#85 - Sam Snowden - Building a Creative Agency

33:31Sam Snowden:I have to make it work. And that in and of itself is a risk because I'm not doing anything with the idea that, oh, if it fails, I can fall back on something. I feel safe in that way. For sure. And that's something that at first can make you feel really uncomfortable. comfortable and you start to create scenarios in your head of well damn like I'm kind of locking myself into this for the rest of my career and then I think I've recently I've flipped that and been like damn I'm locking this in for the rest of my life like this is gonna be so fun you know and like how lucky am I to be able to wake up today and go choose what to do and have the freedom to be like, yeah, when I'm 32, maybe we'll change things up.

34:22And because you believe in your process as an entrepreneur and business owner to do that. And that's nothing against working a nine to five or working at a company because I think there's benefits there. But to me, I feel alive every day because I have the opportunity to fail or succeed or do anything in between. And I would not change that for the world, even if it causes stress or anxiety, Like sometimes I think stress and anxiety is actually, it's good. You know, it makes me feel like I'm trying to move the needle. And going back to what we talked about earlier is you're feeling a little bit of that purpose.

34:59Right. And when you're young, you don't know that fulfilling that purpose is going to cause you a lot of stress and tension in your life and hard questions to answer. But that's because you're, you know, a kid and you shouldn't think about those things. and then you become an adult and you start to fulfill those promises that you made. And those are just things that come with that responsibility that can actually be twice as fulfilling, you know, when you get to do those things at that age. I love that. Yeah.

35:32Sam Snowden:Do you think for people that are looking to get into this sort of creative world, whether that's filmmaking as a freelancer or starting an agency, starting a production company, some sort of entrepreneurial world route, do you think that there has to be an understanding that you have to be comfortable with uncomfortability in general. Do you think that that is a sort of requirement to pursue a path like this? Definitely. I think, and I wish that there was, there's obviously online courses and there's creators to get great advice from, but I wish that there was something in the education system that taught, something similar to this doesn't have to be creative, But I do think that there are things that I wish we learned in high school that would help create a better foundation to do things like this.

36:21Whether that's just like basic accounting or learning how to start your own business. And that can be its own conversation like wherever. But I, sorry, what was the question?

36:33Sam Snowden:Just about the pursuing a creative path and understanding that to be. For sure. Being uncomfortable in that space is something that I think before you create your laundry list of what you do, that should be the first thing. You know, it's like, there's all these things I want to do and romanticize. But before I do that, let's just swallow the pill of like, it's probably not going to go the way I want it to go. And it's going to be a brutal, grueling process to try those things. And I think it weeds a lot of people out, you know, which is fine. like it it's okay if it's not something you want to pursue but to your point you gotta always keep that and i have to tell myself that now because even though like we go through our career i'm sure you've dp'd on a bunch of different sets and then you're like you get to the next one and you think oh like i actually don't know how to do that or i don't know how to light that and that is a good it's a good thing but it gets harder as you get older because you have uh you've gained the skillset to where like, not that learning feels like foreign, but you should always want to learn.

37:46And I think you have to remind yourself that constantly that you aren't like the guru, you know, and you aren't the know-it-all.

37:54Sam Snowden:And I think for me, just on that point that you said about walking onto set and might not knowing something, I think what I've learned has become really valuable to me is walking onto a set and not having the expectation that I might know how to do a certain thing all the time, but having the confidence to know that I have the history behind me that has solved problems like this before to get me in the position to solve this one again. Totally, totally. And that is a tricky thing to tell yourself because a lot of the filmmaking stuff is technical. You're like, oh, well, I don't have this thing, so it's not going to work.

38:31but filmmaking is all problem solving at the end of the day, especially when you work in crews and projects like that. So I like that. That's a cool philosophy to hold because that can be applied to everything. Everything. Yeah, for sure.

