes as well and that’s when I knew I could make a business in the arts because my classmates would tell me “you’re not even an art major and yet your work is good”.

After graduation, I got a job in management in the food industry, but my focus was still in making original art pieces which lead to me learning about video because I wanted to documenting the process. That got me into making videos and posting them on Instagram TV (if you’re old enough to remember that) and YouTube.

Fast forward to 2021, didn’t have a job at the time of the pandemic until a family member wanted to expand her marketing company by entering the YouTube space and she needed a video editor. Since I had been making videos on and off for a few years, my mom recommended me to my family member and that’s when GroovyFu Studios became an official business.

Ideally most businesses special in one service but for me, I specialize in working with people who want to have their story stand out and I use my skills in graphic design, animation and video production to bring their story to life.

I want people I work with to know that we are family and I’ll provide a service that is unique to their personality and voice, not just a factory turned out product. With my skillset and experience, my perspective on things is a blend of multiple industries and creative disciplines, but it all boils down to me wanting to work with cool people and brands that are passionate about what they make and the people whom they serve. My content and work is catered to those who are fans art, travel, sports, tech, fashion and the creative lifestyle. I’m here for the vibes and I hope everyone I work with and is a fan of my work vibes with me too.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As a creative, being a full-time creator is my dream; at the start of my business, I lived a full-time life, had a couple of retainer clients that produced a consistent amount of projects for me and I was able to travel while working. But recently, my contracts with those retainers ended and work flowed down for me…

So one day I was driving in my small town about a year ago and saw a sign that read “Bus Drivers Needed!” and I stopped and called. The next thing I knew, I went into training to get my school bus license.

Now, I drive a school bus during the school year and work on client work in between so that I can still fund my business and take the pressure off of me to make money to survive as I grow my business.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Towards the end of 2023, I did a Project 30 challenge, where I posted 30 videos in 30 days straight and that’s where I saw my growth take off. It was slow because I posted videos a few times a week, but showing up every day and making content that brought value around content creation, the creative lifestyle, and educational content started to hit home.

If you’re just starting, you have to show up consistently so that people can get used to you and know what you’re about. Growth happens when you make quality content, but also build a community by responding to all those who comment on your projects, be a fan of those in your industry because you never know when you might work together someday. Most importantly, have fun, I think people can tell when projects are forced and don’t come from the heart.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/groovyfustudios
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benji-selby
• Twitter: @FuGroovy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenjiSelby

Image Credits

Seth Alexander Films, Groovy Fu Studios, Courtney Kendall