We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sean Russell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sean, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
I remember being a kid, melting into my chair at the theater as I met with a T-Rex in Jurassic Park. I left the theater feeling a new sense of purpose.
In search of a way to become a producer, I enrolled in a Magnet Program for Media Production. For the next four years, I learned how to make graphics, produce videos, and build websites. Before graduating, I became a broadcaster with NBC and a webmaster for the Miami Marlins.
This was the beginning of a 26-Year Oddesy. This journey was all formed from wanting to become a media producer.
The strength of an idea comes from its ability to take us on a journey. Along this journey, you meet people, face hardships, and eventually major triumphs. Seasoned just right, ideas start evolving into something unrecognizable.
The idea to become a media producer ended up becoming a solution to build economically sustainable communities. How do we all win and grow together? I’ve been fortunate to live through multiple entrainment scenes from EDM, Alternative Rock, Hip Hop, Anime/Manga, and Arts and Culture. It all ends the same way. You either sink or swim. But with each fad or trend, all that is left is our memories.
Vegans Explore is a collection of passionate leaders focused on preserving and promoting all of the hard work contributed by local business owners, nonprofits, and individuals. We appear at events and produce podcasts, magazines, ebooks, and other resources to help people discover the Vegan lifestyle.
Currently, we service the South Florida, Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, and North Carolina communities.
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.
I started my journey in high school and officially opened my business seven years after graduating. I provide brand management services and work with businesses, nonprofits, and influencers in the Vegan/Plant-based community. My company is Lesaruss Media and we build communities that are powered by content creation. In 2017, we launched our first Vegan community called SoFlo Vegans. Fast forward to 2024, we’ve supported hundreds of businesses and worked with major brands including Carnival Cruises, Miami HEAT, Miami Dolphins, and PETA.
Previously I managed communities in Music and anime and spent 14 years in Education as a teacher, computer technician, and District administrator.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One-on-one interactions have been a critical component of building our reputation. This looks like filming vendors and restaurants around the city to try their food and products on camera. Six years of building these relationships allowed us to develop a database of thousands of businesses. This content is then shared as stories, reels, and collaborations showcasing our impact on the community as a whole. It also serves as a historical record of that community. These interactions also provide us with valuable data on what our stakeholders want and need for their businesses to succeed.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing the evolution of my skills and talent on a public stage. The work you see now is the result of decades of incremental improvements. I’m excited knowing this will continue to be the case as I mature.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://seanarussell.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/seanarussell82
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seananthonyrussell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanarussell/
- Other: https://vegansexplore.com https://soflovegans.com
Image Credits
Xavier Russell