38:46Sam Snowden:How do you find that you are learning today? Because I think there's a lot of learning that goes on at YouTube, for example. Yeah. There's courses. And I think what I'm coming to realize is that YouTube is a great place to learn something, but it's hard to get a real deep understanding of something. You can learn something on YouTube. How do you learn something and then practice it to get a deeper understanding of something? Like what is your process of learning today? Yeah, I just think doing it, you know, like going out. And for me, it's like physically shooting, being with talent. Like I'm trying to learn more about narrative filmmaking and and work with work in that setting because i for the longest time was just mainly doing doc style stuff which is great but in order to to learn and get out of your comfort zone and do skits and do things that push your creativity forward you have to take risks and be in spaces where i'm like how does a boom mic work you know like i don't know you know i'm just used to like micing people up and doing it my way and then i think to your point the youtube thing is great but it gives you this idea of you know the knowledge and that's it just the idea of the knowledge capability it might take but then like go do the thing and especially being in new york go do it in a chaotic environment i think that's one thing it's like could i learn how to do something in my office with no one around yeah go do it when you have 20 minutes to set up and do it and like if you don't get the shot you probably ruined it you know like it's put yourself in environments where it's harder to fail than succeed and i that is like easy when you know mic'd up at a podcast telling you to go like fail but that's true like i think about the times where I've been in the most like time crunch or just areas where I'm super focused on execution.

40:51And those are the times when you learn the most, you know, like you only have two hours to go film a campaign or you got to turn around and edit the next day. Giving yourself parameters to rise to the occasion is the best way to learn. And that can be in a lot of different forms. But for myself, that is when people ask like, do you think you could do this thing? I'm like, yeah, I know how to do it. And I think to myself, no, I have no idea how to do that. Literally, yeah. And I'm like, do you know how to direct a commercial with 20 people on set? Never done that, but I probably could. And does anyone really know what they're doing?

41:31No, like people just have more experience. So it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, failing, and I think you gotta put yourself in positions to fail.

41:40Sam Snowden:It seems like a common thread among some of the people that I've been talking about in that it seems like you have to have a bit of delusion about yourself in general. Do you think that delusion in general is a part of putting yourself into positions that you're uncomfortable with and then figuring it out? I think delusion is just, I think there's a negative connotation to the word, but I think it's really valuable to be slightly delusional about what you believe you're capable of. Yeah, I think any creative in that space of when they come up with an idea and then all the different phases it takes to execute that, like you are delusional through that, you know, because it's not there yet.

42:23It's not tangible. And delusion is just like the aggressive word where people are like, you have to be delusional and be obsessed about that whole thing. to a certain extent for sure i think the delusion can also be met with the reality of like you can come off arrogant and and uh i don't know the right word probably you can come off arrogant and ego and have this ego to where at the end of the day you need to work with people and you need to be able to facilitate those environments without with the confidence that you can get it done and the delusion that you know what you're doing is going to create this thing that you're proud of and that you can really like hang your head on but you also have to go through that process with some grace and understand that like no one's going to really want to be in those spaces with you if you are just the guy who's like being a drill sergeant and uh not looking at other like feedback and taking other forms of inspiration there's a fine line i think the more i direct and work with and collaborate with people there's a fine line of being delusional and being really obsessive over the thing that you are making and then also uh like not taking it so so personally and serious and uh like going through that process with some with a little less ego and a more optimistic view of like, it's going to evolve over time.

43:57Sam Snowden:You mentioned feedback. Do you find that you're selective in the feedback that you receive, but also that you consider to a high regard? I think, yeah, for me, I'm very selective on the feedback that I receive and that I take to heart because it's easy to post a video or whatever. You get some random guy to comment, you should have done this or whatever. To me, to be honest, I don't really hold much weight to that, but there's a small group of people that I really look to for real honest feedback. Yeah, for sure. I, taking feedback is a skill that you learn over time because I remember first starting my video editing journey and I worked an internship at a music management company.

44:42And at that point I thought I was like, dude, they're going to, every edit I make, they're going to love. And then I remember like turning in my first project and there was just like i didn't even understand like how things were labeled yet it was like v they're like first of all this is v1 and i was like v1 like what do you like what do you mean um but it's a it's it's actually the really like such a healthy process to have people view your work to your point though i think over time you narrow down what that feedback looks like and also on a positive note too. Like if everyone's telling you like, dude, this is the greatest thing you've ever made.

