Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kirk Ross. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kirk, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
My creative journey is a bit like a Tarentino flick in that its timeline is poetically confusing. Like so many of us, I had loved artistic expression of all kinds as a kid. On my tenth birthday in 1994, I was gifted a Talk Boy sound recorder – made popular by Home Alone 2 – and that was my first exposure to the power of scripting out a concept and producing it into life. Before long, I was writing movie scripts for my friends and classmates and shooting them all summer long. My senior-year drama teacher agreed to let me run his class my final semester, during which I directed our entire class in a comedic werewolf storyline called ‘The Duke’. We screened the premiere in front of the entire graduating student body and staff in a large lecture hall. I felt as if I was on top of the world. Three years later, I leveraged my on-campus university gig in the video production lab and wrote, directed, and edited a 60-minute feature called ‘The Clowns Go Down’. I convinced my local multiplex to screen it during a midnight slot in front of a packed house of 225 moviegoers. This project had been the most exhilarating and fulfilling use of my time in my life, but rather than run with that momentum, I packed it away. Logic and society and my upbringing had convinced me that artistic expression is a childish endeavor; it was time to grow up.
So when I graduated college with an engineering degree, I gave up my creative aspirations and became an adult. A boring, career-advancement-over-everything adult. Fast-forward 13 years to my 34th birthday. I was making great money in the automotive industry, but I wasn’t happy. I had already been married and divorced TWICE, and I hadn’t executed any of my creative visions in more than a decade (snazzy PowerPoint presentations aside). I was unhappy, unfulfilled, and lonely. My now-wife, Jessica, came along and inspired me to chase my passions without concern for how an abrupt career change might impact my image. So I walked away from my day job, and that decision has made all the difference. Jessica’s encouragement and support truly saved me from a life I couldn’t sustain.
I started ‘A Talk in the Attic’, my podcast, in the winter of 2020. The show was a crash-course in audio production and social media promotion and graphic design, but it allowed me to flex my creative writing, voice performance, video production, and execution muscles. And while my financial security had taken a hit, my quality of life improved dramatically. I gave up alcohol and replaced it with a maniacal commitment to releasing (2) podcast episodes a week. It was as if my years of creative suppression came pouring out of me in funny and interesting ways. But rather than spending my energy on regretting that I hadn’t started the journey sooner, I was grateful for the execution and business lessons I had learned during my foray into the pressures of Corporate America. Without my experience in automotive business development and project management, I would have never had the skillset to execute a one-man show in which I manage every facet of the project. In the nearly 3 years and 210 episodes since I started ‘A Talk in the Attic’, I’ve learned so much but also have leaned on my professional background throughout.
So as cliche as it sounds, I’m perfectly content with how my journey unfolded. My decade-plus absence from creative expression fostered a newfound commitment to making sure I never lost sight of it again. I’m still off the booze; I’m still married to Jessica; and I’m still happy. The confidence and peace that arise from expressing myself on a regular basis more than make up for what I left behind in my cushy career.
Kirk, 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?
‘A Talk in the Attic’ is a video podcast that encompasses so many artistic outlets for me, and it provides the same relief to my listeners and viewers. The podcast landscape is filled with endless options, most of which find themselves in hyper-specific scopes of work… but the Attic is different. About half of the episodes are solo shows, while the rest are interview-based. Guests range from fellow creatives to newsmakers to folks from my past like teachers and coaches. Most episodes are comical, while some are serious. Some episodes feature animated stories based on real experiences but with a dash of cartoon in order to spice up the more fantastical elements of my imagination. All of them are produced singlehandedly by yours truly in my converted attic space – a 700-square-foot sanctuary that I personally built using all the ideas I’d accumulated over the years. Each facet of the attic space was designed with a specific intention in mind: acoustics and aesthetics alike. Rather than relying on licensable music for the podcast soundtrack, I forced myself to learn music production. I taught myself how to play the piano and drums. Rather than outsource promotional graphic design, I taught myself Photoshop and Illustrator. And perhaps the most powerful element of the show is that the viewers/listeners are learning right alongside me.
In a landscape dominated by specificity, ‘A Talk in the Attic’ provides a glimpse into whatever I’m feeling at the time. This isn’t necessarily the best business model – just ask all the folks making money hand-over-fist in the True Crime genre – but this project is about creative expression above all else. And I’m committed to keeping my sights set on the inspiration that comes from the chaos of not having a specific focus. It’s truly a variety show….and my fanbase agrees that this is what sets ‘A Talk in the Attic” apart from its literally millions of competitive podcasts.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I have a clear mission that I always keep at the top of my mind, and it’s based on my own personal experience. When I was at the top of my career, focusing on advancement and annual earnings above personal fulfillment, I was miserable. I felt an overwhelming guilt that I had been wasting my creative talents in order to fit into a crowd that I didn’t much like. When I took the leap of faith required to make the podcast happen, I opened myself up to ridicule and financial stress, which was scary… but I quickly learned that it was well worth it. I had convinced myself it was too late to dive back into the arts, but that was just the fear talking. Now, nearly three years later, I couldn’t be happier with my choice. And I do my best to let that come through in ‘A Talk in the Attic’, and in doing so reminds my listeners and viewers that it’s not too late for them either.
Now I’m not suggesting everyone should quit their careers and start a podcast – it’s competitive enough out here already – but I am trying to inspire everyone to make a little space for something artistic. Maybe you used to play the cello in grade school but haven’t touched it in twenty years. Maybe you love creative writing but haven’t committed any time to it since you got that last promotion. I learned the power of artistic expression firsthand, and my mission is to share my lessons and passions so that those following me on this journey might dive back into what used to make them tick. After years of feeling a dullness seep through my life, I feel like a kid again. And who doesn’t want that?
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Most of the world, myself included, believes that we’re not quite there yet. We think that if we could only find that magic bullet then we’d finally be able to go after that thing that’s been keeping us up at night. Maybe it’s that we need to learn more about social media. Maybe we need to get better on the guitar. Maybe there’s a new software package coming out that would truly put us over the edge and into our journey. THIS IS A FALLACY. The only resource I needed was myself. I put off starting ‘A Talk in the Attic’ for years under this false sense of unpreparedness. My fears of failing were camouflaged as thoughts of “I’m just not ready yet.” And guess what? I wasn’t ready yet, nor am I ready now. Within each of us lies a massive amount of potential to learn on the fly. There is no magic bullet waiting for you. You are the magic bullet. Dive in with whatever resources you have, and as you build confidence in yourself, you’ll have endless opportunities and support to make your dream happen.
Contact Info:
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ATalkInTheAttic
- Website: https://attic.buzzsprout.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atalkintheattic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atalkintheattic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atalkintheattic/
Image Credits
Ryan Miller (Roasted Media Group)