We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristian DePue. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristian below.

Kristian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

First off, thank you for this opportunity to be featured. I’ve previously done Q&As with VoyageDenver and Shoutout Colorado, so this is like round-three.

Before I answer the first question, asking about a failure I’ve experienced, I should probably provide a quick introduction.

I was born and raised in northern Indiana — a Hoosier growing up surrounded by cornfields, dairy farms and gravel roads. My rural hometown, Winamac, is located along the Tippecanoe River in Pulaski County with a population about 2,500. After high school, I lived in Winona Lake, Indiana for several years — a couple of which I rented a space in a bicycle shop on a canal.

After a brief stay in Santa Clarita, California — between Indiana and the Centennial State — I’ve lived in Colorado Springs since May 2017, and I’m thrilled by the thriving artisan culture throughout the Pikes Peak Region.

In the last five years, I’ve worked as a contributing writer for various publications throughout Colorado. In addition to writing, I enjoy acting, watching films and listening to music and stand-up comedy.

To your question, I experienced failure quite recently. In January, I was building towards taking on a lot of new work and projects, writing related. However, in February, I had a series of panic attacks, which I’ve never experienced before. I was prescribed a low dose of a medication for a short period of time subside the symptoms. Then, a few weeks later, I went through withdrawal from that medication. Essentially, February (my birthday month) and early March were a wash — I dropped the ball on all the new endeavors. In April, I started to finally feel like I was getting back on my feet.

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

Well, I just told you a bit about myself. However, I can certainly go into more detail.

Since moving to Colorado Springs, I have written for the Colorado Springs Business Journal, Rocky Mountain Food Report, Thirst Colorado, the Colorado FUN Guide, 303Magazine, Springs magazine, Front Range Foodies, Colorado Springs Lifestyle, Arvada Lifestyle, the Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group and the Peterson-Schriever Garrison’s public affairs office. I’m probably forgetting one.

I didn’t get into writing through a traditional route. I actually have a degree in Biblical Studies from Grace College in Winona Lake IN — I was going through a strange time but it was the catalyst for me delving into the communication medium.

That said, I didn’t start writing professionally until I moved to Colorado. I took a job as a recruiter with a nonprofit organization and moved to Colorado Springs. Shortly after I moved, I began pursuing writing professionally, on the side. The the Colorado Springs Rising Professionals, I was connected with a journalist and copywriter — Becca Tonn — who mentored me briefly before connecting me with Bryan Grossman of the Colorado Springs Business Journal. From there, the ball just kept rolling, and now I write full-time.

I’ve had the opportunity to write about artists, culinary creatives, musicians, entrepreneurs, medical practitioners, events, military personnel and much more. Just yesterday, I interviewed a clarinet player with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic who is a Ukrainian native.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects is being able to collaborate with others and spotlight others. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with so many creative, talented photographers for my stories. I’ve also been able to feature so many impressive people, and many of them are very grateful for it. I’ve received many messages expressing appreciation for my work.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Initially, writing was my side hustle here in the Centennial State — now, it’s my full-time work. I write for the Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group and Peterson-Schriever Garrison Public Affairs, while I continue to contribute to various magazines and publications.

Before going full-time into writing, I was working a job where a new VP was introduced. For whatever reason, even though I was probably doing the most work at the time, this new VP was fixated on me — he seemed to dislike me greatly and wanted to make an example of me. It was confusing, creepy and made me very uncomfortable. I had so much anxiety and was frequently throwing up — unable to keep food down. One time, I puked into some landscaping in downtown Colorado Springs — I probably looked like a drunk.

After consulting with nine or ten different people, including someone highly involved with the organization, I abruptly quit according to their advice. I took a trip to Southern California and was unemployed for a few months — except occasional contributing opportunities — but then was offered a job with the Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kristiandepue.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: @kristiandepue
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristian.depue
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristian-depue-080412158/