45:21Like this is God's gift, like all this stuff, that can drive you in a different direction as well. So -

45:28Sam Snowden:I think that's sometimes even worse. For sure. And I think that that can create an ego and a weird mentality versus like the next thing you make. And you're like, well, it didn't perform as well. And people aren't giving me the love that they gave me in the last one. So I must have gotten worse at my craft or whatever. I also think if you are in a position where you're receiving that praise all the time, it sort of forces you to stop looking at yourself as a student and you're like, oh, I've mastered. I'm good. I have it. I nailed it. Everyone says it's great. Yeah. And you kind of become someone that just stops learning.

46:04Sam Snowden:Totally, totally. I had a, I'll try to condense the story. I had an experience when I first moved here, I was working on a startup and I was really trying to like, one, prove myself to these people, but also prove to myself that I could do this. And it's like a weird battle of like, people are asking you, so what's your name? What do you do? Where are you from? And you answer it a hundred times. And by the hundred time I was like, I just wanna be a filmmaker. But I say, I'm like, oh, I kinda do some photo here. And I'm like, I'm a filmmaker. and i remember they brought in this and i won't name drop him because i don't really know like what he's done in the past but he's an older filmmaker that for some reason they brought in to do a documentary and they wanted to he wanted to like see what i've been doing at the company he's like oh well there's this kid documenting some stuff there and i actually ended up just texting him a video that i had made it was a documentary that i made throughout college something that i'm really proud of at the time and i texted it to him not even thinking he would watch it and i was like yeah i i want to become a documentary filmmaker let me know what you think and he was he texted me i'll never forget in like bullet points of things that he liked things that he didn't like and that was the first time where i took feedback and was really struck by it i was like damn this is what feedback looks like you watched it in detail as someone who's been doing this for 60 years and you told me what you like what you didn't like and he was completely right looking back four years in the moment i was like dude i was gonna say in the moment did you did you feel encouraged by the people or did you feel hurt by the feedback initially well he's so funny because it's aged so well he basically said he's like he's like you understand storytelling really well you you have great music pacing all this stuff but like you don't know how to shoot like he's like you need to learn photography before you learn video like you're shooting everything in motion but like you don't understand that like what creates a frame like the lighting and composition and i'm like dude i have everything in 120 fps like this is sick i don't know what you're talking about but from that moment i remember buying a tripod and being like dude this guy doesn't know what he's talking about like i know how to frame things and from then i think i've actually like my work has changed immensely i never talked to him after that like we never had a relationship really because i met him once but i look at my style of filmmaking now and i'm like damn he was so right like i had no idea what how to compose an image how to like what how lighting affects faces and skin tones and all that stuff things that you probably learn throughout your filmmaking journey that no one really tees up for you but he teed it up for me in a way where it almost inspired me to be like no i i can go do that i can i can figure those things out and then implement those back into the things that i feel more comfortable doing where do you feel like do you believe in style yeah yeah i believe especially now because the internet is is adapting to kids are learning so fast which is great but also scary because it's like did you really take the time to figure out what you want to make versus did you just find your favorite regurgitating person and like make their style with your touch on it which to be fair i i can't even i i can't even act like i haven't done that before i feel like that's that's a hard thing too because you look at inspiration you look at mood boards that you're creating for a project or whatever nine times out of ten you're probably looking at like shot deck frames like all these places where there are beautiful frames and you're like, this is sort of what I want.

49:52Sam Snowden:And it's hard. I've always tried to find inspiration and uniqueness, but how does that, how do you find uniqueness and inspiration coming from a place where you're just basing that off of other people's work? Do you feel like you have to like separate yourself entirely to find that uniqueness yeah yeah i think that the biggest thing that i've kept with me through it is like i don't do trends right i don't believe in doing things that even if you're inspired by them you should never let a platform dictate like what you are making unless that's the style of stuff that you want to make which is totally fine um i grew up on like youtube like watching people like casey and i'm like this guy made a style like granted you know people were vlogging and everything but like he made it attractive to document your day in a cool way and use that type of music and text and like film on a like a little droby chai prod and stuff like that i think you as the creator have to always be reminding yourself that like you're in control of what like what you're making and then also how you're showcasing it to the world, right?

