We were lucky to catch up with Mike Fox recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Early in my career, in addition to producing radio commercials for a group of stations in San Francisco, I moonlighted as a Producer of music. One thing that stood out to me while working with these artists was many of them would have these colorful stage names to go along with personas they would assume while recording or performing that existed outside of their daily lives. Alter egos if you will. I always admired that about them because that was something I longed for as well. By day, I turned out what I felt like were lifeless radio spots. While at night, I got to create magic that lifted the soul. I wanted a stage name and alter ego too! But what to call myself? I started by looking at the initials of my name. M. F. Maybe I was channeling Prince here but all I could think of was Mother F$%@er. But I didn’t quite have the ego to walk around calling myself that so I shortened it to Mo Fo. I innately knew that Mo Fo wasn’t about ego to me. It was about my own emerging persona. My higher self even that I always aspired to be. Confident but not cocky. A calming soulful presence that brought out the best in people who sought their own truth. That’s what Mo Fo meant to me. When I worked up the courage to unveil my new moniker, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received! “You ARE a Bad Mo Fo!” So my name stuck but I would only refer to myself as Mo Fo when I lived in that creative space. Years later when it came time to name my own company, I could only think of one thing to call myself that resonated with me, thus Mofo Media was born. Now the thought did occur to me that it might be off-putting to some but strangely enough, I don’t think it’s ever been an issue and I’ve worked with Churches, prestigious High Schools and even the United Nations. And it’s definitely a name that easy to remember.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

When I got out of high school, I felt my path was already laid out for me. I was going to be an Engineer not because it was something I wanted to do but it was the easiest direction for me to take at the time. But I wasn’t inspired to be an Engineer and I hated math so I didn’t last long at school and was left with the decision of what to do with my life, Thankfully one of my best friend’s  Lito Gonzales, challenged me to find my true passion and instilled in me the belief that I could do anything I set my mind to no matter what. So despite not having any natural ability or gifts when it came to music, I decided I was going to be a Producer. And not just any Producer but one of the greatest that ever lived! After toiling for many years as a waiter, I managed to get my foot in the door at a local radio station delivering commercials on reel to reel tapes. I thought by working in radio I could get the inside track of how the music industry worked and infiltrate it from within. I literally worked my way up from the most entry level of positions, to part-time DJ, to commercial production director where I was able to learn the same recording software they used to produce music. I somehow became Production Director for a group of radio stations in Denver that led to an even bigger group in San Francisco where I connected and gained valuable experience working with some extremely talented musicians who helped me hone my craft. My seemingly unfounded and maybe misguided notion that I was destined for greatness led me to believe that I needed to expand beyond just he audio realm and include visuals as well, so I took a unique opportunity to work with Jeff Barabe, a veteran of the Film Industry and start a production company on a remote tropical island in the Pacific. For the next 11 years I learned every aspect of the video production process in stunningly beautiful yet extremely challenging environments through the Asia and Pacific region. I have since returned to the United States bringing this vast wealth of knowledge and a much more humble approach where I’m not motivated to seek fame or fortune but meaningful projects that educate as well as entertain. I feel with my diverse background I am uniquely positioned to provide a wide range of services for my clients whether it be a radio commercial, television spot or short film. I can help take a concept no matter how big or small and find a way to bring it to life. While working in developing countries for projects that needed to convey complex messaging to the indigenous people, I developed a knack for breaking down advanced concepts into more simple colloquial terms people could understand. This led to educating people about better water resource management throughout the South Pacific to food shortage issues in the South China Sea amongst other things,
I am most proud of the work we did in the small island country of Palau, a nation of less than 20,000 people. When we started our production company, Roll’em Productions, we quickly realized there wasn’t a platform for distributing the content we were creating considering there was not a local television station at the time. So we took on the unenviable task of developing a television studio/network called Oceania Televison or OTV that not only served the people of Palau but the entire Micronesian Region and eventually parts of the South Pacific as well. In a country that was trying to hold onto their traditional culture and leadership while embracing democracy and other methodologies of the western world, we held the first ever Presidential debates as well as the first regular nightly news. We developed campaigns that addressed the rising alcohol abuse among teens, creating safe and entertaining events involving producing their own television shows and musical events. We created awareness around the environment and sustainability as climate change was rapidly reshaping the landscape of the islands long before the effects were felt in industrialized countries. Our work every day was arduous and demanding considering there wasn’t an educated workforce we could draw upon from colleges with film programs. We had to develop and train individuals ourselves while working with meager budgets that came from grants and non-profits. The Government and community were initially skeptical of the motives of these “Westerners” but they eventually came to embrace and appreciate our efforts that really made us feel like we were making a difference. It showed me the true power and influence that media can play and I carry that with me in all that I do today.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

When I made the decision to pursue a career in music that required a very specific skillset I knew education and experience would be key. In hindsight, I might have been able to shorten my learning curve by enrolling in a college or other specialized training program but I did feel I eventually accumulated the experience I needed by being proactive and open to opportunities. Today we have YouTube and so many resources I wish I would have had but there’s something even more gratifying about my journey and the way it unfolded. I guess what I’m trying to say I am living proof as to what my friend inspired me to believe, you can do whatever you put your mind to no matter what!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I am extremely grateful that I have not had to do any marketing to promote myself, rather all of my work comes from word of mouth. I just try to bring the same amount of dedication and passion to every project no matter how big or small the budget. And I tell my clients that I’ll work within whatever resources they have available. I am selective about what projects I’ll take on as they have to resonate with me on some level so I’m very content at this point in my career to learn when to say no which I don’t have to do often.

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/michael-fox-97b30a8
• Youtube: youtube.com/user/mofoprodukshun

Image Credits
My headshot was taken my Mark Leffingwell.