We recently connected with Josh Smith and have shared our conversation below.
Josh, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
When I was a kid it was easy to think of being creative. My mother is creative and my Aunt is a professional artist. I was around art and design almost daily. I wanted to make stuff all the time. As I got older, school almost took that away from me as I think it does to many kids. I was lucky with a few teachers and my family that helped me stick with it. I really got back into the creative mindset in college with digital photography and graphic design.
Josh, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My career path is a winding road. I worked in the hospitality industry for about two decades, dabbling in photography, videography, marketing, and graphic design. I had been a bartender for over two decades and always wanted a way to combine my love of video and photography with my bartending. I decided to try to make YouTube videos about beer with some friends in a fun and informative fashion without pretentiousness. We did it for a while off and on until work and life got in the way. I found that I missed doing it. So after much debate and a job change to a position in marketing full-time, I decided to give it a go again. It went from a few people goofing around to a whole brand that I am building. I seem to gain subscribers every day and I release 3 videos a week (over 800 to date). I love the fact that I am constantly learning and getting better. I am forging friendships in the industry and am planning a new video series to help promote local and regional breweries that don’t have the resources to do it on their own. With more expanded content in the works.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It does not have to be perfect. I let people convince me that I have to be perfect. That I needed the best equipment and the best script. That I needed to have everything just right. That sucked the fun out of it for me and the people onscreen with me. When I got too busy to film the first time, I let all of the “suggestions” from people I knew get me bogged down. I wanted to make the next videos so much better that I wasn’t having fun and I wasn’t even getting anything done. I finally just decided to make do with what I had and have fun and I have been on a roll ever since. Sure I upgrade as I can but the motto now is “Don’t do it perfect, just get it done and have fun.”
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
As for the reward, of course, I’d love to have this brand provide a full-time living, that is the goal but we artists create because we have to. I create art, be it a photo, mixed media, paint, video, and even some graphic design work because I need to get it out of my head. I personally think creative people create all the time, sometimes people never get to see it. This venture is out for the world to see. I am getting to form a community with my work and that is amazing. I get to see the “fans” of my work commenting and liking it. It has never gotten old to see those responses. Now with the upcoming new aspects I hope to include I will even be able to help these small breweries promote themselves, that will really be rewarding to be a part of their growth.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeradventurer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeerAdventurer/
- Twitter: Untappd- https://untappd.com/user/BeerAdventurer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Beeradventurer
- Merch site: https://www.redbubble.com/people/beeradventurer/shop?asc=u