51:09Like that's why I never believe in like, okay, well, is this the right format for this? Or are we trying to like, is this gonna perform well on blah, blah, blah? Yes, you should think about those things, especially for clients and business stuff. But especially for personal, I just try to take that philosophy of like, if you have an idea of what you wanna go create and you feel like it's original to you and you have a good time doing it which is the biggest thing is like you'll know when you like making something versus when you're making it to fulfill a trend or fulfill this like oh it's gonna get me followers or like oh it's gonna this is gonna pop that's a crazy bad feeling like and i've i've done that before like i've gone through that process of like creating a content schedule for myself and i'm like you're gonna post some once a week and I'm like, I'm not built like that.

52:01I can't do that. And that's okay. Because that's my style. My style is more sporadic and out there. And I hope that there's some quality behind that, but you just got to figure out what that is for you. And the only way to figure that out as a creative is to just go through that long years of process.

52:22Sam Snowden:Your agency create more. I got it right here. Wow. I will say not because of your agency, but I do have a tattoo that says create more. When did you get that? I got this six years ago, maybe five, six years ago. That's crazy. Yeah. When I first learned about your agency in the name, I was like, there's no way. That's insane. Damn. Do you have a period on it or no? No. Maybe we can have that. No, that's so cool. Yeah. For me, the reason I got this, it was at a period of my life where I felt like I was consuming way too much and I was losing sight of me in my path of creating things and developing myself as a filmmaker.

53:09Sam Snowden:And to me, it was a simple reminder that I just need to create more shit. That was as simple as that. Yeah. Tell me about yours. I mean, it's funny. It's like, I think I, listen, I didn't invent it. Like I always tell people that, like creating is cool now everyone wants to become a creator but i started in like 2019 probably similar time you got a tattoo i wasn't or in college i didn't start it and be like this is a brand you know like similar to how you just were like i need to go do this i'm going to tattoo it i'm going to go actually fulfill this thing i want to do it was the same way the way that i started it was i was making a video in my library of my college so like i was like damn why am i doing school this is so bad all i want to do is make short films and make a production company and i'm sitting here in the library ironically editing a video when i should be studying but i put on the thing it was a short film i made with my friend and i was like i don't know how to end it and it just said like don't make excuses create more and i didn't it obviously just put it and put it up and was like this is cool and then i was like oh create more that's kind of interesting and i just put it at the end of every video i made and i think i've done that for probably since 2016 um coming up on like 10 years now and then obviously it kind of became this not like a thing but it became a way to market myself and i was like if i ever made this anything bigger than me and people knew more about create more than sam like that's kind of a win and that's how i treated it in college i was like i'll just make some stickers and t-shirts and i'll make a vlog series and we can call it the create more series and it's that same philosophy that you're talking about it's like it's not that i'm not here to like go inspire millions of people to go like create art i'm just like this is what i needed for me right exactly and i want to show you how i evolve and develop my skill set through that same message of create more the only way i've gotten to where i I am now is because of create more, you know, action and taking that leap to like, just go film the thing.

55:25Just go take the photo. Just go, um, start the, start the business, start the, you know, it's like, obviously you have to, there's a lot of layers behind that. Of course. And, but that's usually the start of it, right? Is like getting over yourself.

