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

Will , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

My first job after graduating college was working for VaynerMedia as a content creator. My role made me realize how important content is today–not just for marketing your business but for the sake of creating. Creating content had given me a reason to push the limits of what I could create, and how often. Documenting my progress for my own projects and for eurotripp in creative ways proved to resonante with others. Ed Sheeran put it as the idea is that sometimes you have to let the water run for a while before it flows clear. Hopping on trends can be an advantage but isn’t the long term solution. Having strong branding and creating from the foundation of your personal and band’s vision consistently has become my answer.

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.

My name’s Will Useman. I’m a motion designer at AEG Presents by day and the drummer for Eurotripp by night. I’ve played music and made art since I was little. I would draw cartoons on the class whiteboard for friends and even throw mini concerts for my parents. It started with drawing and painting that eventually led to music in grade school. I was taught some piano by my grandmother and taught some drums by my dad. Initially, it was the love of listening to music that I wanted to follow. My passion of illustration and music led me into animation and ultimately motion design. I moved to LA from New Orleans after graduating college to be at the center of the industry. It’s vital to be where the industry is–I learned social media could only do so much for me. However, creating drum content with no connections did eventually get me a tour with 44phantom. Put yourself in the location where the work is relevant. When I first started attending shows in LA, I was asked to be in a music video where I’d eventually meet Taylor at. I found networking is almost everything out here. Eurotripp then began making music and playing shows. We’d even play our first festival together with our homie TITUS as his band. Around this same time, I started working at AEG Presents; making content for festivals, tours and concerts. I’m thankful my jobs in the music industry so that it relates directly with what we’re doing in Eurotripp and vice versa. As of now, now we’re continuing to create content, recording new music and running our brand Xposure World on the side.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being a creative is being in that flow state–that effortless feeling of things working out. My process is often overlooked when I’m looking too far ahead and not appreciating what’s happening now. I find that once I get to that end goal, I still have more end goals. So if I know it’ll never end, why not enjoy the journey along the way?

How did you build your audience on social media?

Once you know your passion, consistently document it in whatever form that is (video, photo, etc.) Don’t be discouraged about the reception of it at first, just keep building. As you grow, engage and respond to your audience. If burnout happens, take a rest and recalibrate. Remember your “why” and show up.

Contact Info:

• Website: willuseman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willuseman/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-useman-b885a6183/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltsmYtOWyXzYz6WqPKdj_A

Image Credits
Nathan James, Edward Kutana, Jessica Trinh