Please welcome our next guest, Blake.
What You Need To Know
- Originally from Houston.
- College Dropout.
- Builds and races FPV drones.
Blake and I snagged time at Wax Myrtles and peel back the layers of what makes Blake, Blake.
“I was born and raised in Houston and made it to Austin to attend UT for mechanical engineering – I lasted 6 weeks” We both laugh. “I was just way more interested in videography and just started saying yes to video jobs and opportunities that came my way. I ended up switching focus to advertising which allowed me to jump into my first venture, co-founding a full service creative agency.” Blake explains.
Blake and his business partner were recently featured in Forbes 30 under 30 list for their dedication to creativity and innovation within the agency they founded in 2018 called Nimaroh Creative House – which was acquired by Idea Peddler in 2022 and boasts clients like CNN, Coinbase and Planned Parenthood.
“When we started out in 2018, we went all in – we grew it to 10 employees and did some fantastic work which led to our acquisition by Idea Peddler. Working with them has been great – it was just such a natural fit and so many alignments between both organizations.”
We pivot into his role at Idea Peddler, and the day to day.
“I’m focused on all things creative. I like to say I graduated from YouTube university with a degree in filmmaking and videography.” Again, we both laugh. “But I just enjoy picking up a camera and making art with it. I’m inspired by the stories we all have the ability to tell through a lens and honestly, have always loved the run and gun mentality. What’s crazy is the accessibility everyone has now – from shooting to editing – anyone can be a one man show – and of course, being scrappy helps!”
Blakes tone is subtle, curated, and creative. He speaks softly, with conviction and inspiration.
We dig deeper on being a creative, and what he looks for in people he works with.
“We look for that scrappiness in people we hire – I could care less what school you attended or who you worked for – show me what you’ve done.” Blake explains. “That’s what’s great about Austin, it seems to just have magic in the air here, you really don’t see it anywhere else.”
Speaking of magic in the air – we dig in on what inspires Blake.
“I really love the visceral creative. Bringing art to life through video is what get’s me inspired. I pride myself on being a jack of all trades, from documentaries to travel to music videos – I love exploring everything. It’s so cool being able to walk into a Secret Disco Society event like the Meduza Halloween show and make it look like a cinematic movie.”
If you didn’t know, Blake was the brains behind that epic Meduza recap video that we have on our site – it’s worth a watch, the dude doesn’t miss!
We close, in typical fashion, advice.
“Surrounding yourself with people who are better than you is so important. I’m not the savviest entrepreneur by any means, but I’ve been around people who are and think different – and ultimately, compliment my skills. Being with people who can challenge you, who don’t always agree with you – that’s what matters.”
Blake pauses for a short moment in thought, then continues.
“Having that ride or die team is essential. If you’re working 80-hour weeks doing what you love, you better be with people who also share that love and passion. I’ve always believed that you’re the accumulation of the 5 people you spend the most time with. I just try to spend my time with the people who inspire me most to be my best self.”
As we end our talk one thing is clear, Blake’s journey is pretty extensive – the dude has done a lot at an early age. But the hustle never stops, and he constantly will pursue what lights his fire and inspires him to create art.
All of us have this same ability, too. To find what makes us, us. The key to success is identifying what that passion is for you – you never know, it could just be a YouTube search away.