55:39Sam Snowden:I think it's at its simplest form. I think once you start thinking about the, the, how deep those things go, it could almost paralyze you to actually not go and do the action to go and start but at its simplest form for me create more those two words literally just means go and do it just go do something yeah go and take action on whatever it is for sure don't sit still and don't do any don't not do anything for sure i love that i uh and then when i moved here and i was making my llc i was like i'm gonna start a business i'm gonna do this thing i was thinking do i want it to be sam snowden like what what's going on and then I thought I'm like if it ever grows I never want people to feel like they're working for me I want them to feel like they're working for a brand that they believe in and it can pose more as a production studio with that message tied to it and so that was the the genesis of of create more studios it's funny talking about it because it's like I guess it's more professional now but in my head I was like I never actually intended on making this uh a business but But now it makes so much sense.

56:46I kept that same philosophy and message with me the entire time and I still do now. Even when I journal or feel a little bit lost in my own pursuit, I'm like, dude, you just actually need to live the thing that you've been talking about for the last 10 years. And it usually eases that heart of my brain.

57:05Sam Snowden:The fourth Project Spark is an international initiative created by Nanlux and Nanlite to help creators transform early concepts into fully realized short films, supporting bold ideas and emerging creative voices. This year, six outstanding teams will be selected and awarded up to$20 ,000 in total production support. Each selected global team will receive a$15 ,000 production budget, along with up to$5 ,000 in equipment rental support. Fully provided by Nanlux and Nanlite, ensuring access to professional-grade lighting solutions while allowing teams to stay focused on storytelling and creative execution.

57:45Sam Snowden:Submissions are open February 28th, 2026 and close on April 18th, 2026. For full details and submission guidelines, visit the Nanlite website. Being a freelancer and then starting a production company are sort of two completely different worlds. What have you learned about business and what have you learned about yourself through the process of building a business? this. Yeah. That is a very, I want to hold onto that statement for a while because that is so true. Like freelancing my first three years here didn't feel easy, but I was like, I really only am looking out for myself and do, did I make enough this month to like get through, you know, the winter, blah, blah, blah.

58:26Like it, especially in New York, I found it really easy to just connect the dots because there's so much work that the domino effect of doing one thing for someone leads you to a brand. And then I'm like, wow, this is cool. I'm a freelancer. Like people value what I do. And then you reach the point of, well, I'm just doing a bunch of different things for people, which is great. And now I'm losing sight of the mission. Like what am I trying to actually do? And I'm still super early stages of, of building, create more into a production studio and company and i never ever set out for it to be this big thing like i don't really care if it's like oh my god we have like an office of 45 people and it became the next a24 like i actually would not want that um just because i enjoy the flexibility of of working in a small team and also So like, I believe that you can do a lot with a little.

59:27And in the stage I'm in right now, it's just me and Hunter, one other person. And what I feel like we've been able to create together is special. And I'm like, that was the separation between me and create more. And I finally found it. It was so hard to do that, right? That was to answer your question is that was the most difficult thing that I had to go through was I'm connected to all these brands and these people that I've been so lucky to grow long-term relationships with, but they want to work with me. They want me to be at their hip all the time. They want me to follow them around. And for the longest time, I made all the minted videos solo, like film, edit, everything myself for two years.

1:00:11Was doing on like two or three different retainers at the time, literally running around the city with my head cut off solo, filming editing everything and i wouldn't take help because it wasn't even an income thing too which is like looking back now i probably could have been a little bit smarter about how i was spending my time but i was so married to the product that of like i want to push this and make this brand of videos that once i hire i can teach or show that process in a way that makes sense versus like a diluted version of it and i'm glad that i took my time to do that because hunter has been such a rock star he's i feel so lucky to have met him he just started as an editor and within a month i was like you're a director dp editor like you are super talented like you i know you applied to a position but that position is going to change and i want you to like do this thing with me.

