We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rob Canales a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rob, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

My career can be measured in moments of risk. I’ve been granted so many opportunities to stretch what I’m even capable of to find my next phase of success and it’s led to me just being open to the idea of failure. I hate it, but I’m not afraid of it.

I was 25 when the first red pill, blue pill moment was presented to me. We had some big names leave the agency at the time to pursue different career passions and it presented a void in our digital strategy department.

I had always had a passion for learning everything about the industry and at the time I was an account executive.

I would moonlight as a digital strategy coordinator. No one else was paying attention to the space and I found it fun. Mostly because I wasn’t going to be the smartest person in an ad agency at that age. But I could be the most curious person.

So again, I’m 25 and I find myself sitting across from Diana Brooks at Demetrio’s in the Gables. She orders just a coffee and I have to stall my appetite and do the thing where you mirror your boss, so you seem normal.

Anyways, she lays out the reality of the agency going forward given the changes. I’m listening thinking she just wanted me to know what the future was and where I could support the team. Easy.

But the conversation was not that. It was to offer me a role in a completely different department. Something I had no technical background in or any business owning. She saw my potential and asked if I wanted to take a Digital Strategist role at the company. Something that hadn’t existed before.

Because I live life in a perpetual pursuit of humility, I said let’s do it. And jumped ship because I believed in myself and was hellbent on helping this place succeed.

So now I’m in this role, with no real rules because it’s brand new, making a name for myself at the agency, trying to prove why the 25-year-old account executive who doodles too much deserves this shot.

And to be honest, I sucked at first. I had no idea what I was doing. Was late with work because I spent more time teaching myself. Had it not been for Pedro (our lead of digital design and experience today), Diana, and my now wife Becky (who was in media at the time), I wouldn’t have found success as a Digital Strategist. But they were so patient to let me fail so that I could adapt and find new ways to win. They really showed me grace and saw something in me I don’t think I saw in myself.

To this day digital strategy and campaign performance analysis are almost therapeutic. It became second nature and would lead Diana to meet with me once again to offer me the role of Chief Creative Officer (CCO) 4 years later.

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

My name is Rob Canales, Chief Creative Officer at THE 3RD EYE. I’m a proud husband, sleepy dad, and health enthusiast who has no business doing what I’m doing – and it’s my favorite feeling.

I started working in advertising as an intern in 2013. So 10 years ago, which pains me to accept. I started off in a weird place with my career because I knew I loved advertising but I had no idea what I’d be good at. I had a passion for so many different aspects of the industry that I really didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I just hoped time and patience would show me the way. And in a weird way, I still kind of exist in a similar space. Open to what the world gives me and exploring the passions I find along my career path.

THE 3RD EYE is an independent agency with over 25 years of experience helping brands and people prioritize health and wellness. We do everything from brand development, strategic planning, performance analysis, consumer research, campaign concepting and execution, media planning and buying, content production, and C-suite marketing consulting. It’s a full-service powerhouse that takes care of brands that take care of people.

We help brands understand their consumer profiles, identify opportunities for targeted growth, and build campaigns that actually connect with real people.

I’m most proud of how we’ve worked on our own company for the past couple of years. We’ve had to take a step back and evaluate what type of agency we wanted to be going forward after one of our co-founders (and mentor of mine) Vivian Santos retired. We had to be honest with the businesses we wanted to work on and the type of things we wanted to create.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

This question is important because I’ve spent a lot of time establishing one key principle at THE 3RD EYE in my time as CCO. Everyone is creative. And while companies have to have certain processes to succeed, the creative process is fluid, random, chaotic, and scary. I think those that may identify as “non-creative” haven’t yet found something they are passionate about. When something sparks a fire in you, you create. I don’t care if it’s an ad, a piece of art, or an excel sheet. When you feel a fire, you will find your creativity. So it may be hard for some to understand what I do, or how I got here, or how it’s a real job. And to be honest, I don’t know either. But I love it and that passion gives me the space to build with people who inspire me to be better.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

It’s something I’ve discovered recently. I want to help spearhead the transition of this industry from my generation to the next one. They are growing up in a culture where creation is as natural as eating. Rather than treat them the way older generations treated mine, I want to learn from them and help them through their dues.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.the3rdeye.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robotocan/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robotocan/