1:01:09And I think since I waited that long to, as a freelancer to develop my style and personal brand, when I put out a feeler for people and it attracted the perfect person. And I'm so proud of that because if I would have tried to do that a year before or whatever, I don't know if I would have been in the spot. One, I didn't have an office. And I also just didn't have that confidence in myself to be like, this is how I make things. This is how I think we can make things together and this is how even though we're a two-man show i think this is how it can grow versus like taking the oh let me you know try this little thing i was like no this is what we're gonna do and it's been a year since and yeah that's it's been a good process has trust

1:01:59Sam Snowden:been a new yeah a new sort of force that you've had to develop especially bringing on hunter now and relinquishing some of the responsibility. Yeah, massive. I think trust, it's funny because you, that whole process I was telling you about, you know, freelancing for so long, you only learn to trust yourself because when you start, it's like flipped. You're like, you have to only trust yourself. You're all you got. Like, you're not gonna rely on someone else to get it done. And then it flips on its head when you start to build something and create a umbrella for them to like, work under right it's like yes they're filling the the service on stuff but like they're doing it for the thing that you built and that trust aspect at first was difficult for me to just like one get the thoughts out of my head I'm like how do I explain and this comes with directing as well like I'm sure you totally experienced this like the only way to get better at working through something and communicating it is just like constantly doing it over and over again i was like i'll run you through the timeline this is what i do and it was kind of awkward the first day and i'm like i don't even know if i said that right and then you do it again and again and again and you have enough conversations to the point where you almost operate perfectly now as a as a team we actually had a moment the last fall where we were working on a shoot and we were essentially both directing and DPing because we didn't really have, like, it made more sense for us to play both roles.

1:03:34And we were like, damn, we're kind of crunched on time. I don't know if we can do it. And we essentially just like separated into two units, which is so funny to say that because it's just two people, but it felt like it. I was like, you go with your FX3 to this house in Brooklyn and I'm going to go into Manhattan and film with the other talent. And that way we can do it at the same exact time. And that to your point was trust. I was like, that was the first time i won't look at the monitor i won't say anything really had to believe he was going to be able to deliver for sure and in in in a space where i'm like you know you are representing obviously the company but you're also representing me because i'm getting a lot of these deals um just through like pre-existing clients and stuff like that so when you bring new people in it's a reflection of you and he crushed it and i'm i'm so proud of that sequence because it gave me confidence moving forward that i'm like even if i'm not in the room you are holding holding it down in a way that represents what we do really well and also that's just like such a valuable thing to have you know i'm like you are your own person as well even though we might work for the same production studio, like I trust your taste more just as much as I trust myself.

1:04:51You know, and I think that is something that it was hard to put on a job application was like someone who has taste or someone who I like their style. It's just like, those are things you learn over time.

1:05:03Sam Snowden:I think that's a great reflection on you as well, because as an owner, I think it's equally as important to, yes, you have to learn to give, to release trust or to have trust, to release responsibility, but you also need to provide an opportunity for those people to thrive within. Otherwise they will never feel any sort of voice of their own. They'll never, they'll never feel like they are capable of doing the thing. So you stepping out of your comfort zone to be able to give him the opportunity to prove himself that he is capable is a really important aspect of that as well. For sure. I appreciate you saying that.

1:05:45Cause that is, I look at the people that I've worked with and I took mental notes. I'm like, they didn't really trust me. You know, like they hired me and then they forgot why they hired me. But then that affects you. Totally. As a creative, you're like, like, is this, do I feel like I'm growing through this? And I was actually talking to him yesterday about this. we had a meeting and cause it, we were coming up on the year of working with each other. And I was like, think about where you were at a year ago, like essentially PAing and now you're a partner, you know, like we really do everything together.

1:06:21And, uh, that's special because at, I hope as a leader, that's what I want. That's the environment that I want to create with, but it's also a fine line because, you know, people need guardrails and people need tasks to, to, to get those things, um, to get their craft in a better spot versus just like taking this crazy, like, oh my God, my boss gave me this crazy, um, like empowering thing to do, but I have no clue how to do it. Like we have worked really close with each other and, uh, I'm really, I'm really happy with how it's going.

1:06:59Sam Snowden:Talk to me about the development of your personal brand a little bit. How do you find, And did it take you a while to feel comfortable to be open with the public about your journey and your learning process? Because I feel like when I watch your stuff, it's very honest. It's very, it feels very genuine. Yeah. And I feel that sometimes you could watch videos and it almost feels like some people are just repeating what somebody else said. Yeah. Because it sounded cool or because it made sense to them or whatever, but it doesn't feel as a lived experience. Yeah. Do you find that lived experience is important to be able to then share something?

1:07:37Totally. And I think, well, thank you. I appreciate that too. I try my best to always hold the same, like however you would come through in a video is how you should come through in real life. That's my biggest fear is like putting something out in the world and then meeting someone in person. And then they're like, oh, this is like an act, you know, which is, that's one thing. like if you're actually an actor that's a totally different thing but i'm not like i'm a filmmaker and if i'm ever going to put out something educational or something i hate the word of value because it's like what really is value these days um something that is shared experience lived experience something you learned in your career i always want it to just be specifically from my own thing, not like, oh, someday, like I saw the other day, this creator said, blah, blah, blah, like, and I'm just going to regurgitate that.

1:08:34That's also a fear of mine. Cause I can't even get myself to say that it's not me. I would rather it sound dumbed down and elementary and how I talk in an authentic tone versus try to make everything sound so professional and like hit the mark on every content pillar um i just think that that's how i've that's the approach that i've taken early days to like in college i was like how to grow a tiny youtube channel i had like 500 subscribers like that's the same way that i make videos now like even though you grow a little bit and you start to develop some taste and maybe like grow a following like it's taken me so long to even grow a following and i'm obviously still like a smaller creator in the sea of of things but the things that i put out i hope feel the same as i put out like in 2021 or 2022 like i don't really if you watch them like i have no shame in them because it's actually just like me talking in the moment obviously watching yourself can be a little bit cringy but it should feel like it's just like a open diary of the things that you're learning through the process.

1:09:48And the last thing I'll say about that is that I've only really talked about things and I try to only talk about things that I have done. And I think there's a weird space on the internet right now where you can't tell when people are talking about the things that they've done, if they've actually done it for sure. And it's like, it's not necessarily a call out, but it is, it's a scary path that I hope a lot of kids don't go down, learning from their favorite entrepreneurs and creators, filmmakers, artists, like advice is one thing, but taking everything that someone says online to heart and applying that to your journey is a super slippery slope.

1:10:27And I always try to take the live first philosophy and just do what's in front of you. Like just because someone told you that has a million followers this is how you should frame your shots and this is how you should do your thing like it's okay if you want to do things your way and do things at your own pace because there's a to get that fulfillment through that is is a really slippery slope

1:10:54Sam Snowden:i've come to the realization recently about myself my channel and like what i what i hope i guess to grow into more and for a long time i think it was based on the idea of growing this is something i'm working as like growing horizontally in the sense that adding things to my plate or just growing more but outwardly without going vertical in the sense of increasing the depth that i have in the things that i'm actually doing and i've realized that the more that I do that, the less that I actually find me in the process of that. It's because I'm trying to do something that really doesn't feel aligned with me, but it feels like it's right based on societal sort of things.

1:11:42Sam Snowden:Like you should reach for a million subs. You should, you know, have the fancy car, all the big, you know, cool things, which is totally cool and valid. And, but But I've realized, especially in the stuff that I love to create, it's not the most glorified in terms of monetary. It doesn't, brands aren't going to want to, it's just me talking. Right. And what I've realized is where I'm at at YouTube right now, whatever, 50 something thousand subs or something, I don't technically need any more than that. That is enough for me. What I want is to have the depth of 50 something thousand subs, then have a million and not have any real depth with the audience that I'm building.

1:12:29Sam Snowden:Yeah, that's super real. And I don't, it's just, it's something I'm just trying to wrap my head around. I can't create based on what other people are doing and what their goals are. If 50 ,000 is enough for me, how do I make it the best 50 ,000 that I can? Yeah, I love that. And I think, I wish more people could also see that. By the way, 50 ,000 is a lot. I know. Well, that's the thing is like, if I had 50 ,000 people in a stadium. Yeah, this feels like a lot right now. In a stadium, 100 people in front of you is insane. Yeah, for sure. A million is great, but 50 ,000 is more than you need. And also it's the perception of success.

1:13:13Success and also sort of... are the rise of social media it's such a over talked thing but like it's just true like 50 000 genuinely does not feel like that many people it does not it's scary because like even if you go to a film festival or you show your film to 50 friends like be in that room and try not to like get nervous you know that's like but posting to 50 000 people you're like oh my only a thousand people saw in the first hour like be in a room with a thousand people insane when you think about it but you have to talk about it for it to not feel insane if we live behind the screens and we never really address the elephant in the room we will all succumb to that feeling

1:14:00Sam Snowden:and i don't want to do that personally for me i'm just trying to get away from the wanting of more more more and not not in the sense that i'm losing my ambition because i'm very ambitious but it's trying to realign with what i really want and not just seeking more for the sake of wanting more yeah totally it's um it's something that i've it's like it's just been on my mind lately because i feel like i i've gotten lost sometimes especially in my process of what I, who I am, what I want to become. And it's just, it, it, I think that's where I just need to focus deeper. It can take the fun out of it too.

1:14:48And I think the fun in making it is the reason that you were able to grow, you know? And that's like, I think about the way that I've grown and it's, it feels like a meme because I was trying my hardest for so long to figure out like people like i don't know how you don't like how are you not growing like your stuff like the stuff you're putting out is great and i'm just like it's such like a nice way of saying like i don't know it was like fell back in it but it was also so inspiring at the same time and then last i think last uh fall of 2024 i decided one day i was like i'm just gonna put together a sizzle reel of my favorite work from the year and then i found this clip that of me as a kid and And I put that in the beginning and then didn't think much about it.

1:15:37And I posted that video and I was like, all right, 3 million views and a bunch of new people following. And this video that really took me 20 years to make from the archival footage and all the work that's taken to get there that I didn't even put pressure on it doing well, basically changed a lot of my career, if you will say, just like new eyes and new brands and new clients and all that stuff. So it goes back to what we always talk about. They create more philosophy, like put yourself in the position to succeed. And usually for me or for people like us, that is when you're putting yourself out there and creating and putting things out in the world that you're really actually proud of with no expectation of how it's going to do.

1:16:24And that's when I have usually had my most success, which is so ironic.

1:16:31Sam Snowden:but yeah this year if there's one thing you could look at that you're most excited to learn about what would it be i think

1:16:43learning how to focus and i say that it's like such a vague statement i have such a hard time focusing these days because i wake up and i'm like well i have six things i have to do but what thing do I need to do? And what in New York, there's this energy of hustle and bustle and get everything done. Can you squeeze everything in 24 hours? I am just wanting to relearn how to focus. And I'm just saying like, can I sit down for an hour and edit without checking my phone? Can I sit down and create this pitch deck for a client and not get distracted about, oh shit someone called me like i gotta go do this thing learning to focus in new york with all these goals that we have as a team and as just personal stuff the only way that things are going to get done is through focus and i think just lately i'm like so distracted with uh a multitude of things sort of every time like growing horizontally like i can feel that way sometimes on the daily like Well, I did everything at 60%.

1:17:55Right. And I sent the emails. I did the edits. I uploaded the thing. But did I ever reach a point where I could actually progress and feel myself getting better at my craft? And I hope that the more responsibility that I have to take on as a business owner, as a director, as someone who's trying to do a multitude of things in the space, can I just find focus for a couple of those things? And that's, that's a super tricky thing. I hope that I can quiet the noise of the distractions, the sea of content, the sea of opportunity and the goals you set out to do. You give them the best shot and time will tell, but that's like my, my simple goal for the year.

1:18:43Sam Snowden:Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate your time. This has been great. I really appreciate you being open, honest about everything and sharing your time with me today. it uh it means a lot and just i'm grateful that you're here where can people find you where can people learn about your yeah i'll create more um i guess just socials would be sam snowden and uh create more studios on all handles and then minted a pretty consistent with we'll do some more stuff this year so or minted new york uh and yeah that's that's about all i got amazing man yeah thank you i'm done rambling yeah hopefully enjoy today's episode everyone have a great day peace out